ZombieHunter26

I know there's plenty of rust tutorials in here, but I'd like to share my wonderful way of making my own personal rustwash (In bulk, no less). A quick disclaimer- I am not responsible for any mishaps if you decide to try this at home. I trust that if you decide to try this, you will be professional and cautious, and USE COMMON SENSE. That being said... Here's what you'll need: 1/2 pkg Rhodes American Steel Wool (Grade #0000, super fine) A large plastic container 1/2 cup vinegar 1 cup chlorine bleach *****SAFETY FIRST***** This technique releases toxic chlorine gases. DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT!! DO THIS INSIDE. WEAR LATEX GLOVES, A PAINT FUME RESPIRATOR AND GOGGLES, AND DO THIS IN A VERY WELL VENTILATED AREA, LIKE AN OPEN GARAGE OR OUTSIDE. Take your steel wool and unravel it, placing it lightly inside your plastic container. fill your container only about half full, you don't want to make too much of this at once. Pour your vinegar over the steel wool slowly, making sure to saturate it. Then CAREFULLY pour your chlorine bleach over the steel wool in the same fashion. Do not cover(you do NOT want to keep the chlorine gases from escaping, the result of opening a pressurized container with chlorine gases can result in mild chemical burns), and place in a safe, well ventilated area. I did this at night, and let it sit overnight. When you check it in the morning, your container should have a good bit of rusty, brown buildup at the bottom of it. Carefully remove the remaining steel wool(draining it as you go) and place it in a resealable container. You can reuse this steel wool for more rust wash later(and the good thing is, it will work faster- it's already begun rusting!). Carefully pour your brown, murky liquid into an empty plastic soda bottle, it should fill it about 3/4 of the way. Fill the rest of the way carefully with tap water to completely neutralize the solution. You then cap it, give it a good shake, and let sit for a few hours. The next time you check, your bottle should have a good bit of dark brown buildup on the bottom, with clear-ish water up top. I drained the clear water by setting the bottle on a board over a spare bucket, and carefully drilling a small hole right above the buildup. this allows the solution to drain while leaving behind the stuff I use as rust wash. It smells a little funny but is safe for use as a wash. As with any paint, solvent, glue, or other chemical used in building your model, be careful with it. You can store your wash in a plastic bottle that has a wide top to allow for brush insertion, and a cap. No worries about the gases, the solution is no longer producing a toxic gas so it's safe to cap off. Each time I do this, I come up with about 3oz of rustwash, which is more than enough for a few cars, tanks, or whatever it is you want to give a good rust color/texture to. PLEASE BE CAREFUL if you use this technique. If you do not feel confident that you can do this without endangering yourself, DO NOT TRY IT. Also, if you are under the age of 18, have a capable adult help you, or do it for you.

Correction, it closely resembles what -could- be the timing cover for a first gen Cadillac SRX 3.6L V6. If I'm correct, then this is what the other side -would- look like if it were 1:1- Hope this helps?

looks like something i'd use as random detail on one of my creations... lol. As for it's -actual- purpose... i'm not exactly sure.

It would seem that nowadays you need to be an electrical engineer/computer programmer/ASE mechanic all in one to fix your vehicles. Heck, back in my Dad's day, all you really needed was a set of wrenches and some elbow grease! I feel I'm the only one in my age group that really wishes for the simpler days....vehicle-wise anyway.

I can tell you that he will love the cars. He's also getting something from me that I'm in the process of building. I'm hoping he appreciates it, I'm putting a great deal of thought into this little piece.

Looks like that 59 had been sitting a while, and just painted up to look nice. the rust flying out of that thing when it crashed was a good sign of some pretty rough rust damage. kind of an unfair fight, like putting a 60+ year old boxer against a 28 year old MMA champ... it just doesn't add up. They should have run a '59 off the assembly line just for that test. I'm betting the '09 was brand new... Then again it was a chevy... if it were ford... i think the old ford would have done a -little- more damage to the malibu. But that's just my favoritism speaking.

those new cars'll kill your life savings, I'm tellin ya.

Lovin' the weathering job you did! very nice. Anything else lined up on the bench(dio-wise)?

HAHA! Welcome back, Doc. Thanks! I was hoping you'd catch this soon. Next project is for the contest... can't wait for you to bang out the details and rules and whatnot.

lol! thanks lane. glad you enjoyed it!

The finished result of my work can be found on this topic- http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=51442&hl=&fromsearch=1 It was fun! Time to start on something new.

Seriously... I think this is what the soldiers outside died trying to get to. The former workers of this particular pump house were definitely planning on disrupting the enemy's plans, before they were cut out of the game. Plasma Cutter Cannon! Our guys might like the ammo stashed away on top of the locker... any bonus is a good bonus! One last bit. I did A WHOLE BUNCH of internal pics in my previous topic on this project. I don't wanna flood the topic with reposts. So what do you guys think? Is there a risk involved in setting up base here for these guys? LOL. Lemme know how you liked the project guys, I'm happy to be done with it finally

Funny how an old drum stick can make a great power line pole. Dead enemy soldier (he didn't have such a good day O.o ) Another angle- I got just a few more, patience

The Scout, giving his brother-in-arms a concerned look about the dead spec-ops soldier. Maybe they trained together before the war? Close up of the long-dead spec ops soldier- Different angle. More to come, keep your shorts on!

"We've got a situation..." quick run down of the team in this pic- Power armored guy in the back is the grenadier. power armored guy in the front is heavy rifleman(reduced to a pistol, weapon damage sucks!). Guy in blue is a former engineer-turned-militant. The driver is the the "Non-Commissioned Officer" of the squad. I love making power armored soldiers... Still got more to come....

So, a little history on this project before I get to the real reason you're here, the eyecandy! I started the project about 2 months ago, and the main basis of my material resource has been low budget stuff, like scrap signage styrene, foamboard, old tools, old toys, good old superglue, and acrylic paints. I had originally planned a much larger diorama, but decided to cut the size in half when I realized how fast I was burning through materials. I'll give you a little story to set the mood for the pics- the year is 2055, and the Communist countries of the world have long since put their strengths together as one big war machine against the U.S. of A. The war has been going strong for a decade, and our military has been reduced to rag-tag caravans of militant civilians and former law enforcement mixed in with a few regular military remnants. Our scene deals with one such group- the remnants of Foxtrot Company Bravo. Our war-torn heroes have been hoofing it for weeks, going from ruined city to ruined city looking for somewhere to set up a base that won't easily be detected by the enemy. They come across a derelict pump house that once gathered energy from a hydrothermal vent positioned underneath it. They are uneasy, the remains of an enemy trooper and friendly spec ops lay pecked and rotting in the harsh wasteland sun. What will they find inside? Is this place safe enough for them? I left that up for you guys to decide. Fuzzy overhead view, I hate my camera sometimes. Rear overhead view. Bringing up the rear, with a gauss cannon! More past the break.

We had a nice hobby shop not too far down the road from where I am staying now, called Racin' Fools. I was too young to really remember all the details nowadays, and even later on, right before it closed, I was still in my oblivious teenage years so it didn't hit me as hard... but my dad used to go there a lot. I realize now how much of a convenience it would have been to still have Racin' Fools right down the way, instead of 45 minutes away across the river to the nearest Hobbytown USA. It's sad how the economy can really mess with small businesses like that. It's almost as if we're becoming a dying breed- but if we keep up our support and fight the onslaught of impersonal online hobby stores, we can possibly make it through and still keep our beloved LHS's. I've never been one to lie down and take a beating (a trait that's gotten me in some ruts of trouble in my past years), and it's that mindset that keeps me going day to day. It all boils down to this, and it's probably been said a few times in the replies on this thread so far(but, I will say it again)- Without patronage and support, LHS's(heck, ANY small business) will eventually fall out of the race so to speak. If I had a better means of transportation, I'd make the 45 minute drive to Hobbytown for a good deal of my purchases. As it stands, though, I'm stuck doing things on the cheap with scrap plastic and donations. On a related note, I don't trust online purchases. Most of the time, if I can't lay hands on the product and get a feel for it before I buy, I won't buy it. I don't trust online stores. Online trades and whatnot however, I do trust. Mainly because there's communication with a real person, I can ask questions, and I don't feel like I'm feeding my money or trades into a faceless machine.

Thanks guys. I had some fun making him. This is what happens when I get bored, LOL.

I'd like to thank Rick Hainline (Ranma) for deciding to return my random act of kindness (I'm mailing him a snaptite '63 corvette convertible for his blind wife) by sending out some random parts and an old Deora kit for me to mess with- He didn't have to, and it wasn't expected because I was just helping out... but it's appreciated greatly. Thanks, buddy!

I actually scratch built this from some 1:7th scale figure parts, random cloth, and primed in flat black then detail painted. the whole process took about... oh, 6 hours. I rarely ever build from kits. This was a total scratch build from spare parts. I figured I'd make a "3D Avatar" LOL. I know. I'm nuts.

So, I was bored waiting on more materials for my diorama... And as we all know, a bored hobbyist is an unhappy hobbyist. I decided to occupy myself with a little side project. The following is ZombieHunter26, as he would be after the world is either A)nuked to a crisp B)taken over by zombies C)invaded by irradiated mutant lemurs (yeah, yeah.... I know. But! Lemurs are just as good as anything else....) Gotta love the custom rebreather mask... Comes complete with zombie-bashing stick... or whatever it is that needs bashing in the post-apocalypse. (I am aware that his upper body is disproportionate to his lower body, it's intentional ) Side view, showing headdress plume, "26" detail on shoulder, and scars. Ah, fun times.... Maybe this might start something?

I'd hate to see what nasties creep below -this- manhole....- Mock-up of the entrance walkway/vent system (still building these pieces)- Who parked that jeep there?! The diorama's not even done yet.... > - ..aaaaaand that's it for now. 'til next time!

More of that glorious rust - Street level view of the broken power line pole- More street level view, with the rusted out manhole cover (complete with pullchains attached )- WAIT! There's even more!

Plasma Cannons make for good salvage! The late workers of the pump station seem to have been planning something big before they expired....- REALLY trying to get the detail of the rust. It's hard with this camera and lighting. Think of the all-over surface rust you see at industrial plants, ya know... the abandoned ones.- Gotta love scale chain work - keepin' it comin...