In May of 2019, I posted a blog article “The Write Stuff? Testing AK Interactive’s Weathering Pencils” documenting my first experiences with the pencils. In reading back over it, I stand by what I said. Still, I made a mistake in writing it that I have since learned to correct in how I evaluate a product. Well… mostly.

Back then, I got the product in, pulled out a test model, and tested a few different applications. I wrote about it, and moved on.

But as I’ve spent more years doing this “creator” stuff… however you define it… I’ve realized something in my own viewing habits.

I don’t really like product reviews that have no history to them. No real experience. No application across a wide range of models. OK, so you opened it up and applied it just like the manufacturer’s YouTube video shows. Great.

But how about actually using it? For real using it, and not just a quick few quips, a few video shots, like and subscribe, sponsored by RoundNerdSpaceVPN, and call it 12 minutes and feed the algorithm.

How Did I NOT Use These More?

My workspace is a hodge-podge of various shelving units, paint racks, book cases, and an old table from a second-hard store. Cheap and utilitarian is the order of the day. I’ve thought about upgrades, but upgrading one makes me realize I need to adjust this other part, which means that over there needs to change and… I always decide to leave it just like it is.

Which means for about the last 7 years my AKI Pencils have sat in their boxes on a shelf directly in front of my face. While I did use them on occasion, I tended to forget they were there until I got to the end of a build and thought “you forgot them AGAIN!”

But over the last year or so, I have been much more deliberate in my choices to make use of them. And as I’ve prioritized them more and more, I noticed something. I started not looking at ways to use them, but rather reasons why I’d use something else instead.

It’s not that they’re a replacement for every weathering product and technique. There are things they do well, and applications that other things do better. But the range of what they do well is far greater than I’d really given them full credit for.

Everybody Loves Raymond

I’m working on a MaK Melusine build for YouTube release later this year. (The weathering episode will appear December 5th, 2026.) As I was planning how to weather it, I decided to try and do all the weathering – every bit – with AK Weathering Pencils.

Panel lining, chipping, fluid, rust, streaking, earth and dust effects – all pencils. And as of this writing I’m finishing it all off… but basically, it works. If you need textured effects, etc., you’d need another product. And they don’t have exactly the blendability of oils – but they do have way, way, way more than acrylic washes. I treat them like a tougher gouache.

A few key points I’ve learned over the last 7 years, and especially over the last few builds (in no particular order):

• They work much better applying them wet rather than dry. It’s not that dry application doesn’t work, but for almost all things, wet application is better.
• On the other hand, when it comes to blending and manipulating, less water works much better. And by “less” I mean you just need “two hairs and some air” to quote Bob Ross. Unload most of the moisture, and then work it a little at a time.
• A matte or satin varnish is a must. Over a gloss coat they just slide around like an old man on ice skates in an earthquake.
• They never cure. Ever. It’s not impossible to deal with. It just means planning strategically for the order you do things in. A rattle can matte coat is a quick way to lock in the layers, and continue working over them.
• When it comes to ease of use, these are the simplest thing ever. I can literally get up and walk away, come back a day or a week later, and pick up where I left off.
• Patience and testing is the key to success. If you attack it like a rabid honey badger on a rack of bbq ribs… it’s not going to turn out great.

Like any other modeling product, your mileage may vary. My recommendation is if you’re interested in trying them, just pick up one or two initially. They’re not much more than $2 each, so they’re a low barrier to entry. And I point out in the video that the four sets I have – fully capable of any weathering job – were only $40. So from that perspective they are cost effective.

I do know I will be using these a lot more going forward. It’s just too easy.

Have you tied AK Interactive Weathering Pencils? What do you think of them? Any tips or tricks to pass along?