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Eine kleine Krieger

down & dirty

An area often over looked and under worked is the lower hull and running gear. It is important to include this area in your wash stages as well as chipping and streaking effects. In this way we can build up many layers of effects on the lower hull and running gear to create a convincing over all look. Simply throwing mud at the lower hull will not create a convincing appearance. The lower hull of real vehicles would be subjected to chips and scratches as well as leaking fluids. The effects on the lower hull must also be tied into the upper hull, rear hull, fenders, and glacis plate as well. At this stage I begin to move farther away from a linear process and begin to switch back and forth between chipping, washes, and streaking effects, building each effect up in subtle layers until the desired cumulative effect is achieved. The 38(t) has excellent surface detail on the lower hull, it would be a shame to neglect these details! Rivet heads & panel seams are treated to the full barrage of washes, chipping, scratches, dust, dirt, mud, & fluids. It is critical at this stage that the road wheels be treated to the same weathering that the lower hull is subjected to. This will tie these 2 features together and give a natural and convincing appearance to the vehicle.

This is an excellent opportunity to address the rear hull as well. This area will need to be treated to the same dirt, dust, & mud tones as the areas in direct contact with the Earth. This area offers the opportunity to portray one of my personal favorite weathering effects! The appearance of hydraulic fluids, grease, & Fuel leaking into and over layers of built up dust & mud! These type of effects are yet another example of how building up our weathering in layers is critical to creating depth as well as a convincing over-all appearance. While we are working with the engine fluids, the next logical place to move to is the engine deck. On the 38(t) the engine deck is composed of moveable hinged access hatches. This type of environment would have been accessed by the crew regularly and lends itself to the heavier chipping and scratches created by crew and mechanics.