Review : AK's ''The Weathering Magazine'' Issue 3 - Chipping

Ok, firstly, I have to apologize for my delay in putting up this review as I have been busy since I got this book which was back in Jan 13. I tried but just couldn't find the time to write up, so sorry about that.

Right, so this is the third issue of AK's '' The Weathering Magazine '' I have been reviewing ( you can catch the 2nd issue Review here and the 1st here ).

In this issue, Ak showed how to do the already tried and test techniques of chipping; sponge, brush, chipping fluid, liquid masking and salt, how popular chipping effects looks like and how chipping can be applied on a range of vehicles, from a beaten down tractor to a sci-fi ( Ma.K Hornet to be precise ) fighter.

The magazine is printed on a very high quality glossy heavy paper, and is a whopping 87 pages in full colour.

First you got this on the cover -

And once you turn the page, you are greeted with a wall of text from the chief editor himself ( I didn't take any photo of it, sorry ) ... and then after that, you will come to the contents

And YET AGAIN with the model but I'm a sucker for chicks in tank tops so.. yeah.. LOL.. and not to mention she's also holding a gun

and after that you will get straight into the first chapter -

'' Diamond Reo Tractor '' is basically about how a vehicle made from composite material can be damaged after extensive usage. Composite materials do not rust but the paint may still fade, wear and chips will occur anyway due to the harsh road and climatic condition. This chapter cover how such composite materials can be chipped, wore, tore and faded in colours. I found this chapter quite useful.

Chapter 2 , '' Type 69 II C '' -

What else can be a greater interest in chipping then a tank that was used in actual combat ( Iran-Iraq War to be exact) ??. Personally this is my most favourite chapter of this issues as I am a tank guy myself and I learned quite a lot on this. They covered how chipping can be done on a vehicle that has been painted over in 2-3 different colours and cover how chippings can occur on a MBT.

Following this is a short article named '' Popular chipping effects '' -

Basically, the article talk about how the popular chipping method looks like. They show how the effects from masking fluid, hairspray, salt, chipping fluid and decals can look like with comparative pictures of each effects. Useful to broaden your knowledge in the over all chipping effects and to find your own style. Downside to this is - I have no idea why they did not cover paint brush and sponge in this article.


Back to back with this article is , what I would described as, a supplement one for the previous article. Titled '' Popular Techniques'' -

They showed, in step-by-step, some examples on how to apply the most commonly known method of using sponge, using brush,  using masking fluid and using salt. They mentioned chipping fluid in there as well but I do not want to put it under that category of '' popular'' as ( as far as I know) chipping fluids are recent products, been out in the market since only 2 (tops) year ago. Obviously, they ''used'' AK worn effects so the message is kinda there, u know.

Comes  another article after this, titled '' micro paint-chipping ''

The article is covered by a very talented modeller ( I have seen his other works on Facebook  they are amazing ) and talks about how those teeny tiny chippings can be achieved and tips and tricks on maintaining your ant size brushes. If you struggle in very small chipping ( like me ), this article is helpful for you.

Then comes chapter 3, with the title '' Using Worn effects ''

This is basically about using '' worn effects '' on a Zeke ( Japanese Zero ) to reproduce those patches of aluminium underneath the paint job that we see in photos of the nimble zeke. Personally  I think this article is stupid and nothing but a shameless plug on their product. I have seen so many people do that similar effects using salt with a nice three dimensional paint chip effects ( which this doesn't have).

Chapter 4 follows directly after this with a title of '' Excavator Extreme Weathering'' -

I kinda like this chapter. They showed how to turn a toy excavator into a well weathered and VERY realistic looking one with all sort of weathering involved with such machine. You got not only chipping but also streaks and dust general grime and dirt pack in one chapter.

After that, chapter 5 '' Chipping Modern Armour '' follows -

Again, this is one of my favourite chapter in this issue as they showed how modern MBT in service can be chipped. As you all know, we don't really see that much heavy chipping on western modern MBTs unlike the ww2 era AFVs so this is nice read up on how to do that. Downside of this chapter is that they mention they will talk about applying on 2 kinds of M1 but sadly, only 1 of them was largely covered and the 2nd was only marginally covered.

Following that is another short article named '' Hairspray Steyr '' -

Just as the title says, it shows you step by step how to get chipping effects with Hairspray. They also covered how one can chip after the hairspray layer using skewers and hard bristle brush. I think this is a golden article, not everybody have access to AK's products ( for instance, some of my friends in the Philippines have not even heard of AK) so instead of just plugging AK's products, showing how to do stuffs using generic easy-to-get stuffs is well appreciated.

Another article with the name '' Scratching and Chipping accessories'' comes after this -

Now, this ( I believe) is another golden chapter as it not only shows how some small scale personal effects like helmets and canteen can be chipped and damaged but also shows how to chip using only BRUSH and pointy stuff like skewers. I find this particularly helpful because not every body can use expensive stuffs like AK or MIG's chipping fluid. Not to mention, if one start to take up weathering, he or she might want to start with the easy stuff of using a paint brush to chip.

Chapter 6 '' Sci-fi Scratching '' follows -

 I honestly don't know what to say about this article as I couldn't pick neither bad nor good about it. Actually, no, I did find out about using wooden tools like a skewer of a chopstick to make chipping.  And learned about using brass rod to come with those really awesome small scratches. So I guess this is one helpful and useful article.

And then, the main highlight of the issue, chapter 7; ''Wooden Cart '' -

Now, this chapter, this one is da bomb. I have been modelling for 7 years now and even now, I still do not touch wood ( come on now, lets all be adult about this) as the complexity of weathering wood is just mind blowing. Let along weathering, I still couldn't even paint wood properly. But this chapter takes you step by step in painting as well as weathering a wooden thing. I have yet to find a good detailed tutorial or similar when it comes to painting and weathering wood so this will surely come in handy.

Another supplement(ish) article after chapter 7 is named '' peeling wood effect '' -

This article shows a kind of a basic '' recipe '' for peeling paint on wood and what cool about this is that they showed how to do it on actual wood - Basswood. Diorama builders or people who like to start learning about dioramas would find this article really helpful. This is also a pretty awesome step by step as well.

The article after this is '' chipping the focke out of it '' ( LOL , i know right? ) -

This is basically more like a extended explanation of how to put on sponge and liquid mask effects that they explained in the earlier articles. Helpful if you are not familiar with the methods but not really if you already know how to do them.

Following up is the article '' chipping the barn door '' -

I have no idea what this article is about as I only see a few steps of chipping shown while the rest are general weathering and streaking steps. The finished pictures show quite a lot of chippings on split trail but how it was done wasn't even mentioned throughout the article. IMO, this is a waste of space in an issue dedicated only for chipping.

After this, comes an article '' Basic Chipping on A Drilling '' -

It is stated that the article is about using the sponge technique and describe some simple methods for realistic shipping and scratch effects. All it actually shows in the article is chipping a box of some sort along its edges and on a line straight down the middle. I'm not really sure what I can pick up from this article. Maybe it is useful to others, but definitely not for me.

The Final article to come is named '' Salt Technique '' -

I like this article though. They go step by step and explain how salt technique is actually carried out. Really helpful if you are new to weathering. If you already know what it is and actually used it yourself, this article is of no use.

After the article, came the usual '' reference '' pages -

And finally, end with '' post card from the world' -

In my most honest and highest opinion, this book is not exactly a must have you are a seasoned modeller. I would say people with at least 3 or 4 years of experiences would not need it as only about 30% of the entire book would be useful to you.

If you are somebody who just started to dwell into the world of weathering, you definitely should get it without a 2nd thought.

VERDICT - RECOMMENDED with RESERVATIONS ( only to starters, seasoned modellers can skip buying this)