How to "Weather" a Dirt Track Midget.

[2002p51]

The other day on another board somebody made the comment that they wanted to see somebody "weather" one of Revell's new Kurtis midgets. My first thought was that most likely it would be overdone. The fact is that a lot of modelers tend to take dirt track weathering much too far.

But, you don't have to take my word for it, let's look at some photos.

This car does have a lot of mud built up on it, but look carefully at how it got there. It's very heavy on the forward facing surfaces only. The windscreen, the grill, the forward edges of the nerf bars, roll bar, etc. The hood is relatively clean as is the tail.

Here's A.J. Foyt on a decidedly sloppy track. But again, notice that the car is still relatively clean. There are some smudges of mud on the nose and the nerf bars and the windscreen is dirty. But there are no big clumps of mud anywhere.

Here's a restored midget running on a much drier track. Notice again that the forward edges are the only places you see evidence of dirt. The front axle is tinted the same color as the track. So is the lower part of the roll bar and the windscreen. There's a SLIGHT accumulation of dirt on the nerf bar. Look closely at the belly pan just behind the front tire.

But what about at the end of a race, you ask?

By race time, most dirt tracks are pretty dry and you no longer get big clods of mud sticking to the car. This car is pretty dirty overall but notice that instead of actual mud, what you have are the smudges left from dirt hitting the car. And notice that it all came flying past the car from the front. The sides of the tail are clean. The bottom of the car is very dirty and there is less dirt as you get higher up on the car. The wheels also have almost no dirt on them.

This final photo is another post race shot. The windscreen is completely covered but notice that on the hood there is only the smudges left from the dirt flying past the car from the front.

So in the end, while it may be tempting to slather mud all over the car, study the photos, think about how that dirt gets there, and use a little restraint. The result will be a much more realistic model.

[Harry P.]

Seems to me that spraying on the "dirt" straight at the front of the car with an airbrush (the same direction the dirt would hit the car in real life) would give a pretty close approximation of dirt/dust buildup. If you also want to add clumps of mud you could make a thick "mud" paste and dab it on to the nerf bars, axle, windscreen, etc. with a brush.

[2002p51]

Seems to me that spraying on the "dirt" straight at the front of the car with an airbrush (the same direction the dirt would hit the car in real life) would give a pretty close approximation of dirt/dust buildup. If you also want to add clumps of mud you could make a thick "mud" paste and dab it on to the nerf bars, axle, windscreen, etc. with a brush.

That's exactly right.

[2002p51]

remember though that many builders do not have airbrushes to use so some alternative methods may be worth mentioning here.

with weathering of any kind the tendency is to go overboard and do too much. there is a very fine line between just enough and you've gone too far. using reference pictures is probably one of the best ways to accurately add that kind of detail, thank you Drew for posting the ones you did. there is a book "the American dirt track racer" by Joe Scalzo that also has some very nice color reference pics that are useable for model building.

"Dry brushing" is another excellent technique for weathering. I have a very stiff, very short brush (Maybe 1/8" bristles) that I use for this. Basically I dip the brush in the paint that's in the bottle cap, then wipe most of the paint off the brush on a paper towel, then gently dab at the model. This gives the effect of spots and smudges. Oh, and I use Floquil railroad colors for this because it's dead flat. They have the perfect colors for weathering too. Colors like "mud", "dust", and "dirt". I kid you not, that's actually what they're called!

You're exactly right about weathering too much. There is a fine line and most modelers go way over it. You have to resist the temptation to keep going and stop before you go too far.

I have that book by Joe Scalzo and you're right, it's an excellent resource.

[2002p51]

Here's another shot that shows how to do post-race dirt.

[Justy Philly]

Anybody want to venture a guess as to who the driver is of the #21 midget?