Before I start my oratory, let me say that I know there are as many opinions about how to weather armor as there are armor kits...or so it seems sometimes. It is actually quite nice to see diversity in weathering approaches and everyone is welcome to their own personal taste. After all, as long as you are happy with your build, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.
However, lately - or maybe more than lately and I just haven't noticed - there have been quite a few comments regarding armor builds that say things like, "a little more mud", "it looks too clean to me" or "get it dirty". My comments here are directed more toward the younger armor modelers since most of the veteran modelers are already aware of these observations.
For many years, armor modelers built fairly clean models with little if any weathering. Once modelers began to discover the value of washes, dry brushing, and pastels, weathering on armor seemed to progress to more and more severe interpretations of weathering. A few years ago, it seemed that more than half of all armor models built had extremely weathered appearances with heavily chipped paint, an entire platoon's worth of shell hits, and mud up to your armpits. Some of these models looked extremely good and many such models garnered awards at both IPMS and AMPS modeling shows.
It now appears that we are swinging back in the other direction a bit and getting away from the really heavy weathering of the recent past. Part of this could be caused by the perception that heavy weathering, particularly mud packs, are used by modelers to cover mistakes in construction or allow the modeler to skip clean-up of parts that will be covered with mud. It might also be due to some modelers realizing that heavy mud applications, in order to be realistic, should be limited to a small number of modeling situations. Mud, afterall, will come of most vehicles during the first good rainfall or the next time the vehicle is washed.
Obviously, a diorama of German vehicles traveling down a temporary European dirt road in the early spring would be a situation where mud is more than appropriate. But what about a simple static display of a Sherman tank? Is it appropriate to cover the entire lower hull and tracks with a thick layer of mud? Again, your personal taste will determine how you answer this question, but if recent contests are any indication, the answer for the most part is no.
I would highly encourage armor modelers to review the photos of both the most recent AMPS national show and the IPMS convention at their respective home pages. It becomes readily apparent that most of the recent award winning models are fairly clean, with very subtle applications of dirt and dust. There are exceptions - particularly in the diorama categories. But overall, the trend seems to be heading away from the very severe weathering patterns of the recent past.
This is not a critique of anyone's work and not intended as a slap in the face of anyone who wants to use mud on every one of their armor builds. As I said, everyone has their own personal taste and that is one of the things that makes this a great hobby. I just wanted to write this column to raise the questions and present some observations for the members as a whole. I hope you've found the information useful or at least as something that you may consider for future reference.
Enjoy your modeling...