has anyone ever tried using regular every day wall spackle to replicate mud? it's easily thinned down with water and paints and I was thinking about giving it a shot...

No reason in the world why it shouldn't work.

If put on thick it will shrink and crack

Yep, do it all the time. Just put it on in thinnish layers. Mix it with water and cheap acrylic paint, that way if/when it cracks it won't have the white look. It's easy to prime too.
See here All about dat base

and here Step by step base

It also works on vehicles.

John

Hey!

Wall speckle can be used as mud without a problem. If applying directly to a wooden base be sure to use a "contact" of some kind so that the plaster doesn't start to crack.
I use a two part epoxy mixture on my wooden base before I apply any plaster at all.
Another good trick to replicate mud is let the plaster cure and once dry using acrylic tubes (no more gaps?) painters use to fill up the joints between walls and ceilings.
You can use a gun to squeeze it out into a bowl and add sand to give it some extra grit. Water can be added to smooth areas out once applied to the base.
Here's the result on a WIP from years ago:



Good luck with your project,
Shay

I used it as mud on a vehicle (stryker i've been working on) and i gotta say for my first time trying something like this it worked great! found out an awesome thing about it to...I mixed it with cheap acrylics and tap water and accidentally went a little too thick on a tire BUT it can be cleaned right up with a damp brush...nothing fancy (or expensive) just regular tap water and poof no more mess now all I have to do is add some antenna and I've actually completed a kit for the first time since i was in my early teens!!!

well here's what i was able to accomplish using just 4 ingredients



i used tamiya buff, tap water, wall spackle, and some dirt from my yard





a few other progress shots as well

Darn nice work, John. Thanks for those links.

hey Michael...good to see another CT modeller on here...please let me know if there's any events or anything coming up...I don't really know where to look to find them

For us in the Nutmeg state, the armor choice is at the end of September in Danbury for the AMPS East show, now running 3 days for each annual event.

There's a show for an IPMS club in the Milford/Stratford area but they don't meet ever year. It's usually in October around Columbus day when it does meet.

A boat oriented show happens every spring in New London that included wood and plastic subjects.

Other than those, it's having too look to our neighbors in New Your and Massachusetts (and New Jersey, if you don't mind the ride).

I've gone to the Hudson Valley Historical Miniatures Guild has a show every mid October in Poughkeepsie, NY.

Baycon in Attelboro Mass meets early November.

Valleycon by the 'Wings and Wheels' IPMS is March 29th in Chicopee Massachusetts this spring.

THANKS! yea i'm def interested in goin to several of those...I'm over by uconn so anything in CT, lower Mass, and even NY are do-able

Hey Calvin,
I'm Pres of the Northeast Military Modelers Association, we run Armorcon (used to be called AMPSEast) we're an AMPS and IPMS Armor club, we meet once a month, do cool, mostly legal stuff, and always have a good time. Email me.

. That might be a plus , real mud cracks when it dries .

As long as it doesn't flake off.

Did I miss something about any kind of sealer applied to the mixture before finishing is applied to help protect it?

The shows I've been to were great and I enjoyed each seminar I attended at them.

If Armor is your thing, Calvin, I highly recommend checking it out.

I prime it with black from a rattle can to seal it. That way it doesn't soak up paint like a sponge.

John