After ‘almost’ finishing the work in the hull and turret, I have advanced in the tracks, filling them with dry mud and dust…
I’ve done a very simple technique, because I’ve realized that dedicating too much time to the bottom part of the tank (if the tank is going to be in dusty environments) it’s a waste of time (in that scale of course).
First of all, I’ve airbrushed a thick layer of Tamiya XF-24 Dark Grey. No washes or something similar, as dust is going to cover everything!!. Next, I’ve done a mix with pigments: MIG P028 European Dust and AK-042 European Earth.
Both ‘European’ tones, but different ones. I add White Spirit to the mix to create some kind of paste like the one in the next pic:
I’ve applied this paste with a big brush, generously over the grey painted tracks. Although the color is very very dark, once dry it returns to it’s original tone and color. Befrore the paste dries (5-10 minutes), we sprinkle the two pigments (separately) directly from their bottles with a dry brush.
Lastly, once the pigments are dry, I rub the whole tracks with my finger, touching the edges to eliminate the pigment. This will show some paint through the pigment layer. It’ll simulate the parts of the tracks that are in contact with the ground, resulting in a very real effect…
And thats all! The tracks haven’t taken more than 10-12 minutes and the results are really nice.
You can see the other parts of the Work in Progress: