Mud and Dirt Help.

I use squadron's green putty (but any should work) thinned a little with some nail polish remover and applied with a brush.  It will ruin the brush, but will give the look of "caked on" mud.  It will have to be painted but it works. 

For heavier amounts of mud or dirt, you can use celluclay (a paper mache product).  Just mix it with enough water to make a paste similar in consistency to thick oatmeal, add a good sized dollup of white glue like elmers, and apply on the surface.  Again it will have to be painted.

As far as something like dust, I have seen some use colors similar to Tamiya Buff airbrushed lightly on.  Look around the house and see what you can find that would be of similar color to what you're looking for.  Real dirt might even be able to be used if sifted.

Hope it helps!

Ain't nothin' like the real thing, baby!

Yupper, sifted dirt do nicely... Get as fine a dirt as you can, then sift it through a screen.  Then sift what passes through that in a finer screen...

Make a "mud" mix with a 50-50 Elmer's glue and water mix, and a drop or two of dishwashing liquid, apply here and there, and you're done!  If you want the mud to look really wet, paint it with thinned clear gloss... 

One thing to note about using real dirt... It's best to bake your outside dirt (if you take it from a lawn or anywhere around your house) in a 350-degree oven for about 10-15 minutes to kill any critters living in it.. You want the dirt to be "dead".

Dirt taken from the street is already dead...  Don't over-look that suff in the street either, the little rocks and stuff work great on your landscaped bases and dioramas as either the rocks they are, or if they aren't "smooth", it makes for great "rubble" around a bombed-out building.. Be sure to sift them into different "grades" and bag them separately...

Use "dust" sparingly... Unless your tank calls for an even, heavy coating of dust, an airbrush is too much.. Instead, use artitist's pastels... Dust accumulates in corners and recesses, floors, aound hatches, etc..

They aren't expensive either... One box of 12 will run about 12.00-15.00 dollars, and will supply enough for a good part of your lifetime...  If you don't have an arts & crafts store near you, like Hobby Lobby (if you DO have a Hobby Lobby, use the 40% off coupon to buy them), you can get them on-line at Hobby Lobby...

http://www.hobbylobby.com/

Thanks for thr tips guys.

My friend Paul said to try soft pastsl sticks. Anyone use that ?

Bud

To me, light mud or dirt would be a thin layer, not built up very much, so I would just use paint.  Almost any brown should work- mud depends, as far as color, on location, location, location.  So I just use mat browns or tans.

Dubau

Thanks for thr tips guys.

My friend Paul said to try soft pastsl sticks. Anyone use that ?

 

Bud

All the time... Dust, dirt, mud, whatever... Pastels should be on the bench of EVERY modeler...

So I just use mat browns or tans.

Then you've never done anything based in the Central Highlands of Vietnam or at Ft Bening, Georgia?  That red clay is famous in those locations, lol...  That stuff is RED...

Aussie Centurion in Vietnam

Thanks all.

All the time... Dust, dirt, mud, whatever... Pastels should be on the bench of EVERY modeler...

Roger that.

For dirt... use dirt...

Thanks Marc

i have just found a way using pigments, got from local art store. mix white glue and water, then with a brush brush the area you want , then with same brush dip into pigment and dab all over. continue until you happy with what you looking for. you can reall build it up, even add grass to it from you local hobby shop. give it a go

Cool Tip

Thanks

Bud

wing_nut

All the time... Dust, dirt, mud, whatever... Pastels should be on the bench of EVERY modeler...

Roger that.

 

For dirt... use dirt...

 

Actually a lot of the pigments used in paints are essentially dirt of various kinds.