SciFi Blast Marks

myersjessee · Post by **myersjessee** » Wed May 21, 2014 8:17 am

Looking for some tricks from folks on how they do blast marks. I've tried charcoal, pigments, oils, and airbrush but I haven't found something I love in terms of recreating the best looks. It might just be practice, but I was wondering what tricks people have. I particularly would love to recreate the effect some folks use where the center of the scorch mark isn't darkened in. I've tried masking off and airbrushing, but it's never quite as smooth a transition as I'd like. Any tips of the trade?

USSARCADIA · Post by **USSARCADIA** » Wed May 21, 2014 8:54 am

I did the blast marks on my Viper by drybrushing paint on in black, then a little grey inside the black and followed up with some black pastel chalk:

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/ ... kit_29.htm

I was trying to replicate what was some of the CGI pics. I'd suggest trying it out on some scrap first though.

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Wed May 21, 2014 1:22 pm

Depends on the scorch.

In the end, practice is what does it. And layers.

TurkeyVolumeGuessingMan · Thu May 22, 2014 8:10 am

Maybe I suck and nobody has the guts to tell me, but people on here liked my Galaga starfighter model I finished back in December:
http://stevethefish.net/life/models/031galaga.htm
I am in no way as experienced as many people on here are, but I think it turned out fairly nice.

What I did for the blast point was carve a bit into it with an X-Acto knife for the center and scratched some radii. I then just hand-painted Testors silver into the blast mark and the surrounding area. What came next was chalk weathering, which took care of the gradation by itself, I think. I applied it in streaks from the center of the blast point.
http://stevethefish.net/life/models/galaga/galaga12.JPG

The same could be achieved from the Tamiya weathering kits.

myersjessee · Post by **myersjessee** » Thu May 22, 2014 4:00 pm

Thanks for the ideas and pics. Most appreciated!

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 9:47 am

I know this is a few months old but I saw this a few weeks ago. Use Snap-N-Pops! Those little twisted pieces of paper with the little rocks inside. Loved these as a kid. Tape the tale to you your model and then use your finger, snap a rubber band on it, etc to pop it. It will leave a nice little blast mark you can then dullcoat over.

dizzyfugu · Post by **dizzyfugu** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 9:58 am

USSARCADIA wrote:I did the blast marks on my Viper by drybrushing paint on in black, then a little grey inside the black and followed up with some black pastel chalk:

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/contest/ ... kit_29.htm

I was trying to replicate what was some of the CGI pics. I'd suggest trying it out on some scrap first though.

I'd recommend that, too, but would also encourage some physical "dents" - even a shallow ditch (e .g. applied with a heated screwdriver) will add some drama. I also received good results with a simple lighter held close to the surface and into the right direction, so that the (already painted) styrene reacts just a little to the heat - a good basis for dry-brushing with black, some gray and maybe a hint of silver.

Rubbing scorched areas with grinded, soft graphite also creates nice results, and adds a metalllic shine to the hit area.

widget · Post by **widget** » Tue Jul 29, 2014 10:57 pm

2nd the snap pops. STRY shooting/blowing them through a straw also.

Nebdcbdepo · Post by **Nebdcbdepo** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 2:54 pm

Thank you for posting this information!)

gsb5w · Post by **gsb5w** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 10:50 pm

robiwon wrote:I know this is a few months old but I saw this a few weeks ago. Use Snap-N-Pops! Those little twisted pieces of paper with the little rocks inside. Loved these as a kid. Tape the tale to you your model and then use your finger, snap a rubber band on it, etc to pop it. It will leave a nice little blast mark you can then dullcoat over.

I remember using snap n pops on my snow speeder when I was a teenager. My technique was to throw the snap n pops real hard at the model or twist them with my fingers while extremely close to the surface of the model. I can remember having so much fun "Weathering" my model this way.

Thanks for the memories.

srspicer · Post by **srspicer** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 3:34 pm

What you have in the linked images looks good actually, IMHO.

I do see some seem lines that should have been filled, and maybe more bare metal exposed at the initial blast point.

I think the finished model looks really nice.

Natsu-Rokka · Post by **Natsu-Rokka** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 3:47 pm

For heavy blaster damage, I have used fine wire scrunched up into a ball, heated while holding with tweezers, then pushed onto the surface of the model. By varying the contact area, you can replicate small spall/spatter damage around the primary point of impact. You could use a Dremel tool to do the work, but the scrunched wire makes better small, irregular dimples. Plus the heat causes the edges to swell a little, replicating localized melting of the hull.

Laughing Coffin · Post by **Laughing Coffin** » Thu Apr 28, 2016 3:35 pm

For impacts/burns [that did not penetrate the armour in question], I typically cut the head off of a paper match, then set in on the surface of my finished piece and light it. works like a charm. the longer you leave it to smolder on the plastic the more texture you'll end up with at the actual center of the scorch.

you can modify the size/shape of the impact burn by doing the same to the match-head in question.

This technique works VERY well with Games Workshop minis and paints, I've never tried it on anything else though.

RedHeadKevin · Post by **RedHeadKevin** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 12:37 pm

A recommendation I can make is to use an airbrush. When you do, use a kind of paint that you can clean off. For example, on a Viper I did, I had a Future clear coat, and then I used enamels for the black scorch marks. If I felt that it was too heavy, or in a bad place, I could wipe it off with some thinner. Then I wiped a small clear part in the middle of the scorch mark, to let the base coat show through, and used a silver pencil in the middle of that. I think they came out pretty good.

robiwon · Post by **robiwon** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 1:15 pm

For this blast mark on my Bandai Falcon I made a few random black spots with black acrylic paint. I then outlined the black spots with light grey paint. Then in a few spots I took the sharp corner of a white pastel chalk stick and made some marks. Finally I used a dark grey pastel powder for the "overspray". There is no gouge in the plastic, it's completely smooth.

http://i65.tinypic.com/2ag2rtf.jpg

Rocketeer · Post by **Rocketeer** » Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:20 pm

I've used Tamiya Weathering Powders (black, brown, and white) to make blast marks. I used the little foam applicator Tamiya supplies. Worked great.