You're very welcome, Skeptic, and many thanks for your extremely kind remarks, Ochoin.
I am back, not just to acknowledge those nice comments, but with YET MORE INFO re: how I got that paintjob to look as good as it does.
There is a THIRD step to the painting process -- after the spray painting and acrylic craft painting -- which I did not include earlier. Without it you can still get a very nice finish, but this third step is what will take it to the "next level," so to speak. I didn't include it before because -- silly as it may sound -- it was recently given to me by a master modeler, and I wanted to ask his blessing before sharing it with the world-at-large, so to speak. Happily he just sent me an email saying go ahead, and he hopes it will help some people out, which is great!
Oddly enough the arguably biggest challenge of this third step will not be a challenge for you, Skeptic, because having checked your user profile, I see you live in Canada.
Here's the thing: the Third step uses a WEATHERING WASH.
The wash consists of 2 drops of BLACK acrylic paint, 6 drops of CraftSmart TAN… and a spoonful of LEPAGE MULTI-PURPOSE WHITE GLUE.
Mix together in a small container -- like for pudding or yogurt -- then add water until the container is about half full, and continue mixing.
Then get a brush and a HAIR DRYER.
The next part is a bit tricky and I suggest trying it on a test piece before using it on a real model…
Brush the wash on with one hand and as you go, use your other hand to DRY IT with the hair dryer set on "low."
Throughout this process do your best to keep the side of the model you're working on LEVEL at all timesl LEVEL, to minimize the uncontrolled spread of the wash beyond the area you are focused on drying.
For larger buildings like this Tower, the wash will inevitably slip over edges and corners in spots you won't catch. Don't freak out because you can fix those spots later.
Drying the glue-paint mix instantly with the hair dryer will give the model a worn & chalky finish, perfect for an old building.
The trick is, the only water soluble glue I know of that will dry with a MATTE FLAT FINISH is that made by the Canadian company LePage. For some reason their white glue dries without any gloss sheen at all. I asked around at American hobby stores trying to find a locally available American product able to do the same, but no one I've asked knows of one.
Luckily for me I was able to get a friend who lives in Toronto to buy a bottle and send it to me. Before that I tried to find a way to puchase it online from a Canadian supplier but without success. Maybe an American buyer could just call a Canadian hardware store, order a few bottles over the phone and use a cc to pay.
But as I said, Skeptic, if you want to give it a try it should be no problem at all, so long as you still reside in the Great White North!
…Back to the tutorial:
After brushing and drying the entire model with the wash, go back and check for those pesky dribble spots and touch them up with any/all of the 3 acrylic tan paints.
Then give the building some dry brush highlights.
And that's it.
This "WASH & DRY" step comes with its own WARNING: this method is best applied to WOOD & RESIN models. My tower is made of foamcore and styrofoam, and as I was drying the wash with the hair dryer (even though it was set on "LOW") I suddenly saw a few spots where the outer shell of the building was starting to THIN OUT and basically DISAPPEAR!
Luckily I was able to complete the wash & dry step without inflicting more than a tiny bit of damage to the building, but after putting so much work into building it, for a moment there I was very worried. I had tested the method on a commerical resin building and it had worked wonderfully -- but then I realized my tower was made of much less resilient materials.
Anyway, all's well that ends well, as I touched up the few spots where the outer shell of the model had disappeared by adding tiny patches of Wood Filler, and thanks to the rough-hewn nature of the Tower itself, I don't think this detracted at all from the look of the finished piece.
Again, just doing the first two steps -- spray paints and then multiple craft paint dry brushes -- will result in a very nice paint job, but to get the finished effect seen in the photos above, you will need to source some LePage white glue -- or something similar -- and use it for the "Wash & Dry" weathering.
ponders nirvana.
I especially like the portion where the mud/plaster has "worn away," revealing the brick work underneath. It's very natural looking. And the hinged doors! You're a very, very talented man.
