Double-Cloud Painting Method
by Bill Wolfe
What’s that…you’ve never heard of the double-cloud painting method Well… that’s because I just made it up!
There may be another name for it, but I’ve never heard it.
Before we can talk about the ‘double cloud’ method, we have to discuss the ‘cloud’ method. The ‘cloud’ method of painting models is where the model is base-coated a darker color of the vehicle color and then this vehicle color is feathered in a ‘cloud’ pattern. Like an idiot I didn’t take in progress photos of this model to demonstrate what I’m talking about. So I’m going to have to paint a “verbal picture” which I hope will help you to understand the cloud method.
The base coat (let’s say that this is one panel of the vehicle) is almost over taken with the ‘cloud’ pattern. The idea is to just let enough of the base coat show to give the impression of dark corners and shadows. Of course, the cloud pattern would not be as defined as this, the idea is to, sort of, fade the cloud paint into the base coat.
In the case of the ‘DOUBLE CLOUD’ pattern, we just carry this idea one step further. This time we base coat with a dark color, cloud paint with vehicle color, and cloud paint an even smaller area with a still lighter shade of the vehicle color. The effect is a more pronounced shadow and highlight. Take note that the final color is not white, but a lighter shade of gray.
Feathering in the colors in this way will produce a model with far greater depth that a simple paint, wash, drybrush, method. When washes and drybrushing are added to this method, the results are very nice indeed!
You can clearly see the examples of this method in the photos. While it looks like just two colors were used the highlight color is actually the third color in the ‘double cloud’ method. The second color just helps to blend the dark and light paints.
Here you can see how a wash and drybrushing help to tie it all together giving the impression of light and dark that a regular three step paint job just can’t do. The subject of this project is Tamiya’s 6X4 KRUPP PROTZE. KIT NO. 35104.
Added details help make this supply truck come alive. These items have to be painted, washed and drybrushed as well. The tools were airbrushed the final ‘cloud’ color while still on the sprues, drybrushed, and then the handles and tool heads were painted. This helped to give the impression that the brackets which hold them were part of the truck not part of the tool!
Some of the cargo came with the kit, other stuff came from the junk box .
Here’s a list of paints that were used
1) base color- humbrol 33 matte black
2) 1st cloud color- humbrol 67 tank gray
3) 2nd cloud color- humbrol 67 tank gray plus 22 matte white
The wash was a mixture of black india ink and alcohol. The vehicle was drybrushed with Humbrol 72 khaki drill. The wooden side boards received a base coat of testors ‘wood’ paint then were washed with raw umber oils and that good old india ink wash and drybrushed with humbrol khaki drill and then a lighted shade of khaki drill. (khaki drill + white)
Why not give this ‘double cloud’ pattern a try on your next model?
Photos by Bill Wolfe