Weathering.

The tracks are all steel, so they look pretty much the same unless they've been thrown as a part of the death of the tank.

What will need attention are the rubber tires on the road wheels. Not always but often those are burned up and are just the steel wheel center with a pile of ashes.

I'm thinking that would be some kind of a hot fire to burn a tank out and turn the rubber on the road wheels to ash! Was that common?

Duke,  just remember all the different things inside the tank that would contribute to the fire, such as many different types of ammo for an assortment of guns (main gun, machine gun, if any of the crew had personal guns, etc), the radio, any personal clothing or personnel belongings of the crewman, the tanks fuel, etc.

all would contribute to make a very hot fire! >.<

I concur ;

Your tank should look like the fire was very hot at times and then the rubber would've melted and dripped off the top of the wheels to burn to ashes at the ground !

Not the mechanism, tanks. It catches on fire. The thing is though, modeler needs to remove the rubber from the road wheel if it's not a separate part. For composite rubber/ steel tracks, someone is making the burnt skeletons.

Here's a T-34 85

albumwar2.com/burned-out-soviet-tank-t-34-85-with-a-torn-barrel

Just google knocked out tanks or panzers to get an idea. Those that burn can get pretty extensive in the level of destruction depending upon how  much ammo and fuel is in them at the time they catch fire. Some are abandoned as a result of comparatively minor damage to a critical system though and are fairly intact.

also check AM. i know Squadron has had resin damaged PZ-IV road wheels. i would think the tracks would rust after a few days so maybe a black wash over steel or Tamiya metallic gray followed by dark red brown wash or powders/pastels.

Karl "The Doog" Logan did an FSM feature on a knocked out Panzer IV a few years ago,really impressive.Drop him a PM for more info.

Hey,I just found the link,the article is called Spooked  http://public.fotki.com/thedoog/my-photos/

Here's some inspiration for you. Burnt tracks are going to rust out, same as any. I would just rust them up. ANd don't forget tha super-heated metal can turn white from the heat. I had an old silver-haired veteran come up to me in a contest where I had entered this dio and he gave me the nicest compliment, saying "Son, I've seen burnt-out tanks in war, and you nailed the look of that panzer"!  I used baby power and real burnt ashes for the road wheels, attached with both white glue and flat lacquer.

Tojo, thanks for the mention! I didn't see your post until just now.

That is impressive work.  

If you watch some of the films from Desert Storm you can see how the tanks can really light up.  The stills afterward show the effects well.

Here are a few real ones to illustrate how they can look when knocked out

Thanks for all the help guys!!! much appreciated!

Pictures!

I think so. I live in a mountainous area and there are a few epic hills on the highway. ive seen many overheated vehicles including large rvs burned down to frame and rims. From an overheated engine!