RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

It was my impression that tanks on the field would tend go a little lighter than the factory paint jobs. I go out of my way to lighten my tanks up, both base coat and shading, yet I see half the guys on the forum going out of there way to make their tanks darker. Such heavy dark washes. I am I missing something? it would be a hell of a lot easier to keep things dark.

Dirt and grime.

jackalope wrote:Dirt and grime.

Most mud and dirt would stay on the tracks and wheels. On the upper hull and turret its more likely dust, which is light. Like Mick says the sun and other elements fades tanks doesn't make them darker.

An older car, tank, panels would tend to fade in the middle outwards I think...not logical to darken. Mud also drys light too.

hmmm i hear what your saying, but....i thought both concrete and clay are porous to a certain degree so they would hold some dirt grime..similar to paving slabs. Paint fades end of lol not so porous. Of course you're get the dark streaks but i doubt very much the overall look of the tank will be darker.

Just to make things marginally more complex....

https://www.cybermodeler.com/color/scale_effect.shtml

As 16th is fairly big, they suggest it wouldn't be a problem, but equally we're looking at a more camouflaged scheme.

I'm with you on this Jake, you see tanks in real life that have been left outside, they do fade, they might get muddy but they do fade under that. This is why I modulate my tanks and always used some rain mark streaking effects to add to the fading.

Don't most people paint the centers of panels a lighter color, then use a darker around the edges? I think this gives a more faded look than just an overall solid color.

Here's a perfect example expertly rendered by Mr. Wolf himself. Just scroll to the bottom.

viewtopic.php?f=203&t=23296

Me, personally, I prefer the more faded look. Unless it's a vehicle that's straight out of the paint room. Plus lots of mud.

Bill

It has been demonstrated that the full size Tanks Paint will be darker than the scaled down version for the same effect.
There was a discussion on RCU/RCTW some time back on this subject and that was the conclusion.
Shaun.