Weathering or Wear and Tear ?

[NoelSmith]

Weathering is a bit of a misnomer as an expression in modelling.
We all use it mistakenly to actually describe wear and tear and stuff just generally getting dirty, me included !
A building, vehicle or structure deteriorating just due to the elements can truly be described as weathered.

[digger303]

Your right.

[Stokesy44]

Weathering is a bit of a misnomer as an expression in modelling.
We all use it mistakenly to actually describe wear and tear and stuff just generally getting dirty, me included !
A building, vehicle or structure deteriorating just due to the elements can truly be described as weathered.

Now that's a tricky one. I'm formulating a reply but my synapses have not settled into a coherent response as yet.

More to come once I have an answer that isnt gibberish

[cor]

Id say call it what you want. In the end its detailing for realism.

[digger303]

Id say call it what you want. In the end its detailing for realism.

[Stokesy44]

Id say call it what you want. In the end its detailing for realism.

Good point

[Stokesy44]

I'VE GOT IT!

I've been racking my brain about this because I think there is a distinction between wear and tear and weathering.

It's just come to me and I have to thank Indiana Jones for giving me the answer. In Raiders when Marion comments on how Indy has aged, he says, 'Its not the years, honey. Its the mileage.'

And there it was.

Wear and tear is the years - length of service life, especially if a combat subject

Weathering is the mileage - where its been and what its been through

I also think that, for me, there's a baseline effect which is where a process is used to add realism to the finish of a kit that is not weathered or showing signs of wear and tear. I call this the Museum Look. Its what I do in an attempt to decrease the plastic look of a kit.

For aircraft, its paint effects like black basing and pre-shading finishing with an overall dark wash. For tanks, its a shadow coat (black / white) to add depth and variation to the paintwork and again finishing with an overall dark wash. At the end of this process I want to see the subject as it might appear in a museum. To my eye, I find these processes add realism and that is what Its all about for me, regardless of subject.

Apologies for the length of the answer, but modelling questions fascinate me and I enjoy responding when I can.

[cor]

I'VE GOT IT!

I've been racking my brain about this because I think there is a distinction between wear and tear and weathering.

It's just come to me and I have to thank Indiana Jones for giving me the answer. In Raiders when Marion comments on how Indy has aged, he says, 'Its not the years, honey. Its the mileage.'

And there it was.

Wear and tear is the years - length of service life, especially if a combat subject

Weathering is the mileage - where its been and what its been through

I also think that, for me, there's a baseline effect which is where a process is used to add realism to the finish of a kit that is not weathered or showing signs of wear and tear. I call this the Museum Look. Its what I do in an attempt to decrease the plastic look of a kit.

For aircraft, its paint effects like black basing and pre-shading finishing with an overall dark wash. For tanks, its a shadow coat (black / white) to add depth and variation to the paintwork and again finishing with an overall dark wash. At the end of this process I want to see the subject as it might appear in a museum. To my eye, I find these processes add realism and that is what Its all about for me, regardless of subject.

Apologies for the length of the answer, but modelling questions fascinate me and I enjoy responding when I can.

[NoelSmith]

Weathering is the mileage. At last we have the definitive answer !

Now I am of advanced years shall we say, according to Stokesy's description I should be termed as 'weathered' judging by where I have been and what I have been through ! LOL.

[Stokesy44]

Weathering is the mileage. At last we have the definitive answer !

Now I am of advanced years shall we say, according to Stokesy's description I should be termed as 'weathered' judging by where I have been and what I have been through ! LOL.

I think terms like 'lived in' or 'rugged' are kinder

That scene from Raiders contains one of the funniest things I have ever seen on film. The moment when Marion hits Indy on the chin with the swinging mirror and you hear his scream from outside the ship. Gets me every time.

And most people don't even notice it

[Tomcat64]

Interesting conversation around semantics for a Friday

I do like Stokesy's mileage vs years analogy but to my mind it should be the other way around... it's the mileage that produces the wear n tear and the years that generate the weathering.

For example if you leave a new car on the drive for a few years then it'd have very few miles on the clock and accordingly very little wear & tear, but potentially significant weathering depending on the climate where you live.

As with many things it's a fuzzy area... if the above car was hit by a falling tree during a storm is that wear & tear or weathering?

I think where I'm heading is that wear & tear is generally caused by human intervention (either driving it through rough terrain or throwing bullets at it) whereas weathering is caused by the environment.

As Cor mentioned earlier, the distinction doesn't really matter as long we're enjoying the process

[Stokesy44]

Fair point.

I just wanted to get the Raiders gag in there!

[aur0ra145]

Weathering is more a feeling to me. Vibes based, as the kids say now days. I use the term weathering meaning putting effects to a model that is something less than the brochure of said subject being discussed (think defense contractor selling you the new best thing.) In my mind "weathering" is just putting effects to a model. Which includes wear and tear.

I model to represent a figure for a point in time, of its career, of how I think it would appear. Off the assembly line, just back from a sortie, or 10 months on a carrier with the only paint being applied to stop corrosion (which doesn't always match the paint it was originally painted in.) In the end, if the modeller is happy with their work. Then I'm happy. Chasing what a judge would want at a competition is a fool errand. An award shouldn't validate your time having fun doing a hobby.

I was at IPMS Nationals this last year and one of the thing brought up was the judges lack of knowledge for the classes they were judging. Which, I get it. I modelled the best left handed pencil to ever be produced from a small manufacturer in Antarctica that doesn't want to be named. But, I KNOW that I did the best ever. Reward me. And they don't. Because you submitted a straw from Wendy's.

I won't lie. I like getting accolades from the models I have built. Though, when i started thinking "this isn't good enough for competition" The hobby died a little bit inside. You should only hobby for you. Using competitions as a metric to determine if you're happy is bonkers.

[cor]

I always thought you had to be related to the judge to get a prize.,

[NoelSmith]

This thread is drifting on to IPMS Nationals judge knocking unfortunately. Those folk give a lot of their free time to do that task, and like all of us cannot know everything.

Can we stick to the Weathering / Wear and Tear discussion ?

[Stokesy44]

This thread is drifting on to IPMS Nationals judge knocking unfortunately. Those folk give a lot of their free time to do that task, and like all of us cannot know everything.

Can we stick to the Weathering / Wear and Tear discussion ?

Fair point mate. I'm sure they were mentioned in jest but yes, lets stay on topic. I'm still working out if my Raiders metaphor is back to front or not. I've got Tomcat64 to thank for that! Some people are far too clever!

Its such a big subject, especially when you take in all the layers some people use on their kits to add realism after the primer goes down. I think it would be a real head scratcher if we looked at every layer in the process and asked if that was weathering or wear and tear.

You've really got me thinking now. The little grey cells are pinging away. Makes me realise how much I enjoy this hobby and its people