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So here's the thing. I primed it dark grey, the details are still showing, but I'm wondering how I should paint it to make it look less bland. Any suggestions ?

A couple of ideas
- Company logo on the side?
- Graffiti or posters of some sort?
- You could also do some mixing of colour or rusting, that kind of thing.
- Small little warning sign (hazardous materials, forklift warning etc.)
- A big hole?

Do the strut things red! Or if your going for a more worn look do them rusty orange!

Then add either a company symbol on the sides or graffiti! Or maybe someones come along and whacked on a poster or advert!

Add on a few shipping numbers and heh presto!

Probably via the use of stickers/transfers after painting?

Some correctly scaled 'posters' and graffiti?

Plus weathering?

Ah ninja'd by Thermo Optic. . . . again!

Great ideas ! =)

Anybody got any tips for weathering ? (never did that)
How could I add rust so it looks good on dark grey =) ?

Either use an old brush to stipple orange and then light brown over parts of the orange to dull it down. Or get some art pastels and grind them up. Dap that on and then varnish.

Stick to the corners, joints and around the bolts.

I love these ones

It doesnt really need much work.

Base coat.
Light Dry Brush on the edges.
Apply Decal and Varnish on Decal
Light Dry Brush some sand and rust.
Stipple a little more rust.
Paint on the paint chips on the edges.

ooooh pictures =D

Thanks for the advices
Looks like decals/graffit add a lot to the make these stand out =)

Von Skyfury wrote:ooooh pictures =D

Thanks for the advices
Looks like decals/graffit add a lot to the make these stand out =)

Yep! thats all it takes!

Emperors_Champion wrote:Either use an old brush to stipple orange and then light brown over parts of the orange to dull it down. Or get some art pastels and grind them up. Dap that on and then varnish.

Stick to the corners, joints and around the bolts.

This is definitely a good way to go, but another thing you can do which is actually kind of fun...

Weathering powders, a small piece of spongey material(the foam insert from the Infinity blisters is perfect for this), and a small spray bottle(I use a rinsed out throat analgesic bottle) filled with a 75/25 mix of water and rubbing alcohol.

Apply the powders liberally with the foam first, then spray with the rubbing alcohol and go nuts spreading it around. The foam will actually take up the majority of it and the rest will adhere in a relatively natural looking way.

Just don't do this inside of your house, unless you have the containers inside of something which can be cleaned.

Which weathering powders do you recommend ?
And where can these be bought ?

Miniature posters! You can make your own or steal some from the net. Also, if you want clean walls you can just use a drybrush of medium grey on top of your dark grey.

Von Skyfury wrote:Which weathering powders do you recommend ?
And where can these be bought ?

I use Forge World's myself, as they came in a decent sized tube and were (in my opinion) a good "starter" powder set.

Weathering Powder Set #1 is your best bet for terrain related stuff.
Powder Set #2 is more for vehicles, in my opinion.

Hummm...I guess I'll find an alternative
Shipping costs are killing this

Von Skyfury wrote:Hummm...I guess I'll find an alternative
Shipping costs are killing this

Yeah. That is definitely an issue. Is why I tacked my weathering powder onto the local FW order.

How's this ?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORGEWORLD-Weathering-Powder-Dark-Iron-/150726325565?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2317fd353d#ht_1621wt_1026
Price seems about right ? Or should I really pay less than 10 bucks for this ?

Oh god no, I wouldn't pay anywhere near that for just the one powder...especially not "Dark Iron", which is one where a little bit goes a long way.

Too much of it and it looks comical.

If I had to, the three powders I'd suggest for containers would be:
Aged Rust
Orange Rust
Light Rust

They each have a very subtle difference to them, which when combined with sponging effects makes them look a bit different.

Thanks for the infos Kan !
Guess I'll do some research on weathering powders =)

Sorry I couldn't be more help; Forge World and Tamiya are the only ones I've really experimented in depth with.

Tamiya's were, in my opinon, very much "meh".

Do all weathering powders need to be sealed ?

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Okay. Sealing weathering powders? It's a bit of a toss-up.

When you seal weathering powders using varnish: you essentially "dull" them down even further. It's why in many Fine Scale Modeling magazines you'll read about how "Suchandsuch weathered the model after varnishing, and then finished the model with a coat of hair spray" as the hair spray will cause the powder to stick but not dull it or remove any of the coloration.

Oooh, good to know

A chap I know absolutely swears by the MIG powders, and seems to have got some pretty good results from them. Don't know if they are easily available to you?

I'll give it a look tomorrow
Just right now I spotted some on Ebay but I'd like to avoid paying 20$/powder

If you're going to be moving the containers around and handling them a lot (ie, your table isn't permanently set up), you will need to varnish them - or the powders WILL rub off. Hairspray comes off with just sweat and the oils from your skin.

Diorama and static display modellers use hairspray because their models are often not handled a lot or played with. Same as artists will use hairspray to "fix" watercolours temporarily.

Chromedog makes a very, very valid point.

Hummm...Thanks for the advice =)
Now I'm wondering if I'll use these powders...I don't really like the effect varnish on paint

If you varnish, you need to use more and do several applications, sealing each layer in turn. It gives a less subtle effect.

It's really not meant for "gaming" pieces. Something that isn't a problem for the modelmakers who have used this technique for the last 30-40 odd years (I heard about the use of ground up artists chalks back in the early 80s and it wasn't a new thing then.)

I've liked these guys for washes so far. Not sure about weathering though.

http://www.secretweaponminiatures.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=37_19