Voroshilovets has become bit of a guinea pig right now as I was testing some techniques of creating muddy look using a technique I have recently discovered.

As can be seen from previous posts, after applying base green coat at the lower hull I have added basis for layer of mud. This was done by applying mix of white glue and water (so that the consistency of the mix is such that it can be easily applied with a brush) at places where I wanted to add mud and then sprinkling fine soil I have collected in the garden last spring. This soil has thoroughly dried since and I have crushed it bit as well, so at the bottom of the jar, where I store it is some really fine soil. Of course you have to hold the surface to which you apply this horizontally and once it is done I turn it upside down and tap it gently to remove loose soil particles. As desired, this process can be repeated number of times.

After the glue has dried I decided to give the surface another coat of green base (just the base, no highlights or any other effects) to reduce the contrast between the surface and the soil.

If you are not looking to add heavier layer of mud you can skip the above steps and directly proceed to the one following below. I just find it more efficient to build the volume this way (garden soil is much cheaper than pigments).

With the soil firmly in place, I then add pigments. The technique I use is following:

I wet the surface where I want to add pigments with the pigments thinner (usually oil based thinner). Then keeping the surface horizontally I dab the pigments with medium-sized brush in medium and larger volumes as desired – I just dip the brush in the pigment (both brush and pigments are dry) and then touch the surface, so that the pigments get attached to the wet surface. The important point is that the brush should barely touch the surface – just the pigments should. The brush should in no case slide along the surface, otherwise you will just smear the pigments which will look unnatural. The process is then repeated with another 2 or 3 different shade of pigments, placing the lighter pigment shades on top of the darker ones. Also keep the combination of pigment colors compatible, so that it corresponds to the environment and terrain where the vehicle would be located (or will be if you are building diorama).

Again, the process can be repeated many times to achieve desired effect. At the end just add the thinner to the whole surface so that the pigments are thoroughly wet and let them dry overnight. The following day I have checked the effect and make some small corrections – e.g. crushed larger particles of pigments that would look unnatural.

When satisfied with the look I have then applied pigment fixer (I use Mig products). This makes sure that the pigments are firmly attached to the surface and do not looses in time.

After applying pigments in this way, the contrast between the base paint coat and pigments as well as between the different pigments shade is excessive and needs to be reduced. To achieve this I have airbrushed the surface withe mix of Tamiya Flat Earth and Khaki Drab mixed approximately in 2:1 proportion. I think I have overdone it a bit on the first side I was working on, so there is now not enough contrast.

To add depth to this effect I have at the end I have applied heavy wash of the Burnt Umber and Black oil paints.

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