At one time, I would make my own pigment dust, by using a set of the soft chalk pastels that you get at an art supply store, and running the stick against some 150-grit sandpaper to make a dust. With these sets, you can make infinite colors and shades, depending on what you wanted. One thing about these too, is because of the way they powder, they are fairly coarse, compared to the ready-made pigments that are on the market now. What the coarser stuff gains is that when you Dullcote it after applying, it tends to stay more of a dust-dirt without fully going into solution, like the finer-ground ready-made product. The downside to using the ‘grind it yourself’ method is the mess that comes with it, as the dust does go everywhere.
For the Tiger, I decided to use some Tamiya Weathering Master Soot, and pigments from the MIG Productions “Fresh Mud” set. I have used these before, and they are okay, but do go into solution more readily than what the chalks will. The appearance is more of a subtle, stained, look, than the chalks. I applied the dirt liberally to the underside, the lower areas, wheels, tracks, and at the rear of the upper hull, around the engine grills and fuel fillers. I also applied it to the front mudguards and side fenders at the edges.
When I was done, I applied several light passes of Dullcote. Then the cussing began. I was satisfied with the roadwheels and tracks, but everywhere else had the appearance that it had been hit with a soot cannon, or a kindergartener with black finger paint.
I considered going back over the soot spots with a lighter pastel, and just hide it. Another part of me doubted that would look any better, so I decided repainting the sooty mess would be the best option.
I taped off all the areas that didn’t need repainting. This included the wheels and tracks, the bulk of the upper hull, and the turret with the exception of the end of the muzzle. Using my airbrush, I shot these over, and lightened as needed. Then I pulled off the tape, and shot these areas with Future, to get ready for washing…..again. That being said, if there are other areas where a touch-up would help, now is the time to do it.
More words of caution. Be careful when you tape, so that none of the little bits get knocked off. Also, I was fairly lucky, as the bulk of the detail painting was taped over, such as the tools, hull machine gun, cables, etc. The only detail piece that will need painted again is the jack on the rear, saving a lot of work.
The repainted sections look much better, and I was pleased with the result. It is significantly lighter than the areas that have been washed and clear coated, but this will even out once I wash the freshly painted touch-up sections. This is where remembering what paints and shades and ratios comes in handy.
Next up is to wash, detail paint, and drybrush to match the rest of the Tiger
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