Almost finished!

My friends, Covid is pretty much gone, and I finished the metal gate. 

This was a very refreshing experience because, apart from an enamel pin wash and standard HS chipping, every technique was new to me. I did the initial base coat in two layers, each chipped with VMS chipping medium, just to get the basic outline of the chips and some quick paint texture. I kept it very light because it's easier to darken it afterwards, not the other way round. 

The blue patches were painted with very diluted acrylic, and because the chipping fluid underneath, although sealed with flat varnish, kept reactivating, this led to some exciting textures. Then I gave it a pin wash to outline every detail, and proceeded to paint the rust effects. These were also done completely with acrylics, and in a way, I found the process to be more controllable than enamels or oils. Orange Brown was used for the first rust pass, and Dark Rust for the second. A bit of Dark Rust mixed with black ink was then painted in the middle of the largest chips. The number 13 as well as the chipped number on the rusty sign were also painted with a brush using very diluted Flat Red applied in multiple layers. 

Even though I tried to replicate the real patterns as closely as possible, I didn't quite like the distribution of the chips, so I decided to cover one of the panels with a sign. Thankfully, the 3m sign fits perfectly because in 1:1 scale, the gate is 3,2m tall. 

I also added the fuse box from RT-Diorama and added the wires and the protective cover for them, glued from Evergreen strips. The box was also treated with chipping fluid, but the cover was painted the more traditional way with brushes. The signs from RT are an amazing addition to these facades, but my selection was limited to their Factory set, which is designed for a German WW2 factory. So... I guess this one sits somewhere in Germany :) 

There was some learning experience, too. Turns out, partially cutting a sign so it looks like it continues beyond the boundary of the model isn't  as effective as I originally thought, instead it leads to some awkward words :D 

Only the roof and gutter remain!