I've stuck the painted tracks on another experiment I'm doing - the Armourfast SU-85 - as both are exploring 'weathering' techniques. I've tried out some mud on the tracks as well as finishing off the wheels with some highlighting...
The hull is, of course, an SU-85 - made by Armourfast. I've not improved or detailed this one at all as it's just a testbed for some painting techniques (and I realize the red star isn't exactly correct, but I didn't want to use expensive Bison decals on just a practise model).
Overall I'm quite happy with the way these Mk. I 'improved tracks' have turned out - although some who have commented were spot on by saying I should have thinned them down as they are obviously far too thick.
The mud weathering was fun! I used a Tamiya Weathering Stick in 'Light Earth which - as the name suggests - is a retractable sticky stick (!) the consistency of lipstick.....Errrrr, I imagine!
Before I shelled out for the Tamiya stick I was going to have a go at making my own mud out of powdered conte pastel mixed with paint. The one advantage of the Tamiya mud is that it's very easy to move about and clean off once applied (it only seems to harden after quite a few hours).
It also seems to be great for doing realistic 'clumps' of earth or mud which you can sculpt into the shape you want with a cocktail stick. Tamiya do a range of colours including mud, sand and snow. But I liked the colour of this dried out earthy mud
I'll continue finishing off the hull (it's just been glossed prior to final pin-washing and weathering) and although I feel the hull is a bit of a messy flop as far as experiments go - I tried out panel shading - I have learned several things so it's been a positive experience...
The tracks are satisfactory and I would like to try and improve my idea further with a Mk. II version (suitably thinned). I'm quite pleased with the weathering I did on the wheels and also I'm chuffed with the headlamp - I drilled it out and used PVA glue over silver paint to get the lens effect (another trick learned)!
Next: The finish model and improved tracks.
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