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Tamiya Weathering Stick (Mud and Snow)

Hello all! I hope things are going well for you in your part of the world.

Today, I bring you a how-to on Tamiya’s weathering stick.

First of all, what are these? Well, as the name implies, they are weathering sticks designed to give your model or figure a more visible and realistic weathered effect. The two weathering sticks I’ll be using are the snow and mud versions.

Additionally, to help show off what these sticks can do, we have a couple of 30-Minutes Missions kits here, as well as two accessory packs (one for each).

How It Works

So, how do these markers work?

Removing the cap, twisting the barrel to the left opens it,

and to the right closes it.

The stick itself can extend, glue-stick style, out to 5mm.

Important: do make sure to close it and replace the cap when you’re done. Do not leave it open as it will dry out.

Application

The application of the weathering stick is fairly simple. Think of it as a Gunpla paint maker — just paint in the area you want to have the weathering effect.

The material will come off as tacky when wet. It will also get on your fingers if you touch it while wet. For drying time, it does take a bit for the weathering material to cure. Given room temperature, I say about 30 or so minutes.

Touching Up

So say you want to touch up what you have done. Well, after you let it dry, you can shave down what you have done or even remove it.


For removal of the weathering stick effect, a toothpick or something dull to break off the dried paint will do. Since these are water-based products, a wet swab may also help remove the paint. Keep that in mind if it gets on your hands, soap and water is key to remove it.

Tips

As a little tip to applying the weathering stick: make sure to utilize the sides. The stick itself is rounded, which gives you a curved surface to reach into those hard-to-reach crevasses. And because are you able to extend the stick up to 5mm, it makes reaching those places a whole lot easier.

Variations

So, the weathering sticks come in different types, as previously stated, I used snow and mud.

First, we’ll talk about snow. The snow, while I did go a bit crazy with it, comes off rather thick and somewhat flaky, like real snow. Also, if you want to really get a substantial snow effect, more layers will be needed. Just like paint, let it dry, then apply the next layer, and so on.

Then we have the mud stick. Unlike snow, the mud stick slid on perfectly and gave, for lack of a better word, a muddy texture perfectly.

Each stick has the property of the element that they are producing, which is a major plus for them.

Wrapping Up

I believe firmly that it is this texture element that these Tamiya weathering sticks bring to the table that really separates them from say dry brushing. The snow texture is very clumpy, rigid, and flaky, kind of like snow itself. The mud texture is smooth, messy, and the way the stick slides easily really gives the feeling that you’re adding mud to the model.

Above all, they sticks add mass, a build-up of material, that really makes it seem like — yes, this model has faced the elements. With that, I can not recommend these Tamiya weathering sticks enough.

They are easy to apply, easy to clean, fix, tweak, and above all, they are not a mess and do a great job at adding weathering.

– Zeroconvoy

Check out all of the Weathering Sticks that are available!

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4 Comments

  1. I’m in two minds about weathering. Yes, it adds a cool bit of realism in dioramas and such, but for kits just on a shelf… I dunno. This does look easy though, might give them a go after all.

    Reply
  2. Thanks for this tutorial. Please bring more of these tools and how to articles, maybe even videos. I’m going to try these sticks and I’ve just ordered them. Unfortunately, these sticks look a bit bulky and I wonder if you can add details to small parts (photo with the weapon where the stick has nearly the same size). Do the sticks offer the possibility to transfer the weathering powder to brushes/sponges to apply them or should the good old weathering kit be used for this purpose?

    Reply
    • So you can actually cut bits of it off, like on to an exacto. And yes, you can add plenty of detail to smaller parts. These 30 MM mission kits are smaller than an HG kit. As for transferring brushes and sponges. It is possible, especially the mud stick. However, it isn’t as bulky as it looks, try some on a spru or extra parts and see for your self. These are amazing tools.

      Reply
    • Sorry for the late reply, but about the tutorials — we recently brought on several new writers just for this, so you can expect to see more and more tutorial content 🙂 We’re not quite where we want to be to be able to do videos yet, but that’s also something we’re hoping to move back into in the future.

      Reply

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