Hobbyboss T-18 Light Tank

[Andy Moore]

Thanks all

Some more progress on the little T-18. I've been adding some highlighting to the smaller details on the hull and turret, mainly the rivets and other fittings. Before the highlighting, the lower hull had an over-spray of the Vallejo parched grass primer to lighten the finish a bit more and fade some of the sponged chipping I'd done before. The over-spray was a bit too heavy and obscured more of the chipping than I'd intended, so I'll probably add some more before moving on to the washes and oil rendering

The highlighting was done with AMMO 058 light green khaki and 934 russian highlight. There's not that much difference between the two, but they add a bit of subtle variation. I've also painted some darker greens, mainly Vallejo russian green and grey green, around the suspension and in corners to add some shading. That was painted on then blended with a wet brush before it dried

The same kind of thing was done with the turret. Some smaller areas like the pistol port were picked out in a different green, using Vallejo MA camo light green, which is a great colour for doing work like this as it's very slightly transparent and can be used like a filter

You can see the darker green shading better on the drivers hatch. It all looks quite strong and exaggerated, especially when you see the hatches against the forward hull which hasn't had as much shading yet, but this is just an initial step, and is intentionally over done as the rest of the weathering will tone it down

I like to use acrylics for shading like this as they dry faster than using enamels or oils, but here there's so much stuff in the way on the lower hull hampering access, that the paint is drying before I can blend it, so I'll do most of the rest with enamels.

Andy

[Carius]

Excellent weathering effects.

Cheers

[FrancisGL]

A complete weathering effects!, nice job... , cheers Andy

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Outstanding.....I suspect the strong contrast on the lower hull will pay dividends once the running gear is in place.

PS - Highlighting all those rivets must have been pretty hard on the eyeballs!

[Andy Moore]

PS - Highlighting all those rivets must have been pretty hard on the eyeballs!

Yeah, just a bit. Definitely an optivisor job.

Pretty slow progress on the T-18 at the moment. I've now decided to put it on a small base, and I've ordered one of the Miniart vacform ones that should be suitable. Still waiting for that to arrive but in the mean time I've picked up a figure to add to the base

Technically the wrong era, as the tank is 1930's vintage, but there isn't really much interwar stuff out there, at least as far as figures go. I'll just say the tank's been pulled from storage at the start of the war.

I've added a bit more paint chipping to the upper hull using Vallejo MA Russian Green. This will get toned down with the washes and filters

The turret's been chipped too and has had a sap green oil filter around some of the details and the lower edge of the turret, which helps emphasise the faded look to the rest of the paint

I've also started on the washes and filters on the lower hull. Some of this is done with oils and some with AK and AMMO pre-mixed stuff. Most of the weathering will be done on the lower hull before the tracks are added and the upper hull attached, as the area will be hard to access after. I won't be adding much in the way of heavy mud, as I want it to look mainly faded and dusty, like something that's been left standing for a few years

Andy

[Sgt.Squarehead]

The Sap Green filter is a very clever idea, the contrasting 'freshness' works brilliantly.

I'm guessing you are applying your chipping with torn sponge and a fine brush?

[Andy Moore]

I'm guessing you are applying your chipping with torn sponge and a fine brush?

Exactly so. A sponge for the finer chips, then blocking in with a brush for the larger areas. I've had to do some areas entirely with a brush as it was hard to get in with the sponge without smearing paint on parts where I didn't want any.

Andy

[FrancisGL]

Great attention to detail in painting, a really professional job. , cheers Andy

[JMMendes]

Beautiful painting...as always !

[foxy]

I see your weathering is top notch as usual Andy.

Cracking work matey.

foxy

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys

Still quite slow going on this at the moment due to too many long work days. Some progress has been made though. I picked up a Miniart base for it to sit on. This is a vacform piece, so a little trimming is required, but the detail is very nice. It's quite flimsy though, so it'll need some ribbing on the underside to give it more rigidity, and I'll probably set it in a frame to finish it off

Front and back halves of the rear wall section. The top one is yet to be trimmed. These will need strengthening to, especially on the joint between the two halves as there will be a bit of filling and sanding required. There's a nice textured finish to the rendered sections of the wall, but I will probably enhance that a little with a round burr in a dremel

You get a nice ledged and braced gate with the base, but it lacks any grain texture. I was going to add some, but then I decided it would be easier to just make a new one from balsa. That way I can add some wear to it where the wood has started to rot away

The tracks have been base coated in a dark rust tone (Tamiya Rubber Black and Hull Red), followed by a wash of thinned Lifecolor dark rust. The one on the right has then had a wash of AK earth and track wash. I didn't mix these two together, I just wetted the tracks with white spirit then randomly applied the two washes and let them mix on the surface. The tracks will get some further washes and a rub over with graphite powder

The lower hull of the tank has also had a few more washes. Some of the sap green oil paint I used on the upper hull and turret has been applied here and there to give a bit of tonal contrast to the finish, and I added a dusty wash around the lower edges. The wheel rims have been painted in Vallejo Metal Color Steel, which is a bit shiny at the moment. I'll add a rust wash to tone down the shine, then give them a rub with more graphite powder

Andy

[sinhow]

Cute little tank, very clear and nice in progress photos too, superb skill!

I think it looks a lot like FT17.

[Andy Moore]

Cute little tank, very clear and nice in progress photos too, superb skill!

I think it looks a lot like FT17.

Thanks sinhow. The Russians developed the T-18 from the FT, so the similarity isn't a coincidence.

Andy

[beefy66]

Great work as usual Andy looking forward to see what you do with the Mini art base looks interesting for a small back drop

Beefy

[FrancisGL]

Nice complement the base.... , cheers Andy

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Om, nom nom!

[sinhow]

Thanks sinhow. The Russians developed the T-18 from the FT, so the similarity isn't a coincidence.

Andy

Thanks for the info, I wouldn't know this if you didn't tell me.

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys,

Sorry for the lack of updates for the last few days. Work has been progressing, albeit quite slowly.

I've acquired a pack of the new Abt. 502 oils. These are pretty much identical to how they were before, but now distributed by AK rather than being part of Mig, and also available in these box sets. I've used these around the base of the lower hull and running gear for some dust and dirt effects

I usually use a piece of cardboard as a palette for oils as it soaks up some of the linseed oil in the paint, and helps the paint dry a bit quicker and with a more matt finish. These seem to have quite a bit of drying agent in them though, and they were drying a little too quickly on the model making them harder to blend, so a regular palette would probably be better. They do have a really nice buttery consistency though, and are really nice to work with

I left the oils a couple of days to dry, then built up more dust effects with AK dust and dirt deposits. This is essentially a wash with some pigment like particles in it. It works well enough, but you need to blend it out as it dries, otherwise the pigment in it tends to settle randomly and leave a patchy finish. If you use it as a pin wash around details though, it works very well.

I added some regular pigment washes over the top to help blend in the AK stuff, and give a bit of variety to the finish

And all that's meant that I've finally got to a point where I can fit the tracks and upper hull. There'll be a bit more weathering on the lower hull but I should be able to get at everything with the tracks on, and I'll be adding more weathering to the tracks at the same time. The upper hull is looking distinctly under-weathered next to the lower hull, but I'll soon change that

Andy

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Beautifully done as always and the step by step and product guide are very much appreciated.....Those guys should put you on commission!

[FrancisGL]

Very good explanations give us, and the result as always, superb so far, cheers Andy

[Will Vale]

Still keep being surprised at how small this is. Your pictures very much reward zooming in, lots of layers and details to enjoy.

With the oils, do you just apply them neat and blend?

Thanks,

Will

[AgentG]

This is looking superb sir.

G

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys

Still keep being surprised at how small this is. Your pictures very much reward zooming in, lots of layers and details to enjoy.

With the oils, do you just apply them neat and blend?

Thanks,

Will

The small size still surprises me too Will. Since it was developed from the FT-17 I'd expected it to be slightly larger than that one, but it's actually a bit smaller all round than the FT.

In some areas I was applying the oils neat (from the cardboard palette), although I was using a thinner dampened brush to do it, but for most of the dust washes I was thinning them to a creamy consistency then blending them with a clean damp brush.

Andy

[Andy Moore]

Not an update as such, but all the bits are attached now, and I've started adding the first pin washes and filters to the upper hull and turret, so I thought I may as well post some shots as it's the first time it's all been together

And a few shots to show that it is indeed smaller than the FT that it was based on. How the hell did two people fit inside it?

Andy

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Nice comparison.....Dainty little thing innit?

It's probably smaller than my 1/72 T-35.