Well, since nobody replied to my previous post showing progress on this one, I decided to make a new topic. This 1/72 scale Hasegawa Tiger I will be going in a dio with, you guessed it, lots of mud. I don't know about the rest of you, but it takes guts to take a good build that you are happy with and slop a bunch of gunk over it! But having done this before, I have found that no matter how nervous I get doing it, there is really no way to ruin it. I may have overdone the mud a bit, I don't know. Let me know what you think.

The first pics are before I updated the camo a bit, added decals and did the final weathering and mud. Sorry for some of the fuzzy pics, but that is the best my camera can do, even with a tripod!







And after the mud!













Again, sorry for some of the blurry pics, but hopefully, you get the idea.

This method of mud making is pretty simple. I use a brand of spackle that is fast drying and is pink when it goes on and then dries white. I dilute it down with water pretty good so it is kind of soupy. For the grass the is interspersed, I take a piece of partcle board (sawdust board, chipboard, ets) and make a few cuts on my chopsaw. This produces a very fine sawdust that you can't get by cutting regular wood. The once I slop the mud on with a soft brush, I simply sprinkle the sawdust in random places. Turn the model upside down and shake it to get any loose dust off. The great thing about this is, it dries quick and if you get too much "grass" to your liking, you can remove some easily with your finger or a brush once dried. Then it is a matter of breaking out the airbrush, adding your earth tones, a little green drybrushing, etc. I went with a lighter earthtone towards the top to simulate drying mud, and then lightly misted the whole vehicle with this color also.

Hope you all like it!

Regards,
Steve

HI, I agee that it takes guts to start smearing mud all over your fine handiwork, hoping that in the end, all will come out all right. Looks like you have done a pretty good job there in your 'kitty.'. Esp. since this is 1/72!

"Mud" or "mudding-up a vehicle' is something I have yet to try myself, but am giving it some real serious thought here the closer I get to finishing my 1/16 Trumpeter T-34. You mix sounds like it's worth thinking about, although I would imagine on a bigger scale vehicle the mud, to some extent anyway, has to be 'scaled up' as well, to some extent.

Great work Take care, Sgirty

Good work on the tIger, especially in 1/72!

Looks convincing enough for me!
The advantage of using mud is that it's a great way to get around painting those darn roadwheels...

Maybe it's my imagination,but I think the mud needs a little flat coat to fit with the overall matt gloss of the beast?

:-) :-) :-) :-)

Unfortunately, as you can see from the previous pics, I painted the road wheels before I decided to muddy them up. Thats just the way I do things anyway, paint details that will not be seen.

I may give the vehicle a matt coat, but I think a little sheen is good as it portrays the look of wet mud.

Thanks for the comments folks. Keep em coming!

Do I need glasses, or are the pictures really out of focus?

Thats a nice tigr you have there, great for 1/72.the mud looks good I would leave it shiny,mud is wet and shines

A very good job on the 1/72 "cat" :-)

few things:

since im a modeler that always gives few critics, suggestions and praises, here they are

critics: I couldnt find any :-)

Suggestions: You might want to "dust" some more on the upper hull, that much mud means that tank traveled through some very dirty countryside. Also you could add some more damage on the side armor, front mudguards.... just warm a top of a screwdriver anr press it over the plastic... but this will make you paint again on some spots so maybe its better to leave it for now and do it on next model

Praises: i like your mud method, and since i always like to try something new i will surely test it on my test model!

I make mud by using fine real earth from my guarden, white glue mixed with water and mix it all into "mud" then add it to the model as wanted, it dries slow so you can remove some if you put too much ;-)

You made a very good model and as im mostly diorama builder i would say "put it on a diorama!"

Mirko

I wasnt trying to be mean in my previous post, but to give you an honest evaluation of the technique I would need in focus photographs. The photos are not out of focus because the camera was moving - you said you are using a tripod. If you look at the fist pic, the background is sharp, yet the model is fuzzy. This tells me that either you are not focusing the lens on the subject, or you are attempting to take a pic outside the focal length of the lens, ie too close. Depending on the camera you may have a macro mode, which allows closer shots. The other option is to set the camera to maximum resolution, take an infocus shot, then crop it down to just the model. Give it a try.

HTH

John

Hi Sticky,

No, I appreciate the camera feedback. It made me actually delve into the manual and learn something!

I figuired out what I was doing wrong and you were right, it was the focal length. So see, not only does this great place make one a better modeler, but a better photographer also! :-)

I think this group of photos is better.

Getting better! I think you can still improve it. Move the subject even further away from the lens.