Well, I fear the snow effect looks pretty poor. And overal it may have destroyed a perfectly good looking Sherman. But in the end, for my first armor build, I must say this was the most fun model build to date of any kind. So what do you think?:
So be honest…is it really as bad as I think? [:I]
Brian
I don’t think its bad at all.
About the snow, what’s the effect you are going for, it appears too “random,” if it’s supposed to be real snow, why is it present in some areas and not others? I think it would melt on the rear deck where the engine would warm the hull, and it would be off the hatches and other places of high traffic, but the pattern you depict seems just random.
I think if you added more snow it would tie it all together better. But I still like it.
Hey, New Hampshire, just wondering what scale and who makes the kit, Dragon?[?]
Thank you for your comments,
Since the markings were for the 33rd Armored division in the Ardennes I was going for a hard run, muddy and snowy workhorse. Your correct I went for random, and now I see what you mean about being too random. I will rethink things a bit more and see if I can fix it up.
Brian
It is the Tamiya 1/48. It went together beautifully and was a joy to build.
Brian
If it’s a whitewashed snow-camoflage, it’s quite salvagable… Just use a narrow, flat brush and some more white and do a cross-hatch pattern of white here and there, including over the patches you already did… This will give the impression that it was a hasty crew-applied camo, which would have been the case… Crews often used whatever was at hand to apply the white-wash… Brushes, mops, even rags… It wasn’t about looking pretty, it was about hiding the tank against the snow…
I agree with von Hammer, when troops did a winter camo, they did it with what they had available. When I do winter camo I use a flat brush that has been cut down to almost scale. I use paint from the bottle and also paint that has been thined to where it will run when applied.Then for a lack of a better word, I slap it on as if I were in the cold doing it. [:D]
Welcome to the darkside of modeling! The fact that you had fun with it is the most important thing. I don’t have anything to add to what’s already been mentioned, there’s a lot of information available here to help you and look forward to seeing #2. [tup]
Hans, unfortunately it is flat white cut with corn starch, just like the mud method. But as you folks have said, I had fun…thats what is important. I am still learning, and I am now armed with the knowledge of my strengths and weaknesses. I found my modeling methods solid, but weatehring needs some serious study. I honestly think I got in over my head by figuring on going “full tilt” on the weathering when I should have been thinking more subdued. I must say that up until I started slapping on mud and snow I was highly impressed with what I had produced. I think my next trip to the LHS will have a late model Sherman and Late model Tiger finding it’s way into my stash as I had mentioned in a previous thread here. By then I hope to have a better grasp on armored vehicle weathering.
I do have a question though. I tried doing a wash with Burnt Sienna artist oils thinned in oderless mineral spirits. Unfortunately the flat finish did some odd stuff with the wash itself. I did manage to use a “dry brush” type method to even things out and actually managed to make some nice tinting of certain parts of the body to get a subdued rust red look. But overall it did not enhance panel lines like I was looking for. So can I assume panel washes are for gloss paint finishes and not for flats?
Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I may be a airplane geek at heart, but I will openly admit I had more fun building this armored vehicle than anything other model type yet!
Brian
Brian,
Washes in armor have their place just as they do with aircraft. If you want the wash to “flow” then applying it on a gloss surface will enhance that ala a pin wash. If you’re looking for a “bloom” for stains or pooling effects or overall tone shift via a general wash, then flat surfaces may be the better way to go. Both types of surface have their ups and downs depending on what you’re trying to achieve. Flat finishes, because they have more tooth, are harder to control if you want to limit the wash to only certain areas like raised detail or crevices/panel lines.
Once you cross over to the darkside there’s no turning back! [;)]
Congrats on your first armor experience. The Firefly is my personal favorite Shermie variant. I didn’t know the Brits fielded them in the Ardennes. Ya learn something new every day!
Keep on building, you’re off to good start.
regards,
Steve