Artist Pastels vs Modeling Pigments/Powders

[Whiterook]

I came across Mike’s F4U Corsair build, where he mentioned the use of Walther’s Weathering Chalks (generally used in model railroading stock and structures) and I was wondering about those powders, as compared to the artist chalks I’ve used in the past… I used those in a wet solution (just mixed in water to make a kinda washy-sludge). I have wondered about hobby weathering chalks, first hearing of them from Nick and MIG pigments.

Pastels chalk were the old ways of creating weathering powders, from what I’ve read. You use them by sanding or shaving them to create the powder, then applying that onto the models; fixing it in place with a clear-coat/sealer of some kind. I found this nifty little writeup, after searching online for advice on the subject of artist pastels use…

This has pretty much gone the way of the 8-track tape, and white patent leather shoes/belts!

The major problem with both of these is the filler material that is mixed in with the pigment...this filler can cause problems during application, and how it wears/appears over time. One of the most noticeable thing with "chalks" is their pale/lackluster appearance when applied....and when people sealed them, much of the color would disappear...this was because of the filler.)

Now what we see on the market, are weathering pigments and/or powders....most frequently when perusing magazines and the web the differentiation/terminology is often a case of semantics...people use whichever term they know/are comfy with.....but as I see it, if you really want to break it down, "pigments" to me tend to be more pure, of higher quality and finer, than "powders" which have more additives in them and are not ground as fine. (in their purest form pigments are basically the raw color product that is added to paints and dyes).

For example of my above definition, I would call most of them pigments..except for the Dr. Bens, which I would term "powder, because they are not nearly as strong/defined/rich/true when applied (they can feel "chalky" and they seem to have a good bit of "filler" mixed in)....this does not mean that they don't have certain instances where I may want to use them....but it is rare or very specific.

Bragdon's (I only use 8 colors from them, but use them frequently) are kind of an odd item...they apparently have a "micro-adhesive" mixed in to make them hold/stay, and they also have better color rendition than Dr. Bens.....BUT.....a couple of their colors have what I consider a big problem with their mix; I don't know what it is that they do to "create" the color, but in the 'Dust Bowl Gray' color for instance, there are frequently small amounts, and even larger blobs, of yellow pigment...and should you happen to get one of these on the model, it can ruin your day. Bragdon's also don't necessarily work as well with the turpentine method of blending moving pigments around....as do for instance the MIG, AK and CMK pigments.

Pigments on the market today are all mixed to represent what the mfr. feels is a certain color..and named thusly...but note that this is often far from what you may consider to be a "light rust", or "brick dust"...and pigments with sim names /intent will vary wildly between mfrs. ; so if you have a color/look in mind, I recommend you look at a physical bottle/sample, if you can, before purchasing.

To summarize, I would recommend you stay away from the chalks and pastels and work with the pigments. Yes, there is a financial and ease of availability benefit to chalks & pastels....and all the old luddite dyed in the wool model RR guys think they are the bees-knees, but I promise that once you start working with pigments you will definitely notice the difference and never go back. I am still using pigments I bought 5 years ago..they are still 50% full....so my mileage on them has been great. I also do not use only one pigment for an effect...I generally mix/combine/layer a number of different pigments to get the look I want (IE. rust is not one color)....and I will often mix pigment colors to get a specific color/shade that I want.

The Pigments I use are from:
MIG-Productions
AK-Interactive
CMK
AGAMA
Bragdons
Dr. Bens

That all makes sense to me. What I’m getting out of this line of discussion is, I want to try some hobby powers/pigments… they just seem the quickest, easiest solution in my viewpoint.

[McCoy]

I've been using both over the years as I started out with pastel chalks for my very first build (M3 Stuart 'Honey') when I returned to the hobby 18 years ago. But it wasn't long after that that I tried dedicated pigments instead and the difference was night and day as you can use pigments in more ways as they're easier to work with. And the one major difference is the grain size with the dedicated pigments is much finer and gives you a better result. Just like the difference between Dollar Store oils compared to artist oils. You get what you're paying for, quality always triumfs cheap substitutes.

[Whiterook]

Sept 5, 2023 19:15:30 GMT -5 McCoy said:

I've been using both over the years as I started out with pastel chalks for my very first build (M3 Stuart 'Honey') when I returned to the hobby 18 years ago. But it wasn't long after that that I tried dedicated pigments instead and the difference was night and day as you can use pigments in more ways as they're easier to work with. And the one major difference is the grain size with the dedicated pigments is much finer and gives you a better result. Just like the difference between Dollar Store oils compared to artist oils. You get what you're paying for, quality always triumfs cheap substitutes.

I totally agree on everything you say… especially the ‘get what you pay for’ part! The only think I’ll use artist pastels for is a wash, though I’d long since moved away from that method, instead using Citadel washes, which are awesome.

[Geek44]

I've used both pastels and pigments but to be honest, I don't really like either very much. However I don't mind the pigments for track weathering on vehicles.