Here's a new update! Pigments and some more detail-weathering..
Here's what I"m using for some of these steps: Adam Wilder's Nitro line pigments and weathering effects: "Aged Rust", "Red Rust" and "Light Rust" along with "Old Grease" for the grease/oil spots.
Using the pigments to weather and rust the muffler, using the above rust pigments from L to R...I mix a little bit of pigments in a palette with some mineral spirits and apply it.
What I got...I have also silvered the walkway foot treads with Testor's Silver, and applied some grease/oil runs and spots on the rear deck. The grime is "Old Grease" pigments.
The chassis so far..these "rails" in the middle of the vehicle are a bit of a mystery to me. They match up to the back of the howitzer, and on the far end have two small wheels. I"m assuming that they may be some kind of recoil absorbing system, or perhaps some kind of ammo carriage? Anyway,. my point is, those rails have been weathered to show bare metal, as if the gun carriage slid back on them occasionally. If anyone has any info about them, please post it!!!
The front gun shields also serve as platforms which fold down as seen in this photo:
Naturally, they would have been similarly abused and weathered. Foot grime, dirt, chipped paint, etc. And naturally, when out of service and stored, the bare metal would have rusted. I weathered this accordingly with the same two Wilder Nitro rust tones "Aged Rust", "Red Rust", and also used "Light Dry Mud Effect" for the dirt tones. These "Effects" tones are great for speckling effects, which were also used here...I"ll show that in a minute...
A close-up...
Here's how I speckle...I use Adam Wilder's "Effects" for this--there are at least a half-dozen different colors and shades, They can be used right out of the bottle or thinned. I like to thin them just a bit, and then dip a thick-bristled brush into them and then use a toothpick to push back the bristles and let them "snap" back, which flicks the paint off the brush and onto the model. If you try his, PRACTICE IT FIRST.You must get a feel for where the paint is going to fly: i.e., the dispersion angle, breadth, and volume of speckles.Sometimes I use a bigger brush than this if I want a heavier coat.
Meanwhile, the wheels have been similarly weathered with the dirt stuff. The darker tints here also come from MIG Wet Effects, which gives a nice impression of wet mud. Note the coating of dirt in the sprocket wells, and the "speckle" effect...
And here's where am so far....
When the Holidays are through, I'll be resuming work on this baby..I hope all of my friends and followers to this thread have had a wonderful Holidays and a great New Years. Stay safe out there, all!
Karl