Acrylics English Civil War Armour?

[ChaosCossack]

Brothers and Sisters
I have before me a Royalist Cavalier from the English Civil War in resin (Maurice Corry 75mm).
My question is regarding the treatment of the armour from this era, which is kind of out of my wheelhouse. A quick scan of photos on-line show the cuirass worn at this time tends to be blackish in colour. I don't know if this is raw steel showing effects of the forging process or if this is painted steel.
If it's painted steel, I think it can approached by painting as steel, then painting it black weathered with chips and wear on high points showing the steel beneath.
If it's blackened steel (unpainted) does anyone have any thoughts on how this might be handled in acrylics.
I may be wrong on both guesses, in which case somebody can tell me what I'm dealing with and how to deal with it in Vallajo or Citadel acrylics.

Thanks in advance

Colin

 

[jcichon]

You can use Citadel boltgun metal as your base then wash with a black wash or sepia wash. Then add a heavier wash of black into the edges and then highlight with chainmail and then mithril silver

 

[ChaosCossack]

Thanx Jason

That seems pretty straightforward... I'll give it a shot. Sounds right compared to the pics I've found of this subject.

Cheers

Colin

 

[Tony Barton]

The armour of the time was usually " fire-blackened" during manufacture, so the effect need to be solid black , rather than " black with silver chips ".
There were also bright polished steel items , and I have seen some original suits painted black , with little decorative stars ( ! ) and brown.But I shouldn't worry about them , as they were pretty unusual.
Stick with fireblack, which can have quite a gloss to it when new .

 

[ChaosCossack]

Tony
That's exactly what I was looking for!!
So the steel was blackened during manufacture so the steel's base colour is black not painted over, I think I understand.
So if I mixed black with Vallejo 'oily steel' as a base, shade with pure black and highlight with the base plus a touch of white (?)... do you think that would give me the effect I need?
Let me know what you think.

Thanks

Colin

 

[Tony Barton]

Colin,
Black and oily steel sounds good to me , but go steady on the oily steel ; the effect really is black rather than silvery.
To give you an idea, here's my fire-blackened replica gorget :~

That shows a fairly high quality finish.The cheaper armour would have a flatter, rougher finish .
And , although you might find it ridiculous for a model figure, this fellow is wearing a real steel back & breast , also fire-blackened rather than painted :~

 

[MENTAL DENTAL]

Good info here................I've learned something as well!!

David

 

[Figurenfreund66]

HI Colin

a common method was the browning, the metal was treated in boiling oil, whichhas produced an almost black appearance.


best regards
Hendryk

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[ChaosCossack]

Thanks guys
Thats great information and will help alot.
Tony, those examples are perfect... Black with a hint of oily steel

Cheers

Colin