Finally some success with AK Terrains Paste! (Patreon)

My friends, today was a success because I might've finally gotten a hang of the AK acrylic mud. If you remember, my initial impressions were mixed - it has excellent texture, but it dries too fast and leaves visible tide marks. It also has high pigment content so when you're blending the stuff, it leaves a colored film. 

But today I might've figured it out. It's all gonna be shown in the video, but to put it shortly, you need to apply it in small amounts at a time and quickly blending the edges. You also need to soak up the excess colored water. Another way to create a better looking transition is to stipple an almost dry brush. Basically you load your brush, then unload it on a napkin until it's almost dry (like with sponge chipping) and stipple it on the model. A cool way to obtain some extra texture is by grabbing the paste from the inside of the lid that started to dry. This substance is more crumbly and you can create awesome effects with it. 

Any imperfections are easy to blend with enamel mud. I didn't even do the pre-dusting "clean-up", just went straight for the enamel stuff. This time I used Dry Steppe from Ammo's Splashes range. It's darker and has a warmer tone compared to Dry Earth. I'll let it dry overnight and continue with a darker, damp mud tone. 

I also did some faint dust streaks on the hull and turret, but I really like the subtle look of this model, so I might keep it like that. Usually I go back to these upper surfaces with another round after the tracks are attached and I get a better picture of the whole thing, but this time I might really make an exception. After all, a tank doesn't have to be dirty all the way up to the commander's cupola, right? Especially when its mudguards seem to be doing their job pretty efficiently - reference photos show mostly clean Somuas with only the running gear being covered in gunk 😊