What should I use to make really cool weathering on my Tank[?][?]
I dont know what to use, should I use dust, paint or grass, I DONT KNOW
HELP[:0][^][banghead]
From STARG25[^]
In a nutshell…
- Review every picture you can get your hands on, both in books and on the Net
- Go to every web site you can find that posts model pics and look them over
- Check out any web sites that describe how various weathering techniques are done
- Practice, practice, practice
If you’re lucky, your very first attempt at weathering will look perfect. However, odd are that you will have to try various techniques several times before you “perfect” your own techniques.
Robert Foster
I usually use a flat black,brown, or rust and dry-brush it over a few areas where things are exposed to the elements. Such as where people walk, exhaust pipes are, or where things can become dirty. My technique is usually to look at the model and point out where muddy boots may have walked inside, or on top of a vehicle, or where trees or rubble may have brushed up against the hull.
Another idea is to use an old brush, which has scattered bristles, to create a streaked effect where mud may have flung off of tracks of tires.
Being a modeler of some experience, my techniques may be argued.
Have At Er!!
First, [#welcome] to FSM.
There are a lot of ways to do weathering, some people use paint, some use pastel chalks and some use a combination. A lot depends on your budget.
You can mix flour, backing powder, plaster, etc. with paint to make a paste for clumps of mud.
There are several methods to make rust/fuel spill streaks. The most common is probably to use thinned paint to apply a “wash” and then use a cotton swab (Q-Tip) or similar to wipe the excess away.
A light coat of dust can be easily replicated with pastel chalks, grind them int a powder and apply with an artists fan brush.
check out the techniques forum for more info and I am sure others will be along soon to add more here.
Like the others have already pointed out, there’s many methods that you can use. All of them require a certain amount of practice to achieve good results. Best thing to do is snoop around the forums here and note the way some of these techniques are done. Then if you’re not 100 % sure, fire out some questions.
Welcome to the forums !!!
Enjoy !!!
Great big ditto on Robert’s item #4. You’re going to have to experiment a little and work up to the look you want. I think weathering may be the easiest thing about modeling, the easiest to do as well as the easiest to mess up. Gotta practice to get good at it.
Welcome… and true there are countless ways to weather. For me it depends on what I am going for. Mud is my favorite thing in the world. My mixture is plaster powder or baby powder for finer grain. Brown acrylic paint, static grass and herbs and a little white glue for luck. I use various brushes and intruments to work the mud into scale. (don’t just glop it on and call it mud) poking it and taping it with wide brushes and tooth brushes will help settle the mud into the cracks and give it a finer look. This will all dry to light but thats ok. I never try to color mud exactly on application. I use artist oil paints thinned down to about 20/80 with thinner to color the mud which soaks it up nicely. using random colors and densities witll give it a wet and dry look.
Here are a couple of examples from my last project
http://www.network54.com/Forum/thread?forumid=110741&messageid=1075681756
Paint fading is almost always done with an airbrush for me. I thin the paint WAY down and spray it so thin it may take several passes to actually see it start building up. Easy does it though this can be easily over done.
I use filters to blend and discolor the paint (especially useful on blending camo schemes together) A filter is only oil paint and thinner mixed 2-5 percent paint to 98-95 % thinner. You basically flood this onto a surface and let it dry. It may take a half a dozen treatments or more to get results.
I must say that these techiques perticularly the one above is done over an acrylic base coat with a semi gloss clear over it. I wouldn’t try the filters over enamel base unless I applied a heavy acrylic clear over it. The results would be messy at best because of the amount of thinner used.
As I say this only scratches the surface and these are only my own prefs. Try anything you like as long as it looks good and you are happy with the results thats whats important. Certainly check out the web for weathering articles there are countless pages written on this subject.
Good luck with whatever you try. Oh one more thing… Go out and grab yourself a paint dummy to practice on . Many of us here oddly use the same kit. The old Tamiya Tiger II Its cheap and BIG so it works nicely.
What my friend Kenneth forgot,( and he is the man) was pastels , these just make the weathering complete ( and also forbid any further touching of the model by human hands !) Use sandpaper to grind it to powder, and apply them with an old brush . Use them for the muzzle or barrel end ( black) to sim cordite burn , use em’ for dust all over ,earth colors are the way to go here , go to a construction site and buy colors similar to the dust on the excavator or dumptruck , One thing I have yet to see is some footprints on a muddy tank ! If the tank was in mud , well the crew should have been also ,HMMMMMMMMMMMMM now theres a thought for my next project ! [8D]
Shawn…what you talkin bout Fool? Why am I the man?.. And yes I did forget pastels… Those are a great FINAL touch… I suggest having a cover or display case ready at this point because as Shawn said touching or cleaning dust off the model is out of the question after pastels. Adding a clear coat over them will set them but it will also all but erase their effect… Its best just to put them on an not touch it.
Pastels can also be mixed with medium (water, alchohol or paint thinner) to make some interesting effects too. I used this method exclusivly to weather the tracks on my last project
I did actually see a KV model one time with foot prints on it… It looked a little odd to tell the truth. I think a general dirty grimy trail around the turret and such would look more suitable with maybe the occasional footprint… I don’t know… Whatever [:D]
Shawn, man I got to get back to the KT. I have been moving so I have been down for a couple of months but I’m ready to roll now. Oh so much to do…
Peace ya’ll
I agree kenneth about the footprints , yet another fine line thing to get right a few is great but more than than looks just fake , I am going to put one or 2 of them in the back of my marder , should i ever get to the point of finishing that critter , have to take a break from the aber as of now , I am just plain sick of it to be honest ! working on figs for the jagdtiger dio now , I like painting figures much better , I like painting period , maybe I should have been an artist instead ! But thats wayyyyyyyyyyyoff topic so time to shut up ![:D]
this is a great site for weathering tips , you need adobe to view but chances are you have that already (its free to download ) http://www.cueballweb.com/~worktop/tips_tricks/WOTW_scalemodel_tricks.pdf