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Academy M163 Vulcan


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Hello all you Tank heads, l'm giving Armour modeling another outing and enjoying the ride this time with something a bit more up to date.

It was a fun build, no major problems in construction although there was so many alternative parts in the box you have to be carefull to identify the correct parts.

Main paints were Mr Hobby with Humbrol and Tamiya details, and l attempted very basic wethering using Flory washes and sponge chipping.

Lots of room for improvement, although l should not be silvering the decals at my age, so any advice would be greatfully recieved.

M163

 

M163

 

M163

 

M163

 

M163

 

Edited by Farmerboy
new pictures added
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Looks good from here.

The key to decals is a good, clean high gloss surface.

put the decal down - whenever possible I avoid panel lines, rivets etc and get all the water from underneath it and then a small amount of setting solution to get it to settle down.

When it’s good and dry - 24 hours later get another coat of gloss varnish on.

If you’ve got slivering then a steady hand, a fine brush & some of the base colour to cover it.

If you can still see it then on armour you can always hang some kit on it.

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13 hours ago, phildagreek said:

If you can still see it then on armour you can always...

 

Chip it!

 

I think this looks great. That gun is awesome! 

 

There are a lot of big flat areas on this APC. Maybe the next thing for you to explore is modulating the paint tones with post or pre shading, washes or oils, or any of the other ways...

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On 1/28/2022 at 10:45 PM, phildagreek said:

The key to decals is a good, clean high gloss surface.

 

On 1/29/2022 at 12:10 PM, Bertie Psmith said:

There are a lot of big flat areas on this APC. Maybe the next thing for you to explore is modulating the paint tones with post or pre shading, washes or oils, or any of the other ways...

Thanks for the comments and positive input, l did gloss the surface prior to decaling but l found that the decals were very thick and took ages to release from the backing paper and despite using Micro Sol & Setthey still silvered, l have now painted over the offending areas and it looks a lot better.

 

I didn't really know how to tackle weathering a desert vehicle, l lightened the base colour as l imagined it would fade quickley in the desert and used Flory's grime wash around grills, bolts and running gear. l then used  a sand wash scrubed around the lower parts or the model but they don't really show up well in the photos. Would a tank in the desert rust? should there be streaking down those big flat areas? the photo's l found were very poor so didn't help much.

 

Next AFV will be more "Green" so l look forward to giving it another go!

 

thanks again for your comments

 

cheers

Peter

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7 minutes ago, Farmerboy said:

Would a tank in the desert rust? should there be streaking down those big flat areas?

 

I guess desert photos tend to be over exposed and lose the weathering. It's hard to photograph the weathering we do too for the same reason I think.

 

I think there would be a lot of condensation on the metal of the tank during the night and this makes me guess that there would be some slight rust, they were up and down the coast road a lot too with the sea air?

 

I think the condensation would move the dust into streaks as it ran down those big flat areas.

 

There was a lot of oil used in the desert too. Grease was no good for most applications as it mixed with sand to make grinding paste! Lighter oil would run and puddle in the high temperatures, causing more streaks and mess.

 

Soldiers in hobnailed boots walking all over the things soon chipped off a lot of paint down to grey steel as well as scratching the paint back to unbleached desert yellow. I'd use sponge chipping with a more yellow yellow and then fill in some of the marks with steel grey. If you chip a weld line you can use a bright steel as weld stays shiny. 

 

Fuel leaks, oil leaks, exhaust stains. The black stains left by filthy soldiers hands and bums when they sat in the hatches... All these things make the model interesting (if perhaps not absolutely accurate)

 

You can even highlight the edges of the vehicle with paint to suggest bright sunshine, or run a soft lead pencil along them and polish it to give the same effect.

 

This is all my humble opinion and conjecture, by the way. I wasn't there. Nor were the people who look at your tank so do whatever pleases you! 😄

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That's really nice, I love the turret, cannon and ammo detailing, although the whole thing looks good. A nice "clean" look, without it looking unbelievably clean.

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Thanks Bertie for your reply, everything you say makes perfect sense, l think l need to use a little more creative thinking in my painting and finishing!

1 hour ago, Bertie Psmith said:

 

This is all my humble opinion and conjecture, by the way. I wasn't there. Nor were the people who look at your tank so do whatever pleases you! 😄

 

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39 minutes ago, Farmerboy said:

Thanks Bertie for your reply, everything you say makes perfect sense, l think l need to use a little more creative thinking in my painting and finishing!

 

 

I have to admit that while writing I was thinking of the desert theatre of WWII but it's all the same place...

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3 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

 

I have to admit that while writing I was thinking of the desert theatre of WWII but it's all the same place...

I was wondering where you got those hob nailed boots from that you mentioned above? ;) :D 

@Farmerboy, this might be useful as an alternative in decal placement, very effective against silvering. I do like this beasty, a really deadly looking combo. I wonder how long it takes to fire off its whole belly full of ammo? :) 

Steve.

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I am a big fan of the M113 and not seen one of these built before. After seeing yours, I will be looking out for one. It is a nice finish, shame about the decals, but not that noticeable. The detail painting of the turret is impressive, very well defined. Cheers Neil

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Cracking build FB,now the suject of weathering to me is the same with AFV'a as aircraft it's a matter of taste now personally I like

modern stuff especially Gulf war era clean,most of the kit was freshly painted for that conflict so would have rolled out the shed

in a similar condition,no snow,rain or mud to play with but dust yes.Anyway cracking job as I've said!And agree with Phil

gloss for decals.

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