AK Terrains Paste torture test
Added 2021-03-16 08:23:24 +0000 UTCMy friends, the T29 weathering has begun with the lower hull and running gear - that means acrylic mud paste and pre-dusting. I wanted to take this opportunity and properly try the acrylic mud from AK and compare it to Wilder's Textured Earth.
The AK mud is very opaque, and it colors the surface a LOT. That means it's very hard to blend smoothly, which can lead to problems if you want the lower hull to be clean in some places. In other words, it dries very fast so you'll get those visible "tide marks" if you don't blend it fast enough (in matter of seconds!) and the water you're using to blend it will immediately get colored and leave a dusty residue on the surface. It's okay if you want the lower hull to be very muddy, but I wouldn't recommend it on anything else, even applying it to the glacis or lower rear plate is risky - here I opted for Wilder's mud which blends much better.
That being said, it works pretty damn well on tracks. It also has a slightly "fuller" texture, Wilder's product for example is more sandy and has more visible rocks mixed in. My conclusion is that AK paste is not 100% ideal for weathering, it's designed for diorama surfaces after all, but with some extra work it can look okay.
The initial photos show the paste in its "raw" form, which I then adjusted and smoothened with pre-dusting. The dust mixture is Tamiya Buff with about 10% German Grey.
Tracks were treated the same way, but then I dry-brushed the metal parts with Vallejo German Camouflage Black Brown and the inner pads (and wheels) with Dark Grey. What surprised me the most is how much time everything took... the paste application is probably the most time consuming of the bunch, and for example the track dry-brushing took an hour!
Anyways, I'll probably continue with chipping... one thing is for certain though, this time I'd like to get the lower hull finished at the very beginning. Simply because I want to try it out πSo probably after the chipping is done I'll go back to it and add the enamel dry and wet mud effects.
Comments
Ammo enamel mud and splashes are excellent, but I use them like any other enamels. They take forever to dry if you apply them too thick, so I find it better to use acrylic mud for texture and volume and enamels for the final effects.
Night Shift
2021-03-17 16:09:20 +0000 UTCWilder's mud is tried and proven!
Night Shift
2021-03-17 16:08:10 +0000 UTCI also used the thick mud from AK the texture is okay for me but it is the same problem with blending Martin had I want to try the mud produkts from mig they are enamel based so I hope for better blending and can mixed with the splashes produkts if necessary what do you think?
Heiko MΓΌller
2021-03-17 06:15:31 +0000 UTCIβve had mixed results with the dry mud from AK. Maybe I didnβt mix enough or something, but it didnβt want to thin with water. Iβm a wilder fine/Stoney guy for sure.
David vodenlich
2021-03-17 00:19:27 +0000 UTC
