Howto:ModernArmorPlating

ByCharlesKing

Well,itsmysecondarticle;PineTreesbeingmyfirst.Imsureyourememberedthe article. Anyway, upon request from a lot of people both from the Armorama and LEMforumsIdecidedtodothisarticletoshoweveryonehowIachievedthoserusty armor plating seen on some of those heavy modern equipment like the M1074 transportsseeninIraq. WithsomeoftheinsurgentsthathavebeengoingoninIraq,USmilitarypersonals were forced to protect themselves using methods deemed necessary to avoid being easytargetsforsurpriseroadandunexpectedattacksontheirvehicles. N.B.Iminnowaymilitarypersonnel.Soifmycommentsaboveareincorrect,pleaseforgive me.Myassumptionsarepurelybasedoncommondeductions. So there, lets move on. Im sure there are many ways to get the results were workingtoachieveherebutthisisoneofthem.

 ThingsIusedtogetthejobdone:

1. Scissors(anyoldonewilldo) 2. Applecidervinegar(youcangetthisatanyfoodchainstore.IthinkBraggsellsthis undertheirbrandnameBraggisaUSbrand,Ithink.) 3. 0, 10, 3mm thick non rustfreemetal plate. (remember the thickerthe platethe moredifficultitwillbetocutwithanormalscissors) 4. Asharpbladeorknife.(onlyifneeded) 5. Asmallbowlthatwillfitthepiecesneededfortherequiredproject. 6. Aspraybottlewithwater.

Now, Im sure there are many ways of achieving this effect but this is my own. Othersmayhaveamucheasierorbettermethodbutlikeeverythingelse,itsupto theindividualmodellertofind,whatworksbestforthem.Soifyoufindthismethod preferablethanallpowertoyou.Afterallitsyouthemodellerthatmakesthehobby expandable.Iwillnowtryandtakeyouthroughacoupleofshorteasystepsusing mymethodsandmybuildasreference. Stepone Firstthingtodoistodecideonthedesignofthearmorplatingbymakingasketchof itonapieceofpaper.Whendone,cutitoutaccordingtothescaleyouwantittobe. Seepicturebelow:

Paperpattern Steptwo Nowtakethesheetofmetalandcutoutapiecethatyouwillneedfortherequired project.Takethepatternthatyouhavemadeandplaceitonthesheetofmetal.Now usingonehandtoholdthepatternandthemetalplatetakeapairofscissorsandcut themetalaccordingtothepaperpatternyouhadjustmade.Seepicturesbelow:

 Whendone,theresultsshouldbesimilartothepaperpatternyoumade.Seepicture belowatmyversion:

Stepthree When you are satisfied with your design pattern then you are ready to age your armor plating. Pour a reasonable amount of apple cider vinegar in a bowl, so that when you put the metal in it, it will submerge covering the entire surface of the metal.Seepicturebelow:

Nowleavethemetalpiecesubmergeintheapplecidervinegarforabout30min.Do somethingelseinthemeantime. Stepfour Whenthe30minareupremovethemetalandtheplaceitonitssidetodrysothat therustprocesscanbegin.Nowyouwillhavetohelptheprocessalongbyspraying waterinbetweendryingintervals.Thiswaytherustwillbuilduplayersastheeffect gets stronger. Yes, it takes awhile but the results are worth it. You can also lay the metal piece flat and spray a couple of squirts of water to get the rust buildup to settleinonearea.Justsprayandletitdry.

Remember!sprayinintervals.Thiswaythefirstlayerwillhavetimetodevelopand settle.

Thepicturebelowshowstheresultsbetweena510minsintervalofspraying,afterit wasremovedfromthebowl3hoursago:

N.B. Youll notice that the longer you leave the metal submerge in the liquid the metalwillremaininitsoriginalstateandthereforewillnotrust. Ifyouwantmorerusteffectjustspraysomewateronit.Belowshowstheresultof theplaterustingatdifferenttimesafterremovingitfromthebowlandsprayingthe plate between intervals. You can see how long it takes the plate to reach a more desirableeffectthannormal.Theideaistobuildtherustupinlayers.

5minutesafterremovalfromthebowl

10minutesafterremovalfromthebowl

 1hourafterremovalfromthebowl

1hourand30minutesafterremovalfrombowl

3hoursafterremovalfromthebowl

 Stepfive(Thisstepisoptionalonly.Youmaynotneedtodoit)!!! Whenthemetalhasrustedandyouaresatisfiedwiththelookthenitistimeforabit ofweathering.WherethemetalhadextremelysettledIdtakeasharpknifeorblade andscrapeawayatsomeoftherustatvariousareasofthemetal.Again,thismethod is only required if the rust has settled hard on the metal plate. Otherwise this methodisnotrequired. Usuallythisiswhentheplatehasbeenleftsittingfordaysafterbeentakenfromthe bowl and had been sprayed between intervals; which by then, the rust harden. Personally, I like the plates fairly rusty as to get different shades of the rust at differentlevels. By scraping away at certain areas around the metal plate I get different shades of colorationthatgivesmealivelierlookthanitbeingjustoneplainshade.Ofcourse thisistotallyuptoyouaseveryonehasapreferenceandthereforeIwillleaveitup toyoutodecidetheoutcomeoftheendresults. Stepsix This last procedure is not a must but does blend everything in with the rest of the model. I use three shades of powder pigments; black, grey and burnt amber. Brushingonalittleofeachtendstoworkforme.Itmaynotworkforyou;again,its apreferencething.Isayusewhatyouarecomfortablewithtogetthejobdone.Inthe enditsyourmodelandyoumustbetheonetodecideifitworksandlooksrightin youreyes.

Thefinallookafterweathering:

 Thatsit.Happymodelling!