Read n' Reviewed:The Weathering Magazine ISSUE 17 "WASHES, FILTERS & OILS"

With the new "Oil Brusher" series coming out in a big push from AMMO what better way to show them off than in your own magazine? We look at the latest edition of "The Weathering Magazine" and see if there is more to it than that...

Read n' Reviewed:
The Weathering Magazine ISSUE 17 "WASHES, FILTERS & OILS"Now in 8 languages: English, Spanish, French, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian
Reference# AMIG4516
64 pages
Format: Softcover, A4 size
Price 8€
Product Link

Recently AMMO by Mig Jimenez brand has released a brand new system of using and applying oil paints. The system they have devised looks a little like an eyelash brush applicator and vessel with oil paints inside. This system is said to improve the application of the oil paint and keep excess oil inside the container and it is called the "Oilbrusher." This latest issue of "The Weathering Magazine" is focused on the application of oil paints, as well as washes and filters.

For those of you unfamilliar with this magazine, it is designed as a showcase of weathering and finishing techniques. The models are kind of secondary to some of the amazing model-in that is seen in thes pages and gee some of these are just top class. Just as good models as any other magazine out there, well shot, and fo rthe most part well written. there are some spelling errors here, but no less that what you might read in one of my articles, and TMN is not translated into eight languages as is this magazine!

The price of this magazine is 8 Euros. For that, there are sixty-four pages in this softcover magazine on very nice, thick, glossy paper. There are, however, more six advertisements in this magazine which is not excessive, and they are single pages places between articles so the flow is not interrupted. There are ten short (a little too short some of them) sections in this book.

The owner of the publishing hose, Mr Mig Jimminez is first up, he is featured a lot in this issue which is great from a modeller's perspective. His work is the reason many people buy into this brand, the image and it's products. The intro focusses on his work with washes and filters from many years ago and how he sees their use changing in that time to the present. Also an introduction on oils and his new Oilbrusher series is discussed.
In a focus on filters, we see several pages of neat practical walkthrough of the use, application and shades of filters that deepen, darken , lighten and enhance the look of your model. Which colours suit a particular scheme of vehicles is helpful, for example which colours suit desert sand, panzer grey, snow and other camo schemes is a great place for many people who are learning or those who are already using filters to be assured in their own technique.

We next see a twelve page learning session on using washes and oils, again from Mig. The little AMX-13/105 is seen in every step of undercoat, painting the darker shades, then lighter, then chipping and wearing down. We then see the uses of panel washes to highlight and age sections of the model before Mig uses oils, and specifically the new oilbrusher - to bring shadow, dirt and grime and heavy use, as well as light and highlights to the model.

Along with the way the modeller uses the oil dot technique to render thier vehicles, this section is a wonderful essay in elearning these techiniques here, in the largest part of the magazine, I do wish all of the articles spent so much space and time on thier subject as this is a great walk through in SBS (step by step) fashion.

We next see a wonderful Hobbyboss AAvp-7a1 painted and weathered by Maxi Fernándes. His article is called "Outside the Loft," and it shows this amphibious vehicle from the camo paint onwards. Again, is is a SBS build showing how to run this pristine vehicle into something of a well travelled sea-worn and dirty old AFV that anyone would be very proud of.

Next, the boss is back with his tutorial of Washes, Filters and Streaked grime effects, using a WWII era japanese fighter as the subject. These are very popular with modellers who like to show somthing very worn in extreme. Streaking grime, panel washes and varied panels and prcise washes break up the monotone appearance of these monocrhome coloured fighters very nicely. The end product is small is scale but the detail is very nice.

AMMO staffer Sergiusz Pęczek is next with the first of two of his articles in this issue, this one featuring a German Sd.Kfz.251 half-track and how he uses oil highlights & combined grime effects to make this otherwise brightly coloured vehicle look like it has been worn and beaten by constant and stressful use. Only two pages, but an interesting article nonetheless.

Next up, we see the ever popular Millenium Falcon in small scale from Konrad Dzik. He only has three pages but shows off to good effect how to wash and grime up his subject in a series of SBS shots and descriptions. It's good to see a space vehicle in amongst this lot of mostly military vehicles and how to treat such a different subject in a familiar way.

The Jagdpanzer 38t (hetzer) and 8-RAD in small scale are next from Pat Johnston. To give credit where it is due I noticed that Pat uses Windsor & Newton Oils and Humbrol enamels on his model. Pat shows us over four pages how to use these oils to render shapes and light onto these otherwise dark looking subjects. He makes them come alive with his obvious (old school) talent.

We get on board the rails next with Graziano Ghetti. He uses AMMO products to transform a working railroad model into something a lot more then envisaged by the makers. This little model (- or is it die-cast i am not sure?) is transformed into something we might see on the side of a railway track, either in disrepair or heavy use. He shows us over five pages of SBS and reference of the real thing - of which this model really looks close to - in his effective article.

Acrylics on wash duty is last, with the second story from Sergiusz Pęczek , this time on modulation using thinned acrykics and transparitor. A three-page article that is a good learning tool, although like a lot of others in the later parts of this issue, it could do with more exposure in pages and space.

That is it for this issue - I did like it a lot, and it helped my understanding of oils, washes and filters. There is more I would like to see, however.

I say this with all of the magazines that are published by paint making companies. It is that they need to broaden their materials base that they use in these magazines to include other brands. I suppose you know what you are buying when you walk in the door with these. They would broaden their audience and the inclusion of model construction in at least a brief few steps would not go out of place also.

However, this is not the reason why this magazine was conceived - and I understand this. If you look at this as a "How-To" book on using Mig's AMMO brand products, then there really isn't anything better than being walked through the processes than by the man himself, featured prominently in the pages of this mag.

The tutorials are very good and I learned a bit from this issue, and that is why I would buy this magazine - job done then hey? In this issue were some beautiful models that were well shot, and stories sharp but to the point. Issue #15 does what it says on the tin, it informs you of the ways to wash, use filters and to use oils on your models and it does it in a very pretty, but controlled fashion.

Adam Norenberg

This magazine is available right now from the Ammo Website