Sgt.Squarehead Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Why are you working on a matt surface Will? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Stunning this is getting better and better! Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 As usual very inspiring and very well done. Great painting, and I really like the variation on the track links. I must try to achieve something like that on my FT tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 Thanks for the kind comments, I'm enjoying this one but also putting off the mud stage a bit since I'm not quite sure how much I want to apply, or how I'm going to do it yet. I guess I can start on the bottom. Currently thinking about some kind of pigment slurry spattered on and dragged/blended with a stuff brush? Why are you working on a matt surface Will? Reasonable question - the answer is partly that the only varnishes I really trust at the moment are the Alclad ones, which are softened by enamel thinner. So they're great as a top coat but less good as a barrier coat. I also tried this with the Viper, where I really didn't want a barrier coat since the layer under the hairspray was metallic, and I liked it. I think cleaning up washes on a semi-gloss surface is quite difficult since they move around too much and I tend to spend time re-building areas of wash that I've accidentally erased. On a matt surface the wash flows a lot better obviously, which tends to keep it in the right places and you don't have to clean up as much, which offsets the fact that it's harder to remove, I think. I know this goes against received wisdom (although Michael Rinaldi does it, I believe) and it may well come back and bite me in the bum, but I like how it feels to work with. Cheers, W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I'd be in constant fear of unremovable tide-marks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 FWIW I didn't have any problem removing the tidemarks I spotted today, and that was at least 12 hours later. It is harder to completely remove the wash pigment from a matt surface, but I quite like that as when it's blended in you can get nice controllable tonal variation without having to use oils. W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 Another session of washes, I finished the top and ends, and added some MIG dark wash to the vision slits, pistol ports, around hatches and various other points I wanted to bring out a bit more. I also started placing some rust streaks to see how they looked, and built up a little bit of rust in the chain box, since I think having a big rusty chain sitting in that would probably have some effect. I also think I ought to make a tarp to put in the box, but haven't started that yet. Cheers, Will 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Fantastic work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billydick Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 Excellent Will !!!!! BillyD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thanks chaps, I'm enjoying this rather a lot! I attacked the tracks today since they'd finally more-or-less dried, unfortunately remaining a bit glossy. I sponged on a mixture of dark red and different brown acrylics. Then I applied pigments - a mixture of MIG Dark Mud, Europe Dust and Industrial City Dirt scattered on dry to the faces of the links. I thought that was a bit low-contrast so picked up some Concrete with the brush and scattered it from high up. All very messy. Once I was happy I blended it in lightly with the brush, and applied Pigment Fixer to the track ridges to set it all in place. Thankfully all this gunk doesn't stop the tracks working, and the tank doesn't leave a trail of pigments either I think the tracks need more - metal pigment for the ridges, and some mud, and possibly a bit of matt varnish first since there are some glossy spots still? I also added some more rust streaks and blended rust, brown, grey and dust washes around the flat panels on the top. I suppose it's a bit like last-minute blotchy colour modulation? Or perhaps an enamel paint version of Oil Paint Rendering, which appears to be a fancy way of saying "subtly paint things with oils". I should probably do the exhaust and unditching beam soon, that will let me put off the mud a bit longer! Cheers, Will 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 I decided to have a go at some mud on the bottom to get a feel for it in an area that doesn't matter. I spent a couple of hours doing things with pigments, various thinners, and fixed and I didn't really like any of it. It looks rich and interesting but doesn't really look much like mud to me. It did let me get a feel for the colours and options (and some things not to do!) but I ended up going for a much simpler option for the sides. I airbrushed a thin layer of AK Dust Effects along the bottom of each side and blended this out with mainly vertical strokes. I also splashed a bit extra on by flicking a brush and made more streaks from that. The B&W photographs I'm looking at have quite a bit of what looks like dried mud streaking. What I've done so far is a bit soft, but I can add some hero streaks later on. I also added two thinnish layers of AK Earth along the bottom of the hull and blended them splotchily, with a third layer having some pigments mixed in. This I'm rather happier with. It's more a base or support for mud still to come, so that it doesn't look like I've just gobbed it on! I need to figure out a good solution for mud that's drying off - I think on the CV9040 I used pigments mixed with alcohol to get dense editable marks which didn't bleed in the same way the spirit-based mixes do. Cheers, Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gruffy Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Looks good! I do hope an aftermarket manufactor does an Indiana jones conversion! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 If they do it in 1/48 I can add it to my Indy-esque railway layout Top view Will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gruffy Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Wow! That would be a fun diarama! Oh dear I'm going around the house doing Indiana jones quotes! Hehe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 The tank from "The Last Crusade" doesn't really have all that much in common with a Mk.IV: http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/LastCrusadeTank.jpg It's a bit closer to the Mk.VIII 'Liberty': http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Allied_Mark_VIII_(Liberty)_Tank.jpg A kIt of it is available in 1/72 from Retrokits: http://www.amps-armor.org/ampssite/reviews/showReview.aspx?ID=2013&Type=FB It looks very nice.....But I don't have one (yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Superb finish on this, I have a lot to live up to/aim for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 21, 2014 Author Share Posted September 21, 2014 Thanks, I look forward to seeing your version too. I've nearly done the mud now, I think. There are a few places which need more clean-up, and possibly some washes to re-apply. I added some more layers to the tracks - dry and wet mud, graphite powder, and a rust pinwash on a handful of the rivets. I almost like them, but the wet mud looks too blotchy and I think I need something to tie the blotches into the background a bit more. Other than that I should probably stop messing with it and finish off the details. Cheers, Will 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 That is looking incredible! The weathering on the tracks is very impressive, great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 Thanks! I want to soften the divide between the damp and the dry mud on the tracks though. I attempted to paint the exhaust tonight - not an unqualified success: I started with a coat of Charadon Granite, and sponged on some browns and oranges. This was a bit fiddly what with all the bits around the exhaust. I let it dry and brushed on a layer of white spirit, then added a mixture of pigments with a brush, and finally set them with fixer. This looked pretty good, but I fiddled with it and broke it So I had to redo various things and ended up with something a bit less bright and rusty than I started with. The grey discolouration was added with a sponge. The thing which I'm really annoyed about is that some pigment escaped and I wasn't able to pick it up with the vacuum. So I had to remove it with a brush and a touch of thinner. It ended up blended across the panels OK, but they have rather a pink tint now which I'm not wild about. I also added some loose pigment and fixer to make clumps of soil on the sponsons, between the horns and by the tracks. That's all still drying but seems promising. While I was doing that I blended some white enamel across the sponson tops and the driver's position, and then reinforced the rivet shadows with MIG brown wash. Not quite done in time for club night since the unditching beam and cable are outstanding, but it's getting closer. Cheers, Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I think you could probably layer some pale dust across the pink panels to disguise the tint a little.....It got pretty grubby up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I think it looks awesome, and I'm at a loss trying to understand how such fantastic paint/weathering jobs can be done. Amazing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 It's a good looking model alright, although I'm still having trouble adapting to the almost tan colour from the previous olive greenish shade I did mine in 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Whereas I think it should be a slightly reddish shade of chocolate brown! But I still think it's a beautiful model.....The paint chipping alone makes me green with envy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Vale Posted September 24, 2014 Author Share Posted September 24, 2014 Thanks for the kind comments! I'm at a loss trying to understand how such fantastic paint/weathering jobs can be done. I'm really just following the steps I see other people doing in books and magazines. The secret (if there is one) appears to be using plenty of layers, and getting a mixture of feathered blended edges and hard edges on the different effects - if it's all blended, it looks too soft, and if it's all hard-edged, it doesn't look real. I'm still having trouble adapting to the almost tan colour from the previous olive greenish shade I did mine in Thanks Mike, I think they look best in a grey-green to be honest. The colour on mine is a bit less tan, a bit more brown in real life, but when lit for photos it's paler than I expected. If you've seen the Tamiya demo models it's pretty close to those. It's also surprising how different it looks on my work computer, which I think has a higher bit depth panel. The colours change considerably and the white backgrounds get muddy where there's some slightly off-white stuff I didn't spot on the laptop. Weird. I am currently applying some pigments to the lower edges of the hull. Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Thats a cracking job - really looks like the real deal! Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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