i agree the paint would be awfully faded... I guess I was alluding to the fact it is more base grey than green. Plus I think there will be more contrast between rust and grey than rust and green.

Yeah, will try to smooth up the barrels but one piece of advice was that they would hardly exist 50 years later... They were a first try....

I like the color of the base coat that you've got on the pontoons. Rotting, rust, and more rust ... inside and out ... no paint needed. IMHO.

—mike

So maybe just straight up RustAll? And then more RustAll with a little more RustAll? Is that what you are saying?

I'm not familiar with more RustAll or RustAll atoll (tee-hee! ), but if that's what you've got ... sure! Experiment ... this is where the fun begins ... or should I say "continues." I can tell you're already having fun!

—mike

Think I will try to finish tank construction this week... And you are correct! It is fun destroying a $60 kit!

Don't say you're destroying the model , you make the model different by not following the exact steps on the manual !

The rust looks good by the way , not bad !

Kurt

Patrick,
I think the 55 gal. drums are spot on for the rusted out effect-- just like the ones I've seen in the Pacific. You've done a great job with them and the Ka-Mi pontoon floats so far. I have another suggestion for you for the rust-- one I borrowed from my model railroading days. I was a subscriber to a magazine called the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette, and there was a frequent contributor named Lane Stewart (not Rod Stewart, although Rod Stewart is a big model railroader-- his layout has been featured in Model Railroader magazine!). Lane Stewart has mastered the art of "rusting" using a product known as "Rotten Stone" which is available at most hardware stores. Rotten Stone is used primarily for polishing metals, it's exactly what it's name describes-- deteriorated granite which is pulverized into a micro-powder. Lane Stewart took a plastic or metal model, Dullcoated it, and dumped it into a bin of rotten stone while the Dullcoat was still wet, then shook the bin for even coverage. After a thorough coating, he'd let it dry a day or so, then he'd airbrush it with acrylics, enamels or oils, let that dry for another day, and apply rusty/dirty looking washes. The coating of rotten stone beautifully replicates a flaking layer of rust in scale. If a heavier rusted layer was desired he'd repeat the process a few times before airbrushing. if patches of heavier rust were desired, he'd hand paint Dullcoat in the areas needed and repeat the process. Ive used the "rotten stone" technique to simulate rust, asphalt, and mud several times. I bought a pound of rotten stone at my local Ace Hardware about ten years ago, and still have plenty left. A few cautions about using it though-- its micro-pulverized, so it's dusty. I use rubber gloves when transferring it (I buy mine in bulk in the pharmacy section of Costco). Make sure you use it in an air tight plastic bin, and try not to spill any, because it gets everywhere. As precaution, I wear one of those dust masks when using it, as I imagine inhaling it would be bad. I usually use a larger Tupperware container, which I shake over my outside garbage can. One of Lane Stewart's layout creations was prominently displayed at Caboose Hobbies in Denver for several years, in all it's rusted glory. I highly recommend rotten stone-- it gives you a three dimensional aspect to the "rust" rather than just painting it on. VR, Russ

Russ, I'm thinking maybe the Rotten Stone would work with the "barnacled look" if it will adhere in clumps. What do you think?

Pharmacy section of Costco? why on earth would a rubbing compound be in the pharmacy section of Costco? OHHHHH you meant the gloves! LOL!

Silly me...

Yep-- I meant the gloves-- 200 to a box, 2 boxes to a package, 400 gloves. I buy the latex free non-powdered nitrile kind, size large for about $18 a package, they last a while. They are really necessary for working with all the stuff we modelers need, although my hands remain in rough shape. Rotten Stone will give you the exact look you are seeking, you may need to re-apply with a paint brush in a few areas to build it up. I forgot to mention that Lane Stewart "fixes" it in place with another coat of sprayed on Dullcoat before painting. I suppose any flat clear coat will work. I've even tried it with black Rustoleum spray paint on a flat sheet of plastic for the macadam look of an asphalt road (I build open wheel race cars too), followed up with some strategically sprayed dark grey, it looks like the real thing. Another use for Rotten stone is the rusted-out look of a heavily used muffler on a tank or aircraft. But I'm wondering if your Ka-Mi is ashore-- why the barnacles? I guess I should learn to post photos to the site. I've written two articles for Internet Modeler in the past on aircraft, but I sent the photos in a word document, they did the rest. I should mention to you that patience is part of modelling, I come over to Armorama and the rest of Kitmaker frequently between work session, to see what others are doing and to take breaks. I'm currently scratch building a 1/16th waist gunner section of a B17-F in brass (its a slow process) for my Verlinden B-17 waist gunner figure. I really enjoy seeing projects like yours, Jerry Rutman's and others that tell a story. VR, Russ

I guess barnacles are the wrong word... I was referring to what must be salt, etc, buildup on the Sherman that is really buried... I just like the look...

I am also rethinking all the little doodads on the turrets and the hatches as those would probably be long gone secondary to age and rusting.

I really appreciate all your input! Open wheel? Such as F-1? What scale? I have a bunch of 1/12th build-ups and at least 6 more in the box. Maybe when we get moved, I can get back to doing some of that...

but I digress... I really appreciate all the info! On the trail of Rotten stone as we speak. It also comes in a pumice texture/color. Have you ever used that? I wonder how that would look? Hmmm... so much fun!

BTW, I am a Paramedic so I get gloves by the box for free!

Patrick,
Regarding the "finer" details on the Ka-Mi, you might be surprised at what lasts in the tropics and what doesn't. Anything made out of thin steel would most certainly be well decayed after 50 years, but higher grade steel found in things like machine gun mounts, weapons, hardened bolts or armor plating would likely be well rusted, but still recognizable-- the example is the Sherman tank photo posted at Tarawa, which is actually below water at high tide-- the heavy steel is rusted but still there, yet the grill doors on the rear deck are gone. I have a photo of an Australian EOD tech standing on a pile of knee mortar grenades (Japanese), and pineapple grenades (US). The spoons on the grenades are all gone, but the casing is still there and recognizable. On the other hand, I have another photo of a 155mm shell, the original paint is still recognizable on one small patch where it was facing down in a stack, away from the weather, just enough to make out the type of shell. On the other hand, several of the lifting rings on the fuze ends of other rounds in the same stack have rusted right through, while others are still intact.
As far as the Rotten Stone goes, I've only found the 1 gray colored type. There are some other products out there, I suppose you could even use tile grout in a pinch, but its more like concrete, so I don't know how it would work. The brand of Rotten Stone I use is "Rainbow".
I've always wanted to do some 1/12 scale F1s, but found they don't display well in my house due to the size. I started the two 1/20th Tamiya kits (Lotus and Honda), and had several of the new Ebbro 1/20th kits, which were nice, but since my "open wheel racer taste" is from a time period between 1920-1970, I've pretty much gone with 1/24th and 1/25th scale. There are several kits of F1s and Indy cars out there, but most are OOP kits now. I'm always on the lookout for oldies like the MPC Dan Gurney Special or the Lotus. I like to replace shocks, frames and steering gear with brass and aluminum struts (from K & S brass) and carbon fiber from Midwest (available at Hobbytown). One of my favorite tricks is using ball point pen springs for exposed spring shocks. A great thing about living in the NW is the LeMay car museum here-- there's a permanent racing display. We also have the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle, Paul Allen's aircraft and armored vehicle collection in Arlington, and of course there's the Fort Lewis Military museum-- which has a nice selection of weapons, tanks and armored vehicles. There are also some great IPMS groups here. In fact, the Seattle Spring show is next week. I guess I'm a bit off topic, but it always helps to have good reference material! VR, Russ

For all the prop heads, The Boeing Flight Museum is getting one of the four existing Boeing 237s left. It will be flown in on its last voyage and then become a static display. Apparently there are issues with the landing gear and some structural issues and there is no one left to machine parts.

I built the MPC Dan Gurney AAE. What a cool little kit that went together very well. I will try to send you a photo if you send me an email addy in a PM.

As far as RottenStone, Amazon has some and will be ordering today. Oh man, this has turned into such a great learning experience for me. I haven't done anything this intense ever and it will be hard to go back to straight builds! Hmmm.... wonder what could be next... I have an underwater scene in mind...

Slowly, slowly, we are making baby steps...

RustAll 3 coats-



RustAll dust on the pieces... you can see the difference between those pieces and the hull...




Your comments are always welcome. Tomorrow I am trying my hand at vegetation/grass...

The project is coming along very well. The rusted out barrels look great.

Robert

Inch by inch, step by step...





The palm between the pontoons is too big... am going to try a different strategy... hollow plastic rod that can be heated and bent! That should work!

Your comments are always welcome and appreciated...

Hi Patrick - good to see you're moving right along! I like the tree bursting through the hull - nice. It's hard to tell from your pics, but the rust on the tank looks uniform? It might not be? You might want to try to add some highs and lows - or variety in the rust - and, weathering - again, this might be lost in the photo, or you're not there yet? Some cruddy texture could be cool too - near seams, corners etc - I've used durhams wood putty for this - add it in fine layers then once dried, add up layers of corrosion etc with washes of the right colors - or, not! It's your build! Not mine -

Keep going!
Nick

Just not there yet, Nick! I can't do too much at work. I just started doing RustAll washes. Got a few other ideas too!

Really appreciate the encouragement and suggestions! Always valued!

Anybody have any good ideas on how to make piles of sand that don't move? I'm serious... I need to build a sand pile but it needs to stay in place!

How about making the shapes of the piles of sand out of something like plaster,smooth it out to shape and then coat it with sand?
J

Patrick,
Hmm-- didn't you use Styrofoam shapes cut in half for the larger mounds to start with? just scale it down for the smaller sand "dunes", cover with pre-colored Spackle, paint with thinned white glue, sprinkle on some sand (you live close to the desert right?), then flow on some more thinned white glue, add more sand to fill "the voids", more white glue. Let dry, then color of your choice can be thinned and applied with a brush. The proper formula for thinning white glue is usually 50% water to %50 glue, and add a few drops of liquid dish-washing detergent. The dish-washing detergent is a surfacant and a very important ingredient that acts as a "wetting" agent, and will allow the white glue to flow between grains of sand without beading up. just make sure the mixture is thoroughly stirred and not shaken (shaking it will cause it to "foam", making it difficult to apply). You can airbrush when dry if you want. That's one method. If you have access to a medical supply store -- you can also use the material they use for making plaster (not fiberglass) casts (Hydrocal? I think), over a cardboard frame-- that would be the model RR choice to make the "mounds".
VR, Russ

Hey Russ, what about this? Do as you said for the dunes (which is where I was going originally with carved styrofoam) then coat with regular sand and then, using a sifter, over a spray of glue do the RottenStone so the top layer looks likes fine sand?

Does that make sense?

Jerry, that is an idea as well... I will have to do some experiments with both. I have smaller Styrofoam balls to work with, so...

I shot a couple of test parts with the RustAll and will be doing the dullcoat/RottenStone test tomorrow.

Thanks all for the support. And I think I have the correct size tree for the front now...

Pictures tomorrow night!

Patrick,
I'm not sure what kind of Styrofoam you're using, if its the smooth-non porous kind, you may find your sand flaking off over time if you're using white glue, if it's the more porous, you might find you need a lot more sand then you planned on. I think you need some sort of base for the sand/glue mixture to stick too, hence the coating of plaster/Spackle-- these are model RR standards in scenery building. I think the rotten stone may be a little too fine to use as ground cover alone, it works best on smooth surfaces, and tends to get lost as a ground cover, but it may work after you get the coarse sand in place. There's one other thing you could also do, and that's just to build up the "sand" dune with a plaster "slurry", adding layers in a similar fashion to the resin pours you made-- you can then just "pour" it around the tank and let it flow into the nooks and crannies, but this would take a long time, you'd need to have all the weathering aspects done, and is not very forgiving if it gets into the wrong place. I've seen some folks add sand into a slurry mixture too, but I've never had great success with it as the sand tends to settle to quickly.
VR, Russ

Time for experimentation! I have an idea...

The other dunes were covered with paper towel in size water! Let you know!

Patrick,
Don't know why I didn't think of this sooner-- Liquitex makes a spreadable paste that comes in 8oz. jars from Michael's or Hobby Lobby (or Amazon for that matter). There are two types I've used in the past-- Ceramic Stucco, which you can spread with a butter knife or other flat tool, and has a sandy consistency. It has plastic "micro-ballons" in it which replicate a sandy surface exceptionally well. It can be mixed with any shade of acrylic paint you want before application. The other is a fiber type that simulates a mud and grass mixture very well. These are "one step" items-- and are basically "cover and forget" without a lot of the mess and mixing of the other methods.
VR, Russ