aurora monster model detailing

With the recent influx of so- called ' pro- built" models up for sale on okay I thought I might share some of my observations on the subject. Dry brushing ( the technique in which the paintbrush is dragged across the model surface with very little paint/moisture) is an important finishing technique. It renders minut surface details and brings them to the forground. The problem with this technique is that it can be used to the point of overkill. In my humble estimation, a pro-finished kit will utilize all and any of several techniques in conjuction with each other to present a superior finished model kit. The "WOW" factor, if you will. Lets take the Aurora Dracula model kit as an example.Dracula is a good example because it presents us with many different textures sculpted into the kit parts. My particular kit is the Glow in the dark version and I am endeavoring to build and finish it so the glow parts blend in the daylight AND the pieces will glow in the dark too. The glow pieces are "stained" with translucent washes of paint and wiped/ sanded so details remain and have a unique effect when viewed in the dark.The staining also makes the parts look presentable in the daylight as well. Getting back to the dry- brushing- Dracula`s clothing- that should really NEVER be dry- brushed unless you want to highlight heavily worn areas. Do you see people walking around with dry-brushed looking clothes on the street? NO!The grass on the Dracula kit is a good candidate for dry-brushing. Soil that is devoid of surface debri such as small rocks or pebbles should be painted wet-in wet since it is basically a uniformly textured surface. The rocks should be painted wet-in-wet and possibly "speckled" with a lighter shade splattered from a toothbrush- practice controling your paint"spatters" and you`ll be surprised at how effective this is. You can even "layer" spatters of different paint colors on the rocks. Get some reference from outside or from a National Geographic magazine. Rocks and stones gee in a nearly infinite variety of textures and colors- not just grey and brown .Remember NATURE should have a RANDOM look to it! Dry brushing every single detail on the kit will just work to make it ultimately look fake! This defeats the purpose of what a model is all about. The aim really should be to make it look as real as possible. Are any modelers familiar with the "wet in wet" technique of painting? Basically you just paint over areas that are still not dry yet.You can get superior blending and depth with this technique. It is more similar to airbrush than the dry-brush technique. I cannot stress the importance of minimizing and/or removing the seams via sanding and filling of the kit parts. No matter how intricate or fancy your paint work will be, if the parts are not rendered "seamless", your work will be substandard on every other level. Dry- brushing will enhance detail AND,thus, any seams of the plastic parts will be made more apparent. Texture on the dead tree is a perfect candidate for dry-brush technique. Rocks are perfect for washes( semi- transparent thin coats of paint applied over each other after dry so the previous colors still show through) and wet-in -wet technique. Gloss coating, like diluted acrylic floor wax is great to use on eyeballs, lips, fingernails. The cape was coated in a more diluted mix to give it a satin look to contrast with the flat texture of the pants and jacket. Let`s remember that Aurora encouraged us to" build and paint our kits any way we want" but modeling and painting techniques have gee a long way since the 1960`s and you modern modelers now have the abilitiy to make these old models look totally fabulous! DO IT!