how do you weather a model? (like a krad!)

Dragunov · Post by **Dragunov** » Wed Oct 18, 2006 7:35 pm

if i actually do an ok job, the tanks/planes that i build look like they just came out of a factory. so how do you ad mud, rust, paint fade and damage? i've read some articles but they were like home-made zimmerit and scratch damage and such.

i'm working on a Tamiya 1/48 Krad (i usually work in 35 or 72, this one came with a goliath, i couldnt miss out

), and krads are dirty, so any info is appreciated.

5RANGLIAN · Post by **5RANGLIAN** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:24 am

Mud you can do two ways, either a thin wash which you then wipe off, leaving dust/wet mud in the depressed parts of the vehicle, or by splattering thickened paint (using talc, plaster or sand) into the relevant wheel arches etc. Farm vehicles are a good source of how this looks in real life.

Wear on paint you can do by drybrushing steel colour on areas which get a lot of wear, handholds etc. Paint fade you have to do when you paint the vehicle, or you could try dry-brushing a lighter colour over your completed panel. BUT, be subtle, unless you're trying to recreate some sort of Eastern Front mudbath.

A good diorama would be a spotless Krad about to be offloaded from the muddy truck, into a muddy field, surrounded by dirty, scruffy soldiers.

In disciplined armies, the engine and troop compartments are usually clean and tidy, if worn. I have seen photos of French VAB's in Chad full of drinks bottles and other rubbish, but I can't believe the Wehrmacht would have tolerated that sort of thing.

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:14 am

d., find the nearest model shop to you dealing with "British Outline" RAILWAY MODELLING - Hornby, Bachmann etc. There are whole ranges of weathering powders etc in dozens of different shades for weather model locomotives and rolling stock for those modelling to competition standard. Many of these and the processes using them can be applied to other genres.

P.S. MY favourite tip for weatherind/distressing - German Officers' leather overcoats; paint the whole thing matt black, leave to dry for a week. then on a warm day HANDLE the model! Your own skin oils will gloss perfectly the high points on the overcoat and make them shine! Far better and more accurate than trying to highlight/lowlight them lol

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 5:16 am

5RA - like most armies, drinking on duty wasn't frowned on- being DRUNK on duty was! ark ark! The war took them - like so many other armies - to places where bottled alcohol was cleaner and healthier than the drinking water.....

Dragunov · Post by **Dragunov** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:00 pm

A good diorama would be a spotless Krad about to be offloaded from the muddy truck, into a muddy field, surrounded by dirty, scruffy soldiers.

haha, more like a rather screwed up krad on a gluey mess. okay, i don't suck that bad, but i'm still getting annoyed with the tiny tracks.

phylo, i am also a model railroader (to some extent) and have NEVER seen weathering powders. maybe i need to look harder.

NEW QUESTION:

whatabout schürtzen damage? i've cut out a panel on a Tiger but don't know how to bend them and beat them up like the real thing.

and what kind of paint do you use, phylo? the stickiest stuff that i've used was humbrol, and it took like a month to dry, and of i poked it, i'd leave fingerprints, and i don't believe that there were any king tiger tanknapping yetis in '44.

cheers,
Dragunov

Tom Houlihan · Post by **Tom Houlihan** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:07 pm

Dragunov, in truth, you are bringing up many similar, but different issues. There are some websites devoted to military modeling that go into good detail on many of the questions you are asking.

You might be better off visiting some of those sites to get your general questions answered. There's just so much to modeling!

Dragunov · Post by **Dragunov** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:30 pm

hmm...
maybe i should google it! oops!

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 11:18 am

D., the railway modelling aspect would depend on what you dabble in - if its American HO scale, or plain British OO then you mightn't encouter all the weather stuff - but google on "EN", "P4", "ScaleFour" and you'll find the level of realism I mean. Some of it is frighteningly real....

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:57 pm

D., two nice examples...top one "factory fresh"...the bottom "weathered"...

Believe it or not - this is how they BOTH leave the factory! Most "British Outline" manufacturers now produce both pristine and realistic weathered models of the same loco and rolling stock! Further work can be done, but these show the levels of realism currently available - higher than anything before and getting better by the day.

These are Hornby's new Southern Railway M7's...which I sadly have to get a couple of, paint matt black and re-weather to cover 1939-45

Feels almost like sacriledge!

Dragunov · Post by **Dragunov** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:21 pm

have you seen some of the ww2 armored trains (i think) lilliput makes? really nice but the price tag would give me blood clots. i do HO scale and might want to dig up some old magazines for tips, if they have 'em.

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:37 pm

Yep, they're imported here by Bachmann and I've seen catalogue pics. Cute, but yep the problem with ANY import in ANY direction is the taxes

Dragunov · Post by **Dragunov** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:49 pm

everythings too expensive, i wish there was a lesser ww2-enthusiast pool so things would be cheaper, the books, the everything. there's always a tomorrow, though

(if you don't believe in the apocylapse)

Lustmolch · Post by **Lustmolch** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:03 am

Wherever possible, I try & buy my books and kits second hand. Downside is, you can wait ages before something turns up at the right price. Though recently I bought a couple of old Tamiya kits for £10 each. It's just a matter of playing the waiting game.

Dragunov · Post by **Dragunov** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:30 pm

lucky i'm going to Malaysia (again) this summer... stuffs 3x cheaper there. and they have Tamiya shops everywhere.

phylo_roadking · Post by **phylo_roadking** » Sun Nov 12, 2006 3:41 pm

D., if you want to google on it, the brand name for weathering powders is Carr's