Quick background info… I haven’t modelled for 6 odd years, and have started off again with a Tamiya 1:35 Pak 35/36 Anti-Tank gun.
I’ve done 1 or 2 armour kits before, but never tried much in the way of weathering, so I thought I’d give it a go and let you guys with more experience tell me where I’m going right or wrong.
Over the past week or two I’ve been reading SOOO many articles on weathering… from dry brushing to washes to chalk pastels to Future… the list goes on and on. Anyway, I’ve basically experimented with everything I can, and had a heap of fun in the process!
Although in the end I’m not really sure if I’m on the right track. Now my model so far looks good to me, but I’ve got no frame of reference. Can you guys tell me if I’ve got it looking somewhat realistically weathered, or if it just looks dodgy…?
OK, on with the pics…
OK, what I’ve mostly done here is mix up some brown chalk pastels with water and tiny bit of detergent, and basically just painted it around the hinges and raised sections. I leave it for a little while and then wipe a little of it off, trying to leave a little in the joins and recesses(sp).
There’s also a little drybrushing, although the flat aluminium coloured paint is years old so it doesn’t ‘go on’ the way it used to. New paint on order.
I also tried sort of smudging some red/brown paint on to simulate rust/mud, kind of drybrushing style. It wasn’t overly effective… perhaps with some more experimenting I’ll get the knack and will make it a technique that gives accurate results.
I tried to simulate paint chips as you can see on the left trailing support/tow arm. I sort of drybrushed it on, but the brush wasn’t quite dry - if that makes sense… I also made the the recesses in the tire tread quite full of dirt and mud using chalk pastels as described before. Turned out great, but the camera didn’t pick it up all that well. I’ll have to work on the lighting I suppose.
Although this pic is a bit blurry, it really shows how some sections leave a bit to be desired. I don’t think it’s terrible, but there’s room for improvement - which is what it’s all about!
(The wheels aren’t secured yet which is why they look a bit squify.)
So there you have it - my first model in 6 years!
All comments and tips are welcome - I suppose in the end I just want to know if it looks any good…?
hi Captain Mark[:)]
welcome to the forums!!
[#welcome]
well it certainly looks like you did your homework!![;)] great looking project [8D][8D][8D]
regards,
nick
Welcome, Capt Mark!
looks like you have made a strong comeback after your time off!
you are definitely taking the right approach:
experiment & have fun!
a very promising start.
congratulations & welcome back.
ed.
So far so good on the weathering. The best thing to do is to start off doing a little at a time. It definately looks like it is coming together quite well.
As far as the mud goes try the pastels, they’ve never let me down.
For the thick pastelike mud mix the pastel dust with water till you get ( your prefference ) a consistancy you can work with for an effect you want (you’ll have to try different consistancies), but it will come out really cool dried up stuck on mud.
L_D - Will definitely check out the thread… amazed I didn’t really catch on that it was relevant to me bangs head
Well I’m going to put the barrel on it that came with the kit. The fit isn’t overly stunning (as I’ve found with many parts in this kit), but I’ll make it work.
Nice job ! Not too bad at all for a first or even 5th try after your hiatus , I think the russians nicknamed that gun the doorknocker ( because it could not penetrate russian armour ) the wakeup call for the german gun buildup ! You should put an artillery crew with it in a small DIO![8D]
Don’t look to me like a first job after 6 years. I mean it looks great. The weathering is just fine. Welcome back to armor modeling. Welcome to the darkside.
