Basic to Rusting and weathering

[TRM]

Hello All,

In an effort to simplify some techniques, I am putting together a small SBS on rusting, chipping and weathering.

There is many techniques to attack painting, chipping and finally weathering different models to get the realistic feel we are looking for. We all learn these different techniques either from trial and error, reading articles and following builds online or if we are lucky enough, to have one or more of the so called "experts" show us some of the tricks.

Here is a "small" SBS on Painting, rusting, Hair Spray/Chipping Fluids, weathering in layers to help understand the use of some products and the applications of layers to help bring depth to a project. I am no expert by any means. I have only picked up some tricks here and there and want to help some who wants to learn the basics to rusting and weathering. So, if you wanted to try and rust an old model or tried and failed or just want to learn one more tool to help you get there, I hope this will help some understand some processes in making, painting and finally weathering.

First we need to build something quick...............

With that, here we go!!

The Kit:



First thing that needs to be understood, and not everyone will agree with this, is that you do not always need the expensive kit that is loaded with parts and tons of PE to have fun and finally create something you can be happy with. This kit was given to me by a friend and I think he paid $5 USD. Worth it all day long!!

The Inspiration:

For Discussion Purposes Only


I found 5 outstanding shots of this truck online. With the old kit, some inspiration and some time, anything is possible. Time to dig in and have at it.

Starting points. Digging through this old kit is the first thing you will need to do. Getting familiar with what is there...or not and planning your attack.



A couple of key features that stand out to me in these picture are the cab, chopped chassis and the motor.









At this point the hardest part for most will occur....the cut!!!





Committing to actually cutting a perfectly good model is the hardest obstacle any modeler will encounter when building. Only advise is that first, anything can be fixed with enough plastic and glue and second is to just DO IT!! It gets easier. Before you know it you will want to cut apart that $70 Dragon Kit and wreck something!!







After separating a few parts the building is soon to begin. We will need to add some damage to show rusting later on in the painting stages. I took my cordless Dremel and an engraving tip ground various areas that would be damaged on the truck from being abandoned in the woods.



The floor boards would be rotted out from sitting close to the ground and using the picture as references for some other damages I proceeded.




Actually attaching some parts instead of breaking. I added the section of the Chassis to the floorboards



I wanted to create the torn headliner that can be seen in one of the pictures. I cut apart a teabag and with a little PVA Glue, began gluing the headliner in place.





The Donkey...Lump...Motor, was next on the chopping block.



In an effort to speed this up, I cut out the intake manifold section, drilled out the cylinders added some small bobbles and the motor was ready.



In the pictures there are a couple of distinct features I will try and duplicate somewhat. The open driver's side door with the hanging panel and the bars on the rear window.

For Discussion Purposes Only


For Discussion Purposes Only


The rear window bars.



and then chopping away at the doors.





Finally, for the moment, the homemade steel framework that was added and then someone attached the rear axle to it. A little scratch work and I am pretty much ready for some primer.





This is one of my favorite stages...Priming!! Something clean about it. Great feeling to start slinging some paint.












Next up after the primer dries is laying down some base coat of rusting color. Any questions along the way on this, please feel free to ask. I will do my best to give, lol, or get the answer

As always, thank you for stopping by.

 

[JohnSimmons]

This is great stuff! Bookmarked!

 

[TRM]

Thanks John! Just a little help for those needing a place to start I guess! One from you on lighting next? ;D

 

[spud]

Looking forward to it T

 

[Junkie]

Awesome presentation - and build - T! Thank you for posting this. Fantastic.

 

[TRM]

Thnaks Spud...glad to have you along!!

Thanks Scott!! Your welcome. Hope it helps a little. More to come later today

 

[Chris S]

Excellent work T ...well laid out and easy to follow , nice choice of subject too ;D ....Following

Chris.

 

[CTspeedshop]

This is going to be fun!!! ;D I'll be following this thread closely!!! Thanks T!!!

 

[Glorfindel]

This is what Daddy has been waiting for. Thanks.

 

[JohnSimmons]

Thanks John! Just a little help for those needing a place to start I guess! One from you on lighting next? ;D

Nah mate, I just know enough to fumble through it lol, now Grenedels is your man for lighting 8)

 

[scratchmod]

Well T, what can I say brotha. Freakin fantastic SBS. Great read and the pics look very good as well. Mag article here....

 

[spud]

lol its Defo good enough hint hint

 

[Biskup]

Great initiative Todd will be watching this one closely.
Cheers
Lukasz

 

[TRM]

Hello gentlemen!! Thanks!! Hope not to disappoint too much on this one!! MMM?? Article? :

OK, back at it.

Time to apply a little base coat. This will be a rusty color that will show through in the form of scratches and chips and such.

Here I started out with just Tamiya Flat Brown.



This is just a quick and easy rusty color straight out of the jar. Vallejo, Badger, LifeColor and countless other brands have this same color as well as specific "rust" colors. This is a preference call when choosing the color. Ask yourself if the rust needs to be lighter or darker, browner or more orange and so forth. This little panning will help later on when finishing your model.



The rust base color is merely a stepping stone at this point. Most dark browns will work to start. I like to mix either right in the paint cup on the Airbrush or a separate jar, a drop or tow of white or orange...or even a drop of each just to lighten the initial coat. This modulation is similar to how metal will fade and weather without paint.



As you can see on the door and hood, the center of the panels are lightened. This is the same process as panel line shading with a black or dark grey and letting the darker section show to bring out the depth in the nooks and crannies.

In not spending a bunch of time on the base colors as these can still be manipulated even more in later stages, we move on to some important steps in painting and chipping. First, after your base has dried completely, you will want to protect the work you have done with a clear coat.



This is achieved many ways. Some like Future, others a matte finish and on and on. I like the old reliable Testor's in the rattle can. Whichever clear coat you choose, make sure it is either fully cured before heading to the next stage.

After a full cure of the clear coat, the fun can begin. This is where we lay down some chipping fluid to aid in the removal of the next stage(s) of paint to give the chipped, worn, weathered look we are trying to achieve



As you can see, I have 3 options to choose from at the moment. First is AK Interactive's Worn Effects, the second is K4's Paint Off and last but certainly not least common household hair spray. All should achieve basically the same results. The AK Worn Effects has been out for a while and works excellent. A couple thin coats then let dry and you are good to go. The K4 is brand new to the market and works pretty much in the same fashion. Then there is the tried and true hair spray. I personally still like the HS method. But I can get old school a bit. The AK and K4 add a layer under the next paint stage so when you apply damp warm water to the surface of the covering paint work, you are able to chipp away at the finish with various tools like cotton swabs (buds), stiff paint brushes and for the daring, the all mighty toothpick. This is really easy to accomplish with these newer products and the best way to go for beginning the trip into chipping. The Hair Spray, or HS, does the same thing with the exception that you can be a little more aggressive when removing the paint. Scrubbing of the surface is possible and picking away with toothpicks in the corners and edges can bee done. Not to mention that I steal my supply from anyone of the 3 girls that live in the house!!

OK then, after all that, here we go. I decided to use all three on this to show that there is relitively not much end result difference only the ease to which you make the achievement.

I applied AK's Worn Effect to the firewall and interior of the cab.



I next applied K4's Paint Off to the rear of the cab.



An lastly, I applied Hair Spray to the roof, doors and Chassis.



With the chipping fluids in place the next step I will add in here will be some salt. Mind you, with all of these chipping fluids you do not need to use salt to get a desired chipping effect. Simply skip this part and proceed to the paint stage. The salt is used specifically to protect certain layers from being painted over and giving a really nice chipped effect by itself.

OK, I use Margarita Salt. Mainly because that is what I have in the shop and it is rather coarse. I crush the coarse salt with a hard object to reduce the size of the granules. You can simply use table salt for the finer granules. I like to take an spray a quick thin layer of Hair Spray and/or any of the chipping fluids to the surface that you want to use the salt on. This will dampen the area just so the salt has something to stick too. I have been known to use White Spirit as well. This will not break down the chipping fluids and still dampens the area.



Here I am not being shy with the use. You however can apply in any amount you seen fit to do.



After the application of salt, you may want to add a thin layer of chipping fluid again to the top side of the slat. This will help keep the granules in place when you lay down you paint layer.

The best part!!! PAINT!!! I have decided to use a 2 color system of painting. This means that I will lay one layer of paint, Chipping fluid and salt again and then paint with another color. This will enhance the depth a lot.



Using Tamiya's Medium Blue first, I laid down a coat making sure to be a little heavier in the areas I wanted shaded darker and light to a dusting in the sun bleached top and flat surface panels.





You can see in this last shot that the salt does react a bit with the paint and has a slight faded appearance. This will actually help me sort of later.

Next comes more chipping fluids, in the same placement as the first time.



While still wet I applied a little more salt to some areas.



Now comes the second layer of paint. For this stage I decided to use Tamiya's Light Sea Grey. This was laid down where I wanted to accent and/or highlight panels and mostly top surface panels and areas that would be bleached from the sun.



Up next I will be removing the salt and exposing the multi layers of paint and rust. in this next picture we see the doors before the salt is removed and the hood. I chose not to salt the hood. I will hit this section with a stiff bristle brush to show this effect.



Up next I will show the removal of the salt and some heavy chipping to the hood.

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

[Junkie]

OK, that's almost a tease! LOL. Great work. I love to see you have achieve all the dope depth!

 

[JohnSimmons]

This is like finding a cheat code to scale modeling! Awesome.

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

This is like finding a cheat code to scale modeling!

lol!

 

[adampolo13]

Please sir may I have another!!! I'm loving this!!! Thank you so much for posting this!

 

[Bizarre]

awesome tutorial, looking forward to more!

 

[Chris S]

I must concur , Defo article material T ( insert big thumbs up ) , excellent work bro

Chris.