Well that WAS easy and I am well satisfied with the results!
The first coat of paint was dark hammered brass that also contained a subtle texture. After that was dry, I sprayed the towers with a yellow ochre from a 3/4 angle above which left the undersides of details a bit darker for quick shadows. Then I painted in a few details, mostly metallic bits and did one drybrush highlight on the walls - I think it was Foundry Sand 10B, but it will vary depending on the shade of your base coat. I kept these as accents to a minimum as the original buildings I am copying are pretty monotone.
Next up was an oil dot filter... if you're unfamiliar with this technique it's basically what it sounds like. Apply oil paint - in this case I used black, burnt umber, burnt sienna, ochre (this one may seem redundant over this base, but it blends with the other colors to add variety), blue, and white - in small dots scattered across the model. Then use a clean brush and apply mineral spirits to the model, drawing the brush in vertical strokes to mimic runoff. There are
lots of tutorials online. You get some wonderful random effects and it's hard to mess this up - if you get too much grime, just add more mineral spirits and a sponge to remove it. The hardest part about using this the first time is getting up the nerve to randomly splatter you model with paint! Finally, I use black weathering powder to accent all of the bullet holes.
That two tone look between sections in the photo above is an illusion - the angled walls catch the light differently, making some look darker...
The windows are just the clear plastic. At first I thought this would look cheesy, but the interior has enough shadow to make the windows appear opaque and they reflect the ambient light of the room for a very realistic appearance. They also lack the texture of the walls and have a slight recessed look to aid in the illusion they are a different substance.
Something I forgot to do was highlight all of the cracks I scored in the plastic. I could do it now, but they might look strange on top of the weathering. Oh, well, one point of this project was quick and dirty and they look great on the tabletop...
Well, now what? This challenge didn't take long, was super easy, and fun... Maybe I'll get the chance to put something else together this month. Anyway, still looking forward to seeing what other people come up with!
