"Desert vehicles" Topic

I have some of the excellent Oxord die cast 13cwt trucks, but want them to look more realistic. Short of a complete repaint, what is the best way to weather them? I'm not talking about the worn paint and 'chipping' which seems to be the trend these days, just toning down the factory finish to get a more 'lived in' appearance.

Brown Inkwash and a dusty drybrush usually works for most things.

Tamiya make some very useful "mud" sticks that you can use to weather vehicles.

I use both these techniques, with special attention to the tyres.

I am not sure if this will work on die casts but FWIW, I've found that Liquitex soft body transparent burnt umber does a great job of toning down sand/beige colours on 15mm figures. It is not cheap (you'll find it in shops selling art materials) but it is acrylic and you thin it quite a bit to make a wash, so it goes a long way. Was put on to this by Simon MacDowals excellent Legio website.

Hmm….I tried the brown ink wash that I use on tank & vehicle kits over flat acrylic paint, but on these die casts, it just gave everything a reddish tint. Looks like I might have to mask them up and respray them after all.

Another vote for liquitex soft body transparent burnt umber. In Canada you can get it cheap at Michael's using the weekly 40% off coupon. It's easy to apply, just thin with water and you can work it on the miniature if you didn't thin it enough. And it usually dries flat, if not very matt satin. I've tried lots of secret wash formulas over the year, and this is much easier.