Ma.K Krote Diorama - Model Build

Build-up

The build of the Krote itself was nothing fancy. I built it according to the instructions and didn't go into any extra detailing as the details of the kit are wonderful. Plus since this was my first kit in 20 years, I didn't want to push my luck too far.

I did wire a white LED into the search light, though, because ... I'm a sucker for miniature lighting. And kittens.

Once all seams looked good, I primed the model.

Hairspray and Salt

I knew that I wanted to try out a few of the newer sweet weathering techniques that had emerged during my time away from the hobby. Hairspray and salt were at the top of my list.

LEARNING - Here's what I learned about hairspray and salt, after fully painting my Krote ... twice. This may not be how you do it, but after a pretty good FAIL on my first attempt, this is what worked for me.

1. Apply the rust or other colored undercoat. I used Tamiya Hull Red, which worked fine, but I think next time I'll use something a little less red and a little darker. Put on 2-3 coats, and then seal it with matte sealer. I used Tamiya Matte Sealer out of a can
2. Hit the hairspray. I found that the coating shouldn't be too light and not too heavy, and that spraying it from the can rather than through my airbrush worked well. I just went for "wet," and this worked
3. Hit the salt. I went sparingly with the salt. I love weathering, but I don't love overdone weathering. I mixed coarse kosher salt with finer grain table salt and this gave me a good variety of flakes. After I sprinkled the salt onto the wet hairspray, I hit the model again with another light coat of hairspray
4. Apply the overcoat. I went for a simple camouflage scheme that I made up on the spot from Tamiya Acrylic German Gray and Light Sea Gray
5. Get to scrubbin'. Run the model under warm water and start scrubbing oh so gently with a paintbrush, a cloth, a scouring pad, whatever you find works well. Start slooooow and work your way up. Overdone comes on quick
6. Seal it again so that it's ready for weathering

This is an awesome technique that works like a charm.

From there I applied simple oil washes of dark brown and black to pull out surface detail. I then added another wash of raw sienna oil paint and Turpenoid to certain areas to give the Krote an overall slightly rusted look - again, not too much.

For the engine, gun, and other metallic internals I base coated in Tamiya Gunmetal and Black, and then washed certain components with lighter colors for variety. Once dry I applied the same raw sienna rust wash, and then rubbed ground graphite onto these parts with my finger, which gives it a really cool ... enginey look.