i built a 1/35 tamiya churchill croc oob, but i want it too look really good. i want to know details to put on it (preferrible cheap ones), “War prizes”, spare parts, etc.
i also want to know good painting technices to make it look used and dirty. i have an airbrush but don’t know how to use it, so preferribly i would not like to use it.
here it is currently
i have put some stuff on it to try to detail it like a german helmet, bazooka, german fuel tank, i had a puppy then i thought: it would prbaly be kept in the tank.
Verlinden Productions sells a nice British weapons and stowage set so that would a nice compliment. I would not put German Stowage or Jerry Cans on it becuase it would be very rare that ever happened.
As for using techniques to make your tank nice and dirty yet realistic I would recommend searching sites for a good weathering technique that fits your style and material resources. I myself first weather my armor with an airbrush, first with a light misting of Buff to dust and blend in the color scheme then with a darker flat earth/black mixture to the substructure. This is all brought together with washes, filters, drybrushing, weathering pigments, and pastels. There are many threads on these techniques in these fourms as well as others, so I again, recommend you take a look at these to get a feel of what you will be able to do. Good luck.
AS you search out these sites and read the information presented, it’s still going to take the school of hard knocks to accomplish the finish you want.
I say “that you want” simply because we could give you all the info that we have collected and have been the result of our own experience and techniques and you would still have to practice (succeed and fail) and develop an eye and technique for what is pleasing to you.
Most impotantly you must realize your own abilities and match your expectations to meet those abilities. Do not allow your expectations to exceed your abilities or you will be in for disappointment. Some failure is good because we learn from it. We also have to be willing to fail in order to see what the boundries of our abilities are.
There are several techniques for weathering and getting the right amount is a subjective thing and often times the result of a happy accident. When is paint chipping too much? How much sun fade is there on a vehicle? who’s to say what wasn’t stored on the hull or upper decks of a vehicle? How much is too much? What is too little? (see what I mean?) You have to be the judge. What context are you putting your vehicle in? In a battle, patrol, enroute to position, pulled up for inspection, leisure, end of the day, begining of the day, in the woods, in the desert, on the beach, spring, summer, fall, winter, on the road, in the city, swamp, rocks, field, plowed field, after a rain, after being washed, maintenance? All these things develop context.
There is no magic bullet other than experience and what you are willing to try.
The websites that were referenced and the articles called out all are great starting points. Also learn to study a photograph. Look at the details of the vehicles pictured. What weathering do you see on them? Look at road vehicles and construction equipment around your area. see how they’re weathered.
