I painted the tracks on my Bulldog tonight. Added some rust, although, I think I might tone it down some. It seems a little bright, although, not as bright in reality as in this pic.... I have more plans, but it'll probably be a couple weeks till I can get started with detailing.

[8D] Nice Tank Mate! I think all it needs is a little dark brown with a hint of orange perhaps colour wash over the top. Happy trails!

Good suggestion from Dinodog.

I'm not sure if Rustoleum would work on plastic but their red/brown primer works great with metal tracks.

Cheers....

Indeed. The photo makes the rust look like you used red paint instead.

I'll second the suggestions made by navspook and dinodog. You might also add a wash or two of extra dark brown or black to make the details pop out not to mention the inevitable dry brushing with silver, only in a minimal way though.

Please post more pics as you progress through your detailing. [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

-Harq

Yeah, i'm probably going to give it a dark wash this weekend. For the record, I used Mig powders "basic rust" mixed with Lacquer thinner for this, and it seems to be stuck on pretty good. I'll find out how good when I drive it around some outside I guess. When I was painting in on, it seemed like the tracks are already painted since some black stuff came off on a paper towel when I wiped it to clean some spots. It is bright in person, but not as bright as it looks here. I guess I messed up my levels in photoshop when I was resizing the pic or something... but I will definitely post progress when I work on it.

i quite like it actually... it may not look like realistic rust but it adds that "personalized" look and makes a change form the regular tanks

Hi Guys, bhop73, I don't want to rain on your parade, but I just thought, plastic tracks and solvent based paints might not mix! Isn't there a chance that the paint will attack the plastic over time? I always use acrylic paints so I am not sure, but a flag went up when I read Lacquer thinner, what was that black stuff that came off, dissolved plastic track perhaps?

It could've been plastic, I actually thought of that already.. although i'm not really worried about the lacquer thinner affecting it over time. I use it on models all the time with no ill effects. Once lacquer based paints cure, they should be fine. I think the exception to that might be if it were used on soft vinyl. I have heard of issues with that, but these tracks seem durable enough to handle it. I guess i'll find out over time.. hopefully not the hard way...

[8D]Hello mate, lets hope it's OK, it should be once the curing takes place. I am not sure myself as I have always used acrylics. I hate the smell of solvents and even the fumes can give you cancer [X(] What also made me think of it was the Tamiya Tank owners don't recommend using the mineral I think, grease supplied by Tamiya on the wheel bearing as it attacks the plastic causing them to become brittle over time. But that doesn't cure of course! I am sure some of the Guys on here have experence with this?[sm=50_50.gif] As far as Tamiya Gearboxes on the car models have no problem with even mineral grafite grease as I have read reports on Tamiyaclub.com that it has no effect on the plastic and that some of the Gearboxes have run on it for 20 years! Maybe it's the kind of plastic and substance thats applied.

Hey Bhop
Honestly you wont see many bright rusty tracks in reality. The best way to get a convincing look on the track is to actually run it and get it dirty. The only time i have seen tracks rust bright orange is if they were clean and had been sitting around for a while. If the track is in regular use it will be a dirty earth color overall with dark grey/black where the rubber pads have worn AND a dark gunmetal steel on all the metal contact areas.

Sean.
Your friendly tank master

Try looking at the various paints used for "weathering" art and or garden items such as urns, pots and other decor. I noticed this stuff at the local hardware store and was surprised. They have multi part rust and patina paints, simulated wood grain paints, aged iron paints, stone-marble-granite paints, vinyl and leather look paints, etc.
The color you have on your tracks will probably look even better once you run it around in the dirt a little.