Hi, I finished this recently
Improvised armor around the turret is made out of thin copper sheet. Streaks are probably excessive, I think i might have overweathered it overall (as usual).
I’m mainly asking for critique, this is my first model to be posted by me on specialized forum. So far I only showed them to friends who don’t make models, so I never got any proper critique
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Welcome aboard. I think it is very nice looking model and do like the add on shield. A little over weathered for my tastes but weathering is subjective to the builder and what they want. Also while it might not be to my taste doesn’t mean it is not accurate.
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Welcome Leto… And as Ryan said, welcome. It’s a great site to show off your builds and also to get advice on aspects of builds you are not sure about.
The BTR is looking good. Appears to have built up nicely and additional turret armour has been done very well and gives it a different look.
I’m also with Ryan on I think you have have gone a little heavy with how you have weathered it. Something all of us have been guilty of at some point …
It’s a learning curve. Your best friend here will be reference images. Look for similar vehicles in the same time frame and location and see how they look. Where the dust or dirt builds up. If you can see streaks or stains…leaking road wheel hubs etc…
Also, look at some YouTube tutorials on weathering and finishing…they will give you some great insight.
Look forward to seeing more of your builds 
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Welcome to Armorama Leto- hope you enjoy it here!
I think you’ve given yourself some valuable constructive criticism in that you feel you’ve over-weathered it. That means you will learn from this model which is great- if I learn just one thing from building and painting a model then I feel it’s been worth it.
Your model is close if not better looking than the first time I tried to weather a vehicle. The streaks are perhaps the heaviest bit. Can I ask what products you used to weather the model?
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Thanks for all the response. I guess I’ll just try to keep the weathering more subtle for future
(Is filter even weathering? I don’t know but just for certainty I’ll mention it) Ammo MIG-0828 sand grey filter
Pin wash and streaks out of AK 045 enamel dark brown wash (diluted a bit for streaks)
Rust streaks & slight rust effect on chipping out of Vallejo 76.506 rust wash
A tiny bit of rust out of AK 043 medium rust pigment
Sand / Dust out of Abteilung 502 2231 gulf war sand pigment
A bit of “general dust coat” out of self-made mix of water, dish soap and acrylic paints
I don’t think i missed anything, if I remember something more I’ll add it to the list
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Build what makes you happy. If you like that weathering, then continue to do that in your builds. Weathering like art in general is subjective to the artist.
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Yes a filter is usually considered a weathering tool.
How you work your weathering can depend on what you did after painting- a Matt varnish will make any weathering products really bite into the coarse Matt coat. This can work for a really dirty vehicle but it means products like enamel washes will be harder to remove from un-wanted areas and streaking products will not be as workable. A gloss or satin varnish will allow enamel products to flow over the surface much easier which also makes it easy to, say, feather a dirt or rust streak. A pin wash will also work much better on a gloss or satin varnish.
You have mentioned a Vallejo rust wash- this is an acrylic, water based product which reacts much differently than the enamel brown wash from AK. Basically the acrylic wash will dry super-quickly and is a difficult product to create streaks out of. The enamel wash will take longer to dry and will remain workable for longer meaning you can work at it until you are happy with the appearance of streaks.
However both of those products are not ideal for streaks. Enamel streaking products are decent and stay workable for a while so you can feather them to be faint or pull them down a surface to show how the dirt has streaked. Oil paints can also work in the same way and stay workable for a very long time- they also happen to be very forgiving as they can be removed quickly and easily with thinner if you make a mistake.
I realise this is a lot of info but my last and biggest point is that in terms of weathering a model it is good to try lots of different methods, mediums and techniques. This is the best way to learn what works for you and what doesn’t. Do it at your own pace and don’t be too afraid to make a mistake- I still experiment and try different things and I make plenty of mistakes too!
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I didn’t apply any varnish between painting and weathering, only satin where decals got put on. Only once I finished the model completely, as a finishing touch i coated it in AK 183 ultra matte varnish. I just really like the matte finish, though it’s worth noting that long term its particularly vulnerable to dust - after model stands on shelf for a bit, layer of dust is very visible. And collecting dust is what those models are the best at in the end…
Thanks for the advice with products, I will definetely continue experimenting in future.
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Another good plan is to use an old kit as a test bed. Paint it whatever base colour you want, then go at it with various weathering products and test your methods out on that first, then you can rebase coat it in a different colour and try the same methods or variations…
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Sounds good, I’ll likely do that at some point
