I am about finished with the AusfD tank. Weathered, detailed and ready for the diorama. Just need to do the tank crew. However, when I look at the tank , the tank treads are too tight. I looked for tips on how to make the treads look woren and used.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Bizzphotos
Poughkeepsie, NY

Hi Ken.

If you want to make the treads look 'old and worn', without covering them in mud, I would try the following.
First paint the tracks in something like gun metal. Then apply pigment powder Burnt Sienna all over, make sure it goes into all nooks and corners. do this wet, when dry it will leave a realistic cover of rust.
blow or gently brsh of the excess powder, and line the outside parts with Graphite. (as in a pencil).
Drybrush or line the bits that touch the ground with Citadel Boltgun Metal
Done.


Henk

I usually use straight pins I drill a hole through the hole and super glue it in place. The tread is simply slipped under the pin to create the sag effect. I spray my treads flat black, then drybrush steel and finally rust, before adding mud or dirt. Here area few examples





If you need more details let me know,

John
www.johnneill.com

henk has a very good tip there, similar to what i do, i base coat the tracks in a bluish-black coat, let dry, then drybrush a steel color to show wear on the tracks. then dust it so it looks dirty....simple yet effective
thanks
-shain

Thanks to Henk, Neill and Mech Maniac for the great ideas. I will use them for sure on my next model.

the photos are great.

Thanks guys

Ken

poughkeepsie NY eh? Thats not too far from me, I live in Chappaqua.

Maybe we can get together some time and compare notes and have a few beers.

Maybe we can get together some time and compare notes and have a few beers.