introduction

Seems like every month we are graced with a new manufacturer of different types of weathering products for plastic scale models. One of the recent additions to this growing aftermarket niche is True-Earth Weathering and Diorama Products. They are the brainchild of Giuseppe Vitali from Italy.

What makes these products unique is that they are all completely water based and as such are much more forgiving to you, your model, and the environment. True-Earth sells an extensive line of filters/washes, fixatives, and ground materials for the modeler.

the rusts

I was given two of their products and asked to give them a try to see how they would work for the average modeler (okay, truthfully, I am really a slightly below average modeler, but, hey, I try harder. And that should count for something!). The two I had were "Spread Rust", and "Deep Rust". The product comes in a smallish plastic bottle with a metal screw cap with 17ml of product inside. The bottle and cap itself feels a bit like a throwback, somewhat reminiscent of the old Pactra bottles. Be careful they feel like they would tip over pretty easily.

The best way to describe the product is to have you take a look at the photos to the right. I painted up a couple of small squares in a dark gray metallic finish in order to show what the rust would look like on bare metal. I taped off the center so you can see the contrast between the original state and the area after application. Both products brushed out well and went through the airbrush easily without any thinning at all.

The Deep Rust could almost be used as a base color for a bare metal surface, it appears in the bottle as a dark purplish gray with some metallic properties. The Spread Rust looks like a bottle of some kind of bright rust suspension. When it is applied it appeared a bit darker than it does just sitting in the bottle.

conclusion

Both products seem to be able to deliver just exactly what they promise. Price is not too bad, the selection of different effects seems to be growing, so overall it has the look of another fine product. I really liked the way that the Spread Rust looked, particularly with the airbrushed application. I am anxious to try the deep rust on a lighter surface to see how that may change its appearance. If you see any of these on the shelf I wouldn't hesitate to give them a try.