Hi all
At long last my M1A2 is finished. Thanks to all the tips and advice I received when I started out with the build.
Learn’t a valuable lesson with the pastel dust on the hull, when u think u have enough add more! The flat coat got rid of most of it. Thats how u learn.
Here are the photos:
Thanks for looking
Looks good. I have never built that kit but it looks pretty detailed. Nice job!
Nice job!
Whats next?
Looks great! Need more weathering - dust on the lower half IMO, but looks good!
Did you finish it with paint or leave it plastic??
not bad at all.
The painting of the roadwheels looks uneven. runs on to th eplastic, some areas uncovered etc.
other than that pretty decent for a first effort.
Good looking job on your first armor kit.
O.K. osjohnm, you’ve taken your first step to the dark side[:)]. You’ve made a clean build, i.e., I don’t see any flash, tabs, mold lines, injector pin marks, or excess glue ( good going ). However, the paint needs to be cleaned up a bit. I’d start with the roadwheels. Just take a Staedler pigment liner to even up the junction where the rubber meets the metal. Keep us posted, because there’s a lot good folks here who will help to guide you through. BTW, before armor what was your genre of preference?
Hi John,
Nice job for your first kit. My only suggestion besides what everyone else said is to put silver on the inside of the barrel. This will give it a realistic look if the gun bore is clean.
TigerII
Just to add from what others already said, I think the tank will benefit from washing to bring out the curve and details to live.
Take a burn amber for washing.
The tires also to me look shinny, like you just polish them with armor all which in the real tank is not the case.
The wheels, you need to give it a wash with flat back and thinner.
Nice job on the build btw.
Ben
Considering that my first TEN builds never even got any paint on 'em at all, I’d say you’ve done a fine job here on your first build.
As others have mentioned, a wash and perhaps some drybrushing would help bring out the details, and of course care should be taken when painting details such as the rubber tires. Sometimes it’s difficult to get good straight lines when doing detail painting, but continued practice will sharpen your eye and steady your hand. As I said, I didn’t even bother painting by first ten or so builds at all, so you’re way ahead of where I was!
Keep 'em coming, and keep on having fun!
Nice job particularly for a first tank build. Glad the tips helped. They have certainly helped my efforts. Keep up the good work! Mike
great job on your first armour build, but before you follow the good advice of washes which will definatly enhance your work i would get a cheap practice model to test it on so as not to ruin this one they can be a little tricky as first.
Hi all
Thanks for the comments and advice.
Tank was painted with Tamiya TS-46. I tried an “aircraft wash approach” and a colour that was almost the same as the base, hence the failure.
I didn’t apply enough pastel dust onto the hull and the flatcoat got rid of most of it.
I did cut a lot of corners as the aim of the build was to find out if I would enjoy building armor models. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
Can I get a Staedler Pigment Liner from an art shop? I despise wheel painting and masking!!
Hopefully my Challenger 2 will turn out better and with proper weathering effects.
Thanks again
John, For those pesky road wheels, get yourself Ultra Fine Point, Fine Point and Chisel Tip Sharpie Permanent Markers. Trust me, these make short work of doing the road wheels and they look great. Much easier, in my opinion . than using templates. Since the Sharpie ink drys with a gloss finish, you will need to overspray your work with something like Model Master Acryl flat. You can also drybrush the “rubber” with gunship grey if desired. Mike
Good job for your first major dive into the Dark Side. I think Carves meant Burnt Umber for a wash. I agree with the others and I’d also add a drybrush to simulate fading and wear.