Achieving depth of colour on the roof

I spent half the day shingling after a few hours in the week.

Finally it was done.

There’s a few sections where shingling up the dormers made the slates go out of sync. I ended up putting some half shingles here which I hadn’t needed on the half of the roof. Hopefully it won’t show when painted up.  Some of the ridge tiles have lifted a bit.  We’ll see if it settles down.

It is common, and Bob VG recommends, to colour the shingles with felt tip pens.

I used a grey shade first.

Then I used two brown shades.

I then used a much darker brown shade.

I wasn’t happy with the result. The colour lacks the depth of reality. So I thought I would try a few coats of enamel washes to unify the colour and tie everything together

I masked the windows and then sprayed the roof with a liberal coat of Dullcote.

I used a Mig Neutral wash first. You can see it on the right of the roof.

It’s a step in the right direction when you compare the depth it gives but I still wasn’t happy.

Each individual slate has a small bit of pale grey where it goes under the slates above. I really should have coloured the slates before laying them.

I tried a black wash to see if that would help. The wash creeps under the tiles but is so thin that it doesn’t sit there.

I’m waiting for it to dry and then I’ll try an acrylic wash. The pigments are bigger so may stay in the cracks better.

I’ve been thinking about the BR challenge which I’m building this for. It would normally take me 6 months to do a diorama like this and the challenge takes 3 months. I knew when I started that it would be close but with Christmas I was hopeful. It’s now January and I know that with the Half Year BOD meeting and other commitments that it’s unlikely I will finish by the deadline.

After last year, when I was challenged to finish stuff for my MMR and wound up modelling when I really didn’t want to, I burnt out and gave up modelling for 8 months. I’m therefore very keen that I just pootle on modelling as and when I enjoy it.

I am someone who needs deadlines to be motivated but if my hobby becomes too driven, it becomes a chore rather than a joy. I model for fun not work. I love being engrossed in something that uses completely different skills and thought processes to my day job.

That’s a long winded way of saying that this may not be finished by 1st March but it will get done. Then I can get on with a bit of TLC on my layout and, of course, Optimus Prime!