Hi all, after a very extended break from modelling and never being very good in the first place I thought I’d post up a WIP thread where all tips and advice is more than welcome. I had some grand ideas on which model to start with after a few practice runs and have got a Zvezda KV-2 waiting down the line. However as I said I’m very much finding my feet and I thought the Universal Carrier was a great starting place to get my head into armour and also some figures.
Perhaps someone out there could point me in the right direction for the first bit of advice I need - paint! I’m going for a 1944 colour scheme and using Tamiya acrylics. I’m pretty sure I’ll have to do some mixing to get a nice colour but if anyone has any tips on which colours/ratios have worked well for them I’d be eternally grateful [:)]
So, I can’t promise anything too eciting or inspiring [:D] But here are some pics to start:
Olive drab has so many different shades and variations.Weathering,washes,and pigments change your base color,you say you want to use Tamiya paints,why not just use their color call outs from the instructions?
Bronze green was an early war and post war color for the Brits. In 1944, they adopted their own shade of OD to better match with the Lend Lease equipment coming from the US. At least that is what I’ve read over the past few years. The British shade was more greenish in tone. If it was US made and rebuilt such as the Firefly or Achilles, or British made in 1944/1945, it would be in the SCC 15 Olive Drab. Standard Sherman’s and such stayed in their US Olive Drab color.
Thanks for the comments re colours it certainly got me thinking this evening and thanks very much Stikpusher for that link! I didn’t have exactly what was suggested for the SCC15 Olive Drab, two out of the three paints required, but made a mix that looked pretty close and on it went. I’ll take a picture tomorrow and see if I’m still as pleased with it in the morning [:D]
They fought pretty much the whole war in the West. From the Battle of France with the BEF to VE Day at the Elbe. And everywhere in between where commonwealth armored forces served. So yes, a carrier with the BEF in 1940 Frace/Belgium would be in the green scheme of that era.
As a base coat I’m pretty happy with the colour in the cold light of day [:D] I got there by mixing equal parts XF-58 Olive Green and XF-81 Dark Green 2 (RAF) with a little splash of XF-71 CockP Green.
I think next steps for me will be head off to the art shop to buy a suitable oil paint to make up a nice wash, slap that on and then a touch of dry brushing and see how things stand. After that I need to bite the bullet and make a start on the figures which in all honesty scares me! I am absolutely useless at figure painting!
I have no friggin’ clue if that’s accurate to not but I love how it looks. Nice work! [Y]
And figures, it’s just a matter of fiddling with them till you get something you like… or you give up. The Tamiya figures are cheap and common enough that they’re great to practice on. Look around YouTube, there’s a boatload of videos on doing figures. A lot will be gaming figures but the same techniques apply.
Looks good,with greens,panzer yellow or gray,accuracy up to a point is good,but with so many paint batches,wear and tear,weathering,field application,it’s all subjective.If it looks good to your eye,your okay.
Thanks for the kind words Gamera and Tojo, I’m definitely enjoying the process it’s great fun trying to work out what to do to progress it. I’ve got a gloss coat and some decals on now so in a good place for some washes tomorrow. Ive got some thoughts on how I might tackle the figures and I’ve a few old tank crew lying around that I can practice on as well! I’ll post up some more pics tomorrow.
Your own version of SCC 15 looks perfectly fine. After weathering it won’t look like this anymore anyways. So like Tony said, don’t get too wrapped up in a precise shade. Have fun with the figures. You won’t get better on painting figures unless you keep painting more of them.
Thanks Stikpusher, that’s very true I just need to give it a go and get some practice in painting those figures. I’ve had a look round youtube and I’m going to give that zenithal highlights method a try and then glazes over the top. Neither are things I’ve ever tried or heard of before so I’m really interested to see the outcome!
Here’s a couple pics with the gloss and decals just on, little bumpy in the pics from last night but have settled down overnight and feel I’m in a place to get washes and drybrushing and see how it looks. Slow and steady for me!! [:D]
Thanks both! I will definitely include the figure updates in this thread as well, I glued them earlier during a little break from work so I’m slowly moving towards getting some paint on them [:D]
It is little known but 40 Canadian UC’s were offloaded from a freighter in Manila Harbor originally bound for Hong Kong, and used by the US Army in the Philippines. Along with CMP (Canadian Military Pattern) trucks to be used by the USA.
