SPA Modeler

I got these for the stowage on top and the sides.

Now I'm at the point of weathering. Since I've never done armor before I'm in uncharted territory. I can't use anything but acrylics cause of SWMBO's parrot. The Stryker was painted in Tamiya NATO Green so not sure what colors to do the weathering in. Any tips would be much appreciated.

Good for you - stepping out a bit. I'll be watching what you do with interest. I have 4-5 armor kits but haven't tackled one yet.

This has been very enjoyable! I'm definitely going to do more.

I got it at Hobby Lobby. If you're going to the one in Tomball, good luck. That's one of the worst ones as far as model stuff. They have a couple other sets like this I think.

The HL I "frequent" has several sets. Some are the bottles for armor and vehicles and they have some of the Tamiya powder packs. If you leave now, you can be here by Saturday evening.

Medicman71 wrote:Now I'm at the point of weathering. Since I've never done armor before I'm in uncharted territory. I can't use anything but acrylics cause of SWMBO's parrot. The Stryker was painted in Tamiya NATO Green so not sure what colors to do the weathering in. Any tips would be much appreciated.

Can't use anything but acrylics AT ALL, or just can't spray them?

First - drybrushing. On someting like the Stryker it can help pop details that might be lost in the green. My all-time favorite drybrushing accent color is Model Master Dunkelgrau, but other tan-grays can work well, too. SAC Bomber Tan is another I've had success with. Vallejo + retarder can be used to drybrush in a pinch, but I much prefer enamels for the job.

Second - filters. For this one, I'd start with an overall brown filter, preferably oil paint thinned with odorless white sprits (Mona Lisa Odorless is sold at HL and is great). Raw umber is a good starting point. You want it VERY thin.

Next I'd move on to some dot filtering. Black, gray, yellow ochre, transparent white etc. Use a toothpick or airbrush needle to apply very small dots, "work them in" with a broad brush damped with thinner, then come back a bit later with a dry brush to blend everything. For streaks, consider snagging an Aqualon Wisp (also sold at HL).

Dot filtering is harder with acrylic...oils just work so well. But you can use acrylic washes to get part of the way there. I'm a big fan of Vallejo's washes and used them to great effect on my recent Challenger 1 build. The dark gray and black washes can also be painted onto a sponge and then "dry-sponged" onto the lower hull to represent road grit.