Hey!! im gonna cut right to the chase here[:O].i have a tank. it neads some weathering, and i have no idea how. im looking for weathering tekneeks and tips. to kinda give you an idea of what im working with, iv got a 1/32 m41 walker bulldog (and if you really want to know, its by revell). ive never weathered a tank before, so any easy ways for weathering would be great. im 14, thus jobless, thus strapped for cash. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!!
sam [C):-)]
The easiest thing to do is dry-brushing. It doesn’t so much ‘weather’ the model, but does bring out a lot of the detail and will make a monochrome colour scheme look a lot more interesting.
Start out with a flat brush, and some paint just a tad lighter than the colour of the vehicle. For example, if the vehicle is Olive Drab, maybe khaki drab, or just mix in a few drops of white into the OD paint on a mixing board. (Kit box lid will do fine).
Dip the brush lightly into the paint, then immediately start painting the kit box, paper, cardboard, whatever, until pretty much all the paint has run out. Then lightly brush the paintbrush over the model. The little remaining paint will catch on raised details. Practise on something other than the top of your model to get started with, it takes a little practise, but is actually quite simple once you get the knack of it.
NTM
Hmmmm. No money? That may limit your possibilities…the art of weathering is such a broad and diverse field that you would be wise spend some time on here looking at previous posts to first get an idea of exactly HOW you want to portray your tank: dusty? muddy? New condition? Battle-beaten? All these involce different techniques and materials. Generally, you start with a “wash”–a coat of super-diluted paint thinned to a milk-like consistency.You then let it settle in the crevices and after a few minutes dab it off with a soft tisue, or with a wetted brush, leaving it of course in the crevices. This really adds depth, and is, in my opinion, a “must” to master. You have to do some experimentation here and remember never to wash with enamel thinners over enamel paints without sealing your model with lacquer first. (I always use acrylic paints on my models so the thinners don’t really affect them).
Then you follow that with a bit of drybrushing–another technique that takes practice, but is also a vital component of weathering to be mastered…generally, you dip your brush into paint, and then brush most of it off onto a piece of scrap paper/plastic, and then lightly whisk the bristles of the brush lightly over the model so that the remaining paint transfers onto the high points. You can use differnet hues to achieve diferent effects; this counters the depth of the wash and simulates light on the model in proper “scale effect”.
“Chipping” is a relatively new technique that involves carefully painting “chips” of rusted/chipped paint flakes onto the model in areas most prone to it in reality.This makes a really “beat-up” tank.
You can then use pastel powders to further enhance the subtlety; there are even ways to weather with your airbrush, or with salt, real dirt and/or various railroad landscaping materials.My post just scratches the surface though; you really need to spend some time, be patient and dig into a lot of the older posts here on the FSM forum. There’s a treasure trove of info here waiting for you to discover that has already been written. Good luck![#welcome]
this being my second tank, ill do the simple(?) one , and go with the dusty look. how would i do that? also, how would i do a shell/RPG-blast/hole in the side of a 1/72 m1abrams?
i always thought that dry-brushing was for just weathering the angles of the hull, turret, ect. i never heard of it being used overall. thanks for the posts guys!!
sam [C):-)]
First you should wash the tank with a tan (or rusty-red if you’re doing an ARVN M-41 from Viet Nam) wash, and do the whole tank (dust gets everywhere!). Then drybrush with the base color (OD?). This will make it look like there’s dust all over the tank except on the high points (xactly as it would look in real life!). Getting the idea? You’ve gotta THINK about how the tank would REALLY look, don’t just go at it full-bore! Then, if you have some tan pastels, you might try dusting them around the suspension and lightly on the hull top again. You might also add streaks of olive drab to simulate where water might’ve ht the tank and caused “runs” in the dust coverage. (Check this photo of my 1/72 KVII). Once again, I’m really giving you a generalized overview; you need to research a little, and look at other models also for ideas and examples.
Hey Sam check out the link below
http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/other/awpaint/awpaint.htm
Pretty good stuff. I myself learned a lot from the article.
Ben
Guessing you have the basic paint set for armor or at least the base color,black, and white. brush or airbrush the base color,then on the top side and high sides mix white into the base and apply. for the lower parts mix base with black and apply. take your model out into the sun and notice where the shadows fall thats where ya want the darker shades. other replies cover more info so keeep patience and practice.good luck