@$(!!)(#*$)($)!!*$^#%#.

Insert your favorite curse bombs as I likely used them all today. I will explain at the end. I continued on with the weathering. The next step was highlighting. I use oil paints mixed with Turpenoid – I mixed Vandyke Brown with alittle Black at about 30% paint / 70% Turpenoid. I dab alittle onto the brush and then onto model into areas that need shading or detailed areas. I follow along with a q-tip wiping away the excess. Some areas had to be gone a couple more times.

Next step is to create dust and rain marks. I mixed up a very thin mixture of Tamiya Buff and Flat Earth – basically I put a lot of thinner into the paint cup and 2 drops of each paint. Then spray areas that get highly dusty. Remember to build it up slowly but don’t crazy as to create a stark contrast. The rain / water marks are created from the left over mixture. Take a paint brush, dab in the cup, wipe away the excess then paint vertically. Continue across and not allowing the strokes to overlap. You can do this a couple more times after the paint dries until happy with look.

Lastly I heavily weathered the bottom of the hull. I used Mig Pigments – Gulf War Sand and Dark Mud. First I used equals of each pigment and mixed them together. Then I brushed it directly onto the surfaces in a haphazard fashion. I also brushed some of the pigments into the areas that I dusted in the previous step. Then I used Mig Thinner For Washes (or Turpeniod) – I dab in all over the areas covered with pigment. This basically “locks” the pigments into place. Try not to paint the thinner on as it won’t look natural, allow the liquid to flow using gravity. Wipe away any excess as it could stain other areas.

Not for part that just killed me. Since I used a lot of pigments I like to seal the areas with a flat coat or else figure prints will start to appear. I used Vallejo Matte and I have had few issues in the past and sure enough, it happened again. After I was done, small white dots began to appear – it looks the Sherman has bad case of dandruff. They are very hard to remove without damaging the paint. SO, the model is put away for a day or two until I feel like dealing with it.