AMMO Encyclopaedia of Armour Volumes 3, 4 & 5

[Mike]

Encyclopaedia of Armour Volumes 3, 4 & 5

AMMO of Mig Jiménez

 

 

We reviewed the opening Volume of this series here, and followed it with Volume 2 here back in 2016, after which we somewhat lost track of the release schedule.  We are now playing catch-up with the remaining three Volumes thanks to the good folks at AMMO, and bring you the final three in one easy-access review, plus the links above to go back and see the early parts.

 

In case you haven't yet seen the earlier reviews or played catch-up by following those links, this is the AFV version of AMMO's popular series of books on Aircraft Modelling Techniques from 2015 that we reviewed here, and is a complete reference guide for modellers of all levels to improve their techniques, learn new ones, or like myself remind themselves of how to do things if it's been a while and you can't remember.  What was I saying?  Oh yes – The books are split between the stages of building, painting and completing an AFV model, with all the sub-steps and variations on techniques in between that the author feels may suit some of us better than others.  They are laid out in a common-sense manner, with a heavy visual content that is captioned to clarify where necessary, and as these are books to teach the use of the techniques, they often use the extreme level that they can be taken to, in order to demonstrate the look at its most exaggerated, so that you can see it easily and then choose for yourself how far you want to go toward that extreme.  They aren't telling you that THIS is the only way to build a model as some people think, simply demonstrating the ultimate end of said technique to give you the tools to go forward and interpret it yourself in the striving for realism or artistic expression.  It's absolutely your choice, as it's your hobby.

 

 

All books are printed in the same style both physically and in terms of layout, print style and format, with a stiff softback cover that has half-width fold-out sections on the inside. After a chapter listing it's straight on with the task at hand, which is education and entertainment. The tutorials are pictorially rich as mentioned above, with step numbers and captions on just about every page, going into extraordinary detail on how the techniques are achieved, even down to the best masking techniques and tools used.

 

Volume 1 - Construction

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235000159-encyclopaedia-of-armour

 

Volume 2 – Interiors & Base Colour

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235010718-encyclopaedia-of-armour-volume-2

 

Volume 3 - Camouflages

 

7.0 Camouflage Painting

7.1 Materials and References for Camouflage Painting

7.1.1 Tools and Materials

7.1.2 Camouflage Painting References

7.2 Multicolour Camouflage Schemes

7.2.1 Hard-Edge Camouflages

7.2.2 Semi Hard-Edged Camouflages

7.2.3 Soft-Edged Camouflages

7.2.4 Stripes and Mottling

7.3 Chipped Paint

7.3.1 Chipping Fluids: Features

7.3.2 Chipping Effects with Chipping Products

7.3.3 Other Chipping Techniques

7.3.4 Scratches and Pitting

7.4 Filters, Washes and Oils

7.4.1 Filters

7.4.2 Washes

7.4.3 Oils

7.5 Winter Camouflages

7.5.1 Chipped Whitewash

7.5.2 Washed-Out Whitewash

7.6 Desert Camouflages

7.6.1 Lightly Weathered Desert Camouflages

7.6.2 Chipped Desert Camouflages

7.6.3 Makeshift Desert Camouflages

7.7. Primer Colour and Bare Metal Finishes

7.7.1 Primer Colour

7.7.2 Bare Metal Surfaces

8.0 Advanced Painting Techniques

8.1 Light Techniques

8.1.1 Zenithal Light

8.1.2 Colour Modulation

8.1.3 Illumination by Panels

8.1.4 Spotlight Technique

8.2 Black and White Technique

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume 4 – Weathering

 

9.0 Weathering Effects

9.1 Weathering Materials and References

9.1.1 Tools and Materials

9.1.2 References for the Weathering Effects

9.1.3 Preparation Work for the Weathering Stage

9.2 Dirt Accumulations

9.2.1 Accumulated Dirt Stains

9.2.2 Rust Stains Accumulations

9.3 Streaking Grime

9.3.1 Streaking Grime Marks

9.3.2 Rain Marks

9.4 Streaking

9.4.1 Dirt Streaks

9.4.2 Rust Streaks

9.5 Dust and Earth

9.5.1 Scuffed Dust

9.5.2 Dust and Earth Stains

9.5.3 Dusting with Pigment

9.6 Mud Effects and Splashes

9.6.1 Dry Mud

9.6.2 Medium Mud

9.6.3 Fresh Mud

9.6.4 Mud Splashes

9.7 Oil, Fuel and Wet Stains

9.7.1 Oil and Grease Stains

9.7.2 Fuel Stains

9.7.3 Water and Wet Stains

9.8 Rust Effects

9.9 Winter Weathering

9.10 Desert Weathering

 

 

 

 

 

 

Volume 5 – Final Touches

 

10.0 Final Steps

10.1 Materials and Graphic References

10.1.1 Materials and Tools

10.1.2 Graphic References

10.2 Tracks Assembly

10.2.1 Flexible Rubber Bands

10.2.2 Non-Workable Styrene Tracks

10.2.3 Workable Tracks

10.3 Painting and Weathering Tracks

10.3.1 Fairly Clean Tracks

10.3.2 Rusty Tracks

10.3.3 Tracks on Dry Soil

10.3.4 Tracks on Wet Soil

10.4 Painting Wheels

10.5 Exhaust Pipes

10.5.1 Painting Exhausts

10.5.2 Exhaust Soot Stains

10.6 Tools

10.7 Tow Cables

10.7.1 Replacing Tow Cables

10.7.2 Painting Tow Cables

10.8 Clear Parts

10.8.1 Periscopes

10.8.2 Headlights and Tail Lights

10.9 Armament

10.9.1 Machine Guns

10.9.2 Rifles and Other Guns

10.10 Antennas

10.11 Wood Parts

10.12 Metal Items

10.12.1 Bare Metal Items

10.12.2 Painted Metal Items

10.13 Fabric and Canvas Items

10.14 Natural Elements

 

Gallery - 27 pages of photos of the models built for this book

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

This is a must-have collection of modelling assistance that will appeal to pretty much all AFV modellers, as a dip-in refresher, a good read or to glean some new techniques to try on your next model.  There's a little repetition if you look at the series as a whole, but as a ready reference, these sections come into their own, not assuming you have any of the other Volumes to detail things such as your toolkit.

 

Apply the techniques as restrained or as flamboyantly as you see fit, and as long as you're enjoying it, you're doing it right.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

Review sample courtesy of