hI dave
if only we could do that know I was lucky to have been brought up in australia and we spent a lot of time in sydney harbour around circular quay and there were ships in and out all the time even my uncles ship hms hermes and I will never forget a russian whaler/factory ship the smell was unbelievable but the size was beyond belief if only I had a camera. but I remember the crew were great ,I was 14 at the time with my dad but they couldnt show us enough,and the engine room was frightening ,I also went on the oriana and the fair star.

Until I moved I used to live on the Wirral and worked in Liverpool. The Ferry was always a good cheap way the cross the Mersey and also a good chance to see the ships on the water. Trips through the Birkenhead/Wallasey docks also provided a good chance to see ships up close.
Most were working vessels and were certainly not bright and shiny, quite the opposite in fact. The sea is a harsh master and the evidence was all too plain to see. You could identify the recent paint jobs where damage had been repaired but where working parts exited the hull the rust was all too evident.
Even the cruise ships and Manx Steamers were not all pristine but were better maintained, probably to keep the public happy.
The New Brighton and Hoylake lifeboats were always kept pristine as they are today as are most pleasure yachts.
At one time matt or silk paints were hard to find so early models tended to be shiny and weathering was not commonly practised. Modern paints are far more realistic and manufacturers now produce a whole range of accurate paints specifically for modelling. There are quite a few books and articles on producing a good effect, but it is a skill which will Improve with time.

I agree if you are not confident with your weathering you will end up with some thing that looks like it's crashed into a portaloo barge.you don't need an airbrush I used to use powders, oil paints ect. I agree it's personal choice but I have always been a scale modeller not just boats and I enjoyed research into how and where rust starts forming and if you get it right it does look well
Hope this is a fair answer grant

Isn't the whole matter of a distressed and rusted boat/ship a personal choice? I've seen some well built models spoilt by folk who can't apply the rust to look realistic and they end up with something looking like it's on the way to the scrap yard but I've seen some models with just the right amount of rust which l think look superb. I don't have an air brush so all my models end up looking just made, yachts are high gloss, tugs have some gloss parts, and cutters matt. I'm the only crew so I have to keep things shipshape.

HI Grant

The only ones are Navy's, RN, USN etc plenty of crew, commercial reality with other ships means none or little painting until the next re-fit.

Mark

HI Mark
the thing is the day a ship starts her sea trials she is subjected to the weather pushed to the limit with no one on board with jiff and a cloth. 😫

HI Grant

Yes I agree, they put hundreds of hours into the build, then ruin it with a shiny white finnish. even these days a ship has to work the crew is to small to keep painting ship.

Even a satin or matt finnish would be better.

Mark

HI Mark the layers are that thin there isno reaction time bbefore it is dry sometimes I will give it a dust coat of Matt clear then when fished a couple more coats of Matt for a working boat anyways if it does call for a gloss do it with satin coat so you sort of scale down the shine. I can't get my head around people that do a build and paint it gloss no weathering all I see is a toy boat. A lot of people must not research

HI Grant

Interesting that you use a mix of Enamel and Acrilic paints, have you had any problems of overcoating reactions?

Mark

hi,Mark it was all same colour as you day different thinning and pressures I am lucky as my brush has an adjuster under the cup for paint flow. heavier rust put on with brush any panels I use an acetate mask. a nice effect is to paint a rust line then with a flat brush dampened with thinner and do a drag down motion. I will be putting more of the boat as I go feel free to ask what ever,the colour I used is tamiya brown x-9 and for very fresh rust I use humbrol 100 dont forget though the effect is determined by the colour underneath in my case white. hope it helps
grant

Superb, the weathering and rust work well together, did you use a single shade of paint and then altered the distance and pressure, or multiple layers of slightly different shades?????

Mark