Question using dry pigments for shading and detailing

[whb64]

I agree they do seem pretty easy to work with, and faster than masking all the K'Tinga panels and spraying them. Plus if you don't like the color combination, it seems a lot easier to remove and try something else, whereas using paint isn't that easy. The Tamiya sets I have look more like a paste and I am assuming oil based? Anyway they don't wipe off as easy. Right now I just have some pastel 'chalks' and colored pencils I made into powder with the sandpaper method. It seems to work but I don't like the colors I have available. Before I made an online order I just wanted to check with you guys here. Sounds like this is a valid way to go

 

[whb64]

I just got my PanPastels from Dick Blick. OMG thank you guys for recommending them! They are SOOOO much better then trying to make powder rubs out of pastel chalks! And super easy to use- much easier than masking and spraying!

One more question... what do you guys used to seal them with after you're done? Just a flat/matte clear?

 

[korben44]

I just got my PanPastels from Dick Blick. OMG thank you guys for recommending them! They are SOOOO much better then trying to make powder rubs out of pastel chalks! And super easy to use- much easier than masking and spraying!

One more question... what do you guys used to seal them with after you're done? Just a flat/matte clear?

That sounds like a good sealer to me.

 

[Captain Dunsel]

I just got my PanPastels from Dick Blick. OMG thank you guys for recommending them! They are SOOOO much better then trying to make powder rubs out of pastel chalks! And super easy to use- much easier than masking and spraying!

One more question... what do you guys used to seal them with after you're done? Just a flat/matte clear?

Yep, exactly that.

 

[GMan68]

Pan Pastels appear to have been around for a number of years and used very effectively by the model train crowd, yielding very realistic results quickly. Oddly seems to be hardly anyone in other modelling disciplines using them, yet they seem superior and easier to use. Why is that? Cost? Conspiracy? Blind stupidity?
I should mention I have not heard of these until this past week, so I guess I’m in that later category!

 

[Jedi Dade]

I've used pastel chalk pretty successfully - but I found that using the oil pastels were not a good move...

Jedi Dade

 

[korben44]

Pan Pastels appear to have been around for a number of years and used very effectively by the model train crowd, yielding very realistic results quickly. Oddly seems to be hardly anyone in other modelling disciplines using them, yet they seem superior and easier to use. Why is that? Cost? Conspiracy? Blind stupidity?
I should mention I have not heard of these until this past week, so I guess I’m in that later category!

They are pretty expensive. I bought acrylic pastels from Hobby Lobby... The Master's Touch premium ones for 50% off and just converted them into a powder. They work very well. I've been using them on my PG Falcon.

 

[Analyzer]

I haven't tried out PanPastels yet since I thought they were basically the same as grinding down your own pastels. I had tried the Vallejo powders and those were really no different, so I assumed the PanPastels were the same

 

[korben44]

I haven't tried out PanPastels yet since I thought they were basically the same as grinding down your own pastels. I had tried the Vallejo powders and those were really no different, so I assumed the PanPastels were the same

That's exactly why I went the way I did. I'd much rather put that money towards a kit or some good quality paints. It just takes a little bit of time to grind the pastel sticks down into a powder. I ended up with 24 different colors for $10, plus the $3 for the containers. Not a bad deal, considering the PanPastels are around $36 for maybe 6 different colors...

 

[whb64]

That's exactly why I went the way I did. I'd much rather put that money towards a kit or some good quality paints. It just takes a little bit of time to grind the pastel sticks down into a powder. I ended up with 24 different colors for $10, plus the $3 for the containers. Not a bad deal, considering the PanPastels are around $36 for maybe 6 different colors...

I too was grinding down and making power out of pastel chalks, and it does work, but I have to say not as nice and easy as using these. With the pastel chalk, at least for me, it takes much more layers to build up the color to the same as one layer of the PanPastel. Maybe I'm just using really crappy pastel chalks though. IDK... at $5 for one of these I personally would rather go this route than pay more for better pastel chalks and still have to make them into powder. I can see this stuff going a long way too. Oh BTW, I paid $48 for 8 different colors and that included shipping and tax. So $6 a tin each (including shipping and tax). Not bad in my opinion.

I'm really surprised that with all the colors available that people haven't been using these to do the different panels on Falcon builds. You can build it up to a full color, or leave it thin and weathered looking. I have 4 or 5 of those big Hasbro Falcons, I think I'll use one to play around with and practice on. Worse case is I don't like it, so I just wipe it off and go with paint... right?

 

[whb64]

Another thought korben... yeah I could have spent that $48 on another kit or towards another kit, but I look at this like my other paints and things like LEDs and stuff I buy. I use them on lots of different kits, so I just look at it as part of my building supply expenses in general not per kit.

They have red oxides, yellow chromate, all kinds of colors that like I said... would be perfect for a Falcon

 

[korben44]

It definitely depends on the quality of the pastels you buy. The cheaper you go, the less quality you get. What I've used so far has worked rather well. Since I'm not looking to layer too much with pastels, these work beautifully. Especially when it comes to making my rust elements more realistic. I'll take better pictures when I get home later.

 

[korben44]

Another thought korben... yeah I could have spent that $48 on another kit or towards another kit, but I look at this like my other paints and things like LEDs and stuff I buy. I use them on lots of different kits, so I just look at it as part of my building supply expenses in general not per kit.

They have red oxides, yellow chromate, all kinds of colors that like I said... would be perfect for a Falcon

Oh, definitely... I have accumulated so much 'stuff' over the years for model making...lol... Don't get me wrong, I may end up buying some to see how they compare to what I've made. The one thing about them is convenience... With my artistic background, I like making my own colors with paints, washes, etc. The modeling market has a huge markup on washes and custom made colors, etc.. I even make my own acrylic paint thinner because it is so much more cost effective.

Plus, I love figuring out how things are made...

 

[whb64]

The pastel chalks I tried are Daler/Rowney soft pastels. I think I paid $5 for a pack of 12 colors. I'd say I'll never have a use for half the colors. I've been using 80grit sand paper to turn them into powder. Like I said, it does work but I do like the Pan Pastels better. I haven't tried wiping them off yet to see how easy it will be if I don't like something. It is making this 537 scale BOP/K'Tinga hybrid go a lot faster since I don't have to do all that masking!

 

[korben44]

Yeah, at that scale, it would be much easier than masking. You'll have to post your results!

 

[whb64]

Pan Pastels appear to have been around for a number of years and used very effectively by the model train crowd, yielding very realistic results quickly. Oddly seems to be hardly anyone in other modelling disciplines using them, yet they seem superior and easier to use. Why is that? Cost? Conspiracy? Blind stupidity?
I should mention I have not heard of these until this past week, so I guess I’m in that later category!

Me too... I never heard of them until they were mentioned on this thread.

I probably did see them when I was looking at various powders on Dick Blick, which is where I bought these. I really like that they have various tones of neutral gray and different oxide colors. I hope these give me the look I want because they are really fun to work with compared to masking, spraying, remasking for the next color and so on...

 

[GMan68]

I see modeltrainstuff.com has the weathering sets for 30 bucks USD. Seven colors means $4.30 each roughly, pretty good deal I reckon. I’m travelling to the US in a week and am gonna go to Blicks and buy some. Bit more expensive there but shipping will be zero so works out the same as modeltrainstuff. They are double the price here in New Zealand for no good reason (other than someone milking their profit margins!).
The Panpastels are super concentrated pigments with very ltitle binder and low dust. I used some of my ground down pastels last night, that I made a while back, and there was a pastel haze in the room afterwards! Well, not quite, but they were pretty dusty I thought. Plus the range of colour isn’t the same. The Panpastel tonal colours within a colour set are impressive and will allow for very subtle blends, I expect.

 

[korben44]

Interestingly, pan pastels is actually a form of pastels... So they were clever in naming their company, PanPastels. The different types of pastels starts with soft, then pan, and then hard pastels... Of course, there is now oil pastels, as well.

Learning control with a ground soft pastel is definitely something that takes a little practice, but the results are fantastic... Here's some of what I'm doing with the rust on the bottom of my Falcon:

 

[GMan68]

Ooh thats purdy!

 

[jake88]

I prefer true “powders” for basic weathering, such as those made by “PanPastel” vs. the Tamiya kits. The “PanPastels” go on lightly and can be varied in their strength through the layering process. The Tamiyas are laid on in a way that most closely resembles women’s make-up kits and tends to be a bit thicker and less subtle looking. I use them both, but the Tamiyas seem to be more suitable for “streaking” effects and acute battle damage, in my experience, than subtle weathering on a larger scale.

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Here is a model that is weathered entirely with various “PanPastels”:

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I use the PanPastels also and they truly are excellent!