Weathering tracks

Excellent question and I'm eargerly awaiting someones response! LOL!
I was thinking of posting the very same question myself. There are some excellent article in FMS three or 4 mos. ago on weathering an M-1 in Iraq. Cover shot too. It looks like the tracks were painted the same shade as the hull, and the road pads are a weathered flat black. I'm considering latex painting the tracks, washing with Windsor/Newton oil paint, pressing the road pads on a black ink blotter, and then dry brushing the whole track. It may not come out but I've got a track from a war casualty, an LVTP that I'm getting ready to use for the experiment. (Duhh! I lost theother track somewhere during a repainting effort!) I'll let you know on the results later tonight.

Glad someone asked, too! I'm pretty much finished with my M1, and was wondering how I was going to do the treads. I await your findings eagerly...

demono69

Phase 2 is well underway! I airbrushed the track US Army/Marines Gulf Testors Acryl and dried it with a hair dryer. The acrylic paint IMO holds best on flexible materials like tracks. Got out my handy dandy surplus Carter's Black Ink Stamp Pad and VOILA! It works like a dream and man does it make that black painting a snap! The ink dries to a flat blueish (?) black. Again the Hair dryer accelerated the project time. I inked and dried the entire track in less time than it takes to smoke a Pall Mall. For the younger folks that's about 6 min. Next up, dullcoat and washes.

Dah tah tah.........This looks like a question for.......MAJOR G.

The color that looks like the tank color is probably suppossed to be dust from the desert. Demono, which one are you building? I've got the Italeri one. This question will come in handy for also. Thanks for asking.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

LOL, this thread is starting to sound an awful lot like an M1 Abrams team build. hmmm, now there is an idea....

Edog, how about an Abrams build after the Panther build? This is about the only way I'll finish a kit......I hope! LOL

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

I decided to skip the dullcoat and went straight to the dark brown wash. Time for a coffee break.

Critical Boo Boo. Don't skip the dullcoat after the paint and ink dries. The mineral spirits wash has an adverse affect of the paint. Of course I'm not using normal drying times but it's a junk track anyway.

I know Major G will come along and provide us with the right answers in a short while. Anyway I have completed 2 M1 kits in desert camo so far and what I did to the tracks was:

1.) Paint the metal portions with gun metal.
2.) Paint the rubber blocks with flat black.
3.) Apply a thin black wash for the metal portions first.
3.) Drybrush the metal portions with metallic grey.
4.) Apply a thin wash of flat earth mixed with buff.
5.) Drybrush the rubber blocks with flat black.
6.) Drybrush (a little bit) the metal portions with metallic grey.
7.) Light spray with flat earth mixed with buff.

Look ok to me but I am not sure if would be good to you, too.