ok i have a test dummy leopard i use for trying new things. well this time i tried to use 3 different tamiya colours, wooden deck, desert yellow, and flat earth to try for some highlights. i was fairly happy with the job i did for my first time airbrushing .. then i got looking at hairspray tricks and washes and tide marks. thinking i knew what i was doing i jumped ahead and put a tamiya clear on it and then hairspray time, followed by a blast of hull red. now im not even thinking at this point I just want to try and get a chipped rusty looking job.at this point anything other then what i did woulda been fine. so i got a wet Brush and commenced. well it looks like sh** big time so i tried ( and don't ask me why i chose it but it was in anger that i did) gun Metal thinned for a wash?? just thinking i could save it with a good wash or two.. well NOPE NOT A CHANCE IN H*LL! so here i am and ill post the life this tank has had to suffer at the wrath of oils, acrylics, airbrush, mud, dust, plaster, hairspray, and all other sorts of crap i tried..

this was my first shot at it

so far i was ok with it but felt it was lacking,, this was my first tank build AND NOW LOOKING BACK I SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT ALONE AT THIS POINT AND MOVED ON. BUT NOOOO I COULDNT DO THAT! IT HAD TO BE PERFECT. LOL

so i tried to modify it and killed it big time and in anger i sprayed it all black,, here is the pic

now at this point i tossed some tamiya weathering masters powder that came in a little makeup looking tin and hmm i didnt mind it for trying to save a black tank,.. not that bad right? but then the mud idea came

so above i decided to try and make mud! well i mixed black pigment with cheap brown paint and got so excited that this will look so cool, so i slopped that stuff on and was happy ...

so the mud look was doing great, i thought ,, hmm might be ok like this.. coulda been tearing up the ground in the eastern block someplace,, lol , anyway, then i got a new gift!! a eclipes airbrush, well now it was time for operation desert storm,, lets do some sand

so now the 3 different paints i thinned out, the tamiyas i mentioned before turn out well even though i have no clue how to shade or do modulation, just a few online youtube vids and lets getr done! so i am pretty happy at this point , just some good ol weathering and decals of some sort and i should be done.

then i get brave! i think, hmm i can do paint chipping and a decent wash or two maybe but this time i will clear coat it with tamiya clear in a spray can,,, ha thinking ahead this time! dont need no tide lines or crap like that, so for no reason i choose hull red to spray on after the hairspray goes on! it looks kinda cool but i know i am going to take a wet brush and make it look gooood!! well i got a major mess and it ended up a lil like this

this is with the red before i masacred it..geezus it looks like it rolled out of a potash mine,, what was i thinking

there is a crappy crappy wash of gun metal on the turret ,,, i wonder where i went wrong,, i am a noob to all this but i will get it one day i hope lol..

i think i will be airbrushing a primer neutral grey or something over it all tonight. i dont know what to do from here ,

ahhhhhh!!! BARF!!!! BARF!!!!! ITS SO GROSS HAHAHAHA.. HELP

It doesn't look bad, considering. I just doesn't look right either. At least you have something to test new methods on.

thank you for the kind words, i have been looking up and down these pics on here since i posted them trying to find what i did wrong, i think i should have left it alone at the black with the rust on it, and you are so right, it is probably best that i have a test tank and i am not destroying any of my other builds. those i just leave with a solid base color and detail brush work to finish. i just see so many well done tanks on here and i want to learn the techniques so bad