Weathering Pencils - AK Interactive - Review and Techniques!

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My cold is now (mostly) over, and I can now share with you what I had originally intended! Here I explore AK Interactive's Weathering Pencils as both a review and summary of the different techniques that one can use with Weathering Pencils. This is meant as a companion video to the real-time test in the previous video.
Full Disclosure: This is not a paid review or endorsement, however, AK Interactive did send me these products to test and share with you.
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You can also check out my Amazon affiliate links below with my product recommendations for tools and products that can help you no matter what your skill level in painting and weathering is. I do make a small commission off of these links if you follow them and choose to make a purchase:
Weathering Pencil Sets:
(These are the ones available via Amazon as of this video)
Deluxe Edition Box Set (all 37 pencils): amzn.to/2olwjPX
(This one is sold out at AK Interactive, but available at Amazon, and currently the only way to ensure you get the full set, as even some of the 5 pencil sets are sold out)
Boxes of 5
(Note, purchasing all 8 boxed sets gives you the same as the Deluxe box with 3 duplicates)
Black and White Shading & Effects Set: amzn.to/2pd9RsH
Grey & Blue Shading & Effects Set: amzn.to/2nD2HNK
Basic Colors Shading & Effects Set: amzn.to/2mO7xrh
Metallic Effects Set: amzn.to/2nGeqLv
Dirt Marks Set: amzn.to/2p3OERI
Chipping & Aging Set: amzn.to/2p6TqOo
Pending Amazon Links:
Green & Brown Shading & Effects Set:
Rust & Streaking Effects Set:
You can also purchase these sets directly from AK Interactive here (these are non-affiliate links):
ak-interactive...
While some of the sets are sold out, pencils can also be ordered individually.
*****
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Cameras:
Canon HFR800 - amzn.to/2jIG5te
Glidegear TMP100 - Teleprompter
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Benro Tripod:
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Sony SLT-A55 DSLR (Link is for the A68) - amzn.to/2x81GOv
Zoom H4n Handy Recorder: amzn.to/2K3TdBY
Manfrotto 190X Pro Tripod - amzn.to/2Nz4vCu
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Photoshop CC 2018, Premiere Pro CC 2018, Audition CC 2018, After Effects CC 2018.
Learn How to use them: amzn.to/2Nz4z5c
Credits:
Music: "Engine No. 9" by Les Hooper
© 1981 Birch Island Music Press, Sole Selling Agent: C.L. Barnhouse Co., Oskaloosa, IA
Used with Permission
Keywords:
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[@JCsRiptrack]

So have any of you tried the Weathering Pencils yet? What did you think? What other questions do you have?

[@bchicks34]

Fantastic! After years away from being away from one of my dearest passions I am finally back to modeling. Thank you for such great content. -Coach Hicks

[@dixonsmodelsreview]

I'm using them now. I love them.

[@jeffgreenawalt6006]

Great video with lots of information! Just got back into trains after several years so it's great to see what's new. I'm anxious to try these.

[@chuckwillis9271]

excellent presentation. Very balanced.

[@TheSwitchList]

Great stuff John. Glad you are (mostly) better. I have been battling a could/cough for a week and a half now... Ugh!

[@JCsRiptrack]

Hopefully you're feeling better Rick. I think I've dodged any secondary cold bullets.

[@TheSwitchList]

@@JCsRiptrack This darn cough is just about gone... been too many weeks - Ugh!

[@shaunhullick4377]

Great video,! Precise, informative and easy to follow. Great dissemination between thoughts vs facts.

[@ralphrenzetti22]

Yes sir, these are great and on top of that they work on pretty much anything. Here’s a follow up regarding “surface tension and water”. I managed to try both the winter and summer Windshield Washer Fluid. I found the summer one to work better than the winter one, I guess because it has some detergent in it to assist in getting bugs off your window. After sampling the summer one I felt it was better than the winter one but needed a little punch. So what I did is I poured the window wash into a litre bottle and added a two drops of Dawn dish soap, Viola. It worked great.

[@AnneAndersonFoxiepaws]

I have seen these but need to know how to make effects with them before buying some. Thanks for the helpful video.

[@JCsRiptrack]

Glad it was helpful! The more I use the weathering pencils, the more impressed I am with their versatility and variety of effects they can achieve. I'm getting to the point where I may need to order more!

[@Perfusionist01]

Very interesting! I have been "puttering" with Prismacolor pencils for light weathering and am happy to have them in my weathering arsenal. Now I want to get a couple of the AK sets and see how they compare. Should be interesting. Similar to your comments, I am not looking for them to be stand alone weathering, but hope to integrate them into some of my techniques. Pencils have proven good for when I want to add wear or light dirt to a car but not show it completely darkened with heavy weathering.

[@JCsRiptrack]

I've used watercolour pencils before, and these feel a bit different in how they go on. I think it is possible to weather something entirely with these, but I wouldn't necessarily want to. Combined techniques are always a better way to go.

[@jhoodfysh]

Very good review John, thank you very much.

[@JCsRiptrack]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@OneofInfinity.]

I feel you with Scale N, I use them on 15mm military vehicles, trial and error, good that any mistake is so easy to clean off with some water. They also don't interfere with any oil washes already applied on the model.

[@reganmdonovan]

great review, always impressed with your video presentation, thanks JC, cheers Regan, BMS

[@JCsRiptrack]

Thanks Regan! I had some technical glitches this time around that caused some confusion and delay, but hopefully the end result is passable. :)

[@reganmdonovan]

@@JCsRiptrack the best review imo is whereby you show the ups and downs, I enjoyed the presentation man, nice work

[@JCsRiptrack]

Thanks Regan, that's very helpful feedback.

[@sparker4614]

Great video. Thx.

[@JCsRiptrack]

Glad you liked it!

[@Howie2025]

Great video, these offer a lot of potential, especially for a traveler like myself. Now I might be able to do some weathering on a car or engine and be able to take these through security screening. I’ll be following your future videos as you perfect the techniques. Thx Jon

[@JCsRiptrack]

Thanks David. Yes, these would probably get past security quite easily. They're not flammable for one thing!

[@jdduran878]

Thanks for the info. I was thinking about buying the book but with your explanation and my experimenting this is going to be good stuff

[@joeraderblackrockcentralrr]

lots of info. always nice to see new ideas . have to check these out. thanks for sharing

[@JCsRiptrack]

No problem. These are so new, so I am curious to see what you learn when you get your hands on them. :)

[@manueln4118]

Great. I had the whole pencil Set for two years but never knew to use water with them^^

[@JCsRiptrack]

Glad this opened up some options for you. Using them directly with water gives so many different new options :)

[@anfieldroadlayoutintheloft5204]

thanks for good vid on the channel that help me out just got the pencils set and will do lots with them on my loco and roll stock thanks lee

[@ralphrenzetti22]

Hey JC, good video bud! Just got my deluxe set of 37 colours and am just playing around with different methods. I’ve pretty much come to the same conclusions as you. As for the surface tension on water I’m about to try automotive summer window washer fluid. I use washer fluid extensively for my gouaches without any consequence, maybe that would be the ticket!

[@JCsRiptrack]

Awesome stuff Ralph! Can you share how it goes here, and I’ll also make sure it gets posted on the Facebook page too! Will you be sharing it on your own page? If you do, I’ll make sure the link is visible here.

[@DrowningB]

this video was very helpfull! I do however have one question that remains unanswered: as these are water soluble youll need to put a carnish on them? and if so can I safely use vallejo polyurethane satin varnish?(its the varnish ill be using on my model)

[@JCsRiptrack]

I do put a clear coat over them as I go to protect layers as I go. I am currently working on my next video that shows the Weathering Pencils in a step-by-step process that shows how I seal them in. I hope to have it out by next week. For that project, I used AK Interactive's Real Colors Flat, Satin, and Gloss Varnishes depending upon what I was going to be doing next. The weathering pencils are best applied over the top of a flat coat, as they stick better that way.

[@DrowningB]

So varnish should be safe without the pencil work dissolving or smudging?

[@JCsRiptrack]

Yes. It should be fine. I had no issues with it with what I used. I can’t speak for the Vallejo polyurethane, but the AK interactive varnishes worked fine.

[@eddiegremlin]

Wondering what you use to seal the weathering pencils effects. How does gloss or Matt cote affect the colours?

[@JCsRiptrack]

I've since used a few different clear coats. Future, Tamiya Flat Clear, and AK Interactive Gloss, Satin, and Flat Varnishes all work without muting the colours in the same way that sometimes happens with weathering pigments or pastels. I recently finished an Alco S4 where most of the weathering was done with weathering pencils, and sealed with various clear coats along the way. (www.patreon.com/posts/alco-s4-steel-34227150). I'll be releasing a video showing the process on this switcher once I get all the video footage assembled, hopefully by mid-March. In the meantime I'm happy to answer questions. As I mention in the video, starting with a flat coat is better because it gives the surface a lot of tooth.

[@eddiegremlin]

JC's Riptrack thanks for the reply, going to try them with my current projects M8 and M20...

[@railbuilderdhd]

Great video, what do you use for the matte finish in your airbrush?

[@JCsRiptrack]

Depends. I often use Tamiya Flat Clear, AK Interactive Real Colors Flat Varnish, or a home-brew mix of Future and Tamiya Flat Base.

[@saltlifegull4091]

Outstanding! Can these be used on canvas paintings?

[@JCsRiptrack]

I think so! I've not tried them, but they behave like Watercolour pencils with a denser pigment.

[@JoeG-firehousewhiskey]

Looks good, however, Im a big fan of oil paints.

[@JCsRiptrack]

So am I... but these are a neat option for the arsenal.

[@musicpoolchannel8602]

To sharpen them can i just use a normal pencil sharpner?

[@Twist23567]

Got my sets of pencils some time ago but have not found the time to try these out. So thank you for the video and the review of those. I'm working in n-scale, too?

[@JCsRiptrack]

Great to hear! Have you had a chance to try them yet?

[@Twist23567]

@@JCsRiptrack I made a short test using them dry out of the box on an older H0 car. Made some streaks and it looks fine. Will test the other ways of use you showed in your video on one of my n-scale cars, soon. I also got those oilbrushes and will try them out, soon. Thank you for your great videos. Love to watch them. Regards from Germany.

[@WickedSlimShady]

Hmmm, Im wondering what colors to use on a F-14 Tomcat for Top Gun Maverick version? When the water application dries, do you have to seal it with a clear coat? Lastly, is it best to apply onto matt surface before or after a clear coat?

[@bellwitch007]

I like to wet the tip of the pencil and dab a little bit onto my brush and then use it.

[@JCsRiptrack]

That definitely works. You can even keep the shavings to mix into colours that you can brush or dab onto the model as well. :)

[@aleccap5946]

AK pencils are water based so once applied these can be varnished over without losing too much of the weathering ?

[@JCsRiptrack]

Hi Alec, yes, clearcoats don't affect weathering pencils in the same way they do pigments. :)

[@RupertAH]

Do you have to clear coat the model before and after?

[@JCsRiptrack]

Usually, yes. It protects the work of each step.

[@miloradvukomanovic6646]

Hello, if I use water based color like base one, is it possible to use AK penciles directly on it? Or should I protect it with gloss coat and than use penciles? Also, if I use it directly with water after gloss coat, is that means that we must use enamel coat or also we can use water based coat? Thank you

[@JCsRiptrack]

It depends on what the water-based paints are. If they are standard acrylic paints, then you can use weathering pencils on them without too much of an issue. If they are water colour or gouache-type paints then you will need to protect them before using the pencils. If you do use a clear coat to protect them, make sure you use a flat/matte clear coat before using the weathering pencils to give the pencils something to grip onto. It’s harder to apply weathering pencils to a glossy coat.

[@audimalvin5763]

I think Mr.Hobby did it first, Mr. Weathering liner is the product

[@robertswieder5098]

Could they be used to sketch/paint grafetti or are the lines generated not as defined as needed?

[@JCsRiptrack]

Hi Robert. You could possibly use them for graffiti if they're sharpened down to a point and you use the wet-tip method of application. I'd say do a test piece. Interestingly enough though, a dry application could work to simulate chalk-graffiti from the pre-spraypaint era where both hobos and railway employees used chalk to put various marks and labels on cars.

[@novalechuck7498]

do i need a varnish over it?

[@JCsRiptrack]

Protecting anything with a clear coat is a good idea, especially when you handle it a lot. Most of my work have several clear coats that go on as part of the process. It's not absolutely necessary, but weathering pencils can re-constitute if they get wet. Doing a matte clear coat over it once you're done can protect it well.

[@tomroland2315]

Can't see much difference between these and the water colour pencils you can buy in an art shop. Usually find art shops are far cheaper than model shops, anything for model making attracts a mark up.

[@JCsRiptrack]

I've tried and used water-colour pencils. These are different as their composition is better suited to plastic surfaces rather than textured paper and at least for where I am they're a comparable price. Additionally, these colours are all pre-mixed for what we'd be using for weathering.

[@jnrmack]

You can buy artist pencil sharpeners.

[@johnnypenso9574]

$90 for some pencils. Holy cow!

[@JCsRiptrack]

Interesting. Depends on where you look. Most of the 5 packs are in the $8-10 US range. They are worth it, as high-grade artists pencils or watercolour pencils from an Art supply place are at least comparable in price. These ones have a colour palette geared for weathering, which makes them all the more useful.

[@acmrctrains7157]

@@JCsRiptrack your price seems a reasonable price down in New Zealand they seem reasonable priced for me to have a go

[@ngauging]

Hey JC just fell onto your video was looking at other peoples comments on how they use AK pencils and I use them with my brush rather than directly with the pencil most of the time or though I do use the pencils directly too for certain jobs. I found that washing up liquid prevents then getting too greasy too as you mentioned. I use EU N gauge railways so you can see some effects on my video here kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3akhqKJest9m5Y let me know what you think and it would be good to get an update from what you have done with them after 12 months of use. Cheers Dave B (DB)

[@canton7180]

OMFG dude why must you overcomplicate such a simple subject with unnecessary information, left after 2 minutes of listening to you babble about nothing

[@chriswaldron2617]

More talk than anything else

[@V081WLBlue]

Balls, might as well just use paint on a brush, people buy any ole shit!

[@diagnost_gitarist]

Everything Ok. Useful nformation, but please - slow down speech, slow down please.