96 Chevrolet Blazer Finished

Another one cleared off the "To Finish" shelf, the 96 Blazer is done.

Over the last few days, I finished painting the final parts for the Blazer and completed the engine bay, then added the roof bars, grill guard and spare wheel rack. I had also noticed that the slight twist in the front screen area of the body, did not correct itself after the screen was glued in place. It must have moved before the glue dried and resulted in a gap between the "A" pillar and glazing. so this has put a dampener on this project.

My mate Richard kept saying to me, "Don't weather it!", so to upset him, I did! After masking the wiper sweeps on the windscreen, I started to add lumps of mud along the lower areas of the front bumper and side of the body. I did this using my method of mixing earth coloured paint with scenic scatter and then just place it where required on the model. This first stage can be seen in the two photos below.

Once the paint and scatter mix is dry, next I painted some splashes of the mud colour around the wheel arches, front bumper and underneath the model. When I was happy with the look, it was time to move onto the next stage. At this point, you might look at the model and think "Those splashes of mud are not right!". Do not worry, the mistakes can be airbrushed away!

So, after thinning some of the mud colour, it is time to finish off adding the mud to the model. With automotive models, I usually start giving the underside a blow over before starting on the main areas of dirt build-up around the wheel arches and front of the body. When I am satisfied with that, I progress onto the rest of the body giving a lighter dusting on the higher areas of the body then the lower extremes. After a look at the model on the spraying stand and doing some finishing touches, the windscreen is de-masked once dry. Result, one muddy Chevy Blazer!

To see how I create my mud effect, click on the link below and it will take you to the "How To" page on my website.

Muddy Vehicles

Whilst I have been sitting writing this closing post for this project, I got thinking to myself that the engine was too clean for a 4X4 that is being used like this. So, a little bit more dirtying up is required with engine grime, oil and mud to finish it off. Images of this extra work will be seen on my website in the gallery section once photos are taken and added to the site.