Scribing is an old modelling technique which I never knew. The main purpose is break the monotony of parts with large surface area. Having dealt with highly detailed single-posed miniatures before, there was never a need to actually do so, until now.
The Tau armour is an excellent example of an end product on which scribing can be applied. Looking at it closely, the Tau armour is basically flat-surfaced armour plates with grooves cut into the armour. Examining the armour, we can see that there were no added height and thickness to the armour plates.
Scribing is basically the technique to emulate the grooves, in order to add dimensions to the models. As for tools, there aren't any specific ones; blade, nail, chisel or slot-head screwdriver can all be used to achieve the desired effect. Since I just discovered this technique, apparently there are a lot (and I do mean, a lot) of tutorials on scribing posted all over the internet and youtube. There are so many of them that it would be pointless to provide you with URL links for it. I guess the age-old saying was right; you need to know what to look for before looking for anything.
This new revelation made me very curious to try it. This below, is my first attempt at scribing, done on my WIP entry for the Gundam event in August.
Additional panel lines were scribed to these side skirts parts. Just by adding a few groove lines, the part looked upgraded. This is probably nothing new to most of you but for me, it is. If only I knew about this technique on my previous conversion projects. Lesson learnt: there will always be something new to learn.
(Note: on hindsight, a 'before and after' picture would be more favourable)
Definitely need more practice to brush up this new skill, will try circular shapes next.
