I wanted to depict several derelict tanks, and for one, I painted a set of aftermarket tracks in straight Model Master Acryl Rust color. I'm not certain if the effect is right, or how long it would take for tank tracks to corrode to a uniform color. I was going by pictures of Israeli outdoor museum tanks as my reference.

Rust will occur pretty quickly, but it depends on the type of track, and not all tracks may rust the same-- also remember rubber track pads don't rust. Are we talking about weeks, months or years? -- the time frame certainly makes a big difference.
VR, Russ

Steel track or the steel parts of US track rust to match Model Master Rust in about a month.

This observation is based on tracks stowed outside untouched in temperate weather Kentucky, New York and New Jersey. Effects may vary.

It would be neat to have a time frame chart. Tracks after being parked overnight, tanks having sat unused for a week, tanks in storage, tanks knocked out and derelict. I do have the latter in mind at the moment.

A time-lapse video with date/time stamp to watch the rust develop would be neat.

Rusting/weathering also depend on the environment. Europe, Asia and North Africa would be different and require different lengths of time

One project I had in mind was a knocked-out T-34/85 in Korea during summer 1950.

For some visuals on how quickly a rust patina develops, National Geographic had a documentary, part of their 'Ultimate Factory' series, on the refurbishment of M1 tanks (1st of two parts); Business Insider ran an article with stills from the video. One of the stills shows a stripped hull and turret being loaded on a flatcar to be sent from the Anniston Army Depot to the Lima Army Tank Plant; despite having been bead-blasted to bare metal at Anniston, a 'couple days' outside is enough to turn the hull and turret a dark orange. Another still shows a roll of refurbished track being prepared to be remounted on a tank, all the metal parts a uniform light orange. Additional stills show the reassembled tank being run through qualification testing; the tracks are orange at the start, but by the time the testing is finished, all of the rust has been scoured off against the dirt.

I will warn of this and rust on tracks. I was stationed in Taji Iraq in 2009-10. This was a major center for Iraq armor in its day and there were wrecks and parts all over the place. Couple of spare turrets and all. They had piles and piles of spare track liks and a bunch of complete runs. These had been sitting out side since 2003 ish if not earlier. They looked brand new, little spot of light rust here and there. The tanks they have sitting around had tracks that looked pretty much the same. I can dig out the pics if you want to see them...

Some food for thoughts...






























Full size

H.P.

Where is the picture on the top from? South Korea?

No. The picture has been taken in Caxito, Angola.

Here's a larger version :

http://i.imgur.com/OFVkTO9.jpg

Here's another Angolese T-34, maybe in the same area :





T-34 wrecks may be harder to find in South Korea....

H.P.

One small addition to Frenchy's beautiful photos.

Some target tanks sitting in the back woods of Ft. Knox. Been there for awhile but the paint is still holding up fairly well.

You might be interested in this project...

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/news/25743

Great pictures - thanks for posting! Includes a nice shot of the upper rear deck which is hard to find. I must say the tracks all look pretty good, even when the rest of the tank does not.

One last question-in Vietnam, how long does it take for tank tracks to rust> It's not all jungle I know.

Various from around the world

http://io9.gizmodo.com/these-abandoned-tanks-are-rusting-mementoes-of-the-wars-1100567629


Afghan ww1 tanks but used into the 70's?













My version

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=58417&page=1

Posted some pics before but here is the engine






So if I can you can, just take your time, the good thing about rust is there is no rules, it is always different so who can tell you it is wrong

If I hadn't seen the side cover off, showing it is plastic, I wouldn't have believed it wasn't real! I especially like the aged aluminum color. Very nice indeed!