I don't have an airbrush and don't plan to get one, and also don't want to buy dozens of specialized paints and finish materials.

I'm not looking for any specific advice here, but wondered if there are any books or sites that address working without an airbrush and just using basic, "traditional", products.

thanks,
Mr. Retro

Hi Charles,

I don't know any offhand but there are some tips I dredged up from memory.

In the 1970s Polly S - the latex forerunner of the late-great Polly Scale acrylics - put out a tips newsletter at hobby shops. They demonstrated how modelers used their latex with what they called a 'Polly Puff' brush, the common foam brush on a stick. The results were amazing, even simulating soft-edge camo.

You can stipple the demarcations, too, and quickly blend if you are using the right type paint.

Rub-N-Buff was THE natural metal finish product back then, too. It still works well.

Many paints today can be brushed with little or no brush marks. Put your art experience to work and you can achieve great effects.

Charles:
For tanks 1/35th scale you can still use a spray can with the correct colors you need. The correct ones are always available. Use a basic stencil (stiff cardboard is best) cut the cardboard to the camo pattern you need and spray,
I have not converted over to acrylics yet I am still a rattle can and brush guy! There are lots of products for weathering but you can mix your own with thinner and proper colors and use dry brush methods.

Thanks David. I'm not sure if I'll need to do camo, as so far most of the tanks that interest me are from WW1. Part of it is that it seems there are an ever-increasing number of specialized products for all sorts of unnecessary stuff - if I want a dirt or mud effect I'll just go outside and get some ;-)