Dust & Dirt

Dust comes at the very end

A pigment is a finely ground powder with no binder, which is exactly what really settles on vehicles and buildings. That is why it is worked differently from paint: it is not applied over the whole surface but laid where it would get by itself. Into the corners between the fender and the cargo bed, onto horizontal surfaces, into track marks and into the lower part of the sides, where the wheels throw it. Placed in the right spots it can turn a cleanly built model into a machine with a week on the road behind it.

Four powders, four different soils

The set holds four shades: dark ocher, burnt umber, natural iron oxide and light desert dust. That combination is no accident. The ocher and the desert tone build a light dry environment, the umber adds damp dark earth, and the iron oxide moves toward rusty tones. Mixing between them is an intended part of the work; a single shade on its own looks like a dusting of powdered sugar.

How to keep them in place

The most common mistake is trying to fix the powder by spraying varnish over it. The atomized liquid pulls the pigment down at once and the shade darkens by several steps, so the fine dust turns into a wet stain. It is fixed either with a pigment fixer dripped in from the side so that it wicks across, or the pigment is laid into a still-damp layer of thinner and left to dry in it. The excess is removed with a dry brush, not by blowing, because breath carries moisture. And while you work, keep in mind that a fine powder scatters easily around the whole workshop, so protect your airways and cover any finished models nearby.