I have been a subscriber of The Weathering magazine by AK Interactive since the first issue. The magazine primarily is targeting military modelers although there are some articles on non-military vehicles, rail cars and structures. I thought of doing reviews on all of the issues but before I finished the first one went out of print. The second one came out around holiday season and I had other thing on my mind. The third arrived last week. I read through it almost at once. I didn't even mind sitting at a car shop waiting for oil change to be done longer than it usually takes. I have decided to do a review while my memory is still fresh. In case if anyone wonders the first issue was on rust, the second on dust and dirt.
The third one is on paint chipping. What is nice about this issue that it contains a summary of techniques. Each technique is illustrated so it is easy to see what end result would be. Then all of that is covered again in more artistic manner in number of articles where authors do step by step. And then there is an article by Chuck Doan on wood structure peeling paint technique. It is solvent and acrylic paint method which I have heard about before. I can say it is very effective if used on larger scale model. As for smaller scales than O effect to effort ratio perhaps wouldn't be as great. I think for HO scale sponge technique is sufficient. Lets get back to other chipping. After reading the magazine I know why my attempt at using hairspray technique has failed. I tried it after collecting info on the web. While reading the magazine I learned that I missed few important things and that lead to failure. Great thing about the web is that it is all free or relatively free. Bad part about it is that it is constantly changing. One day it is there, the next is gone. Some essential info can get go away or misrepresented. Copying and preserving takes a lot of time. Copying is also getting harder because site owners are getting more protective of their content. Take for example YouTube. It is impossible for regular mortal to save a copy of a video. Of course, there are some ways to get around but it isn't as convenient as clicking mouse button. Therefore, The Weathering magazine provides the opportunity to have easily accessible concentrated material for someone who likes to build models. If someone's thing is web browsing and research then that person shouldn't buy it because it will spoil the fun for sure. All right, it seems I am having really hard time staying on topic. Lets get back to the magazine one more time. Few other things I would like to mention. This issue also covers not only to bare metal chipping but several different paint layer chipping as well. Although I don't think it is very common these days but things get repainted. Then top layer chips off due to bad paint job or improper handling exposing old paint but not bare metal. The technique used to achieve that look isn't difficult and I see myself using it to spice up my dioramas. Well, after I learn to use basic methods first... It is worth noting that there is variety of techniques presented suitable for models that are being painted from ground up as well as with prepainted ones. Lets not to leave out one detail as well. AK Interactive makes and sells weathering materials i.e. powders, solutions, etc. Perhaps 75% of content is based on use of their products. However, it isn't like a case of sponsored dish recipe where if one doesn't buy particular spice mix the dish won't have right flavor. The same effect can be achieved using variety of products by other makers. The magazine even provides an article on how to pick right hair spray for hair spray technique. There is always a choice.
To summarize I must say that after the first two issues I thought I would let my subscription lapse. I may rethink that after the third one although I still don't see what else in weathering can be covered besides what was and will be covered in the first four. By the way, the fourth one will be on oil and grease stains and spills.
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