Yeah, I didnt put a whole lot of thought into that…but I tried to keep it reasonably sized. Just finished up the panel fading, and its enough to make all but the craziest weatherers (is that a word?) cringe at my insanity. But it was my first time tryin something new and as usual went waaayy over board. But personally I think it looks great and thats what countts. The washes and weathering will tone it down a ton too. Pictures tomrow.
hey Ian [8D] all your fears of bad seam lines ‘seem’ to have disappeared with the base coat— looking real good man – take your time and do 'er up right!![:P]-- you have a real nice solid looking build going on here— tread[:D]
That looks well done.
I’m never one to rivet count either. If something looks good, I’ll usually throw it on.(within reason of course, I mean, I would never put a logo of a pink flying elephant on the turret for example. Wow, that was a really random thought- I think I’ll go to sleep now. [B)][xx(]
looks good but i’ll pitch in some mild criticism (it’s what i do) on the subject of the shell holes. disregard if you want.
first, they’re much too regularly spaced. to get 4 shell hits, all penetrating (well maybe on this tank…), at even intervals is probably statistically impossible. furthermore they seem to be penetrating with the same consistency. it’s like the thing is moving on a conveyor belt while the gun fires at a steady rate.
second, the penetration that goes through the ladder also hits on a joint between two panels. that looks like it should’ve warped the two pieces of metal unevenly. in fact, it’d probably bend whatever it was that they were bolted to and give the hole seem area an odd rippling effect. if i remember correctly, the armor on t-35 was 10mm or something equally ridiculous so the whole thing would probably crumple like tin foil if a shell hit a supporting member.
third, those holes look pretty big. at the point when the t-35’s rolled around, the standard anti-tank guns were ~40mm if i’m not mistaken. i think that’d mean solid AP round that should make a much smaller hole. what you have there looks more like a howitzer shell hole which means HE and if it went in there, the whole tank would’ve gone up sky high. the turrets should’ve come off for sure. (all 20 of them)
anyone wanting to correct my reasoning here is welcome to it. anyway, don’t take this as criticism. the build looks good. all those track links and wheels must’ve been a pain.
Thanks and yeah, I didnt put a whole lot of thought in the shell holes. I was only going to put one or two, but I saw some refernce pictures of once with as many as six shell holes in the armor. The reason the shell hole was right onthe line between armor plates is because that where it would have to be to hit theladder. The reason I had to have the ladder damaged is because the one that came in the kit was pretty dformed and broke into many pieces. Iv had trouble with pretty much all the small pieces in the kit breaking. So that was my solution. Thanks for hitting me with a dose of accuracy though, I need it once in a while.
Well just like I promised, some more pictures. Currently theres a future coat drying over the decals before washes. I had a horible time with the decals. The stars wouldnt lie flat, they had a wavy ripply texture but they were too bad. The stripes were my worst enemy. Somehow I forgot to put those on before gluing the turrets down, and furthermore they tore all over the place, so Im going to have to do some serious weathering in the places where they tore away, whether its realistic or not, its more realistic thenbig gaps in the paint job! So, the fading is kinda intense I know, as are the bright decals, but later washes and weathering will tone that down hugely. Here ya go!
By the way, the second one is closer to the real color, the first just shows it all better.
I was wondering about your decals up until I re-read your post and said there was future drying over it. I think I like the first pic better, seems to have more light on it, on the second one, it looks like a black box… kinda. Where’d all the detail go man? Looks like it’ll turn out ok though! Can’t wait to see it finished
That’s some really good work there Ian. It’s hard to believe your only 14. I’d love to be doing work like that at my old age. LOL Agree with James about the 2 pics.
looks great! i like the fading on the panels. and the stars aren’t all that bad either.
take my advice though, if it’s non-complicated stuff like stars or stripes, don’t bother with the decals and just mask the thing off and airbrush it on. in addition to not having to mess with the decals, you get to pick your own colors, add chipping, never get silvering or a standoff texture and so on. and don’t forget the snooty satisfaction of telling people to “take my advice, don’t bother with the decals” [:)]
Thanks guys!
First, yes I thought the first pic showed more too, butI threw the other in too because it more closely matches the real color.
Tigerman: Thanks, I appreciate your comment. One thing I like about modelling, is the learning curve. If you compare each model to your previous, it seems like everything about it is better usually.
Goat moneky: Yea I thought about doing that for the stars but in the end got them okay. Im not confident enough with my stencil skills to dry a dashed line pattern around a round object though, but its a great idea for the future. I just put on a wash, kinda across between a filter and a pin wash, but mostly just a pin. Russian geen goes realy nicely with a dark wash IMO. Pictures tomorw.
Nice work, Ian. I’m likin’ it a lot.
Thanks eddie. So this concludes my 4th armor build. I think I’m about done, Im gonna pour some clear glue in the headlights which are painted aluminum inside but thats about it… Weathering came out far heavier than expected but I kinda like it, and most of these tanks were abandoned anyways, so not unrealistic. Again, I had to pick between good lighting and showing the real color, since the light washed it out and took the green away. I took a couple that look the right color, the rest I went with better lighting.
From the front, this is pretty close to actual color:
Same wiew with lighting:
From behind, my sisters makeup powder makes very convincing dried mud! just dont tell her…
Right side:
A close up on a shell hole:
A little bit of battle damage, I might fix, since Im not satisfied with it:
Another one with correct lighting, heres the rear:
Well I had lots of fun with this beast, other than the countless indies and the large amount of wheels/suspension. The only other problem I found is that the Degtyarev MG’s werent very detailed, which is a shame since so many are used in the kit (7).
This is amazing Ian. I love it. Everything is wondefully executed, the textures, the battle damages, rust … everything. A great build.
wow man, WOW! I love it. The shell holes are extremely convincing… you’re on the right path man… well done!!! You’ve accomplished alot of what more experienced modelers are still trying to grasp. Well done!
Ian, that is some stunnin’ weatherin’! It looks wonderful, well done man!
Thanks guys! as usual, when I try something new, I like the effect and go overboard on the technique, so some parts of my weathering were heavier than planned, but still lots of fun. Thanks for the comments. Constructive criticism welcome & requested.
The monster lives! The color tone and variation you’ve achieved, particuarly in that shot of the rear deck showing the different shading with the green, are very well executed. [tup] For future finishes I’d personally recommend toning down the rust tones with some Burnt Umber to further blend it in but purely only as a matter of appearance/taste.
Thanks Bill, I decided to try some panel fading on this one, since I had quite a bit left over from the basecoat color I mixed, and I realized I needed something to break up the monotonous color on such a huge tank. I’d try some burnt umber, but my LHS was out while I was there, and I’m not very patient! Ill check the local art store too, im in there often enough anyways.
That looks real good Ian [tup]
Good idea for the make-up, I might give it a try (when the fiancee is asleep [;)])
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Yeuup, definately wait until she’s asleep…this very well may have been the last creation you ever saw from this modeller if she had caught me