This particular how-to will use Acrylic paint and water as a thinner; brushed-on chalks and dry brushing technique to achieve desired results.
Well, let's get started....
Here is a list of the materials that I used.
Unfortunately, I did not have the chalks or Model Master enamels when I took this shot. I also do not have the medicine dropper in this photo.
You will need...
Acrylic Paint:
Delta Creamcoat, Apple Barrel or Folk Art are all available as acrylic paints. Often I will mix the brands to get colors that I need. Delta Creamcoat comes in larger bottles than does the Folk Art or Apple Barrel. However, Folk Art and Apple Barrel have many more colors to choose from. ALL of these paints are available in the craft section at any Wal-Mart, Michaels or Hobby Lobby.
Brushes:
A medium sized brush (a little larger than what comes in a child's watercolor set for school) for brushing on the main wash (see photo-first brush from top). The size of the brush is important, because it allows you to cover a good portion of the model area without having to constantly reapply the brush to the wash.
You will also need medium and small-sized brushes for painting details, using with chalks, drybrushing, etc.
I usually have a medium sized and a small-sized brush for applying chalks.
I will use one brush for acrylics and a different one for solvents (enamels) as it helps keep me straight on the type of thinner I have to use.
You will also need, what I call, a blending brush. I have found that the best brush for this, is a make up brush that the wife uses for her blush. No, I did not take hers. LOL! I had her pick up an extra one for me. The blending brush is used to blend the chalks/pastels to the wash.
Painting/Project Mat:
Use a thick papertowel, mat or newspaper underneath your project. This keeps the little lady from killing you later on, when she finds out you accidentally painted her table. IT DOES HAPPEN! LOL
Containers:
You will need receptacles for the wash, paint and water to clean the brushes. I have used pot pie tins here, but I also like to use old cottage cheese containers or coolwhip containers too. Any container works as long as it does not react with the thinner or paint (solvent thinner will sometimes eat plastic).
A medicine dropper:
You will need this handy tool to add water to the wash or paint to make a wash or even to measure out paint, though I usually just drop it into the pie tin/container from the bottle.
Chalks/Pastels:
Surprise! You can also find these in the craft section at Wal-Mart. They aren't too pricey for the set. They give the main primary colors, the secondary colors, black, white, brown, tan, etc. You can buy more expensive ones that give the entire color spectrum, but for what I am doing here, the cheaper ones work great.
I like the Wal-Mart ones as they allow me to either sand off/scrape the stick into a powder, or I can simply run a wet brush up and down the stick, getting the precise color I need for rust streaks, exhaust streaks, etc. Wet pastels dry eventually, but they adhere to the model better after drying than the applied dry. Also, as a tip, it is best to have a wash applied to the model before using dry chalks, as the dried wash gives the powdered chalks something to adhere to, and thus will not simply wipe off when sealing the model.
Solvent-based paint (enamels):
These are up to you to use or not. I used these on small details on the model, as well as the commander's machine gun. Keep in mind these are solvent paints and will require a solvent thinner to thin and clean the brushes with. Since it is easy to accidentally mixup one brush with acrylic and solvent paint, I use a separate brush for each type.
Sealer:
Finally you will need a sealer to seal the weathering job after you are completely satisfied with it. The great thing about using Acrylics, is that if you are not satisfied with your job, it can all be removed with water, as long as you HAVE NOT sealed it.
Solvents are also undoable, but with solvents you run the risk of damaging the plastic with coats of thinner. It is possible though. I recommend the acrylics for large bodies of weathering and using the solvents for details. It is up to you though.
The sealer that I like to use is Testor's Dullcoat. It is also available at Wal-Mart or any hobby store that carries Testor's paint.
Whew!
Okay. We are going to first create a wash. A wash is a thin film of paint that when dried, resembles dirt, dust, mud or grime such as engine exhaust, oil, etc.
Our wash is going to be a orange-brown muddy wash.
Apply the orange Delta Creamcoat to the pie tin in a liberal amount.
Apply the brown Delta Creamcoat to the same pie tin, also in a liberal amount.
Mix the two colors together till they are an even color. Mine resembles a light mud.
Now, add the water to the mix. I use a medicine dropper and a half for mine. If you have bubbles, it is too thin. You want consistency, but not so thick that the wash will not show through the paintjob on the model.
This is the victim of this project.
Disassemble the model as much as you can. I have removed the turret from the body. The two tow cables are still on the model, but they will be removed and weathered too. I have not opened the machine gun nor the main gun barrel yet, but they will also require paint.
Here is our model all ready to go.
Apply the wash to the entire surface and sides of the tank. One thing that annoyed me was when the wash dripped, straight lines would form on parts. Be sure to keep your wash looking somewhat realistic and keep the lines from forming as much as possible. Lines will tend to form at the front glacis plate, the sides and on the bottoms of the tracks where each wheel resides. Also, don't forget to cover the tracks and tow cables with the wash.
Here is a premlinary shot of the tank now washed. Notice the tow cables have been removed.
Let the wash sit for an hour or so and dry. Be careful not to touch the tank while the wash is drying and be sure that your brush has not left any stray hairs behind. Once dried, they are a pain to remove and often will require a second wash coat to fix.
With the wash coat firmly dry, I examine the model for touch-up spots and followed through with that small task. Sometimes the wash will either not hit some areas or will require a little more to adhere. Once that was complete, I then decided to dump some paint out for painting the tracks to resemble a little thicker layer of mud there.
I used a little bit of Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna and Terra Cotta Folk Art colors and blended them into a small pile of paint on the thick papertowel mat. I used a medium-sized brush to apply the paint. With each application, I made sure the brush was liberally wet with water before applying the paint to the brush. I then painted the tracks with the color, again keeping the brush as wet as possible. The effect is a thin layer of mud, but not so thin as to resemble the wash layer.
I painted the entire track, except the areas in which it touches the surface, as well as some of the frontal area at the tow rings, the drive wheels, etc. Anywhere I thought that mud might get to while the tank was in operation.
Next, I decided to apply some dry chalks to the model. I took the smallest brush I had and dipped it into the black chalk dust (you can also use art charcoal) and applied streaks to parts of the model to resemble bullet ricochets. I then used another medium-sized brush and applied it to the exhaust area and blackened most of the engine area, as well as parts that I thought would see exhaust.
I then cleaned the medium brush and dipped it into the orange-black mix chalk dust that I made a while back and tapped it over the model in random spots. I then applied a little more black chalk to some of the other areas of the model. I then blended all of this with the blending brush and set the model aside. I applied the same techniques as described to the main gun barrel and the turret as well.
Next came the tow cables. I applied a thin layer of Folk Art Terra Cotta mixed with a wet brush. I used this as the first layer. When that was dry, I then applied a thin layer of Folk Art Burnt Umber. The combination of the mud wash, and the two colors gave me the desired look I needed for the cables. I set them aside and let them dry.
I took out the machine gun and painted it totally black, even though it was already black. I used Pollyscale acrylics for this. The idea is to get the shine off the black plastic. When it was dry, I opened the Testors solvent paints, taking out Model Master aluminum and Model Master rust enamels.
I painted the buttstock of the machine gun the rust brown color, and while the brush was still wet, I dry brushed some of the rivet details on the tank with the rust color. Drybrushing is the technique of wiping off most of the paint and applying the brush to highlights of the model. You do not get much paint on the model, but you do get enough to show detail. I cleaned the brush in the solvent thinner and then applied it to the aluminum. I then drybrushed the machine gun's black areas with the brush.
Here are photos of the model BEFORE the sealing process:
Here is a shot showing the chalk detail on the engine area.
You will have to have adequate ventillation when sealing the model. Testors dullcoat has very strong fumes. I usually seal my stuff outside on the porch, as we have no basement and no spray booth/garage. BE SURE this is what you want in your model before sealing it. It is a pain to undo, but it CAN be done if necessary..
Also, a word to the modelers who use any alcohol-based thinner with their washes. IF you use Dullcoat, the spray will chemically react with the alcohol and cause your model to turn frosted white. This might work if you are wanting a winter weathering, but I do not recommend it otherwise.
I speak from experience here, as it took me 2 nights of frustration and a whole bottle of Microscale's decal setting solution to remove the seal coat off one of my models.
Finally, here is a side-by-side comparison shot of an un-weathered Panther next to the Panther I just did.
It is often best to go by a color photo of a REAL tank, but this project for me turned out quite good without any photos of a real Panther.
Any questions, please ask away. Hope you enjoyed this and learned how to weather your tanks.
-Noel
