Icing on the Cake

For those who were able to check out the three facebook live sessions that I did on this winter vehicle, they got to see handfuls of brand new techniques that I had never tried before!  

I had only some theories to go by, materials that I thought could be used in a new and different way, etc.

The primary goal was to see just how many aspects of the winter whitewash and other effects could be done with weathering powders.

I have a full range of those pigments in both Secret Weapon Miniatures and Mig AMMO, so this meant that I could explore rust, dirt and even some chipping as well!  The snow itself would be done using the Secret Weapon crushed glass method.

To make the powders flow like paint, I mixed them with rubbing alcohol.  This makes the powders flow like watercolor paint.  However, since it does not seal the pigments, you can remove them, or alter them in any fashion, because they are still just powder!

If you need to seal them, you can spray Testor's Dullcoate over the top, or even use the pigment fixers of the companies that I have mentioned.

The mud and rust was also done with the powders.  For the mud, I mixed in Realistic water, which gave the powders more of a thicker plaster look.  The rust was added much like the whitewash.

All of these effects were done in layers, one after the other, with each stage carefully planned to maximize the effectiveness of subsequent layers.  This could mean having a darker layer to show more snow or chipping above it, or mud spatters that are layered onto whitewash that has been wiped away by melting snow and ice.

The most complicated aspect was the snow itself.  I had to be very careful in its placement, or else it would look silly... or worse yet, prevent the turret from spinning!

To give a reason for the whitewash to be wiped away in places, I tried to place the snow where internal heat from the tank would melt it, thus creating water flows across the surface.

Doing this complex layer cake ultimately gave me a reason to try out my icicle technique (liquitex heavy gloss gell) where these melted areas would allow water to drip down the sides of the vehicle!

I did some off the barrel, and more on the rear of the tank.  This was that final icing on the cake!

I will be doing many more of these winter vehicles for Germans, American and Soviet vehicles, so stay tuned!!