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When Miguel Jimenez parted ways with the company that bears his name, he continued to seek out new ways of weathering. Establishing Mig Jimenez Studios, he partnered with Vallejo to establish AK Interactive. Aside from weathering products, AK Interactive produces a line of DVDs to show modelers new weathering techniques.
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This DVD is one hour, two minutes, and thirty five seconds long. Aside form the Introduction, it is divided into three parts, Examples, a Tamiya Opel Blitz used for basic Techniques, and a Tamiya 1/16th scale KV-II used for advanced techniques.
Narration is in English but it is not Mig's voice we hear. Spanish sub-titles are provided throughout and I was impressed at the proper translation. In many cases, techniques named in Spanish get a direct translation when an English one is already available in an Art dictionary.
After the two minutes and twenty one seconds introduction, we see some examples of Miguel Jimenez' winter models. At three minutes and forty eight seconds, we see the Tamiya 1/35th scale Opel Blitz used as a test bed for the basic techniques. The technique is Simple Fading Camouflage, White Color over a Dark Yellow Base.
Tamiya base coats which are varnished after adding the decals will get diluted Tamiya white wash. This is only after protecting the decal markings with Blue-Tac.
Weathering begins with AK Interactive's Streaking Grime and their white spirit. Winter Streaking Grime, Rust, Earth, and Dust Effects make their appearances as well. Splatter with an airbrush to blow mud from a laden brush is also used.
The end result is an appealing kit full of visual details.
The last section is Advanced Techniques; Faded White over Green Base. Here we see a Tamiya 1/16th scale test bed onto which Games Workshop Chaos Black is used as a primer, Humbrol enamel is used for the base coat, and application of hairspray is then added. Tamiya white is once again used as a whitewash and added with an airbrush. Scrubbing with a wet brush is then used to achieve the worn look.
Humbrol enamel, thinned with Turpentine, is then used for highlights and accents. Humbrol enamels are then used to create chipping in the base color with a sponge as an applicator. This is followed with Humbrol white applied with the sponge as well.
Weathering with elements then takes place using the aforementioned AK Interactive products. To this, we see washes, filters, and so on. A thick mud with paper leaves also is added as a finishing touch.
The video is in focus and beautifully done with proper lighting. I am not fond of the techno music used but seeing a master ply his trade does offset that somewhat. If there is anything I wish would be added it would be a printable list to let the modeler know when to alternate from Acrylic to Enamel. This would be especially useful since many modelers may already have acrylic based Mig Productions weathering products and learning to mix the techniques with the enamel based AK Interactive products would only be a boon to all.
While I was able to watch the DVD on my personal computers, and my home entertainment system, it was brought to my attention that anyone with an NTSC standard player will not be able to play the PAL formatted disk.
My thanks to Miguel Jimenez and AK-Interactive USA.
When Miguel Jimenez parted ways with the company that bears his name, he continued to seek out new ways of weathering. Establishing Mig Jimenez Studios, he partnered with Vallejo to establish AK Interactive. Aside from weathering products, AK Interactive produces a line of DVDs to show modelers new weathering techniques.
------------------------------------
This DVD is one hour, two minutes, and thirty five seconds long. Aside form the Introduction, it is divided into three parts, Examples, a Tamiya Opel Blitz used for basic Techniques, and a Tamiya 1/16th scale KV-II used for advanced techniques.
Narration is in English but it is not Mig's voice we hear. Spanish sub-titles are provided throughout and I was impressed at the proper translation. In many cases, techniques named in Spanish get a direct translation when an English one is already available in an Art dictionary.
After the two minutes and twenty one seconds introduction, we see some examples of Miguel Jimenez' winter models. At three minutes and forty eight seconds, we see the Tamiya 1/35th scale Opel Blitz used as a test bed for the basic techniques. The technique is Simple Fading Camouflage, White Color over a Dark Yellow Base.
Tamiya base coats which are varnished after adding the decals will get diluted Tamiya white wash. This is only after protecting the decal markings with Blue-Tac.
Weathering begins with AK Interactive's Streaking Grime and their white spirit. Winter Streaking Grime, Rust, Earth, and Dust Effects make their appearances as well. Splatter with an airbrush to blow mud from a laden brush is also used.
The end result is an appealing kit full of visual details.
The last section is Advanced Techniques; Faded White over Green Base. Here we see a Tamiya 1/16th scale test bed onto which Games Workshop Chaos Black is used as a primer, Humbrol enamel is used for the base coat, and application of hairspray is then added. Tamiya white is once again used as a whitewash and added with an airbrush. Scrubbing with a wet brush is then used to achieve the worn look.
Humbrol enamel, thinned with Turpentine, is then used for highlights and accents. Humbrol enamels are then used to create chipping in the base color with a sponge as an applicator. This is followed with Humbrol white applied with the sponge as well.
Weathering with elements then takes place using the aforementioned AK Interactive products. To this, we see washes, filters, and so on. A thick mud with paper leaves also is added as a finishing touch.
The video is in focus and beautifully done with proper lighting. I am not fond of the techno music used but seeing a master ply his trade does offset that somewhat. If there is anything I wish would be added it would be a printable list to let the modeler know when to alternate from Acrylic to Enamel. This would be especially useful since many modelers may already have acrylic based Mig Productions weathering products and learning to mix the techniques with the enamel based AK Interactive products would only be a boon to all.
While I was able to watch the DVD on my personal computers, and my home entertainment system, it was brought to my attention that anyone with an NTSC standard player will not be able to play the PAL formatted disk.
My thanks to Miguel Jimenez and AK-Interactive USA.