Title
Weathering and Streaking

Author
FordBuddy390

Published
Friday, March 6, 2009

Not all models need to gleam and shine like a car in a show. You may want some to have a quite different look. Take this truck for instance. This truck, as some may know, is from the 1970s movie "Duel". Far from perfect, this truck was created to have a weathered, beat-up, and creepy look to it. Weathering can consist of many different methods, variations and possibilities! I will be showing you how to streak, or wash, a vehicle to look rusty and weathered. I also will show you how to dirty-up the tires, and also some spots on models you don't want to miss if you weather them. Mainly where runoff occurs.



So lets Begin!

So here's a nice looking trailer! Not for long! What we are wanting to achieve first is the streaky look. Mainly because it will stand out too much at the end if you do the other weathering techniques first. What I did was take Tamiya Nato Gray, Alcohol, and a hypodermic needle. A small turkey baster would work also. I then mixed the Tamiya Nato Gray with the alcohol. I used about 60%-75% alcohol to the paint. Mix it up and put it in the needle.



Here's the moment of truth. Again, the effect we want is realistic looking run-off streaks. On this trailer that's due to fuel runoff and dirt. Note: Put the decals on before this step! Now, with your needle or baster let the tip lie on the starting point and keep in mind where you'll wind-up. Start at the top and let the mix drain from it as you slide it across the top, or point where you want your streak to originate from. Mix your speed up a little, so it doesn't look all the same down the side. It will look wet for a few minutes before blending and looking like dirty run-off.



For this project multiple coats of wash were not necessary, but you can do it how you prefer until you get the desired look. If you want you can also let it dry to see where you stand and then add more later if you think it's needed.



I needed to simulate dust, road grime, and dirt so I chose these three colors. Again I mixed them with the alcohol. This time I went with a 50/50 mix of alcohol and paint. Now comes a fun part of weathering: airbrushing. I used a double-action Paasche, but almost any good quality airbrush will work. Airbrushing gives you an extremely fine mist of color. Sometimes you can't see it right away, but it can have a tremendous overall effect.





I fired up the compressor and set it to around 20 PSI. You can adjust the pressure depending on your airbrush and the overall effect you want. It's better not to set the PSI too high though. More fine coats are better, and give you more control, than one thick coat. From there I began the process. This diagram will show you what I went for.



I first began with the light tan/brown. I misted behind the wheels where road dust would get kicked up. I also misted all the wheels and tires with it, giving it a dusty look. Note: This took multiple coats which is why I said it's better to use multiple light coats instead of one thick coat. Don't rush it or you won't get a good effect. Next I took the gray. The exhaust tip was then simulated to look as if it had soot on it. I then misted the entire trailer very lightly. I used a little gray on the grill, too. Next came the brown. I lightly coated the entire truck with it. I sprayed the grill repeatedly until it looked dirty. I also sprayed the bumpers to look dusty and dirty. I even misted the license plates. Basically what I found is that using the light brown was great for simulating dust, dark brown for dirt, and gray for soot and grime. Weathering is a very broad area of modeling and can be used to make something look about any way you want. You also have such a broad area of techniques you can use. I have shown you a few that I hope you found helpful. Always remember to test new weathering techniques on scrap before you use it on a project. This can save you a lot of possible trouble later on. Also remember to plan before you weather and think logically about what would weather first and which would have the most effect and go from there. Thanks for looking at my tutorial and for hopefully giving weathering a try. It can add great character to any model or project!







For a tutorial dealing specifically with rusting techniques please see Weathering and Rusting.