Bloomfield resin cannon. ( Preporation if any?)

[DaveBaxt]

I have 26 bloomfield cannon 1/64 supplied by Vanguard and are already black in colour and look quite realistic and great detail.  I am wondering if these require painting or perhaps a coat of matt varnish to protect the surface would be enough. I think these are made from resin and are produced on a 3 D printer but I could of course be incorrect. Please advise what others have done when using these cannon for their ships .Thank you. Best regards Dave. 

[AJohnson]

I always paint them Dave and Chris states they should be painted. 
I use Matt black enamel or Caldercraft “Dull metal” acrylic. Often them apply dry coats and washes to make then “look” a bit more metallic, but that is personal taste. (see my current Trial log if your interested in what I do. )

Sure others have their own ideas on painting realistic looking armament. 

Edited January 26, 2024 by AJohnson

[allanyed]

Even after curing, exposure to sunshine and other UV light sources may cause the resin to weaken over time. To prevent this, you can seal the cannon and stop the resin from further reacting with UV light photons by using paint or any other type of UV blocker.   I have used a matte clear with no problems.

Allan

[DaveBaxt]

Thank you Andrew. I will take a look at your cutter build log and see what it's all about. Are washes just diluted acrylic dull black? Thanks you as well Allan. I am not sure what matt clear I'd. Are we just talking about a matt varnish? Thank you for your time and patience.  Best regards Dave

[Blue Ensign]

Hi Dave,

 

Having washed the guns, I use Vallejo  surface primer followed by Matt black. I then use a dark brown weathering powder and buff off.

 

When I first worked with the 24 pounders on 'Indy' I found that without painting,  striations could be seen along the barrels.

 

B.E.

[Thukydides]

2 hours ago, DaveBaxt said:

Thank you Andrew. I will take a look at your cutter build log and see what it's all about. Are washes just diluted acrylic dull black? Thanks you as well Allan. I am not sure what matt clear I'd. Are we just talking about a matt varnish? Thank you for your time and patience.  Best regards Dave

A wash is diluted paint which has a few other additives in it to help it flow into recesses better. So it collects at the edges giving it definition. A number of brands including vallejo, army painter and games workshop all produce washes in various colours.

 

You should definitely prime them black (make sure you wash them with warm soapy water and an old tooth brush first to get rid of any oils). Then there are a lot of options afterwards. You could leave them as is or if you want them to look a bit nicer you could look into weathering powder as BE suggested.

 

If you want to put a bit more effort in, using a combination of dry brushing and washes can get you a really nice finish. I did not bother varnishing after I painted mine as I liked the sheen I had and the acrylic paint should be fine.

 

Enamel paint is another type of paint which some find produces nice results, but it is a bit more difficult to handle than acrylic.

Edited January 26, 2024 by Thukydides

[DaveBaxt]

Thank you everyone for some great answers. As this is the first time i have actually painted my cannon and have always used brass black on brass cannons in the past, I think I will probably go down the primer and matt black and will give my air brush a run out. I have some vallejo black primer which I will use first and I might then do a test piece using Caldercrafts iron black and see what the results are before trying anything else. I have often thought about trying  some weathering products, but as yet have not taken the plunge. Perhaps this is the time. Once again I would like to thank everyone who has taken part in this discussion and helped me out. Best regards Dave

[Lieste]

Iron guns are not bare metal, they are painted with a paint combining carbon black and an anti-corrosion compound. They should look like oil paint, rather than 'metallic'. Same as all the other ironwork. Brass could either be painted, or would be kept 'clear' and polished. The patina of heavily oxidised copper is appropriate only for waterline and below elements (and concentrated between wind and water), or for 'long abandoned' wreck or museum pieces.

While 'chips and rust' may look fancy, they go against the principles of keeping a ship's crew busy and the vessel in good condition - though Ordnance board dictated the schedule and materials for maintenance so *some*, light damages to the paint might be acceptable. Heavy wear would be made good, but the schedule of maintenance would likely keep ordnance in good condition aside from specific injury. The appearance of museum pieces (even those employed as working guns) may not be up to the standards expected of active ordnance (most I have seen have significant losses of material from rust, components missing or damaged on carriages and ordnance, and often things like elevation screws are missing even from 'prestige' ordnance like the Victory carronades.

[glbarlow]

We all have our methods. Mine for resin cannon after removing any excess material is to wash in soapy water and rinse. Once dry I paint with Admiralty Paints Ironwork Black. I finish with Doc O’Briens weathering powders Rusty Brown using a four brush application. Not sure why but this color combination with the black generates a nice gun metal gray finish. I’ve detailed this in my Cheerful and Winchelsea build logs. 
 

All methods work, it’s just choosing one that works for you. 

[DaveBaxt]

13 hours ago, Lieste said:

Iron guns are not bare metal, they are painted with a paint combining carbon black and an anti-corrosion compound. They should look like oil paint, rather than 'metallic'. Same as all the other ironwork. Brass could either be painted, or would be kept 'clear' and polished. The patina of heavily oxidised copper is appropriate only for waterline and below elements (and concentrated between wind and water), or for 'long abandoned' wreck or museum pieces.

While 'chips and rust' may look fancy, they go against the principles of keeping a ship's crew busy and the vessel in good condition - though Ordnance board dictated the schedule and materials for maintenance so *some*, light damages to the paint might be acceptable. Heavy wear would be made good, but the schedule of maintenance would likely keep ordnance in good condition aside from specific injury. The appearance of museum pieces (even those employed as working guns) may not be up to the standards expected of active ordnance (most I have seen have significant losses of material from rust, components missing or damaged on carriages and ordnance, and often things like elevation screws are missing even from 'prestige' ordnance like the Victory carronades.

Thank you for your in depth answer and for clearing up some myths and give a good insight into what life would be like on those ships in days long gone.A far cry I feel from ships of today unless recently had a spell in dry dock. Best regards Dave

[Lieste]

That said paint was mixed by hand, so it is quite appropriate to have variation per 'piece' of work, around a common theme.

[thibaultron]

A story I heard, about 50 years ago. I worked in a defense industry, designing military radars.

 

Gray is a very difficult color to mix consistently between batches, even commercially, Well a high ranking officer got a bug up his rear, and decided to check one type of equipment color as compared to the official paint chip he had.

 

Sure enough none to the field equipment matched, and he went into a tirade! He demanded all that type of equipment be repainted, to match the paint chips he handed out! He said he would be back in X amount of time, and check again. Dire consequences were promised!

 

Well the time came, and he returned. All but one of the equipment at the various locations failed, but one!

 

Afterwards, the other locations call the successful one and asked how he had managed to match the paint chip he was given. He told them he repainted his chip at the same time he repainted the equipment!

[allanyed]

Funniest story I have heard in a while,  excellent story, excellent idea.

[frank shurick]

Hi, I suggest a base coat white or grey or primer to the finish coat.

Model paint colors are transparent, even black. And, that undercoat gives you the nice

even final color that you desire.

 

Good Luck,

Frank