Removing the smoothness

[tankme]

USC (US Chemicals) makes a red glazing putty and so does 3M. I've used both and acetone can thin them so that you don't cover up all the details. I also use Mr. Surfacer 500, but it's not usually coarse enough for cast texture on 1/16 scale tanks without building up a bunch of layers. It's not cheap either even though it's basically primer with some grit in it which is why I use the red glazing putty mostly. I will also use the two part Bondo, but normally only when I need to span large gaps and want a less brittle product.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Mindstorm: There are some good ideas here, and even more when I asked a question quite similar to yours. Indeed, I did the 'cast iron effect' after primer over the original paint on a Taigen Pershing. See viewtopic.php?t=34857&hilit=Pershing, especially pages 4-8.

[MrChef]

Casper, Armor texture can be achieved by brushing on Tamiya Airbush cleaner which is virtually the same formula as Tamiya Extra Thin Cement but Much less expensive. Then using a stiff short brush to stab and stipple the surface. I find a cheap epoxy brush works well when trimmed down. Which is a common technique used in the scale armor modeling community.





As you can see using this process removes any paint applied to the plastic so you'll be down for a full repaint after.



Then using Tamiya putty thinned with the same airbrush cleaner and randomly splotching or rough brushing it on. It dries in seconds so I let it set for like and hour then ever so lightly sand it with 1,500 grit paper trying not to smooth the surface too much just knocking down some high spots. It looks more random and can be massaged.

[Marco Peter]

I bought some Acetone for the second try!

My problem is that I don't want to use it for 1:16, and in this case not even 1:6, but 1:1...

[ColemanCollector]

Who cares about the tank! I want to see your 3d printer!

Mike.

[Marco Peter]

Whahahaha! Well... I guess an honest question deserves an honest reply... It's tracks I want to print!

[Marco Peter]

My experiments today:


I started by damaging a part of 3D print


I dilluted the car body filler with acetone before adding the hardening agent


Smeared it on

Here's the trick: Dab it with a large brush!


How it looks when dried:



Left lightly sanded, middle sanded a lot, right side untouched

Added some black paint...


After the paint dried


Added some brown paint as well


I love graphite pencils for this!


See how different the graphite sticks to different surfaces?


You can easily soften the effect


And the result of this experiment on real 80 year old German Panzer tracks:


Can you guess the track? All three?





I must say for a first try I am very satisfied!

[ColemanCollector]

There ya go! Told you it was fun!

Results look great. Only 173 more links to go!

Mike.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Which ones are the real ones? And, for that matter, unh, are you making replica tracks? ...a real whopper of an RC Panther? Am I confused. Ja, you betcha!

[Marco Peter]

Yeah, I collect tracks, but some are... Unobtainable.