Hello guys whats up?

Still getting some info. on my Guntruck diorama. But I need to know how i shold weather the vechiles in the diorama. An Khe Pass is paved with a dirt shoulder. I was thinking of using pastels and just brush it on but what colors shold I use for it?

Also does anyone know how I shold make the roads, like what materials to use. Plaster? any ideas?


thanks,
Mike

For Splash I am doing a SEAsia/Burma scene and I am using a base of celluclay and for road spots I am going to spread a thin layer of house hold spackle down for a slicker worn down look. I will add dirt/sand here and there and pastels to weather it also.

If I am not mistaken the dirt in that area was a reddish brown from the pictures I have seen. Ideas for using pastels:

Spray the lower part of the truck with clear flat and while it is dry blow pastel chalk on it with an air can or air brush.... Make it thicker at the bottom... use the airbrush like the wind, to disperse the dust. I have thought of doing this before but never actuall done it. It should work... the brush-on spary over option also works.

For a nice gravel, or rock look, just mix some sand and acrylic paint together and brush it on. Once it dries you paint different shades on top of that.

If I recall correctly, the dirt in Vietnam has a high clay content... you might want to add a bit of red to your earth base color... a good combo would be model Master leather and flat red since VN conditions were moist and humid

What I do with pastels is to paint my kit, do all the decals, washes, drybrushing, etc and throw on some Dull Cote. Let dry. Take a pastel and lightly scribble in the areas you want dirtied. Take a short bristled brush and work around in circles. It gives pretty good results.

This will sound strange but I always thought that the soil in Vietnam looked like Alabama... very very red. Of course I've never been to Vietnam, just seen photos. Actually driving through Alabama I saw a guy in camo with a shotgun slung over his shoulders on the side of the road (like 'bunny' in platoon) and it scared the crap out of me.

Anyways in the newest FSM theirs an article about making mud, and they had a mixture for making Vietnemese soil that looked pretty good.

Jeff