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The Mud Technique

Introduction

Looking for dirt and filth? Then you’ve come to the right place! (Steady lads!)

There’s lots of ways to make mud on models and scenery. You can use the real thing, plaster/filler, ready-made mixes, pigments etc. There’s a lot of options open for mud basically! Therefore the following technique is not the be all and end all of mud but it is a relatively fast and simple way to do it.

What You’ll Need

Plaster/Powdered Filler (The stuff you use to cover cracks in walls).

Tamiya Texture Paint Soil Effect Brown

Enamel Paints for Washes/Premixed Wash

AK Interactive Dark Mud

Pigments

Gloss Varnish

Water

Thinner

Something to Mix Paint/Filler In

Some Old Brushes

Plastic Card for Spattering

Stage-1

Make sure you have a varnish coat on your model to seal the paintwork. Matt, Satin, Gloss or Jonson’s Klear are all good for this. You can pre-dust your model with dry pigments if you so wish but there is no real need.

To get the mud texture I’m using Tamiya Texture Paint-Soil Effect Brown. This is rather like pumice stone mixed with paint in appearance. Take care when applying this as when it dries it does so to a very hard finish. You can thin it with water if you wish but you will lose the texture. This stuff will destroy a brush so use an old one! Give the bottle a stir before applying and then apply like paint, making sure to get a good build up of texture and not just color. Also look out as this stuff will clump on the brush.

Once on, the texture paint will take a while to dry- give it half a day or at least two hours if you are in a hurry. Touch-test it gently to make sure it’s dried hard. It will not flake off like plaster so you don’t have to be too gentle.

Stage 2

Next up is to give the mud some variation in color- that starts with a wash. Now you can use any color wash you want to achieve whichever color of mud you are looking for. The Mig Pigments Dark Wash used here is for a dark mud. Brush it on and leave it to dry. If you put on too much you can use a thinner moistened brush to remove it.

Stage 3

Once the wash is dry it’s time to add some more color using pigments. Again you can choose whichever colors you like although I’d advise sticking to earthy tones at this stage. For this dark mud I’m using Mig Pigments Track Brown and Dark Mud. Be careful if you are using Track Brown as it is very dark and can overwhelm lighter colors. Mix this with water and apply liberally with a brush making sure to get some of it above the mud-line.

Stage 4

When the wet pigments are dry we have a nice dark finish. Now it’s time to add some lighter tones and spatter. In order to give the mud a bit of body (so it looks like actual clumps of mud thrown up onto the vehicle) you should use household powder filler or plaster. You can mix this with enamels or with wet pigments or even paint to achieve the color you desire. However, for this I’m using AK Interactive Dark Mud which, when added to plaster, gives a nice finish that isn’t too dark.

Use a plastic cup or similar receptacle to mix up the Dark Mud with the plaster. The consistency we’re looking for here is like a milkshake- you don’t want stodgy clumps in this technique although that can be useful for other techniques. As you can see on the brush the mix isn’t too thick nor is it dripping off the brush- it still has a bit of ‘body’.

Now you can dab this on with a smaller brush than you mixed it with so you have more control over where it goes. You can also ‘spatter’ the mud by flicking the mixture on the paintbrush against a piece of plastic card. Have a go on a bit of paper first before applying it to your model. (You can also use an airbrush to spray the spatter on from behind the brush but I find this unpredictable and I get more control with the cardboard and flicking.)

Stage 5

As you can see the spatters are not flat- they are little clumps of dirt- like real mud spatters. Be careful when handling after this stage as the plaster/filler will rub and flake off easily. Now we can add some damp areas (if you so wish). I find the best way to do this is with enamel washes and gloss varnish- mixed up together. For this example I’m using the Mig Productions Dark Wash again as well as their Wet Effects and Damp Earth Mixture. Mix them both up and apply in random patches to simulate mud that is still damp/wet. If you want it to look even more damp/wet then, once the mix is dry on the model, you can apply another coat of gloss varnish or Wet Effects (Johnson’s Klear works well too).

Stage 6

Once that is dry you can leave it there or you can add some more pigments for more color variation depending on what kind of look you want for the model. If it was in a city, for example, you might want to add grey tones and if it was in the countryside then more earthy tones. I added Mig Pigments Rubble Dust to the left and Dark Mud to the right of the example.

And that’s it. Remember that if you are not certain about this technique (or any technique for that matter) then try it out on a scrap model or some scrap card- don’t ruin your latest masterpiece by mistake!!