Hi all,
As a kid I loved building model aircraft and now as an adult with kids of my own, I've been needing some hobbies to get back into. Enter scale models!

My first attempt is a soviet SU-100 tank destroyer in 1:35 from Dragon. I've probably attempted a little 'too much' for my first model, but I liked the idea of portraying it in the spring of 1945, with a heavily weathered white wash and mud from the snow melt.

So far I have:
1/ airbrushed black base coat
2/ Airbrushed the soviet green over this
3/ Used the 'hairspray' technique to spray, then remove most of the matt white that represents the reminants of the winter whitewash.

But now I'm stuck at what to do. I was thinking of doing an overall wash (made of a highly thinned black)- but I'd end up removing the last of the whitewash. Or if I use a matt varnish over what I have, would the ink washing still look effective? Any tips on how to weather (including making mud) would be much appreciated.

Photo to follow... but don't expect too much, it is my first effort since I was 12! lol.

I would recommend a coat of flat clear enamel or laquer, before the pin wash. There are a few methods of making mud. If you feel brave, you can use Rust-o-leum's brown stone effects. Use it sparingly on the tracks and road wheels. Spray it from about 6 inches away for moderate dirt. Spray the underside of the model from the same distance. I don't have a photo for this method.
Another way to do it is to mix an appropriate brown enamel with water or acryl with paint thinner. It will turn into something similar to slime. Apply it with an old brush and let dry overnight. It will dry glossy.

The most popular method is to build up layers of pigment, as shown here:

Hi Ben,

You will need to seal the white now you have finished with that stage, or else the hairspray will continue to work when you apply any further washes/filters. I normally use acrylic matt varnish from my airbrush, but I have used matt enamel with a brush on smaller items. After you have sealed it you may want to do some rust streaks and general grime, also you may want to represent streaks of whitewash running off the more sloped areas. As for mud, I have been experimenting with Games Workshop's Citadel Texture paint and have had very good results, otherwise a mix of plaster dust, crushed clay, pigment powder and white glue (PVA) makes a good mud and you can add colour if you need to darken or lighten it. Here are a few examples of how I did it....







(These are Braille Scale but all the principles are the same for 1/35) Hope this helps.

All the best,

Paul

Thank you both for your replies.

I saw a video on youtube of a guy using MIG neutral wash over the entire tank, after using the hairspray technique for a winter whitewash camouflage (If I got the terminology right, its probably more of a filter if applied to the whole model?) It looked quite effective. I take it that worked without disturbing the white any further because the MIG product is oil based and doesnt disolve the hairspray? The flat looking finish on the vallejo acrylics ive used so far looks like it would really 'suck' any wash etc right into it.

Do most people finish weathering with oil based paints/washes/filters?

I think the old standard was oil based paints for the finishing touches.
Now with the new enamel/acrylic products, you will see a combination with those and oil products

Thanks for all your help to date. Considering this is my first scale model since being a kid, I'm pretty happy how it is turning out. I'll post a picture later. But in the meantime, a quick question:

It looks like I should have put the decals over the base colour, before the hairspray whitewash (it only makes sense they would have applied the winter whitewash over the tank, unit markings and all). Is it too late to put the decals on now? Would it look strange? Or would there still be ways to weather it so it doesnt look out of place?