VK 45.02 (P) Vorne

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Know what you mean.....All of a sudden the bloody awful Dragon 1/72 kit seems a bit more plausible as a potential future purchase.

[longshanks]

Watching & learning, magnificent artistry

Kev

[Andy Moore]

Thanks for all the comments everyone

I'll definitely be doing a base. I've been throwing around some ideas and ordering a few bits and pieces.

In the mean time, I've added a bit of enamel rendering to the turret just to build up a general grimy patina. When the whole thing's together, I'll give it all a light overspray with a dusty colour to help blend everything together

Most of this was done with AK's earth effects and dark mud plus some dust effects round the top of the side panels. These were just slapped on, left to dry for a couple of minutes, then blended with a soft brush

Andy

[The_Lancaster]

I like that turret! Every time I look at it, it has just such a sense of realism you could almost touch it and expect to feel the cold touch of metal.

[AndyC]

Great work Andy - I need to try some of these techniques

[PlaStix]

I have only just discovered this and I am totally in awe of your ability to create some of the best material finishes I have ever seen!! Absolutely amazing skills!

[GREG DESTEC]

This is awesome. Really great work. I love the worn battered look of this.

[Andy Moore]

Thanks for the comments guys

Progress has been a little slow this last week due to various family events cutting into my modelling time.

I've got the wheels painted. I had painted these earlier (actually before doing the hull) but I wasn't entirely satisfied with them so they've been redone. Still not that happy with them but they're better than they were.

This is how they started out. The corrosion effects were too strong and too much like fresh, damp rust, whereas I was going for an old steel, rust, dirt tone

And this is now. They had an coat of Vallejo Gunmetal Grey followed by some sponged dark rust tones and a dark brown/black oil wash. I picked out the drive sprocket hubs in red primer to add a bit of contrast. I'll probably give them a rub over with some graphite powder around the edges plus some general dirt/dust pigments once it's all together

I've also added some tarps to the turret and hull. The first couple were made from green stuff but I've never been keen on the results I get using it for thin fabric materials. It's a bit too dense to roll out very thinly and I always seem to get air bubble appearing as it cures.

I was going to get some magic sculpt to do the remaining ones but I saw some Asculp that was described as being softer than magic sculpt so I ordered some to try.

It was certainly softer, but not as elastic as green stuff and has a tendency to tear as it's shaped. It's only meant to have a working time of 45mins but I tried to re-shape some bits after the shots were taken, which was about 2 hours after it was mixed, and it was still workable and responded much better with less tearing so I guess the trick is to leave it to partly set before shaping it. I touched up some of the bigger tears with Mr Surfacer but there's still a few smaller cracks.

They've had a coat of paint now and most of the rough areas are hidden by the weathering. I want to add another tarp around the muzzle but I may do that with PVA soaked tissue

Andy

[The_Lancaster]

Superb modelling skills there!

[HL-10]

Incredible work!
Your painting skills are phenominal, how you can make plastic look like rusted steel!

[harrison90]

Can a rusting, tarnished "unfinished" hulk be beautiful? Well, this build is certainly making a good case that yes one can be. awe inspiring painting, detail and weathering. Would love to see more of your work.

Cheers

[Canuck63]

I generally don't put my two cents worth in, but I am fed up with weathered armour models looking like they have served 100 years in combat.

Not that I was around in WWII, but varying stats show armour life span was from 1 to 9 months before it was either repaired or destroyed. Generally destroyed (Ronson being the nickname for the Sherman). In simplified terms, very little rust, but a fair bit of damage to the paint work, fenders and non armoured fairings and storage systems, given the nature of the terrain traversed.

Having said that, after a few decades in armour and some altercations thrown in for good measure, I have never seen a tank that looks like that. Not true, I recall a few burnt out wrecks. I can't fault your abilities as I think they are A1, I fault your representation. That is not a tank that has sat in a workshop rusting away, given the BHN of armour, that tank would have had to sit in the open in average weather for several decades before that level of rust would occur, even given a rubbish paint job. And for a paper panzer, that is just not going to happen.

I think, you would be better off presenting it in a factory finish as in a "this is how it would have looked had it been made."

+1 here!A certain kind of weathering (this is not the case!) would look OK on a garbage truck or an earthmover but not on AFVs that had the lifespan of a hand granade with the pin pulled!I admire the abilities of the modelers but that's just about it!

Phenomel painting skills on this PP, though!

Cheers

Manu

Edited July 21, 2015 by Canuck63

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Mebbe you could build one to show us all how it should be done?

[HL-10]

Andy is trying to replicate what an unpainted and unfinished vehicle would look like, with weathering effects to simulate an un-painted machine, not a vehicle that is in service, and to this end, he has achieved a very effective and realistic finish.

Great work mate, how's it going?

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Not just that, but a tank that sat pretty much unattended for several years in a factory that was quite regularly bombed.....Personally I think it looks spot on, the artistry displayed in achieving this finish is exceptional.

[JasonC]

Unprotected steel will acquire a patina of rust in days, if not hours. And as far as I can see, Andy's weathering looks exactly like what it's meant to represent, which is surface rust.

One aspect of modelling is careful observation, and frankly it does people no credit when they display ignorance of how different materials behave in their environment, and wrap it up in a preoccupation with supposed 'authenticity'.

J.

[Andy Moore]

Thanks for all the support and kind words guys, it means a lot

It certainly seems to be a build that polarises opinion (for a few, at least). It's not a style I'd routinely apply to a model but this is just a build to experiment with and have a bit of fun.

As to progress, it's been at a snails pace for a few weeks. I've got a couple of build commitments for magazines that I've been putting off and I'm currently trying to make some headway with, so the Vorne's had to take a bit of a back seat.

I have got the track runs done, although only one's been fitted. I've decided to show them incomplete with the ends hanging over the wheels. At the moment they're only in a base coat and will have some more rust tone applied (that should make some people happy ). The bump in the track ahead of the front wheel is to accommodate a wooden chock.

To be honest, there's not that much more to do to it apart from a bit more dust and dirt. I had thought of adding a spilt tin of red primer that had run down the hull sides but I noticed a build in this months Military Modelcraft that featured a similar idea so I'll have to have a think about that (don't want to get accused of plagiarism as well as making rusty models )

I've also got the base to build, along with the general detritus that will be piled on and around the Vorne.

Hopefully it won't be too long before there's a bit more progress to report

Andy

[SleeperService]

Although this is far better than anything I can achieve I would venture to suggest that the driver's visor looks a little bright for a horizontal surface...

I've been around heavy equipment armoured and not for most of my life and I can take you to a tank hull that looks just like this not 30 miles from here. Although when first produced the surface will have a high carbon content slowing surface rust it doesn't stop it and what does form gets washed into pools just like this vehicle.

I likes this a lot. The missing track piled on the deck would make a big contribution to filling the gaps!

[Canuck63]

Mebbe you could build one to show us all how it should be done?

If it's me you're referring to...go ahead first and do show us!I don't have to show anything to anybody...just like Crayon I don't like overdone and unrealistic finishes,even if the modeler shows remarkable skills!I've spoken ny mind and I know what a REAL battered tank looks like....do you?I've got this feeling that you have never seen a real,unrestored military vehicle in your whole life!

Not just that, but a tank that sat pretty much unattended for several years in a factory that was quite regularly bombed.....Personally I think it looks spot on, the artistry displayed in achieving this finish is exceptional.

Yes...of course...food for a manga story!A paper-panzer marooned by his long-haired zombie crew in an Austrian cavern and discovered in 2012!

Bombed factory were cleared of precious metal to be recycled as early as 1945!

Whatever...horses for courses...some like unrealistic finishes even if made by Raffaello and Rembrandt,some don't..as simple as that!You like that?Good for you!The modeler shows remarkable skills but the finish is a clichè...red-oxide parts,various degrees of rust,chipped "schlamm",bright weld lines without having clear where and why the bead should be bright and shiny etc,.....definitely an appealing finish but the reality is another thing altogether!

[ytareh]

It certainly seems to be a build that polarises opinion[

I can't see why , it looks absolutely amazing !!!!( comments about surface rust forming in under 24 hours v relevant here )

[JasonC]

bright weld lines without having clear where and why the bead should be bright and shiny etc

Weld material of that era contained high chromium content. Yet again, some frankly rude assertions are made without knowledge (or even basic research).

Edited July 23, 2015 by JasonC

[HL-10]

Having seen numerous tanks in numerous conditions, I don't see anything "unrealistic" about the finish of this model

[Shar2]

A warning to all. If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.

[foxy]

Great job Andy mate.

Your doing a great job and learning as well from the experience.

Keep it coming mate. .

foxy

[The_Lancaster]

The tank didn't exist, surely artistic licence is a bit more freely allowed? Besides, I love the look of the vehicle! Like the idea with the tracks as well, just adds to the forgotten look!