I need help.
I am 18 and have built quite a few models but have only recently honed my skills enough to call myself a good modeller. I enjoy the actual building of my models ie. interiors, brass etching, scratchbuilding, etc. and am quite good at it but painting and weathering honestly scare me. I have just finished painting my Panther G which is to be Tank No. 411 of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking", therefore somewhere in Poland and am quite happy with the results. My next steps are to add a colour wash, add mud and drybrush. The wash and drybush are not a problem (although Iread an article against drybrushing on this site) but adding mud and dust as well as paint chips or bare metal and other worn parts of the tank are techniques that worry me. I have read Weathering Heresies by: Paul A. Owen but am still confused as he is against what I have been previously advised to do. I was hoping that I could get a definitive answer that will be able to help me understand how to subtly weather my Panther without too many complicated instructions and techniques.
Thank you
Andrew

My two bits, which are worth exactly what you're paying for them.
Weather more sparingly than over abundantly. I've often seen tanks, especially in the old Military Modeler magazine that looked like they'd been last out of the local mudbog. Personally, I find paint chips almost always look over done. I saw a ZSU-23 at the nationals that, IMHO, looked polka dotted, rather than worn for the paint chipping. Check your references to see what the prototypes looked like.
If you are going to use mud to weather, study pictures of the real thing. For what real tracked equipment looks like in heavy use, go to a construction site.
My favorite earth replicator is Celluclay, a papier mache product. Mix in a little earth colored acrylic paint with the water.
Hope tjhis helps.
:-)

In weathering - Less is More! Too often modelers try to outdo one another and make their AFV look as if it's on its last track. A paint chip in full scale is usually small and in 1/35th is practically invisible. Washes of burnt umber acrylic mixed with alcohol is my formula. This forms the base for rust, mud, dust and whatever else may come. A light drybrush and some highlights with a sharpened #2 pencil finishes off the model.

As for mud/grime etc. - I use Modge Podge as my base and add railroad soil until its forms a pancake batter like mixure. I use an expendable brush (Believe me the brush WILL be wasted by the time you finish) and apply it to the tracks, fenders and underside, etc. Again - LESS IS MORE. Once this stuff drys you can always add more, but it's a bear to take it off.

Hope this helps...

Thanks guys.
I was wondering,
is the mud that you apply already coloured or do you paint and drybrush it afterwards?
Also, what should be used to overspray the whole model to make it look like it is dusty, instead of just out of the factory?
Thanks

You might want to check out some of the threads on weathering with pastels. Those are what I used on my M41 Bulldog. I tried not to overdo it. What I ended up with was a subtle, but noticeable bit of weathering. See my models by clicking on the "Yoda's Hut" link below.

Don't be afraid to try something new, it's the only way to get better, as I've learned. Try what you want to, and if it dosen't work you'll know better next time! :-) There isn't a universal way to build models. Do what works for you. That, my friend, is the best approach!
By the way, welcome to the site Oberst and GSPatton!

YodaMan

Hello Oberst I put some sites up in your armor post one on this might want to check it out latter Obersturmfuehrer