Weathering With Drybrushing
by Great Models Webstore

While not quite as misunderstood as the wash, dry-brushing still holds of bit of mystery for some modelers. With this technique more than any other, I cannot stress enough the need for restraint. Work in stages, and quit BEFORE you think you need to. Let the kit sit overnight, and evaluate your work with a fresh perspective in the "light of day". The basic technique for dry-brushing is quite simple: Using the base color of you painted kit, small amounts of white paint are added to create a lighter shade of the same color. A soft, wide brush is used to pick up a light amount of this new color, and then is gently wiped clean with a cloth. Doing this dry (without thinner), should leave a trace amount of the paint on the brush. When you lightly run the brush over your hand, no paint should be visibly left behind. Now, GENTLY drag the brush over the surfaces of the kit, lingering over areas of detail such as raised rivets and hard edges. On the first pass or two, you really shouldn't notice any significant spots of color being left behind. Properly done, this technique is meant to be very subtle, and you should only notice a gradual highlighting of the kit's detail. It's really that simple! However, there is much more to dry-brushing once you begin to learn the technique. To achieve an even more subtle look of depth, add more white paint to your base coat color on each successive dry brush session. The theory is to continue lightening your base coat color until you have progressed almost to pure white. Personally, I stop long before reaching pure white paint, preferring to let natural light do the job of solid white edges. The main thing is to remember that the more layering you do, the more realistic the finish. Finally, don't permanently lock yourself into using lighter shades of the base coat as the final solution. Many modelers around the world are achieving some exciting results with darker colors such as earth tones, rust, and iron oxides.