Nice clean build. Question on my mind is what is the point of weathering if the subject is not dented,bent, missing parts, shot up? scuffed. then I can see including weathered paint etc.This is the problem I have run into on my builds. I have trouble deciding to have no weathering at all or go all the way since anything in between just does not look right?

Let him build it the way he wants to.

I guess since this behemoth trucks body is so far off the ground it would not show much wear and tear....typically?.Everyone please accept my apologies if I come across as being obnoxious just wondering about how one defines weathering. To me it reflects a moment in time and definitely is a random unique look to each subject.

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I guess since this behemoth trucks body is so far off the ground it would not show much wear and tear....typically?.Everyone please accept my apologies if I come across as being obnoxious just wondering about how one defines weathering. To me it reflects a moment in time and definitely is a random unique look to each subject.

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Its not obnoxious at all, its a good way to understand how different people percieve tones of wear and useage....

For me, with 15 years in the military, mostly time in the National Guard, I very rarely if EVER saw a brand spanking new vehicle. When I DID see brand new vehicles come in, they frequently sat in "cold Storage" for several months while the units got the proper training and equipment to maintain and operate them. I specifically remember seeing 6 brand new D-7 bulldozers that sat for 3 months.. they still had the plastic over the operators seats, but they were dusty and showed rust and rainmarks after just a short sit in a desert environment!! So, I guess IMO, if you are doing a military vehicle... it HAS to show some kind of at least dust and rain streaking. If it sat in the desert for any time, its dusty. If its been anywhere BUT the desert, its probably gotten a little rain added to the mix. Rust, especially on tracked components or on parts that collect water, is a reality also for even the new stuff. Its all in the..... thickness... of what you apply... the more you ding it, dust it, and rust it, the more wear and tear shown..... sometimes just a light wash of dirt or dust colored filters is all it takes..... but as someone already said.... the beauty of the hobby is that you control the piece.... weather you are going for accuracy down to the scratch (as many do in the case of commission builds), or a period accurate representation of a real vehicle, or even the brand spanking new spit shined commanders car..... its YOU're option..... whatever you do, take what others have to offer, and give them a try on SOMETHING.... your skills will thank you!

Let him build it the way he wants to.

Looks nice! I like how the pattern worked out even hand painted. The new TriColor is so precisely applied at the factory that this looks like the real deal in scale.

You can play around with chipping paint and rust but in the real deal these modern TriColor vehicles painted at the factory have such tough paint coatings that chipping and such is pretty minimal.

I'd just focus on shadows and highlights that bring out the details.
In Shepard Pain days that'd mean washes and dry brushing. Today, there's all sorts of modulation techniques and pigments to use - but I'm still old school.

With an airbrush - for TriColor - I shoot the base NATO green all over. And then add black to the green and do the shadows. I dry brush w NATO green and white/yellow fir the highlights and then and the black and brown doing the same thing. The green, being the major lighter color is usually the layer that shows off the shadows/highlights and gives the model depth.

I started to practice dry brushing, but I had a problem with the paint drying too fast, so the brush did not leave any paint on the surface. I got a paint retarder and it helped, still need to get the feeling for how much paint I need to leave on the brush. Sometimes I leave too much there.

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I started to practice dry brushing, but I had a problem with the paint drying too fast, so the brush did not leave any paint on the surface. I got a paint retarder and it helped, still need to get the feeling for how much paint I need to leave on the brush. Sometimes I leave too much there.

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Hi David, the fact that you mentioned retarder suggests that you are trying to dry brush with acrylic paint - ? Some people may have techniques that enable them to do that, but I think it is more usual, and much easier, to dry brush with either enamel or oil paint. These both give considerably longer working times, allowing for more precise application, blending, or even removal should you want to correct any mistakes. I think with enamel, it is often suggested that the paint is not stirred, but that some of the thick sludgy pigment is dragged up from the bottom of the tin, and the brush dipped in that, before being wiped off to the point of nearly dry.