Brickface

[Operator5]

I am working on painting 2 of the Old Glory gangster buildings. I wanted to work on my technique for brickface and last night, I decided to give it a shot.



I wanted a wall that has obviously seen some wear and tear, but I didn't have the time to do a ton of painting. This is a quick and dirty method for getting it done that I read on a model train website.

The wall is primed black. Then, the brickface color is drybrushed on in multiple coats. Some bricks are then picked out with a slightly different shade of the brick color. Then, after the paint is dry, the whole thing is given a thin coat of sealer. When this is dry, you take some spackle and, with your finger, spread it all over the bricks. Do it small patches because you want to wipe it off before it dries. The effect is to push the spackle between the bricks but wipe it off the brick surface. This will simulate the mortar without having to paint it in. Finally, spray a little black ink or black wash onto it. Wipe this down the side of the building. It will turn some of the spackle darker and leave some a bit lighter.

The whole thing takes about 15 minutes.

[Hammers]

Effective, efficient and good looking. I find, if I may be so bold, that picking out random bricks in black or sienna improves authenticity even further.

[Operator5]

I agree with you Hammers. At 11:30 at night, though, fine motor skills start to wane for me. 

I will add the required colors later today.

[gamer Mac]

That works really well. Looks Cracking
I take it the brick work would need to be really heavily embossed for this method to work properly?

[Operator5]

Not necessarily, though you would have to play with your spackle medium to find out if you need to thin it out for it to work on less embossed.

[Aaron]

Nice! Thanks for sharing. I'd bet tinted gesso would work as well.

[Operator5]

Tinted Gesso could work, my concern with it is that it is supposed to adhere to surfaces and, at least mine, dries quickly.

[Thunderchicken]

That look great! What takes you 10 mins would probably take me half a day! 

[Smokeyrone]

Great system.   Here is a classic and PERFECT way to put  signs, ads, and stuff directly on the plastic sheet, that makes it look like it was painted directly on the brick/stone walls.

Take your printed out paper (a cut out pic, word from a magazine is MUCH preferred to printed copy paper) of your picture, sign, whatever.

On a glass or hard, smooth surface, place picture face down, then, carefully sand the backside with fine sandpaper.  Until you have an even, ultrathin paper (not holes or tears, but a printout that light shines through, like rice paper thin.

brush the brick surface area with water/PVA and a touch of flat acrylic just to give the glue water a flat sheen, and press the picture onto the brickwork.  Using a flat tool as a scraper/flattener, and your brush, press and flatten and wet the paper till it saturates and molds into the contour of the brick pattern thouroghly.

Let dry, and you can lightly dry brush (with no paint, just stiff brush) the surface, and get as worn a painted mural as you want on your wall.

(Model railroaders use coca cola ads from magazines, ads for things, etc.)

It looks GREAT! 

[Smokeyrone]

My local hobby shop has that type of  nice brick styrene sheets So(thick and thin), and Spanish Tile roofing sheets as well.


but my old hobby shop down south had  3/16"  foam brick and stonework sheets.  Detailed, and strong enough to make a building, with just a few corner braces.    They were German manufacture.  You had to prime them with acrylic paint, before applying washes, or it would just soak in, but they served a great niche in addition to the styrene sheet.   

Anyhoo, the OP's system works for that material as well.