I read an article in Military Modelling (Vol. 31, No.7 June-July 2001) in which Tamiya putty, XF-52 Flat Earth and static grass was applied "in a stippling motion" to the undersides of the vehicle. I've tried the same technique but can't get the mixture to stick, instead it has the effect of removing the paint. Any tips or tricks would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

Try to ad some wood glue, it might help

Or white glue? I tried stippling on straight putty then going back and painting it. Due to where the putty was applied it would take a long time to do the rest of the vehicle and the end result looks like paint slopped on to the base coat.

I've heard of people mixing white glue and earth (or sand?) to get a sticky gritty mess which adheres well and can be stipled into place witha brush. I've tried Tamiya putty (the grey stuff) and found it stuck to the applicator more than the armor. Possibly user error, but I don't usually make errors...

Anyway, I'd be interested to know what works for otehrs as I have some muddying up to do as well...

hello
try this
mix some oil colour( raw umber, or burnt umber) with pastel pouder( I don't know the english word)it is pouder that they use for drawing , mix it with some gras.
and than with a brush you put it on your model let it dry for several day's
and you will see it is like real mud

duckmans

I tried adding white glue to the paint/putty mix and it sticks to the model now but it has a smooth texture. Tomorrow I'll take a break from job hunting and try different ratios of glue/putty/paint and I'll try adding sand. If I can I'll post the images of my work.

I found plaster of paris works well. Just mix in some paint to get the desired color, throw in some static grass and Italian spices for texture and slop it on like the real thing. Once dry it can be painted or drybrushed.

I use fine acryllic medium gel. This is a paste that has a consistency of toothpaste. Mix into this your pastel/pigment colouring, fine sand, static grass etc in fact anything you want to replicate the ground you are goung over (As it is acryllic it can be thinned with water if required).

I then stipple this onto the vehicle with a stiff no8 round head brush and then just wipe of with a finger any excess if needed. This dries in about 10-15 mins and gives a superb texture. Any major arts and crafts store will carry this stuff.

Lee

I never tried to thin Tamiya's putty with white glue and I don't think it can work. If you have to thin that putty use tamiya liquid glue or acetone. Be careful with static grass because most liquid glue will melt it...
Ciao

Ola People

I have made mud on armor in several ways.
I have made it with ordinary wallspackle mixed with static grass, and tamyia acryl in sand color.
It look more or less like this:

I like the above method as it delivers quite a nice and natural representation of mud.

Another I have tried is white glue, sand and acrylic paints. Also quite ok.

I have made mud with only wallspackle and sand.

I`m now busy on experimenting with the MIG pigments wich are promising. There are quite a few different ways to apply the stuff and all all deliver another effect.

My only advice I could give you is: Experiment with different styles of mud-making and see wich one fits the best for you.

Thanks for all your help. I was trying 10 or 11 different mixtures this morning and found that if the static grass is mixed in then applied it clumps up. White glue actually helps the putty/paint sitck to the model but would need another application or two. If I had a scanner I would post the images of what I'm trying to achieve, it looks very similar to FAUST's work.

I use dark earth MM paint mixed with baking soda. Depending on how thick I want the mud depends on how much of the baking soda I use. I also use MM flat clear mixed with sand and dark tan to get a dusty film. I also use flat clear and while the clear is wet I dust with real dirt. I used this techinque on the last M-54 cargo truck that I am working on now.

I may be beating a dead horse here, but I've had quality results with Squadron putty diluted with acetone and then I add dirt for grit. In my limited experience grains of sand are too large at a 1/35 scale so I basically add dirt. The acetone and putty dry fairly quickly and once dry it won't come off without some effort. You should also be fairly quick in your application as acetone evaporates rather quicky which makes the putty progressively more difficult to work. The putty will soften up with more acetone though, if re-applied in a timely manner.
This technique works well for medium to heavy applications, such as a vehicle caught in Russia at spring time. For a lighter application I skip the dirt and go with a straight putty & acetone mix. To help get texture I'll use a Round brush(not sure on sizes) that has been cut short and dab it to the vehicle.
I usually do this prior to painting the vehicle. Once the vehicle's primary paint scheme is laid out I'll airbrush the base mud color in and then wash and highlight it to a desired color/tone. I suppose the order or application isn't too critical though. Sorry for being long winded and I hope this helps!

Thanks for the tip IDHUNTER. I found some fine sand in the garage where I live. I'd use dirt but the ground is frozen here in Canada, eh? #:-)

I use Celluclay with a shot of earth colored acrylic paint and staic grass in it. It is all water based so if you sealed your model before hand with an enamel dull coat you don't have to worry about paint lifting.

Shaun

/love the dancing guy/