Weathering

[HERMAN BIX]

Since researching the T34/85, the idea of rust has really diminished.
Loss rates would have simply leveled out the rust/age ratio !
Western front German tanks we can assume were in a fully maintained & virtually rust-free condition as at June 6 1944, so any significant oxidisation would have to occur after this. I contend that the rate of loss or abandonment would have meant that few German western theatre machines should show much actual rust while in service.
Of course the normal bubbling of jointed areas not painted prior to assembly, and external brackets would leach orange to some degree, but these would have been kept under control where possible.
The soviet machines were , according to research, destroyed before even breaking down !
Generalisations aside, the loss rate was horrific, and most Soviet machines were left behind rapidly advancing friendly lines to be perhaps recovered, or simply left to rot.
I can again assume that the allied WTO machines were looked after similarly, and only felt the pressure of maintenance after June 6.
Again, loss rates were high. I can only imagine many Shermans were lost before needing any significant maintenance, and then recovered if not blown out or burnt, or otherwise left.

I think - paint staining, superficial oxidisation, some bubbling in joints, heat affected areas around exhausts etc would be the only real places rust would be evident.

As for how much is ok for a model ??
What ever looks right and makes the owner/builder feel good .

[Spartan tracks]

As a relative newbie,I made the mistake of trying to do what most others do with the weathering but now have my first two tanks needing repainting as to dark, they looked much better before I started,but as with most things I think it's just down to personal taste !!!!!

[tao]

It took a while.. but I finally found it!

[DRC]

While I love to see pictures of highly weathered tanks and such I'm not sure that they would have been as weathered as some are portrayed after all the oldest Tiger 1 would only have been around three years old at the end of the war.

As for tow cables. Back in the early 1990s my father's neighbour decided to keep horses in the adjoining field. The fence only lasted a year or so and was fixed by stretching a steel 30 ton steel tow cable between two posts. Months later the horses disappeared and the field has remained fallow ever since the fence long gone. My Dad died in 2008 and I took on his land, in the undergrowth I found the cable, after pressure washing I then fixed it to the front of my off-roader where it has remained to the present day.

It has been abused and left out in all weathers, the only care it gets is an occasional going over with a pressure washer. That steel cable has not one spot of rust on it, it is the colour of light grey and shows no signs of any wear. Should I weather any of my tanks the tow cables will be painted light grey after my 26 year old cable.

Please keep on weathering tanks because the effects are stunning!

[PainlessWolf]

Good morning,
I find that I agree with everyone here because as Scalawag and others noted, the tank you build should be built for your personal enjoyment ( unless you are building them to sell for clients ) My personal tastes range from factory fresh to in-use with regular maint. and repair. ;o)
regards,
Painless

[tao]

A strong reaction to too much weathering

[jackalope]

To be fair in regards to cables, again working for the rail road allows me access to some things most find difficult to get to. Case in point military vehicles brand new and some come equipped with tow cables and oddly enough range from bright silver, dull gray, light gray, and yes rust colored on some brand new vehicles. The only thing I can think is they must be from different suppliers and different metal as to account for the different colors. But you are 100% correct, not all of those steel tow cables turn to rust.

[ausf]

If I ever build a KV, I'm modelling one of the factory fighters where the workers were finishing them up and driving them into battle. No paint, big ugly weld burns, chalk marks, maybe a hastily applied slogan and a lot of surface rust.

Regarding the maintenance and cleaning, I just say all my tanks are on the way tothe motor pool, not on their way way back.

[billpe]

I believe German tow and track cables were greased, so would probably be the colour of the local dust/dirt.

[mike1268]

I tend to weather my german tanks a bit more than my allied tanks. The german tanks were in service that bit longer and were fixed out in the field more than the allies. Just how my head sees it. I like to see a little rust on the exhaust, edges of mud flaps and lots of mud.

But at the end of the day, if you are happy with your model, weathered or not, historically accurate or not, then that's all that really matters.