Hi Chris
An excellent model as a comeback model. Theres nothing actually wrong with your model as is. But .....
Today, modelling "heavy metal" has become more about the painting and weathering stages than the actual build. Modern kits have top detail straight from the box, so all the work needed earlier with scratch-building and etch is rarely needed. The emphasis is on the paint job. But perfect paint jobs are not the "in thing" with armor modelers.
Your model is heavily scratched/chipped, but for a DAK vehicle, the base paint has zero fading, collected zero dust and no signs of life. So where and how did it get scratched? If you talk yourself through the hows, whys, when and where youŽll start to see how "unexplained" you scratches/chips are.
Fading the larger panels (using a lighter version of the base colour) by spraying in the middles not only gives the faded paint impression, it also adds depth to the details. For a vehicle that has received so much wear, there should be signs of life. Personal gear, stowage, rags, found stuff, anything and everything basically. It adds life, but using "strategic" colours also add contrast to the base colour as well as ... most importantly ... interest! Probably the best single item is a figure ... adds scale, contrast, life and colour all in one.
Pigments are often touted to be a easy fix for weathering, but its not as easy as it sounds. Using pigments alone on a flat paint finish is quite boring. There are so many techniques used today, this post could go on forever. Instead IŽll make some suggestions and links.
If you are interested in taking this further buy or borrow AK InteractiveŽs enamel weathering DVD. Its a great step by step guide to weathering. YouŽll hear about a lot of the terms used and see them being done at the same time. Then you can make up your mind on how you want to weather and how much you want to weather, as well as what media you want to use. Its possible to do it completely in enamels or acrlyics without pigments. With a bit of experience and practise youŽll find many ways to do the same things. Check out the dust job David Parker does on his Mekava IV on
Missing Links. Pastels are only used on the running gear, yet he has made one of the most effective dust layers I have seen on a model.
Another great weathering link is
MIGŽs rarity world, again on Missing Links. Read through this ... really useful. Adam Wilder has also some great articles here on Armorama;
Effective Pigments and
Colour Moduclation.
All of these methods plus those that you brought with you from your previous modeling history add interest to the base paint job, but any of them overdone starts to look false. Some food for thought on this subject is Paul OwenŽs
Weathering Heresies.
Its obvious you can build and paint a model, but with some effort in the weathering effects, youŽll have a model thatŽll turn heads. Its always cool to get more guys into armor ... hopefully weŽll see more of your work here!
