Weathering

[jackalope]

I have a question for everyone regarding weathering on tanks. I don't want to mention anyone's work as I do not want anyone to think this a criticism of their hard work as this is not meant to be, but I have to ask some of the tanks here look like they've been outside since the 40's! How long are some of these tanks supposed to have been in service? I run trains for a living, some of our locomotives have been around since the early 70's and haven't had any paint work done since the early 90's, they live outside all year round and are only cared for to keep them running and NONE look to be weathered as much as some of the tanks here. This is not meant to cause trouble I'm curious as to how long you guys think it would take to get so weather beaten? And yes our stuff gets shot at too though not as much as a tank would.

[mcevoyi]

Totally agree

If any tank ..truck ..van car in out Corp ..was dirty ..rusty ,.dented ..or in poor condition
the we would be on a very expensive charge in front of the C.O ..and in deepest shit

Certainly talking to my granddad who served in the rtr ..in both the dessert and Italy ..his armour was inspected regular ..and was kept painted and free from rust ,, dirt was acceptable but always clean
down after combat to see if there was any damage
one thing my grandad said is when he remember seeing kncoked out German armour ..it was impeccable ..and kept spick and span .. as they has so few serviceable armour ,,so time and effort was put in to then to keep them fighting fit ....
So ..we I see some armour that looks like its it need in a scrap yard most of it's life .. I do disparemember

I also know this subject is a conversation on a few other website ,,it feels that the manufactures of pigments are trying to convince us out armour needs to look like scrap so we buy more paint and pigments ..than we really need to

Just my thoughts ..and not a reflection of other people's art ! ..after all its there tank ..and it's up to them
to build ..paint and display in the way that want to ..it's a model and a hobby

[ausf]

It's hard to say without specific examples, but weathering is a personal choice no matter what the subject.

Aircraft modellers will dismiss weathering as unrealistic, but I can show you actual photos of P-47s on the front lines or Corsairs on an atoll that look worse than any tank you've seen. zeven carrier based AC became horribly corroded in short periods of time.

I do respect what you're saying regarding locomotives, but tanks ran in the mud, snow, ice, dirt, then went on trains and back again.

They had steel studded boots of infantry clamering over them and fuel and oil spilled everywhere.

Then there's the field applied paint in some instances that might be mixed with waste oil, gas or water, so who knows how it would stick, especially sprayed in the field over existing dirt.

Then you have different foliage, etc being dumped on them and whitewash and even the documented chalk camo. There's even a case of toothpaste being used as a winter camo.

US tankers rubbed mud over the white star that was soon seen as a target.

I do think that rust is overdone, but I like it in the case of bullet splashes, add on gear like welded brackets, or armor and in the exposed track contact areas.

I have tons of photos going both directions, even shots of German crews washing their tanks in rivers, but it really is a personal choice.

I personally like a veteran over factory fresh. Something that has been through the wringer a few times. Maybe it would be cleaned during maintenance, but only the modeler is the one to say when the depicted tank happens to be. Maybe it's in the middle of a three assault.

[tao]

Interesting topic and clearly a grey area of preference and there are examples of lot variations to choose from and have fun with! Looking at modern construction equipment is also interesting as thing like tracks will always have a patina of rust/dirt. But to both posts.. lots of rust is more of a condition of sitting around outside a lot longer than the span of the entire war.

[billpe]

I think rust is often over done generally but it does give a model character. There will be surface rust on exposed steel very quickly though - you see photos of modern MBTs which if you look closely suffer from this. Sheet steel especially is prone, there's a leo 2 walk around set of photos and the baskets on the back of the turret are showing allot of rust. But the higher quality alloys used in armour will take decades to rust severely - just look at the tanks that were stored outside at Aberdeen. The sheet metal is in a terrible state but the armour is generally quite untouched.

Another thing to bear in mind is battle damage. The soviet's preferred round for much of the war was HE, which would cause quite severe cosmetic damage. There's a good example in the 653 unit history diary of this. The Ferdinand's external fittings were all moved as they would get blown off in battle from HE rounds.

[tao]

I think it is such a fine line to tread! The main reason any weathering "works" is it jolts away the feeling of "shiny plastic toy" and becomes in the mind something large and heavy and "real"

[jackalope]

That fine line is why I re-did my King Tiger, I made the mistake of listening to people after I thought it looked great but the washes of grime just made the tank too dark and I lost a good bit of detail work but that was my mistake.

As for rust that can be tricky for sure, as for new construction equipment the tracks I've seen are always nice and shiny with some dirt because them grinding into dirt and gravel keep them rust free.

Our trains may not run through the mud but we go though snow, kick up TONS of dust and dirt running down the tracks, get climbed all over by us with boots that have steel spikes during the winter for traction so they get torn up pretty good too. I think the only we don't encounter is like I said, running through mud.... oh and knocking over trees and getting shot at. And no streams, we don't drive through streams either.

I only asked cause I was wondering if I was missing something with the weathering, thanks guys. This means I THINK my KT is juuuust about done this time only a little detail painting is needed. Then it'll be on to weathering my Tiger.

[ALPHA]

I would be with Ausf on this subject....It's purely a Personal preference and boils down "again" to who you are building the tank for....People "SHARE" their work...not ask anyone to subscribe to it
I also think this question could filter to anything done to one of these models fancy electronics stowage etc ...I don't use any....but others use a lot...Again...a personal preference

I don't think there is a right or wrong way...So long the result is what the builder wants...and makes Him/Her Happy


ALPHA

[tao]

Good point on construction tracks..I stand corrected..but when they sit without moving it doesn't take long to get a fine layer of rust here and there..but it does work off with movement in dirt! I think how muddy depends what and where but in my view regarding rust: less is more during the war

[jackalope]

I was a heavy wheeled vehicle mechanic in the ARMY and I remember quite clearly having to scrub any dirt and crap off or do paint work whenever we got a truck in to work on. We were told dirt isn't in the TSM (technical service manual) so get it off the vehicles.