Buffalos on the Rhine

[Ratch]

Here's today's update.

Sandy paints washed on quite thinly. I would normally airbrush, but now the tracks are on I don't want to remove them.
Once dry a sepia wash followed.


Pigments and more washes to go on.

[Ratch]

The next step involved Humbrol Powders AV0007 Dark Earth with Mig Pigments P028 Europe Dust, P033 Dark Mud, P232 Dry Mud, P234 Rubbed Dust, P249 Fixer and Vallejo 26518 Matt Acrylic Varnish to make them permanent. 

 

I couldn't resist staging a dummy run.

 

The powders have dried.

 

This was followed by another wash, consisting of Vallejo Game Color 73202 Pale Grey Wash + Vallejo Game Color 73203 Umber Wash + Vallejo 27651 Polyurethane Matt Varnish. 

 

The final touches to the tracks was to add Vallejo Panzer Aces 302 Dark Rust + Vallejo Model Color 70822 150 German Camouflage Black Brown RAL8019 FS37056 dry brushed over the cleats.

 

I added static grass, dried tealeaves, mixed herbs as foliage and natural detritus around the tracks and on any bare patches on the base.

It's getting very near the end.

[Ozzy]

Looks good Ratch, those tracks didn’t look the easiest.

[Ratch]

They were very difficult to start with, but I got quicker at assembly with practice. The big problem was that no spares are provided (or not enough). They're quite expensive and easily broken. A spare runner of cleats would ensure there being enough for two full runs.

I put the finishing touches to the diorama today.
 

[sanfrandragon]

Looks good and nice weathering!

 

[Ratch]

Thanks, more in Diorama RFIs

 

Edited April 10, 2021 by Ratch
Link added

[Badder]

Hi Ratch,

Great work.  I do love a dio with lots of figures and Buffaloes just look great anyway.

 

I do NOT envy you having to construct those tracks, but they were worth the effort. A couple of suggestions, if I may, for anyone reading this thread who might not have used anything other than 'rubber bands'.

 

I read that you didn't want to remove the tracks now that they are in place, which is fair enough. However, when I use Friuls I now leave one pin 'extra long', so that it can be easily removed and that the tracks can be taken off for further weathering, or adding mud/snow/ or whatever, at a later date. I have 2 AFVs wearing Friuls, but didn't muddy or snow them up because I would rather wait until I'm making the mud and snow for the diorama, then I can add that to the tracks and get a perfect colour and texture match.

 

And, on a seemingly separate note, but actually connected, I NEVER glue my AFVs to the diorama base. For a tank for example, I'll take off the turret drill a few pairs of holes down through the hull and loop wire through them, then fix those wires into the ground. If at a future date I decide to rework the tank, and or build a better dio for it, I can just take the turret off and snip the wires.  And, again, back to the tracks, by not gluing the vehicle to the dio, and by leaving a long pin, I can remove the tracks and rework those as well. I always place the long pin in the bottom run of tracks, with the pin on the inside edge, hidden from view behind the wheels. This also means that the tracks around the sprocket wheels are always perfect, with no obvious 'forced' join when the track length wasn't quite right. Besides, it's much easier to put a pin through a straight run of tracks than it is to put it through links being held in place around a sprocket.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

[Ratch]

The problem was that I ran out of workable tracks and had to glue them in place and use a section of rubber band, plus every time they were handled bits fell off and needed re-fixing., They nearly drove me mad as is was.

[Ozzy]

Fantastic build Ratch, 

[Ratch]

Cheers @Ozzy