Track weathering 101
Tue Feb 19 04:11:15 2002
Weather with washes and drybrushing of your basic earth colors. If you want to experiment without risk, use artist's water colors. If you don't like an effect, wash it off and start again. Mud can be depicted with Celluclay instant papier mache, and it can be colored with watercolor as well. When you're satisfied, spray with clear flat to seal. Clean metal not directly exposed to heavy wear may have patina of rust (though sandy desert conditions will scour all track metal pretty clean). Any parts with metal to metal contact will be polished steel (chrome silver, or silver with a bit of black).
If you want a nice final touch, pastel chalks from the art supply store can be ground into a powder and applied to recesses with a sable brush (best if you do this after your final clear coat--the clear flat varnish will float the particles off the surface and ruin the effect).
In some modern militaries (the Russians, for instance), the tracks are now painted with black preservative paint, so start with that and then simulate the scoured high points with silver.
Rubber components are dark gray when clean, but soon acquire a ground-in dirt color in the field.
In another easy technique, I started using Floquil's Roof Red as a primer. Then I used burnt sienna wash to give it a rust appearance and then a wash of raw umber for a dirty appearance. Then I dry brushed some Tamiya Steel on the raised portion of the tracks for a worn appearance. I thought it worked pretty good for a European Theater and the diaroma I made was a street scene so no need for a heavy coating of dirt and mud. It was also very simple!
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