Quick Base Work

Finishing up a base with dirt effects, weathering powders, and liquid chrome scratches on metal panels.

The Quick Approach

Quick one today—day 113. Going to try to figure out something for this base. I don’t really know what I’m doing, but let’s experiment.

Adding Dirt Between Panels

I’m using a dry brush to hit the dirt areas between the metal panels. It’s okay to get some on the edge of the panels—even getting some on the pipe is fine.

Then I hit the peaks with our Mythril Silver—the same silver we’ve been using on the model. The areas we hit with white are going to pick up the metal flake and pop more.

The Oil Effect

I really like Brownish Decay because it creates almost like there’s oil being spilled. Over top of the white, it makes this look more like dirt with an industrial feel.

Hit the grass real quick with the same—perfect. After cutting the base in, I’ll probably do a second coat of black on the rim since I’m using a really liquidy black.

Something’s Missing

The base is still kind of missing something. I think I might need to rust out those panels because the orange would really complement our paint job. Started glazing that top area back in too—got a little water spillage to fix.

Weathering Powder Magic

Pulled out the Tamiya weathering powders. First, I want to get some of the middle one to hit the base. The orange goes in the middle of the panels because the edges would be sharp and worn still.

After rubbing it in and getting some up to the feet, I’ll matte seal this to lock it in. Already I like this more—that’s what I needed.

The Liquid Chrome Details

Got some Vallejo Liquid Chrome—whoa, too much (as I’ve been doing). Getting really fancy with it now, just hitting the scratches and bolts. Those will pop more.

I don’t want to get too carried away as I start edge highlighting, but there we go—that’s a lot better.

The Result

The orange really looks good with the teal. Still probably need to tweak it, but that’s much better than it was. The base just needed that rust to complement the color scheme.

Need to hit the base rim again and matte it down, but I’m happy with where we’re at. Now for real—see you tomorrow.