"Painting ACW ships, washes?" Topic

So I am debating whether to add a final wash to the basic paint jobs on my 1/600th ships. Either black or dark brown. What do most of you folks do?

No wash for me.

The fine detail on Thoroughbred's works great for washes. For a "standard" ironclad (if there could be truly said to be a thing), I'd use GW Nuln Oil (black). If you wanted rust, that would also accentuate such an effect- but I wouldn't use a brown wash in that case.

I use a brown wash, I find black gives too harsh a finish

By the time you get up in scale to 1/600, you're really going to have to step up your painting game. Imagine applying a 15mm grade paint job on a 54mm fig. Ouch.

There are lots of ways to accentuate paint jobs. Much depends on the detail on the model. Washes are an excellent option. So is dry brushing. There are chemical applications available that do a superb job of simulating rust. There are likely specialty crew figs you can get. There may be laser etched parts available. Pin wire can be used to simulate masts and davits.

At 600 scale flags become a workable option.

If you are debating about using washes, it could maybe be you are wanting to do more(?) If so. Do so. Stop when you look at your model (from 3 feet away) and feel proud of your work.