Questions on Challenger's

[Battersea]

Newbie to modelling in general and tanks in particular needs help please. Have bought two Tamiya kits, a Challenger 1 to be finished in NATO camo and a Challenger 2 desertised.  Would much appreciate advice on details for both models that I can’t find any reference to elsewhere.

I am about to paint the tracks and both have rubber pads which will be left black, I need to now know what colour the metal part of the links are (if different).

TIA.

 

[Dads203]

Here you go, might find that useful 

 

 

 

Dan

[ivan-o]

Steady on Dan he did say he was new to this! 😀

As you are just starting Battersea I would just follow the instructions and get the feel of putting a model together before worrying about the finer details but Dans work will give you plenty of pointers! 

Good luck,

Ivan.

Edited September 7, 2019 by ivan-o

[Dads203]

11 minutes ago, ivan-o said:

Steady on Dan he did say he was new to this! 😀

As you are just starting Battersea I would just follow the instructions and get the feel of putting a model together before worrying about the finer details but Dans work will give you plenty of pointers! 

Good luck,

Ivan.

Bit much then  ..... I should of read the post first, that will teach me.

Like you said there are few things in there that will help him out, don't want to overload him. 

 

 

BR 

 

Dan 

[Bullbasket]

The subject of track colour has come up a few times and it's a pet subject of Das Abteilungs. If he sees this thread, then likely he will chime in and give you the low down, but basically, because they metal parts of the tracks are made from a (bronze??) alloy, they shouldn't be finished in a silver colour, but more of a brownish hue.

 

John. 

[John Tapsell]

This sort of colour - unless you are doing a pristine parade version, the tracks will reflect whatever colour the local terrain is (in this case, Castlemartin Ranges in Wales)

 

John

[demiles]

Tracks on most modern western vehicles when new are black but quickly become a darkish brown.  The best two options for this are Humbrol 173 Track Colour, this is best applied with an air brush as it may go on too thick with a paint brush and if this your only option then the best paint would be Vallejo Model Color 822/150 Black Brown, this may need a couple of applications but in my experience with Vallejo they don’t build up

For the pads Vallejo 826/168 Black grey or their Panzer Acer 306 Dark Rubber.

Tracks on most modern western vehicles when new are black but quickly become a darkish brown.  The best two options for this are Humbrol 173 Track Colour, this is best applied with an air brush as it may go on too thick with a paint brush and if this your only option then the best paint would be Vallejo Model Color 150 Black Brown, this may need a couple of applications but in my experience with Vallejo they don’t build up

For the pads Vallejo 168 Black grey or their Panzer Acer 306 Dark Rubber.

[Kiwidave4]

Tracks will reflect the terrain that the vehicle is operating in. There are heaps of pics of Challies on the Net, just pick a vehicle operating in the theatre you are modelling and copy what you see. 

 

If you are sticking with the rubber band tracks, - and there is no reason not to - then I would offer the following. Give the tracks a really good wash in soapy water before painting. Use light applications of acrylic paint to avoid the paint peeling off when flexing the tracks to fit them, and to also avoid any risk of an enamel paint reacting with the track material. Once you have an acrylic base colour on the tracks you can detail with enamels.

 

My preferred colours are a light application of reddish brown as a primer/base colour. Then brush apply a greyish colour to the pads. Then dry brush silver to the metal parts and the the area where the road wheels run. Then finish with a black wash. Varying the amount of paint/choice of colour will give a multitude of different end results. Like most things you will learn from doing and develop your own technique as you go.

 

A couple of examples for you.

 

 

[Battersea]

Thanks to all for the replies. I am just starting on a very long journey to achieve the kind of results witnessed on this site and appreciate all answers to my questions.

 

The last picture above would pretty much be perfection for me and shows exactly how I would like the tracks to look. The model is finished and I have started painting. The base dark green coat is done in XF-61 (as per the Tamiya instructions). The trackes are done all over in XF-85 Rubber Black, this gives a grey/black finish. The worn metal finish on the links is what I'm after. Would this be acheived with a dry brushed silver application?

 

It has taken a while for me to reply as I was looking for notifications that I thought were set up. Where are the notifications sent? I was assuming my email address.

Edited September 14, 2019 by Battersea

[Kiwidave4]

49 minutes ago, Battersea said:

 

 The trackes are done all over in XF-85 Rubber Black, this gives a grey/black finish. The worn metal finish on the links is what I'm after. Would this be acheived with a dry brushed silver application?

 

Dry brushing is the way to go. I prefer to use a smallish flat brush, use very little paint, and then repeat if necessary to get the look you want. I prefer to use enamel paint (Humbrol) for the dry brushing. 

[Battersea]

On 15/09/2019 at 00:20, Kiwidave4 said:

Dry brushing is the way to go. I prefer to use a smallish flat brush, use very little paint, and then repeat if necessary to get the look you want. I prefer to use enamel paint (Humbrol) for the dry brushing. 

Thanks for the confirmation, will give it a go.👍