Smoke

Smoke, a pigment of soot and exhaust

A loose colored powder from the AK interactive pigment range in a dark gray-black soot shade. It is worth saying at the outset what it is not: it is not a transparent tinting paint or the oil paint of the same name, of which several exist. This is a powder that is applied dry and imitates the solid deposit left by combustion: soot, not a shadow and not a smoke varnish.

Which surfaces it belongs on

The natural places are exhausts and the area around them, engine vents, engine decks and grilles, muzzle brakes and the front part of a barrel, the area around firing ports and fume extractors, exhaust openings on the deck of a ship and funnels. On wrecks and damaged vehicles it suits the area around openings and hatches from which fire came. In a diorama it serves on the inner walls of stoves and fireplaces and on the masonry above the window openings of a burnt-out building.

At what stage of the build it goes on

In reality soot is the last thing to reach a surface, and the same order holds on the model. The pigment goes on at the very end, after the base coat, the decals, the washes, the dust and the mud. It is applied dry with a soft brush, with very little on the bristles, and blended away in the direction of the exhaust flow. The black pigment is very strong: applied generously it kills a model at once, because real soot always has a soft transition into the clean surface.

Who it is for

• Modelers of vehicles finishing exhausts, engine decks and barrels.
• Builders of aircraft with pronounced exhaust stains behind the engine.
• Ship modelers, where it belongs to finishing the funnels and the deck.
• Builders of dioramas with fireplaces, stoves or burnt-out buildings.

It is a very fine powder: do not inhale it, do not work in a draft and consider a respirator and eye protection. Keep out of the reach of children and always close the container carefully. The volume and the composition are given on the packaging.