Very nice!
Thanks!
A few more bits and pieces, mainly details that are left out of the kit or super-simplified, but as long as I can do them without having to buy AM parts or pieces, I’m trying to do what enhancements I can, mainly on stuff that has obvious deficiencies.
Commander’s MG and mount, with an obvious pin mark that I missed last night:
Gun tube lock:
And I popped the stretcher off again after it was pointed out to me that the real thing has four handles, which makes a whole lot of sense, and did all four from brass tube and masking tape.
Gotta be getting close to “Prime-Time”…
Well, gee whiz, lots done lately. I picked up Tasca’s M2 set, confirmed that there was at least one Merk with a mantlet-mounted MG in Op. Peace for Galilee, so that was simple enough…
Then, in a real effort to avoid a remission of my AMS, I went ahead and shot some primer, using my personal favorite, Krylon automotive gray, from the can.
After priming, the suspension springs and all the intake/exhaust screens and vents got a heavy wash with black acrylic, and since I woke up way too early this morning, a first coat of color, Tamiya TS-46 Light Sand from the can. I need to make a trip to the local Hobby Town for more paint and a few other goodies, but it’s in color…
I’m happy so far with the different textures on the hull front and turret, but will probably bring them up a little more with washes.
Thanks for looking, as always!
Hello!
It’s a pleasure to look at - your model looks great under that coat of paint! Keep up the beautiful work, good luck with your project and have a nice day
Paweł
Thank you, Pawel.
Well, long time no post.
Been busy with other stuff, but got into the model room last night, I feel better now, thank you.
Knowing that my base coat was well-cured 
I laid down a wash on the hull and running gear parts using gray and black acrylic, thinned with alcohol, black on the suspension units, road wheels, hull grates and engine exhausts, and gray on the hull top and sides. I want LOTS of contrast here, since this is a one-color scheme that will get plenty of dust later that is almost the same color as the base coat. I’ve also get all the road wheel and return roller tires painted in as Floquil grimy black enamel as are the rear mud flaps. First pic is the washed hull and the unwashed turret together, to show the difference:
I felt the Tamiya TS-46 was too “sandy”, and wanted to better represent what I think is IDF sand gray, circa 1982, so I chose a gray filter/wash. I like it so far.
^ Lots of contrast here, stark now, but I’m still happy…
^ Heavy black wash down on the suspension units, partly to emphasize the coil springs, partly to create shadow.
^ Again, shadow, and emphasis of the cast hull front.
^ Contrast, contrast, contrast.
Thanks for looking, as always!
Turret washed, gun tube striped and detail painting begun:
Howdy, RBaer!
I just got back from a trip, and I wonder why your thread gets so little comments? It looks fine with the weathering. Cooler still is the absence of the traces of the disaster - i mean the missing font quarter! Keep up the excellent work and have a nice day
Paweł
That’s looking very nice, and you defiantly would not know how this looked at the start.
Thanks, guys.
Regarding the piece patched in, I was lucky in that I was able to do all the joins in either hidden areas or pre-existing seams like welds or panel breaks. No biggie though, it’s all modeling.
Hey!
!http://www.picgifs.com/graphics/w/waving/graphics-waving-462508.gif
I’m really loving this progression of excellence.
Why, thank you, sir!
I’ve done a little more early-morning detail painting, but will wait until I have some significant progress to post pics.
Some stowage, sleeping mats made from Aves 2 part putty, and some Verlinden ration boxes. I want to get all this painted before I cover it up with an air recognition panel.
I’m also looking for a color pic of the particular tank in the pic I’m working from to try and pick out the markings and the color of the mats, as some of these were pale blue, just like the ones sold at WalMart, used to put under a sleeping bag. I may go ahead and paint them blue anyway…
Happy Friday!
An absolute home run on this beauty, man! Seriously, this is like Modeling 101, sign up now. This turned out fantastically!
Why, thank you doog!
Speaking of things to be learned while modeling, here’s a good one: when you’re tired and start thinking about taking a break, DO IT!
I was getting ready to place two small decals on the rear equipment doors Friday night late, and got everything set up to slide the decals on to the model, grabbed the MicroSol and put two wee drops where the decals needed to be, grabbed a decal, turned to the model and saw I had two big blobs of dissolved paint where I had put the …
Plastruct liquid glue!
[bnghead]
So… I put everything away and let it all dry for a day, sanded the spots and had to re-spray. Tense but OK, except now I’ll need to source some more decals, which is interesting anyway, since it turns out I don’t have or can’t find the decal sheet that had the markings I need for this particular tank. Rats, cuz it’s time for dust and I need to get the relatively few markings this tank carries on before I dust it up, and it needs to be ready by the 15th of next month. Hmmm… I may end up hand-painting. Anyway, here;s a pic of the affected area after the cleanup and re-spray:
And after the wash to blend it all back in:
And the only pic I took of all the work I did Friday night:
I have the turret stowage painted up, ready for the air recog. panel, forgot to take pics…
Thanks for looking, hope this is as much fun for you all as it is for me!
Turret and tarp pics:
Waiting on decals now, need to see how much gloss I’ll need to apply, then after decals dirt and done.
Tarps should be set up enough tonight to remove and paint, hope to get that done shortly.
Looking great. All those details.
Thanks! It’s almost funny, now that I’ve got paint on it, there are a few things I missed… but gotta save something for the next one, right?
So my decals showed up yesterday, yay! After taking a look at the placement guide Echelon sends along, I decided the whole model would need a gloss coat, good thing the ModelMaster gloss dries fast… then it was decal time. I quickly found out that Echelon’s decals are on the thin-side, but lay down really well. They also included a Yanush stripe, which I was able to get on without too much damage. Even it laid down with only one application of MicroSol. Everything then got another light coat of clear gloss this morning, and now I can start the final dusting. Yippee!
Pics with decals, glossed up and shiny:
Model on, Garth!
Pigments!
My mixture:
I wanted to get my base color looking more like the 1982-vintage IDF sand-gray and work in some road and urban dust, so it’s a mix of brown, gray and a funky muddy green.
Results:
I still have some detail work, light lights, attaching the air recog panel to the bustle rack, antennae, securing the one end of the tow cable, and possibly crew. The figs I wanted to use are not exactly appropriate, so I’m looking. I really don’t want to use the Academy figs I have again, my display case is starting to look like an IDF cloning lab…