Vallejo continues their line of specially made weathering products called “Weathering Effects”. They are formulated with permanent pigments and water based acrylic resins. All of these products are available in 40 ml bottles. The two types of Weathering Effects reviewed here are “Splash Mud” and “Environment Effects”.

The Splash Mud is very paint-like in consistency but too thick to be airbrushed as is, very similar to Vallejo’s Model Color range. The recommended application is via the splatter method. One does this by loading a stiff bristle brush – where the stiff bristles will snap back very quickly after being bent – and using your fingers to flick the Splash Mud from the brush bristles to the surface you want to muddy-up. For this review, I used a completed Jagdpanzer IV (L48) that had been lightly weathered, but not with any of the thick products reviewed here. This way, the effects of these products can easily be seen.

I spattered three of the colors supplied to IPMS for this review: Russian Splash Mud (73.802), Brown Splash Mud (73.805), and Light Brown Splash Mud (73.804). After I let them dry/cure overnight I noticed the next day that they dry to a rather glossy state. This means that one can easily use these products to model fresh mud and grime such as a tank plowing through a muddy field and displayed as a snapshot in time. Or, you can spray the dried mud with a flat coat and turn the splash mud into a layer that has been on the side of your armor for some time. This is a nice Vallejo feature.

I then turned to the other products supplied to IPMS by Vallejo from their Weathering Effects line: “Environment Effects”. These are thicker products applied with a small spatula…similar to applying thick plaster to a base or the side of a model. The two products applied to my Jagdpanzer IV (L48) were “Crushed Grass” (73.825) and “Mud and Grass Effects” (73.826). See the photo below that depicts the mixing stick pulling this product out of the bottle…it is pretty thick. Using this same stick, I applied the Crushed Grass to the treads of the tank and applied the Mud and Grass Effects to the underside of the glacis and the area adjacent the final drive assembly. Similar to the Splash Mud products, the Environment Effects products dry to a glossy sheen. This is good if you are modeling a snapshot of an AFV rolling through a grassy field with the wet grass sticking to its treads and sides. If you want to model the AFV after the mud and grass has dried you can easily hit it with a flat coat.

In my opinion, both lines of products produce a very realistic heavy weathering with the ease of coming already prepared in a bottle. All you need is an applicator (stick, brush, etc) and the model you wish to weather. These really do save time by not needing to make your own. Many thanks to Vallejo for allowing IPMS USA to review these weathering products.