Another working week is behind us and in true monkey fashion is time to throw some mud around in this week's Flames of War Fridays.

Today's installment covers rust and mud effects. I'll cover shading and highlighting with oil paints in a future blog post, in order to give a much more detailed explanation of the techniques.

Rust Effects:

As the objective marker I'm working on is a static, destroyed tank rust will be a much more prominent weathering feature than on an operational vehicle. Its best to focus rust effects around areas where the paint is chipped or metal is exposed, as that's where it will develop in real life. Using some Rust Streaks I painted some thin lines of rust down from paint chips . I also made a thicker mix by adding some rust pigments and applied around damaged areas on the hull where heavy rusting would occur.

Time to get Muddy

Just like onions, cake and Ogres, applying mud is all about the layers. Older, dry mud has a thicker consistency and lighter colour than fresh, wet mud and you also need to think about where mud will accumulate on your model. In our weathering supplies category you'll find heaps of different products you can use for mud effects, I'm using the AK Interactive Mud Weathering Set and Heavy Muddy Set.

First I gave the base and lower part of the tank a quick air-brush of Earth Effects, to represent the build up of fine mud and dust. Then I mixed some Earth Effects with plaster to form a paste and applied this to the base, around the tracks and in patches on the hull of the tank itself.

Once this had dried it was time to add some fresh, darker mud. For the ground of the base I focused on the lower, recessed areas, as mud on the higher ground would dry faster. This also helps give a much more realistic earthen effect to the base.

On the tank I only applied it to areas which would be exposed to rain & moisture, leaving the dried mud in sheltered spots.

Finally I applied some Wet Effects Fluid to the deepest depressions in the ground to represent muddy, standing water. I also applied it to some small areas of the tank where rain water would accumulate, as well as some vertical streaks.

Lastly I added some static grass to finish the base off. You could also use these techniques on infantry bases, both for Flames of war and other tabletop games.

If you're looking for a more detailed explanation of applying mud effects I recommend checking out The Weathering Magazine Issue 5 or the encyclopedic AK Interactive Weathering FAQ 2 which are overflowing with tips, step by step guides and amazing examples.