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Modelling Tips

TimeCast Historic Buildings in Miniature

This page is where we can pass on hints and tips for painting and basing TimeCast models. The acrylic polymer mix we use for casting gives a clean surface, which is an ideal medium for taking paint. We find that acrylic paint and inks give us the best results, however we have successfully used spray car paint/primer, household emulsion and enamels. Simply use whatever materials you find works best for you. Please scroll down the page or click on the buttons

Preparation and Undercoating the model

Preparation of the model for painting is minimal. The acrylic polymer models can be painted without any preparation, however we recommend that any resin parts be rinsed in warm, soapy water and allowed to dry before undercoating. Some models  may include parts cast in resin or metal and you will need to follow certain basic safety precautions when working with these.

Use a sharp knife or scalpel to remove any trapped air bubbles. Any bubbles or gaps can be filled with Milliput or similar modelling compounds. However, for small holes or blemishes we also use a commercial filler such as Polyfiller or similar (I believe it is called Spackle in the USA). Simply fill the hole, smooth it off with a wetted finger and leave to dry – easy!

Rough edges on the base can be sanded down with wet and dry paper or a file - please note that the models set VERY hard and that sanding can be slow! We use an industrial belt sanding machine which makes life a lot easier.

Personally we find that the acrylic polymer models do not need undercoating. However, resin or metal models or parts generally do need an undercoat. We usually use spray cans of black, grey or white paint for undercoating. These give a smoother finish than applying an undercoat by brush. 

Once you have undercoated the model ensure that you give it sufficient time to dry before going on to the next stage.

 A note for customers who wish to customise or modify their models - the material can be drilled, cut with a hacksaw, or carved with a scalpel or dental tools. Due to the inherent strength of the casting material however it may be hard work! Most adhesives will work with the material - we can recommend Bostick or a similar adhesive, Araldite or similar two pack epoxy adhesives and good old super glues.

A note on paints, inks and brushes

We are often asked how we paint the models and which paints we use. We prefer to use artists acrylics (the expensive stuff in the tubes) simply because we feel that a quality product gives a quality result. However, we will happily mix our mediums and use other types of paint if necessary – household emulsions, the ones sold in the small tester pots,  are great for unusual colours as well as basic shades!

Brushes – we use two types of brush. Good quality artist’s brushes (the expensive ones from the art shops) and cheap modelling brushes.

• Artist’s Brushes - There is no way round this, if you buy a good quality brush it will last and give excellent results. Unfortunately they are not cheap. If you buy  cheap brushes however you will NEVER get good results - although the budget brushes from Coat d'arms ARE very good and we can recommend them! We use a mix of sizes 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 for pretty much everything. The smaller sizes are good for detail work around doors and windows etc.
• Cheap Brushes - The cheap brushes (size 5 upwards) are used exclusively for dry brushing and applying the ink washes. Dry brushing will wreck a brush very quickly so there is no point in using expensive brushes for this – we get our brushes in a local market. A quick tip – larger brushes are best for dry brushing large surfaces such as brickwork or roof tiles, you are wasting your time trying to drybrush with anything smaller than a siz 5.

Anyhow, here are some of the products, which we can recommend:

• Coat d’Arms Acrylic Paints: One of the best of the modeller’s acrylic paints (and much better than some of the other "hobby" paints in our opinion) and they come in a very wide range of colours. Ideal if you don't like having to mix your own colours!
• Daler-Rowney Cryla Acrylic Paint. Another quality product, which I have been using happily on my models since 1987. Useful colours are: Titanium white, Mars Black, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Sap Green, Cadmium Yellow and Red Oxide. A useful green is Opaque Chromium of Oxide – odd name but good colour!
• FW Artists’ Acrylic Ink. This is simply the best on the market and is great stuff to paint with. The most useful colours we find are Sepia, Black, Antelope Brown and Red Earth, although we keep a stock of other colours as well. The Red Earth is brilliant for red tile roofs.

Safety Precautions

If you are sanding, cutting or drilling resin parts then please follow the recommended safety precautions:

• Always work in a well ventilated area.
• Avoid breathing in dust from sanding – wear a mask if necessary.
• Always wash your hands thoroughly after working with the resin and before eating or drinking.

On a safety note (and being the nice chaps that we are we don't want anyone to hurt themselves on our models!), we recommend that you wear a dust mask and safety glasses when sanding or cleaning up the models. This is to prevent inhalation of any dust during the process. The acrylic polymer material is very solid however, and the larger models are heavy, so we advise against dropping the larger items on your foot.

Painting the models

Our preferred method of painting the models is a mixture of ink washes and dry brushing using water based acrylic paints and inks. The models are undercoated if required and allowed to dry thoroughly before being painted using the following method. 

Base Coats. Paint the model in the desired base colour (or colours). Leave to dry. We paint all the base colours (walls, roof etc) before adding the ink wash.

• Ink wash. The purpose of the ink wash is to add shadow and depth to the finished model, and to blend the base colours together. Artist's waterproof acrylic inks are best for this. A sepia or dark brown ink is best for most surfaces. A black ink can be used but it tends to be a bit harsh (although grey or slate tiles can be given a thinned black ink wash without any problems). Most ink has quite a dense pigment, so the ink should be watered down slightly. It is always best to thin black ink, as otherwise it will often be dense enough to over paint the base colour. Experiment with this to find out what suits you. Using a large brush, apply the ink wash all over the model, allowing it to settle in the details. Do not apply too much as the excess ink will simply flow down to the bottom of the model and settle. It is worth a reminder here - always allow the ink wash to dry thoroughly before going on to the next step, otherwise the ink may lift as you paint over it. Hand held hair dryers are very useful to speed up the drying process. We also use desktop fans - place the models in front of the fan and switch it on, the air blowing across the model will speed up the drying process considerably. If you really make a mistake with the ink wash hold the model under cold running water before the wash dries. Use a large brush and you should be able to wash most of the ink off the model. Allow to dry and start again.

• Dry brushing. Start with the base colour (the same as you used to on the base coat) and dip the brush in the paint. Then wipe off most of the paint on a tissue or paper towel. The brush should be almost dry. Brush lightly over the model with the almost dry brush, allowing the raised details to pick up the paint. Repeat this step as often as desired using progressively lighter shades of paint. As you apply lighter shades of the base coat the detail will start to stand out. Don't always apply the paint all over the model - leave darker areas in the corners and under the eaves to suggest shadows or discoloured patches of plaster or brickwork. Don't use your best brushes for this - it wears out brushes very quickly - we use cheap brushes bought at a local market.

• Lead and tile roofs. When painting lead roofs, the base colour should be a very dark grey, drybrushed with lighter shades of grey, and finished with a wash of thinned black ink. When drybrushing grey roof tiles, try adding a touch of ultramarine blue to the grey mix - this will give an excellent dark slate colour, but don't overdo it. Finish off with a very thin wash of black ink to fill in the shadows. Click here to see an example...

• Pantile/Terracotta Tile Roofs. The terracotta types of roof tile are best painted with a base coat of brick red (a dull red-brown colour). Wash with a dark brown ink (Sepia or Antelope Brown are ideal). Once the ink is dry, drybrush the tiles with the base colour to pick out the detail. Add some yellow and white to the base brick red, to lighten the colour and dry brush again. Continue lightening the colour and drybrushing until the tiles are almost a pale pink colour and finish off with a wash of thinned red-brown ink (FW’s Red Earth ink is brilliant for this). Click here to see an example...

• Brick walls can be a variety of different colours (brown, grey, red or yellow) but they are also drybrushed in a similar manner to the roof tiles. For red or brown bricks lighten the base colour with yellow and white. If you find you have gone too far and have made the paint too light, don't panic - allow it to dry and then apply a tinned down brown or sepia or brown ink wash (about the consistency of water or milk) and this will tone down the lighter shades. Click here to see an example...

• Windows. We have tried various methods of painting windows, with varying degrees of success. In 6mm scale the easiest and simplest way to do it is to paint the window glass black, and to add the window frame in white. Most windows appear dark to the observer in real life and we have yet to find a real way of representing glass in this scale. One alternative method however, which can look very effective, is to paint the windows a light blue, highlighted with white. First paint the window dark blue. Add some white to the blue and highlight the central part of the window. Add more white to the blue and highlight again. Repeat this process several times so that the edges of the window are darker, with the lighter patch in the centre. Finally, using white or very pale blue, touch in the centre of the highlighted area. This is an artificial technique often used in the die cast/tin toys of the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s – however it looks surprisingly good on 6mm and 10mm buildings and can also add a touch of colour to otherwise plain walls. Note that window sills are often painted white or grey, or left in a natural stone/brick colour to contrast with the main wall colour. Click here to see an example...

• Details. The fine detail on the buildings will usually be picked out by the drybrushing. However it can be enhanced by careful work with a fine brush. Many older buildings were frequently painted to protect the underlying brick or plasterwork. The most common colour was white (whitewash or lime) but, up until WW2, other shades were also used - mostly ochre, browns or similar "dull" or "earthy" colours. The window frames doors etc were often painted in contrasting colours, although woodwork was often simply painted dark brown, red brown or white to protect it. If the building has a lot of moulding or decorative brickwork etc, then this can be picked out in white or pale grey. In the smaller scales the model will often benefit from having the window outlined in white, representing the wooden frames. In the later periods doors can be painted a contrasting colour, to add a touch of colour and interest to the model. Various shades of green, brown, or dark red are effective however do not make the colours too garish. Plain varnished wooden doors can be painted white and then given a wash of FW Antelope Brown or Sepia acrylic ink. Drainpipes and gutters can either be painted a dark colour (black or brown) but can also be painted to match the woodwork or doors. Modern drainpipes are frequently made of grey or white plastic.

• Copper roofs, such as those found on public buildings and churches, are best painted a pale green, given a pale brown ink wash and then drybrushed in lighter shades of green. This can be tricky but is well worth the effort.

• Colours for painting buildings. One other useful source for paints are DIY stores. Many ranges of commercial interior emulsion paints are available in small sampler pots for a minimal charge. These are often ideal for painting exterior walls on the models in suitably earthy or pastel shades. The paints themselves are often fairly translucent and you may find that you need a white base coat to get the best results. As a bonus, the emulsion paints are water-soluble so you can clean your brushes with soap and water as normal.

Please note that TimeCast models are not toys. They may contain small pieces, or white metal parts, which may cause a choking hazard and are therefore not suitable for children under 12 years. All images and models shown are copyright TimeCast and/or the the respective Manufacturers and may not be copied or reproduced without the appropriate permission.
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