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M31 Recovery Vehicle


Andy Moore

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I'm sorry I missed it, but I have not gone through the GBST thread until yesterday, that I'm going to start with my kit, and I see that there are already great progresses everywhere ...

As usual, fantastic job, I like a lot of paint and weathering...:popcorn:

Cheers Andy :goodjob:


 

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I've been busy on some other projects for most of the last week, but some progress has been made on the M31. There were a couple of things I needed to sort out before the lower track run can be added. The idlers were painted with AK true metal (their version of rub and buff) then polished up. The return rollers also needed their rims painting, but it was too tight to get in with the true metal (which can be a little messy to use in confined spots), so they were painted with a regular dark steel acrylic. The cable roller on the rear tow hook attachment was buffed up with graphite powder. The upper track run has also been painted in dark rust for the connectors and rubber for the pads

 

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The three spare wheels have been added to the front hull, and I've started to add some grimy weathering here and there. Apart from the initial pin washes, most of the weathering so far has been done with acrylics

 

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I've added some initial streaking on the sides, again with acrylics. The paints were mixed with a glaze medium to slow the drying time and make them more blendable

 

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I've added a tarp to the back, made from tissue soaked in watered-down PVA and paint. I'll be adding some more of these later to help bed in the stowage

 

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Now I've finished painting the running gear, I can add the lower track runs and start weathering the lower hull

 

Andy:cat:

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Hi,

 

I just read this thread this morning and as always, your work is a true lesson of modelling, Andy !!

 

Gave me some idea for my on-going Sherman project ...

 

Cheers, E

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On 24/02/2018 at 9:40 AM, AndyRM101 said:

Apart from the initial pin washes, most of the weathering so far has been done with acrylics

How on earth do you get acrylics to cooperate like that.....I'd be up to my eyeballs in tide-marks!  :o

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On 02/03/2018 at 01:00, Sgt.Squarehead said:

How on earth do you get acrylics to cooperate like that.....I'd be up to my eyeballs in tide-marks!  :o

 

Depends on the paint. I've got a few Lifecolor paints that I use for weathering, and they're pretty blendable. I just paint them where I want them, then use a clean damp brush to feather and blend the edge. If I'm using Vallejo I'll normally add some drying retarder, then I can use them almost like oil paints.

In general I try to keep them as neat (undiluted) as possible. I tend to find the more you water the paint down, the more likely you are to get tide marks.

 

Not a lot done this week, mainly down to my workroom being the wrong side of 10 degrees thanks to a dicky radiator. Sorted now, but it put me a little behind where I'd hoped to be at by now.

The tracks are in place and I've started weathering the lower hull. Just pigments scrubbed on and fixed with enamel thinner for now. The suspension units and wheels have had some preliminary dust washes. Both the suspension and the hull will get further work later on

 

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There's a bit more weathering on the back, and the tarp I draped over the rear crane support has been dirtied up with some oily washes

 

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So, this is how it's looking right now. Still quite a bit to do. More dirt and dust on the upper hull, then the ladder and bucket, and all the rest of the stowage needs painting up and attaching

 

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Andy:cat:

 

 

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Hopefully getting a little closer to the end now. The upper hull's had some dust weathering. The base for that was a hairspray chipped mist coat of acrylic, but a lot of that's been subsequently covered with pigments and more mist coats. There've been dust washes around the rivets on the hull and around the edges of the cupola, and a lot more oil grime and fuel stains around the engine deck and rear end.

 

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The fake gun/entry door is on now. It's only open a little, but you can just about see the fire extinguisher on the inside

 

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The front mounted stowage box has had some general tools added together with some oily rags to fill out the space a little. Point of note; it turns out, from looking at an operating manual page, that this box, and the one above it on the hull roof, were actually meant to specifically hold the track grousers. Had I known this beforehand I'd probably have left them closed and used the kit parts rather than scratch build new ones. As it is, I'm just using them as general stowage bins. Not entirely accurate, but hopefully not that big a deal in the general scheme of things

 

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I'm also playing around with the general positioning of the stowage on the rear. I've got some jerry cans to add, and maybe some chain to hang somewhere (and the bucket of course)

 

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Andy:cat:

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2 minutes ago, AndyRM101 said:

The front mounted stowage box has had some general tools added together with some oily rags to fill out the space a little. Point of note; it turns out, from looking at an operating manual page, that this box, and the one above it on the hull roof, were actually meant to specifically hold the track grousers. Had I known this beforehand I'd probably have left them closed and used the kit parts rather than scratch build new ones. As it is, I'm just using them as general stowage bins. Not entirely accurate, but hopefully not that big a deal in the general scheme of things

No doubt as soon as they were operating in the field the crew would use a convenient storage box to keep all sort is useful equipment in, regardless of what the designers had actually intended it to be used for.

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That is looking great Andy.

 

32 minutes ago, AndyRM101 said:

(and the bucket of course)

I too am relieved that is still going to be there :)

 

 

OT, how are you balancing the model for the photos?  It looks as if you are using a camera tripod, but if I did that, I'd worry about dropping the kit.

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8 hours ago, Richard E said:

No doubt as soon as they were operating in the field the crew would use a convenient storage box to keep all sort is useful equipment in, regardless of what the designers had actually intended it to be used for.

Good point. I think it works with the war-weary look of the vehicle

 

8 hours ago, Robert Stuart said:

OT, how are you balancing the model for the photos?  It looks as if you are using a camera tripod, but if I did that, I'd worry about dropping the kit.

 

Yes, it is a tripod Robert. Just a cheap mini one from ebay. I often use them as painting supports. When the legs are closed together they make a convenient handle while doing detail painting and weathering, and when they're opened up they make a stand while the paint dries, or like here, for taking photos. I just drill a 5mm hole in the base of the hull to mount the tripod to.

 

Andy:cat:

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