As we all know, the enviorment that our subject model resides in plays a major role as to how much weathering needs to be applied. The subject could look factory fresh due to some motorpool officer keeps a neat shop, or so bad that the original colors can not be determined. In my opinion, you have to just make it look right for the area that it operates in.
One unique way to judge just how weathered your model is, go ask your wife / girlfriend / mother / significant other / daughter / or your overly tidy friend to go and pick up your model. If their reaction is 'eeew.... I don't want to touch that dirty thing!' Then you got it right.
Happy modeling :-)

Niiiiiiiice.....now I just have to find a girlfriend. (Oops, I typed that out loud..... #:-) )

Maybe a new wife or a new girlfriend.
Dont under-estimate your partners knowledge on weathering models. Being on the recieving end of conversations that have added up to hours about the correct methods and colours for weathering, some have reached expert status! #:-)
Once I got my wife convinced that I am looking for the brutal truth, she has actually pointed out qute a few things I didnt see myself.
Im glad I can share my hobby ........ my wife says she loves hearing about my hobby when she is tired and ready to sleep.

I agree 100%...the "untrained eye" of your significant other can really be helpful to point out glaring mistakes or omissions that you have made. Many times I have asked my wife to look over a project and give her opinion. She has made suggestions that have improved my efforts more than once!

I agree. My wife says those exact words to me when i complete some of my aircraft models or armor models. I smile and put them on the shelf.

My wife is funny... she once asked "why would you take a nicely painted little tank and then go make it all ugly and yuckie?".

Hey - gotta love 'em!

all above answers are original phrases that we modellers hear every day . i ll tell u my 15 months old daughter whan i took her to the lab to show her my figures. On my 120 mm Mountain man she was staring strangely and distance , on my 120 mm US Tanker Commander she turned her side the other way at once and on the colourful 54mm Zouave she wanted to grab him and eat him !!!!!!!
My wife has a really good eye (as she is a graphic designer) and always make good points on my models and she is helpful and likes a lot what i do . every 3-4 days she asks have u finished anything for me to see? But is really good to have another judging eye to stare at your work. One thing a lot of people has said to me is that ok i like what u modellers do but as an ignorant i d like more to see figures or vigniettes or dio's cause when i see a tank and another tank and a 3d tank they all seem grenn stuff to me. If u dont know types variations and all these. and this i have taken in record cause i mainly model for my mental health , but there is a 10 -15% of me that wants other people to see my work and comment it ..

Hi there

Costas

the same question would a German WWII tanker, I bet they would love to have their with a perfect paint job, with no scratches, and that ugly rust in the tracks that is so hard to dupicate( :-) )

After 20 years of marriage, the comments that I get are now along the lines of " yes, it's good, now where are you going to put this one?"
I can sometimes still get constructive criticism, but I thing she's got to saturation point!!!! :-)

I've never laughed so hard... My wife actually grounded me from buying anymore models til I start finishing the ones I have! But I have to say she does a great job of 'pretending' she's interested when I ask for her oppinion. :-)

my wife's the best, but who's isn't? she helps me from time to time. you know after some time the kit your building, you start to really lose the aspect of the thing. thats when i ask my wife for advice, and it helps! oh, she's never once built a kit........