i am very new to the scale world and just built my first tsnk .. time to paint, now i sprsy bombed it matt grey taped off camo patterns and sprayed od green. now i got my pattern but no weathering look or and real idea how to do it . i use the testors enamals. i have been reading about washing and all that and i think i get it just thin out some paint and stsrt splashing it on there???? any help would be grest i love this part of modeling and would like to learn from the pros..so please someone explain so i can understand lol like i said very new but willing to learn . thank you.

Terry,
What type of tank is it? Can you post pictures? I would love to help but I need more info.
You are basically right, washes involve just "thinning paint and splashing it on there" but if you have your base coat painted with enamels (oil based paint) you need to wash with acrylics (water based paint) or you are going to end up with a huge mess.
Let me know what you have going on and I will be more than willing to help.
Check out the "/features" section of the site. There are a lot of great weathering articles like this one:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/features/782

ok i just checked and i used testors enamals spray can so i think i better get some acrylic paints so i dont end up with a mess..i will try and upload a photo and see if itworks . new to the site and still learning it. thank you for taking time to respond and help me .

also any help on uploading pics? when i go to my profile or upload it takes me to kitmaster and then i upload the pics from the file on my phone but it never gets there on my workbench or photos ? and it says i havent uploaded any? somethings afoot

Terry, probably the easiest way is to set up a Flicker account. You can upload your pics to Flicker and then upload them to this site with a couple of clicks.



Shaun

Hi Terry, you may want to check those techs out:

http://migjimenez.blogspot.ca/
Mig Jimenez is a reference in weathering...and modeling in general.

Amps tutorials are great too:

http://ampscv.org/tutorials.html

and those are sweet tricks from missing lynx:

http://missing-lynx.com/rareworld.htm

Now enjoy and happy modeling my friend.

Philippe.

hey thanks i will get a flicker account today set up. i weathered my tank with accrylic wash and its ok i guess lol i also bought some of those tamiya weathering dry makeup looking things and just started rubbing them on.so fsr so good i think . i will get a pic to throw up on here today ..by the way i love the detail in ur pic. is that a sherman? i am going to do a sherman build today after i figure out how to put these tracks on this west german leopard tank that i am weathering.

weathering can get complicated if you overthink it. a technique that i learned on my own, back in the day, was to use artist pastel chalks to simulate mud, rust, dust, etc. it has become quite popular these days and is one of the easier techniques.
the washes and filters can be a bit more complex, but as i said, only if you overthink it. the biggest thing you have to watch for is the types of paints you use. after you paint in enamel, you will not want to immediately go to a wash/filter without having something that seperates them such as a clear coat. doing an enamel wash/filter over an enamel base coat can turn messy because your filter/wash could remove the base coat. there are multiple things that could come in to play.
I highly recommend the following link. it is a good set of beginner instructions on how to do the finishing sequence. I would also recommend the missing lynx link that someone above listed to help you learn what filters, washes, etc. really are. it will help you bring everything together when you know what it is that an article is referring to.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/140764&page=1

thank you so much you all have been very helpful .. and i just finally figured out howto get pics on here.. so dont laugh but here are my feeble attempts to do finishing on a leopard a4. again sorry ahead of time if i disgraced this tank lol

well that didnt work lol i got ny pics in kitmaker on my profile but cant seem to get them here....hmm im sure proving to be a newb afterall lol

gallery3.kitmaker.net/data/27931/IMG_2012111650354.jpg"