"Future dip for 1/2400 ships?" Topic

I've never used Future before, and my first effort using an ink wash for my USN WWII 1/2400 ships didn't work the way I like.

I want a blue-black wash that will hit all the corners without darkening the ship overall. Many of the ships are light grey, and I also plan to do early war ships with white, as well as paint some Pre-dreadnoughts in bright peacetime colors. I'm coating them in gloss before using the dip, which I hope will help keep the highlights bright.

A ship in sunshine is very bright with dark shadows, and that's the general effect I want. I don't like the drybrush look very much for this scale ships.

The original dip I first played with was based on an article on one of the GW forums. It called for using Liquitex Paynes Grey as the color medium for the dip.

It works quite well on bright colors. As it keeps the original cover but gives a blue/grey shadow to it.

I used a 4 / 1 water/future ratio. I then dripped in enough of the paynes grey to just make the mixture opaque.

I actually have a 1000ml bottle premade of the paynes grey that I keep on the shelf. I then add black or brown if I need different tones.

Hate to ask, but…what is Liquitex Paynes Grey? And what tone grey is it? And finally, did you prep the model (as I did with a gloss coat) to keep the original cover (color?).

Thanks! I've a sizeable fleet of Panzershiffes, and I'm trying to learn as I go along before I ruin 100 ships.

Liquitex is a maker of artists paints
Paynes Gray is a standard artist color
here is a definition if that helps
link

You should be able to find Liquitex paints in most art stores.
However you will definitely be able to find Paynes Gray in whatever medium you prefer, oil, acrylic, watercolor…

I've used a Future Wash with Winsor & Newton sepia ink successfully on 1:600 American Civil War ironclads (such as double-ended gunboats with black hulls, wooden decks, and white superstructures). That might work for the "Great White Fleet", too.

For a later ship in greys, I'd probably go with Black ink, as the Sepia would be a bit too warm.

Allen

I've not tried it yet but the bottle looks about right so how about Vallejo Smoke?

Andrew
Sic Parvis Magna

I've used Future wash on my WW1 1/2400 ships. Mine are either Panzerschiffe or Stonewall so not at detailed as GHQ ones.

I'm happy enough with mine but I did use as 1:1 Water Future wash first to achieve a smoother surface then used the inked Future wash, I forget the ratio but it was probaly 1:4 or so.

But I also used a brighter base colour to start with knowing it may come out a little 'dirty'.

Steve

Good suggestions – I need to rehabilitate a collection of 1/2400 ships I picked up on Ebay and a wash might help…

James

I did a straight wash of future/ink on my models. I have to try washing with the 1/1 clear mixture first. It may solve a couple problems I've seen from pitting on the models.

Usrivoy3: yes, there's slight pitting/graininess with the epoxy Panzerschiffes, and I don't want it to show in a stain. I painted my ships with GW Glosscoat.

Stenicplus: OK, so 1 to 4, ink to Future. Aecurtis, is that about the ratio you used also? Good point, I can use a brown wash for older ships. It's the grey ones that I've never worked in before.

I'm looking for low surface tension to get good 'flow'. Has anyone tried using Mixing Medium before?

When using india ink I use a 5 to 1 Future to ink ratio. With Winsor & Newton colored inks, I use 4:1. I never see the need to mix with water. You only increase the degree of unwanted surface tension that way.

Thinking back, I probably did the 1:600 ACW ships with pure Future and however many drops of ink it took to look right.

But on figures, I dilute Future up to a 50:50 mix with distilled water (too many minerals in tap water here) before adding ink. The next time I do ships, I'd probably dilute the Future; the ones I did a long time ago feel like they have a rubbery coating from the pure Future (it's good protection, though, with a coat of Dullcote to matte it).

Simplest surface tension breaker is a tiny droplet of liquid soap.

Allen

I tried two ships that were gloss coated. The dip seems to be shed too easily, but it's hard to tell.

I filled a pint plastic container donated to the cause by my local Chinese takeout. He's greatful that we're fighting off the Japanese "Greater Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere". :) The Future smells like bubblegum, in a bad way.

I then did what Allen said, and tinted with P3 Armorcoat until the color was a dark grey. I put a little black and blue ink in as well, a few drops each. This appeared to be dark enough, but didn't have much effect on the little ships. I darkened it some more with black ink (GW) and finally started to get a dark grey tint.

The mix seems to still have more surface tension than I want. Is it possible to add a drop of dishwashing liquid soap to decrease the surface tension? Or how about mixing medium? I'm also going to try the next ones without using the gloss coat.

Way back in the early 90s Military modeller magazine examined the future clear acrylic wash and its uses with inks to weather armour.I immediately tried this technique with the then new Dragon 1/35 Soviet armour kits and applying dull coate,great results but with time the finish transmuted to a near black green.

Hopefully they've changed their chemical mix, I've been dipping away as above.

I've used it without the gloss coat, straight onto the paint. It seems to be doing just fine. I'd still like less surface tension, plant to try a little dish soap.

What the heck is the diff btw dish soap and mixing medium anyway?

There's a joke there somewhere