I am almost done with the final part of the painting process of my Russian T-55/ Tiran 4/5. Now I would like to know during the invasion of afganistan how can I simulate the dust that was on the tanks in the afgan desert?
I am using enamels for my base coat and was woundering if Model Master has a dust color or a color that best represents how dusty the tanks were? I have'nt been real succesful, [god I can't seem to spell tonight] with the technic of chauks or pastels.
So if anyone could help me in finding the paint and or other means to best represent dust, it would be a big help!

There are many good ways to simulate dust. Some that I have used succesfully are: A very thinned buff oversrpay - heavier on the running gear. Washes with oil paints in turpeniod. And Pigments or weathering powders. Best bet is to take a model you really don't care about and practice on that first!

HTH

I had the same issue with my M1A2 when i first started off and tried a few methods but the best one IMO is using pigment powder to simulate dust.

Mix thinner with white pigment powder. Add Tamiya's (Flat White and Desert Yellow) until you get a lightish yellow. Stir it until it becomes a light watery milkish texture.

Apply it and let it dry. The magic happens when it dries up.

Check out the M1A2 in my gallery and you will see what i mean.

Best bet is drybrushing sand colors onto the vehicle lightly. Powdered artist chalks work well also, duted on lightly with a brush.

I don't imagine this is the norm, but I have used ordinary chalk the kind used at school. The crayola brand has 2 nice colours that simulate sand color very well. I put lots on and then blow most of it off what remains I scrub into the paint using a stiff paint brush and it actually adheres quite well to the paint. If you over do it you can "erase" it using a dull coat .

You could also use pastel chalks (earth colors). Just diluted them in alcohol with a little paint ( I use acrylic) in order to adhere to the kit better. Once dry brush of the excess. It works fine for me...

Cheers

You could also use pastel chalks (earth colors). Just diluted them in alcohol with a little paint ( I use acrylic) in order to adhere to the kit better. Once dry brush of the excess. It works fine for me...

Cheers