Hey there, Jeremy!

I follow most of what has already been posted here. But here is something else I do (I learned this from IPMS BAC colleagues):

After washing and all, I drybrush the edges of the AFV, then mix up the same shade (usually a mixture of tamiya red brown, buff and/or dark yellow (depending on the terrain) and spray the entire road wheel (except the rubber) and tracks with the mixture. I also spray the insides of the chassis as well as the fenders, skirts and a good portion of the rear. I then very lightly spray the rest of the hull with the mixture to even up the surface (mahirap kasi kung dusty yung ilalim tapos spic and span yung ibabaw). After spraying the tracks, I then run another series of washes on them (a little darker in shade) para sa mga singit-singit ng mechanism. After all of these, I spray on a final flat coat again to even up the surface and to protect the weathering.

I do this technique to simulate a well-travelled AFV. Like cars, dust and mud tend to accumulate on the wheel rims, the lower body and the rear. But you need really steady hands and a fine airbrush nozzle. Otherwise, it may mess up your kit.

Hope this helps.

just went to Lils this afternoon and bought:
clear flat enamel, clear flat acrylic, (though they call it flat base)
hmmm gonna buy tommorow a laqcuer spry paint from hardware store.

a BIG THANKS to all of you guys for helping me out! gonna post the Kit after im done with it!

1 more thing... when i tried spraying flat base enamel on a sheet of plastic, seconds l8er it turned white....???? is there something wrong?

what flat coating u guys commonly use?

@jeremy
The tamiya flat base enamel is intended to be used with a gloss paint, example; if you have a tamiya semi gloss-black (X-18 I think) and you want a flat black color, mix about 25% flat base and about 75% semi-gloss black and you will have a flat black (XF-1) color. So if you desire a flat clear coat, mix the flat base with a clear (X-22 ata yun) enamel paint. YOU DO NOT spray a flat base 'straight from the bottle'.

Here's a cheap alternative, this is what I actually use (for AFVs take note). Do you have a Elmer's glue around the house? Yes? Then dilute 1/4 part of elmer's glue with 3/4 parts of tap water, wait till dry and you have a flat clear coat. I apply this using a very fine bristled flat brush, if you're using an air brush, wash it _immediately_. Careful with the ratio of the mixture, more part of the glue will turn it to a glossy finish, hey elmer's glue dries glossy clear right.

As always, experiment, and test it first on a 'test' kit.

Good day!
-Lipton-

Did you use the flat base as primer for the plastic? Flat base have powdery substance that turns white when the paint is sprayed too thickly or due to humidity...maybe others could enlighten you better...

hmmm.. so i should mix the flat base with the clear enamel to get a clear coat right?

done with the washing... so far i messed up, then tried again. then finally i got the hang of it.
i mixed brown, black and dark brown. is this ok? i used acrylic for it

Pics would be very useful so we could help you out more.

hmmm ok.... gonna buy gunze lacquer tommorow narin!
just posted my pic ,care to look at my gallery.

i would like to hear ur comment on them hehe! :-) :-)

wala pang wash yan.... :-) :-)

Cool! The painting on the Brad is nice! One nitty pick, the TOW has the same color with the body itself. The Hind also has a very good camo. The other kits were good too. Too bad, the pics are quite blurry and the lighting is a bit dark.

I'm expecting another great modeler here. Sooner or later, he'll be scratchbuilding in no time!!!

wow thanks!!! 1st ever! a fellow modeler saw my work! hehehe!

yeah the pics are blurry. coz galing sa fon yan.. wala p kong matinong digicam eh.
hehe! salamat sa compliments! cguro with all u guys helping me out i could be one hehe!

what is scratchbuilding?

Try taking pics in a sunny day (preferably 8-10 am and/or 3-6 pm) and also use the macro zoom of the cam. (thanks to my 2 photo gurus)




A term used when you substitute a part with another item from scratch. It could be as simple as straps to a more complicated model entirely built from raw items.

NIce builds you got there. Medyo blurry nga pero gusto ko yung Hind. I got this thing with those rotary wings but just don't build enough of 'em.

Yes Jeremy, you mix a flat base with clear enamel paint to achieve a clear flat coat. Becareful of the ratio as if you used too much flat base on the mix ma-mumuti din yung finish.

Shonen is right, the TOW launcher should have the same color as the body.

ahhh ok thanks for that info. i rrpaint ko na lng hehe! :-)

Re: mixing flat base and clear gloss for a clear flat, it is NOT advisable. Reason: the ratio is so much hit-and-miss, you're just going to waste a lot of flat base and clear gloss just to get the right mixture. The risks outweigh the benefits. I strongly suggest that, unless you have acquired a very excellent skill in gauging the exact ratio, you use prepared clear flat coats in spray cans. It is much more cost effective that way.

ahhhh.. ok, thanks for that. it is advisable that i use topcoat? or any other brands?
:-)

Not really recommended unless your kit showed gloss parts that you wanted to be flat.

Hmmm...everyone here has posted something about colors, washing and drybrushing. Let me add something, too, and this is based on my weathering technique.

Since you are modeling an Abrams with a woodland scene, I assume it will be travelling on soft soil.

1) Sift garden soil with a sieve (or a door screen). You should get fine, powdery soil. Set aside. In a bowl, mix white glue and water to the consistency of paint. Pour this slowly over the fine soil and mix until you get the consistency of a smooth paste. Goop this over the wheels, tracks, lower fenders and the suspension system. It dries into great looking mud.When dry, accentuate it by giving it a wash of dark brown, then drybrush it with light brown.

2) If you have a dremel tool, thin out the fenders until it is paper thin. Bend them carefully either outwards or inwards. It looks great. Sometimes, I even bite or chew the part, making little dents on it.

3) Load a paint brush or toothbrush with muddy looking paint. Put your fingers on the bristles. Aiming at the model, slowly drag your fingers along the toothbrush bristles (the way you clean your toothbrush after your brush your teeth). The mud specks fly off the the brush unto your tank, making a nice mudsplattered effect. Just do this on the lower part of the tank.

4) When everything is dry on the lower part, take out your oil paints and mix burnt umber, titanium white and gold ocher to achieve a muddy looking color. Drybrush (you know what drybrushing is, don't you?) this on the fenders, the lower front glacis plates and the back. Do upward strokes. THe effect will be that the mud is heavy at the bottom and fades slowly while going up the superstructure.

5) Mix a wash in which the color is lighter than your main base color (remember you have three main colors in your woodland camouflage). Load a clean brush full of that mix. Bring it close to the top of the model and tap it lightly. The mix will fall on top of the model, which looks very much like water stains during the rain. Do this often until the model is covered.

6) Although rust streaks look great, do not put them on the Abrams. Remember that the tank is rustproof. However, you may put rust color on the tracks. Remember too that the Abrams have rubber pads on the tracks.

Lastly, never dust a muddy tank.

Angela :-)8

One more thing about clearcoats...and this is a personal preference.

While it is all right to put clear coats in between paint jobs to protect the previous layer of paint or to lay on decals, I never put clear coats as a protective final coat unless I have to tone down the gloss via a clear flat base.

The reason for this is that the final coat will tone down the color of your model. It will also tone down the weathering effects done by pastels.

What I usually do is to fasten the model to a base. From there, I apply the pastels last. In that way, I don't have to touch the models, thus making the need to put a protective coat unecessary.

Angela :-)8