Spraying a Dust layer on Tanks?

[AndyFettes]

Hi all

Some tank modellers produce this effect by spaying a very thin coat of colour like Buff

but how would you spray a very fine coat like this ? Would it be thinned heavily and air pressure turned either up or down?

Is there an alternative in producing this effect apart from spraying ?

 

[G Cooper]

Hi Andy.

The answer to your questions are yes. Using a soft tan color like Tamiya buff gives a decent representation of dust. Of course you would use other colors if the ground depicted on a diorama or simple base is not standard brown dirt. Like Vietnam for instance.

And yes, use very thined mixtures of the paint and work it up with several layers until you are satisfied. And lowering the pressure is not necesary, but it makes it easier to work closer to the model, and control where you put the color a little better. Also when you are doing a layer of dust I like to work in a wedge shaped pattern starting very low on the front of the vehicle to high up on the rear end.

And there is another method that does not involve an airbrush or paint. That is using chalk pastels. You could either invest in the great products from MIG. Or make your own from ground pastel sticks available from most art supply stores. They work great for that.

And the only "natural" method I could suggest is to bring your finished models over to my work room and store them on one of my shelves for about a week :huh: . It will have a seriously heavy layer of natural dust on it by then :laugh: .

Gary B)

 

[Kreighshoer]

like gary said, either chalks or pigments and the shortcut would be airbrushing very thin paint at low pressure!

this combo i did the quick way only with airbrush:

but you better experiment airbrushing dust on a shelf queen!

 

[AndyFettes]

Hey thank you to both of you for replying,... I think I shall dig out the trusty pigments that Ive just found at the bottom of the very large modelling bin. ( Its amazing what you find I didnt think Id brought them with me )

I think I shall take Lauras advice and do a bit of practicing first before I attempt anything with the airbrush, I do like that effect youve done on your halftrack and thats the result Id quite like on my Panther

 

[Ken Abrams]

There's also a product called 'dust' by the company Floquil, it's usually found in the paint rack as it looks just like their bottles of paint but it doesn't work like paint at all. It's best to apply it very lightly and wait until completely dry as it goes on perfectly clear and takes a while to show it's results, if you apply to much it your tank ends up looking like a powdered doughnut.

I don't know if Floquil is available near you but it is a nice brand of enamel paints that I grew up using with model trains. Floquil is more popular with the train guys but they do have a few shades which are good for armor modelers as well.

This is what a light pass with the airbrush can look like, on this old Tamiya model.

HTH

 

[AndyFettes]

Hey Thanks Ken thats another option I could try in the future

best wishes

Andy

 

[AndyFettes]

Ok, Ive decided to use my pigments for this particular project but would like to ask,...

Im going to give my tank a good spray over with Testors Dullcote, so is it best to apply the pigments before or after I do that ?

I feel like a bit of a plum asking these questions but I mainly do figures and havnt done an armoured project for about 5 years and things and techniques have move on quite considerably since then

 

[Phil_H]

andyfettes wrote:

Ok, Ive decided to use my pigments for this particular project but would like to ask,...

Im going to give my tank a good spray over with Testors Dullcote, so is it best to apply the pigments before or after I do that ?

Apply your pigments after the flat coat. Applying a flat coat over the pigments tends to make them disappear. (They don't really disappear, but the flat coat alters the reflectivity of the surface and of the pigments and makes them seem to disappear.)

 

[Ken Abrams]

andyfettes wrote:

I feel like a bit of a plum asking these questions ...

You shouldn't. B)

It's the only way to learn new things, going into something uninformed and not being happy with the outcome is far worse, right?

While I completely agree with Phil about the effects of coating over the pigments, it really depends on what you are trying to achieve, how the pigments are applied, what the next steps are etc.

I will apply pigments with some sort of fixer, be it turps/alcohol etc. When using say MIG 'Faded Green' on an Allied vehicle in a downward motion to show streaking, I will seal this in with a coat of clear. While it will definitely effect the look of the pigments a bit, they will still be visible as well as the effect they've created. The coat of clear will protect them from being smudged with further handling.

I think a lot of times, pigments just get dusted dry onto a model at the end of a build, when there are actually quite a few different applications for different effects.

Experiment on an old model if you can, apply them wet on one side, dry on another, seal them in with a flat coat, re apply over top of that clear coat, mix one color over another, feather the edges once dry etc. The possibilities are endless, the effects all vary and experimenting sometimes lead to very much desired results.

HTH

 

[AndyFettes]

Hey all and thank you for these great bits of advice

So to continue,...

I bit the bullet and did a bit of airbrush practice using thinned Tamiya buff on bits of left over kits,.. was very happy and then

I went the whole hog and dusted my Panther and I am over the moon with the results

turned out much better than I expected

I shall try and post up some piccys in the Tank section in the near future

Thank you one and all for helping me with this and for giving me the courage to go and do something Id never tried before !


A Very Happy TnT`er

Andy

 

[AndyFettes]

I shall try and take some this evening but my camera is a pretty much basic point and shoot affair

Cheers Dio

heres some pictures taken this evening
which I posted in the tansk section
http://www.tanksandthings.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=53&func=view&catid=12&id=5302#11351

 

[AndyFettes]

Right I am nearing the end of my weathering process and I wish you spray the model with a dullcote,
Now I have a new spraycan of Testors dullcote so can I spray that directly from the can without spoiling the overall effect I have on my Tank.

Have you any tips and or advice to do with spraying directly from a can ?