How to apply "rust"?

Get a water-soluable Prismacolor pencil from the local art&craft shop.  The color you want is Terracotta (think flower pot color).  Apply some of the pencil to rust prone places.   Now wash GENTLY with a moist (not soaking wet) brush or Q-tip.   This will soften the hard edges of the pencil line.   Work top to bottom - the same way water follows gravity.

Too much -- apply more water & wipe the excess off and start over

You can also use chalk pastel dust or Conte Crayon dust of a suitable reddish-brown colour, applied, using downward strokes, with the edge of a small, flat, brush. If you don't like what you've done, you can rub it of with a putty rubber, and start over.

Generally, ships don't get that rusty, except corvettes, minesweepers, DDEs and U-boats returning from a long patrol. They get painted first. Don't over-do it, especially in scales smaller than 1/350.

Cheers,

Chris.

Rust comes in many many different shades in nature. On ships I have found that artist oil colors english red and venician red thinned greatly into a wash of mineral spirits, is the most realistic for me. Occationally I will use pastels groud down to powder with a file and applied with an old brush, however the oil paint wash is the most realistic.

My personal opinion is that it is better to buy individual artist pastels at an art store for half the price pf mig pigments and grind them down. Same with the Tamiya weathering powders. There is simply no need to buy into their marketing. You can get it done for half the price, with an even more staggering selection of colors to choose from.

One comment about ships getting rusty.  The hull of a ship at sea will get rusty because crew don't typically hang over the side and paint them.  This is done while not at sea.  Everything else is constantly being scraped, primed, and painted while at sea as required.  Something interesting to add to your model would be to add a little primer being painted by a crewman.  Just a thought.

Dave

I'm not sure what they used on British ships.  On USN ships it was a dark red.  I would write John Snider at White Ensign Models and pose the question to him.  He's the expert on naval paint. 

Dave