An ongoing project of exploring the creation of rust.

Here are some previous posts:

And now the good ole’ sponge method. I’ve used it on the T-62 wreck I have just finished.

The method is simple: get a piece of sponge/the green stuff on the top of the sponge, dab it into the paint, dab most of it off on a piece of paper, and then apply the sponge in a dabbing motion onto the surface of the model.

This can be used in several ways. Either, as I did here, you depict a badly rusted object with some paint still clinging on the surface. In this case the base coat is a mixture of rust colors (which, incidentally, were also applied using the sponge).

There are a couple of things to keep in mind: use a lighter shade of the color the item was supposed to be painted with; the sun fades everything over time (after all the vehicle in question had to be sitting there for a long time to rust like this), and the final color will darken anyway, since you will be using filters and washes on the vehicle. It’s also a good idea to use several tones of the base color -green in this case. Start with larger patches of the lightest, and use consequently darker shades with smaller and smaller patches.

You can do it the other way around as well: depict some rust spots/chips on a painted surface. In this case you use rust colors (and make sure you use different tones, along with the lightened version of the base color) over the base color of the model. In this case make sure you have hardly any paint left in the sponge, and also be sure not to use it in the same position (so that the created spots are not uniform). I’ve used this method with the SU-122 and SU-76.

If you want to make it a step even further, use a lighter color of the base to create somewhat larger chips, and use a brush (or keep using the sponge) to fill them in with much less rust color -this way you can depict a moderately chipped surface easily. (The method used on the mudguards of the T-44 -a combination of sponge-on-sponge -for the mudgards- and brush-on-sponge -for the smaller chips.)

Of course, you can just let go of the sponge, and do everything with a fine brush; you get more control, but you have to be careful about being random, just like in the case of this T-55.

All of these techniques should be done sparingly, and in several sessions. (It’s useful to come back and take a look at what you’ve achieved with a fresh eye.)

Obviously, these techniques are better used combined; with the T-62 I used the hairspray technique, the sponge, filters and brush. I’ve also used rust washes (with an airbrush), pigments mixed with Tamiya’s flat coat (coming up later), and oils blended with brushes. And yes, I did use some dedicated AK Interactive products, too, like different dark washes, and the light rust wash. (I’m turning to the dark side here.)

Addendum…

I’m making a difference! Awesome 🙂

Someone got inspired to try this technique based on this post.