My T72 tank currently in assembly has side skirts and wheel tires that are made of rubber in the real vehicle. Tamiya tells me to simply paint them flat black (not sure I like the idea, if anything they should be very dark grey).
What would you do to make them more rubber-like in appearance? I think Testors makes dedicated “Rubber color” paint.
Several companys do make “rubber” color paint but I always use black. after weathering it looks fine.
Testors does make a color ‘rubber’ available only as a ‘square bottle’ enamel.
it is pretty good looking, and i use it myself.
but i have also used flat black,
flat black w/ some grey
flat black w/ some grey & some brown
a Sharpie (followed w/ dullcote)
after flats, dry brush for tread or wear, wash, weather, many things look pretty good.
i guess i would recommend experimentation,
and balancing the effort/result ratio to an acceptable level.
I use the Testors rubber paint with success. If I need more realism i.e. “chunking” the rubber on the road wheels which happens on real tanks with regularity, I will paint the hole with a flat back mixed with a little gray. On brand new road wheels the rubber surface is actually a little glossy, but after a few weeks in the field, the bearing surfaces take on a slightly lighter hue.
In my humble opinion…sorry ed, Testors rubber is too reddish. I think a dark almost black gray is best with a slight sheen to the edges… just my 2 cents
I like to used Gunze’s Tire Black MAH077 for painting rubber parts such as road wheels, airplane tires. Dries nice and dark gives a rubberized appearence.
Cheers
Another possibility is Floquil’s Weathered Black or Grimy Black. Both have grey in them but are still pretty black. Old Floquil paints would eat plastic, if brushed on. I understand the newer type won’t do that. But they are still lacquer based and therefore need lacquer thinner for clean up.
Try Polly Scale-Grimy Black, thinned with Windex. That’s what I’ve used recently. I also referred to the article, “Brush Painting Basics,” in this month’s issue of FSM. Very Helpful!
-Cheers
Poly Scale also has a “scale black” that is a good gray-black and looks good.
Eric