Stages and materials used to weather the Armortek PAK 40.
Base coat of Halfords black then grey primer. Top coat is done with Army Painter desert yellow primer, all rattle cans.
Dave Dibb
Feb 3, 2018
Discussion
While there are other materials suitable for making scale welds I have always worked with and favoured Milliput. It is a 2 part putty material that is mixed by rolling together equal quantities until you end up with a ball of something resembling green Plasticine. I use the standard Yellow - Grey. It is workable for around an hour or so and set hard in approx three hours. Stage 1- Roll it out into a long thin strip the size of the weld you wish to create. Stage 2 - Lay it into the groove or angle you wish to simulate as a welded joint. Press it in with your finger and apply a very small amount of water if you struggle to get it to stick. Stage 3 - Once the Milliput is in place you can start to add the weld effect. I use an old dental probe with a small rounded end. The end of a paintbrush handle cut off square or a piece of plastic rod can be used to press in the weld "puddles" Stage 4 - Continue down the weld bead until you have a basic effect all the way along. Stage 5 - Once you have the basic effect start to blend the 2 sides of the weld bead into the plates. Don't worry about being too uniform as a more random effect looks best. Stage 6 - Repeat the process down all welded edges and joints. When simulating butt welded plates it is best to leave a trough in the base material to weld into as this helps key the weld in and also it is less likely to get knocked off when handling the model. If you are not happy with the weld once done just peel it out, roll it again and start over. Examples of finished welds. To accompany the weld details torch cut edges on armour plate can be simulated by just filing a random pattern of grooves into the edge of the plastic plates with a small triangular section needle file. For thicker amour laminate a number pieces then carry out the same process ensuring you have sanded the edges first to blend the lamination's. This needs to be done before you assemble your armour plates. To simulate welds that have been painted over many times you can apply a coat of Mr Surfacer 500 to your finished welds. This is a thick paint like filler that will not hide all the detail in your weld but will "soften" the detail, fill gaps and give the effect of a heavy paint build up you won't get with just your ordinary model paints.
First few primary washes. Welds and some areas where I want some corrosion have been given a coating of AK corrosion texture then the whole model has been washed liberally with Vallejo dark yellow model wash. Bolts and fittings then further darkened with Vallejo oiled earth and engine grime. Breech and Shell case are done with AK true metal.
The primary washes have been blended in by a heavy drybrushing with Vallejo Iraqui Sand. Grease nipples have been painted in red and the outer breech plate has been painted with Vallejo Exhaust Manifold. I use this as it gives a variation in colour and depth rather than the flat effect from a plain steel paint. Next stage will be pin washes to lift individual details, rain streaks, oil, streaks and general wear and tear.
More detailed pin washes and wear and tear. This is the first of many similar stages where I sponge and brush on wear and corrosion then will tone it back a little in places with dry brushing. I don't work on the whole model at any one time and pick random sections. In theory doing this over a few nights varies the effect and stops me duplicating patterns. Using the sponge parts of cut down pan scrubs also helps vary the pattern. The first mix is the darkest I will be using and then I will do various lighter shades and repeat to reduce the similarity of colour.There is no definitive guide as to how often I will do this as I just keep on until I like the overall effect. If it goes wrong or I find I have duplicated the pattern too much I will just revert to the previous stage and dry brush the area out and start again.
Finished the 2 shells we include with the update set. Also painted a couple of shell head sets for display. Cases are done with AK True Metal Brass over Halfords Black primer, heads with Vallejo Field Grey, Black, Copper and Oily Steel. Shell Marking decals are by Peddinghuas.
Kill rings masked and painted in with Vallejo Stencil white. I don't worry about them being too neat as I like a rough field applied look rather than factory fresh. I have stained the cleaning rods with Vallejo Dark brown wash and then painted the ends in Exhaust mainfold and drybrushed the lot with Vallejo Iraqui sand again. Reflector painted in with Tamiya Clear Red and the tyres have been glued on and drybrushed with Iraqui sand then Vallejo European Dust and Oiled Earth wash has been used to tone down the sand in the grooves
Muzzle brake has been blackened using the sponge and Vallejo Matt black and this is where we are so far. I am fairly happy with the overall look now so its time for the thin brushes and individual chips, scratches and wear patches. I will then be adding very fine grime washes round the oil points, nuts wheel caps and places where dirty grease and oil are found.
And the finished model.