Nurgle Rhino [WIP - Weathering 'Metal' Tracks & Adding Dust/Dirt Effects]

Work on the Nurgle Rhino is now enteringn the home stretch with weathering of its 'metal' tracks completed and the addition of dust/dirt stains on the lower sections of its hull. It's about 99% complete with a few loose ends to tie up in terms of unifying the entire piece's colour scheme courtesy of a few minor touches here and there. Here's a step-by-step documentation of the final significant weathering process that the Nurgle Rhino will undergo before she is revealed in full.

Nurgle Rhino work-in-progress: Rusted track with metallic shine for parts facing wear-and-tear

As I hadn't put much thought into the tracks initially, there was bound to be some overlap in its weathering process. For example, I had already primed the tracks with an oxide red hue using a combination of Tamiya Fine Surfacer and Mr Surfacer 1000 primers. But when starting work on the tracks, I realised this hue looked a tad too bright hence the application of yet another primer coat i.e. AK Interactive Tracks Primer which sported a darker umber-like hue. Based on past experience, acrylic primers act more like a sturdier basecoats rather than a proper primer per se so essentially there isn't any primer coat overkill. Well, technically two primer coats is overkill enough.

A primer mixture of two oxide red hues (left track) was followed by a umber-like hue (right)

For some modellers, polyurethane acrylic primer is just a glorified acrylic paint basecoat

An application of track wash brought the rust hues to a darker tone

At this stage, both set of tracks have had a fairly generous application of the enamel wash

Rust hues for the tracks using a combination of pigments and enamel washes

Following the rust pigments and washes, a dark steel pigment as well as a pigment fixture was applied 

Most modern tank tracks comprise a combination of rubber and metal parts. However, for the purpose of the Nurgle Rhino I had assumed an all-metal track and weathered it as such. This meant a fully rusted track with metallic shine showing through in places where the track experiences frictional contact with surfaces. For a closeup view of each step of the 'all-metal' track weathering process as well as a description of the work involved, please check out the photos (including captions) below.

Step 1: A coating of AK Interactive Track Primer, light enough that some of the oxide red shows through

Step 2: A liberal application of AK Interactive Enamel Track Wash

Step 3: Application of AK Interactive's Track, Light Rust, Medium Rust pigments as well as Light Rust Enamel Wash

Step 4: Application of AK Interactive Dark Steel pigment, followed by its Pigment Fixer then another layer of Dark Steel

As a final touch of significant weathering, dust/dirt effects was applied on the lower sections of the Nurgle Rhino's hull. The intention was to add more colour variation to the monotone hull, yet not too much as to confuse the eye to what is already a heavily weathered hull. To add dust/dirt effects, I used a combination of AK Interactive Africa Dust Effects enamel wash and some white spirit. The latter served to either dilute the wash or clean off excess dust/dirt effects for a more stain-like look.

AK Interactive Africa Dust Effects and White Spirit used together to create dust/dirt stains on lower hull 

A light yellowish or beige-like dust/dirt stain was chosen to complement the greyish green hull

Closeup of the lower sections of the Nurgle Rhino's hull, after being weathered with dust/dirt stains

Blogging this entire project week after week has at times stretched my patience (not to mention that of my dear readers). It sometimes can be hard to maintain enthusiasm in a project when week after week sees only at times are small incremental steps towards a greater whole. To inject some variety into future posts, I plan to alternative blog postings between two completely different projects each week. This can only work if the two projects are sufficiently different or confusion may reign. Before that though will be the final reveal of the Nurgle Rhino project so please bear with me until then.