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OK, so I got a Grot Mega-Tank painted up over my vacation. I'm pretty pleased with how it came out.

First I primed it, and then applied with a sponge lots of rusty colors. After that dried, I added some spritzes of hairspray and then ground some sea salt onto it.



I then added my favorite Grot Rebel 3 color camo scheme with an airbrush.



I picked out some further details.



Good weathering on the deck near the door, IMO.



So here's where things got kustom.

I needed lots of rokkits, since BS3 rokkits are good. Here's how I made them:



Once I had a pile of Rokkits, I decided to redo the banner. There's nothing wrong with the default banner, per se, but it's just not boss, you know? I decided to add a crow's nest to enhance the nautical flavor, and added a big rebel star to indicate it's the Grot flagship.



Once all that was done, I picked out the rest of the details, blah blah blah.

So, here's the finished tank, with magnetized weapon options:









All the weapons:




I'm pretty happy overall with how it came out. I like how I worked the rokkits. The only thing I was really disappointed with was how the kaptin came out: the wash went on really gritty and speckly. It's not awful, but it's not the effect I was going for. Here's a closeup:



Here's how it fits into the growing Grot Revolushun:



Thanks for looking!

There is a lot of incredible grot-love here. The WIP pics are really greatly appreciated. The custom work on the banner and rockets is above and beyond and turned out flawless.

Also, that board is amazing. Is that stucco or plaster or something like it with sticks and rocks embedded?

I am impressed... wow, just wow.

Love the conversions! Great work!

One thing though... You do know that salt is highly corrosive? It may eat away at the model/paint over time.

I'm not too worried about it for several reasons.

1.) Military modelers have been using this technique for decades,
2.) I've washed off the salt reasonably well,
3.) The paintjob is sealed and is not in a humid environment,
4.) and salt doesn't corrode plastic (resin, in this case).

If the model actually had any aluminum or other metallic parts it would be a concern, but I think I'm OK.

actually using salt for rust effects n such is pretty common. You can make extra sure to get rid of it by just having it soak in warm water for awhile, as citadel paints are amonia based and plain water wont hurt it.

This is just spectacular though. I have 3 battlewagons i need to paint and i think i need to use this technique lol

Looks tasty.

Beautiful work! For a weedy grot

All kidding aside, nicely done. I love weathering and salt weathering just comes out fantastic. You have one heck of a revolushun going there, did they nick all the ork vehicles when they ran off?

I wish I had the cash for my own grot army :(

This is definitely a fantastic paint job, there is a lot of subtlety going on here, I do however have one really tiny problem, why are the "rokkits" white? I think they look out of place.

Still, this is better than anything I've done.

I think white makes em aim better.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Quick question, at which point did you wash the salt off?

So awesome. What a great holiday present.

I love the salt process pics too- while I don't expect to be able to make a tank look this awesome, I could definitely use the technique.

Also, seeing the stuff on the table makes me REALLY want to play.

Listen, this technique is easy as hell assuming you want to make it look fairly beat up. The only barrier to entry is having a airbrush. Try it on a piece of terrain or something; it's fun and you'll be surprised how skill-immune it is.

1.) Clean up your model and prime it

2.) Using a sponge (like the kind left over from a foam tray, which is exactly what I used) daub on some rusty colors. By daub, I mean take some paint, put it on a palette as if you're going to drybrush, and pat it in gently. You can always add more, but you can't take it off. Pat it all over. Use oranges, dull reds, etc, go nuts.

3.) Let it dry a few hours.

4.) I sprayed the tank at this point with hairspray. I used extra hold from a pump bottle, not an aerosol.

5.) I use a salt grinder and gave it a few cranks here and there, focusing on the bottom parts.

6.) Flip it over, repeat, for as many sides as need to be weather. At this point the salt isn't stuck so flick some off with a toothpick if you need to.

7.) Let it dry a few hours. You'll know it's dry because it will appear very white. Again at this point, you can flick some salt off if it clumped poorly or where you don't want it.

8.) Do your normal painting with the airbrush. Use a fairly low PSI - I did 20 to 25ish.

9.) Let it dry good, at least 12 hours.

10.) Get a brush that's moderately stiff and you don't mind destroying, and some warm water. Just dip it and rub it off. Let the water do the work, it should come right off.

That's it!

There is also a 3 part video on Youtube, if you check for "salt weathering girlpainting". Here's the first one.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Zygrot24 wrote:
Also, that board is amazing. Is that stucco or plaster or something like it with sticks and rocks embedded?

it's a Zuzzy mat. It is really great if you don't mind a minor latex aroma. I think if you wash it first this is reduced, I didn't and it's too late now.




Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Gorgrimm wrote:
You have one heck of a revolushun going there, did they nick all the ork vehicles when they ran off?

Actually, there is a theme here, although I haven't yet managed to get it written out.

My setting is a Necron Tomb world. It;s rich in... whatever; and so it's desirable real estate. The Necron main AI is malfunctioning and.. well, that's a different story. Anyway, there is a regiment of Imperial Guard getting whittled down, and they are also being corrupted by chaos slowly and surely (although this is still pretty hush hush). There is a very small detachment of Space Marines planetside - Blood Ravens and Ultras. The Ultras are just showing the flag and aren't contributing any serious manpower. The Blood Ravens really want the... whatever to rebuild their chapter after the vents of Dawn of War.

Since there is all this conflict going on, the Orks were drawn as well. One of the Rokks got lost in the warp, and as a result there is a really large percentage of Grots present; far more than normal. The Imperial Guard is exploited this by selling weapons to the grots on the quiet and stoking the revolushun, under the theory that they can die now to the Orks or they can try to fracture them and buy some time for the Marines to secure them until reinforcements arrive.


So; all the Ork walkers are red regardless of faction because it's red and that's not only a fast color, it's very stampy. However, some of the leftover tank scrap they got from the Guard was painted in the 3 color camo you see on this, and revolushun stars have started to gradually appear openly...

Really innovative idea with using the sea salt. Adds a very Ork-ey look to the hull of the tank. Very decrepit and rusty. All of your Orks look fantastic. The army seems to have a lot of character.

Great model, great conversion, great paintjob and great looking army. Overall I'm very impressed!

Awesome work.

Question:

What if you DONT have an airbrush? Is it just impossible to do at that point, or how would you recommend doing things differently?

You cannot do this well without an airbrush. I tried with an enamel spraycan once, it was a disaster. The enamel pools around the salt and waterproofs it, making it nearly impossible to remove.

Sweet!