I am building an M60 Tank and I need some sugestions on how to add mud to the track/tank. My diorama will be my first armor attemp (aircraft builder only till now) and it will be a muddy jungle theme. Any help will be surely appreciated

I haven't experienced making mud myself yet...but here's an article for reference...

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2001/05/stuff_eng_tech_dirt.htm

Simon

That's a heck of an article with som stunning pics too. Thanks for sharing that one.

I use white putty on the drive sprocket and idler wheels. Spread some to the end connectors and center guides also. Do it sparingly to build up the right depth and texture you desire. Remember the direction you wish the observer to believe your vehicle is traveling. The mud would flow in thew direction of movement. Once it dries, apply your ground base color and lighten or darken to satisfaction. The track blocks usually retain more of a dust then actual mud because they are constantly moving. Hope this assist your efforts.
DJ

As for a mixture, which I also am going to use on my M18.
The credit actually goes to James Blackwell.
.........Use static grass, and real sand from your backyard - Mix with some
tap water. - Mix that in with your choice of acrylic color paint.
You don't need any glue because the paint acts as an adhesive.
Try to use a photo of the M60 tank in a muddy appearance for reference
if possible
This is a photo of Mr. Blackwells technique on his awesome Sturmtiger



HOPE THIS HELPS,
- ralph

Ralph--trult awesome and simple! Well done.
DJ

Good reference is important.
No matter what technique you choose, make sure of you have a picture of an example, to show you what the end result should look like.

Beginner´s luck: CA gel acts as dried mud, painted, drybrushed, chalked. Plus some ink to make wet splashes...




Toni

Thank you all for your input .... Now I have somewhere to start experimenting

Believe it or not, I use som of the blended turf that you use for dio's and mix it with a little earth colored acryilic paint. Viola'

But that is just me.

I like Hudson & Allen's Mud mixture. You can add small clippings of turf material too for interest, or glob it on - and the mixture contains a fixative in it already. Just mix with warm water and apply. It's "scale" thin and dries nicely. If you want to replicated patches of wetter mud - overspray with Dull Cote.

Gunnie

No matter what is used to make the basic mud mixture, they pretty much end up looking more or less the same when painted to your own choice of colour.
I was watching some dozers working near to where I live recently and I think its important to mix up the colours a little. Different shades of dirt, wet and dried on, and some small foilage and static grass is important as well.

I am just beginning to play with this myself on a scrap Sherman hull, using Shep Paine's Celluclay method: Glop of Celluclay mixed with water, white glue, and a little dish soap to cut the surface tension. I like the looks of it when it dries, and part way through my first experiment I added some old model railroad sand and ballast I've had lying around for thirty years. Changed the texture somewhat, made it grittier. I added too much water, so it took a very long time to dry.

I like this method, but it is very messy. The white glue in the mix ensures that the goop wants to stick to one's fingers, and not always the model. Of course, I was using an unpainted upper hull. A painted hull would have some better "tooth" for the goop to stick to. It is possible to make some truly spectacular encrustations with this stuff, something I'll have to do to one of my Fireflies in time--cnadian unit, Holland, late '44-early '45. I have some memoirs of a Canadian tank commander, and the mud is always prominent in his tales.
Greg

Been thinking some more and I'd like to expand on this topic with a question for those of you who have actually completed armor models. Me, I just seem to tinker and actually complete two or three a year. Anyway, when you decide that a subject is going to be heavily encrusted with mud, how do you approach painting the suspension. Do you paint everything and do the whole wash and highlight treatment to shade it BEFORE you add mud? Or do you slap a coat of base vehicle color on, then add the mud and airbrush mud color over everything, then spend the effort primarily on shading the mud? The second method seems faster and more effective for a really dirty vehicle. Thoughts?
Greg

heh heh - I like the way you put that...




I advocate completing the model - painting, markings, and basic weathering - before chunking down mud and goop all over it. Believe it or not, it is easy to tell when a modeler goes the expedient route and cakes the stuff on to cut corners - I've seen dozens of examples over the years. They don't compare visually to others where the modeler has made a conscientious effort to completely paint, highlight, shadow, and basically weather the model before going to extreme effects like mud.

Gunnie

I agree with Guntruck - build and paint the model as if going to build clean. This gives you more flrxibility with weathering and dirtying the vehicle. That is the way it is done in real life we all started with clean vehicles before we played in the mud :-)

The mud should take to the model like it does to it's real life
counterpart:
- Build the scale model
- paint & weather ( obviously, in real life nature supplies the weathering of a vehicle ).
- apply mud.
I see no better way of creating a real looking " grunged up "
armor vehicle.
- ralph

If you looking for some dried mud or want really wet mud this has worked for me.
Tub-O-Snow, i know it sounds weird but it works GREAT! Iam not sure if this will work for you everytime but after it dries and you paint it, it kinds leaves a bunch of little veins runnign through it and looks just like dried mud. You can probabally get it at any craft store, and i think its around $5 or so. So i would try this on an old model if you have any. Hope this helps,

Mike