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Watch This: How to Paint a Weathered Tank

For this week’s Watch This, you may end up hating me because this isn’t a short video. In fact, the OrcPainterNerd put together over an hour of video on how to paint a weathered tank.

Paint a Weathered Tank by OrcPainterNerd

Paint a Weathered Tank by OrcPainterNerd

It’s a fascinating as he walks you through why he uses certain colors, why he sprays random brown spots all over, and some great tips on using oils and powders. In fact, make sure you check out video four around minute 7 where he uses a brush and airbrush to create the mud spatter.

Overview of his Process

For a cheat sheet of what he did to paint a weather tank, I’ve written down the process below. It’s a long list ( an hour of video remember!), but I tried to capture the highlights for you.

  1. Seal and prime the model with gray
  2. Randomly spray the model with small dots/messes of dark gray and brown
  3. Spray chipping medium over model
  4. Spray white paint over model – the base color for the Death Guard
  5. Chip top paint away with moist, worn out toothbrush
  6. And scratches with a toothpick
  7. Seal the tank to protect the rest of the paint
  8. Repeat with additional green details
  9. Apply decals with Micro Set
  10. Add additional black/dark brown chips with sponge
  11. Filter (very thin wash) with gray
  12. Even more chips! This time with the brush
  13. Pin wash with dark brown (oile based) and thinner in the recesses
  14. Streak dark green enamel wash grime down the edges of the model
  15. Add additional layers of white back over ‘interesting areas’ with white enamel
  16. Use white spirits to blend the enamel layers
  17. Airbrush dust on the bottom areas of the tank
  18. wash metal areas with oil based black/brown and additional grease stains on the model
  19. Repeat with rust wash
  20. Big piles of powders mixed with medium and water
  21. Load up brush with powder mix and spray airbrush so it splatters mud everywhere (well at least on the bottom)
  22. Wipe off top surface of the tank treads
  23. Use #8 graphite pencil to edge the metal areas and paint metal on smaller details
  24. Use small weathering kit to add smoke stains

I hope you guys enjoyed this week’s Watch This: Paint a Weathered Tank by OrcPainterNerd. Go check out his channel and subscribe to his inspiring videos.