Review: “Static Model Manual Volume 7 Painting Models” (Hang on - help is on the way)

I have a hankering there are a lot of modellers out there who need help!  – Help with painting and finishing their model kits that is! Today we review a book that just might help get you over this need for assistance you might feel – hey we might learn something as well. Let’s have a look at “Static Model Manual Volume - 7 Painting Models “….

Static Model Manual Volume 7 - Painting Models

Auriga Publishing international

Duel English/Italian Languages

80 pages

Full colour photographs throughout

€ 22.90 + P&P Directly at this link

...Ohhh I really needed help… So I gladly took the plunge when we saw this book and “not that I need any help” I got straight into the pages.

This isn’t a story per-se. It is a whole bunch of snippets on each subject of painting a model. Sometimes a few pages and sometimes only half a page is needed.  The text is in dual Italian and English languages and the book is a softcover pictorial type in a landscape format of A4 size.

All the pictures are very well framed and suit the situation pretty well. There are an abundance of them so you really aren’t stuck for reference of what it in the text. Actually the pictures are half of the driving force here. Illustrating the story and the text being the other half of the knowledge to be gleaned.

After the shortest of introductions we get straight into the 101 tips. Firstly the book discusses the colour theory. Light, hue and saturation help describe the science of colours along with the use of colour wheels and the effect on the type of light and paint that is being used and how it effects what you see. There are some nice tips on how some of the most famous of modellers get their desks lit.

The books go on to show different types of painting processes. Dappling of colours on a monochrome surface, colour modulation, pre and post-shading, using blacks and whites as the primary paint colours and then shading that and another I didn’t have any knowledge of before but I find quite interesting called colour desaturation. Not only do the authors show you in a series of pictures but they step by step talk you through these so you can gather a basic understanding of the subject, this - along with little tips to help you out as well. Some very handy dry brushing tips as well as masking and making a realistic camouflage are discussed before we go into the next large section on Natural Metal Finishes.

This is a baffling subject to a lot of people and this section on applying a natural metal finish (NMF) to your model is greatly appreciated. Firstly we have a tutorial on using Alclad II on a lovely little Lightning which includes just how NOT to treat this paint which is a help. Other metallic such as the “Princes August” line which I have never heard of but seems to come out great as does Agama Metal Paste which can be applied by hand or by airbrush when diluted with thinner seen in the book on a very tidy looking Battlestar Galactica.

Using Oil paints with their opaque qualities are talked about over several pages and you are shown how to add lightness and dark shades to your model as well as lightening and darkening panels to make them “pop” on your kit. The unusual method of using filters are discussed and shown here as well. IT was a bit of a mystery to me before I read this.

Pigments are usually the last step with modelling nowadays – and they are the last but not the least in this book. From making your own pigments to using the brands we all know in different ways. We discuss bulking up the powders to make thicker dirt and mud and a flat light mud like water stains as well. A great way to make pigments is talked about right at the end of the book.

This book is perfect pick up/put down reading, and at a compact 80 pages it can be read right through in a few hours. I have the feeling though that I will be back to read it next time I get stuck  on a topic or I need a little spur to get me going.

Reading this I believe I can actually get these results. The fact that many types of tools and consumables are used – several of which I hadn’t heard of before – is a great thing because having an open mind to modelling is what we all need to get better at it.

..Ohh and helpful books like this are great as well.

A great reference – non-partisan and all-encompassing in it’s approach and a great addition to the series.

Adam Norenberg

Thanks to Auriga Publishing international for sending us this book to read and review.