Its probably been asked a lot but i’m in the process of building Dragon’s 8 Ton halftrack which has three bench seats that appear to be padded and covered with leather.
I’ve never had much success at creating a realistic leather effect in 1/35 and I’m asking the collective if they have a reliable and effective method of creating the leather effect that doesn’t involve myriad mediums like oils for example.
Thanks in anticipation.
I wish i could remember the exact process,but i stated with Tamiya XF-64 then i faded it with pigments and washes till il liked it,got a lot of compliments on it.
As you should, that is bad ass. 
As well as the way Anthony painted his, I have also used a thin bit of tissue paper cut to the seat shape, then set in place with thinned white glue and then carefully ripped (if required) or textured to show a leather cover, then painted like Anthony did …
Approach these (and other “soft” stowage items) as if they were figure uniforms.
Consider the basic material, brown leather which has been dyed black. A simple approach would be to undercoat with a raw sienna color and then apply black washes over it. You want the sienna to show through the high spots (where the black would wear off) and the black to settle in the low spots (protected from wear). A final dry-brush with a light tan or buff to highlight the edges of the highest wear spots.
Personally, I do the undercoat with the acrylics and all the rest with artist oils, but that’s just me. An all-acrylic approach would work, too.
The black leather items on this Italian tanker were painted using this method (oils over acrylic undercoat).
Saaufcla and TOJO 2 have the right ideas.Mine would seem to be a blend of their methods.It works too!
For brown leather (aside from weathering) I’ve used Tamiya Clear Orange X-26 over the basic leather color. Although this method is best for new, well-maintained leather, like car seats, and leather personal items.
Actual leather? I had the same problem as you for the Heydrich limo in Operation Anthropoid until my wife donated an old purse. I won’t photo-bomb with the process here (it took some work) but this was the result…
If others’ suggestions don’t do the job maybe try bits of thinnish old leather if you have any lying around & the colour’s right. It might be age-able with sandpaper.
