PlaStix Posted June 5 Author Share Posted June 5 Only a minor update from me. I knew I wasn't going to get a lot of time at the bench over the weekend, so I opted not to start doing any painting. Instead, I started building up the turret and carried on making more tracks! The turret as of yesterday: Over a few evenings last week I made up a couple of sprue's worth per night. With the assembling of some more I did over the weekend, I now only have 8 links per side to add until they are, hopefully, finished: I will have to wait and see if I manage to get any painting started next weekend. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diases Posted June 5 Share Posted June 5 Glad your getting there with the tracks. Major milestone, with any tank. And really looking forward to another of your amazing paint Jobs. Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 Well done for getting that far with the tracks mate, excellent work and they look good too. The turret is taking shape very nicely.👍 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted June 6 Share Posted June 6 That turret alone is larger than some WWII era tanks in my collection 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 cracking start Stix, good work on those tracks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted June 14 Author Share Posted June 14 On 05/06/2023 at 10:20, diases said: Glad your getting there with the tracks. Major milestone, with any tank. And really looking forward to another of your amazing paint Jobs. Paul On 06/06/2023 at 16:22, modelling minion said: Well done for getting that far with the tracks mate, excellent work and they look good too. The turret is taking shape very nicely.👍 🇺🇦 On 06/06/2023 at 17:27, SoftScience said: That turret alone is larger than some WWII era tanks in my collection On 11/06/2023 at 13:56, Ozzy said: cracking start Stix, good work on those tracks. Thank you all for your comments and yes, I'm pleased I have almost finished both sets now. Just 8 links to add to one side and then they will both be complete. I got 8 done yesterday evening. I spent a fair chunk of last Saturday's modelling time cleaning off the seam around the front edge of each of the wheels. It wasn't a large seam just very present on each, all the way round. I'm fairly sure it wouldn't have been all that noticeable in real terms if I'd left it on, but it would have annoyed me in the long run!....especially when the painting went over them and my weathing probably would have highlighted them nicely! No photos as it doesn't really look like anything has been done to them.....but it took a while!! I've spent a bit of time trying to decide what I need to add to various parts before painting - hence putting off the painting again!! Anyway - I have added the side blocks and skirts to the sides of the upper hull: And I did similar work on the turret - but these were really annoying to fit successfully in place. It may have just been my lack of ability, but the attachment areas seemed very vague. Anyway, they are on: Finally a bit of a test fit of the turret to the upper hull: I still have a few more bits & bobs to add before I start painting.....but........maybe next weekend....... Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Looking really good mate, really starting to take shape now. I am finding the instructions a bit vague on my build too, not impossible to follow but it takes time and few dry fits to figure a lot of it out. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted June 21 Author Share Posted June 21 Thanks for your comments Craig. Over the weekend I managed to get a bit more done on this. I have finished the tracks!! No photos because they don't really look any different to the last photos except each side's set of tracks are now both 80 links long! I got the two PE turret baskets made and attached. These were not fun to do because the instructions do not explain anything about making them.........just bend them to shape! They are not perfect at all but will be partially hidden by the slat armour: You can probably see the nice, fine holes in the turret baskets' sides.......in the photo above. These have now been mostly lost because the PE supplied in this set does not like being painted. Admittedly I use acrylic paints but usually, with a little care, I usually manage to get a nice coat on photoetch. This stuff took lots of coats and of course, filled up pretty much all the holes. Anyway - this is what it all looked like with the paint on: The paint, despite being Humbrol Matt Acrylic (117 US Light Green) - recommended in the instructions - does look a bit shiny. I think it's because I was brushing it on when it was quite hot in the house - and I tend to overbrush a lot if paint dries quickly. I'm not too worried as I have a lot of other weathering to add. I did paint the wheels, etc. too but this was late on Sunday and I didn't get time to take photos. Weathering next. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 Your usual very high standard of brush painting mate, very smooth. A bit of a pain that it didn't want to stick to the PE, I've had that before myself when no matter what you do it just doesn't want to stick. As you say any shininess will be taken care of by weathering and perhaps a matt coat to seal everything in. 🇺🇦 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mippie Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 2 hours ago, PlaStix said: Thanks for your comments Craig. Over the weekend I managed to get a bit more done on this. I have finished the tracks!! No photos because they don't really look any different to the last photos except each side's set of tracks are now both 80 links long! I got the two PE turret baskets made and attached. These were not fun to do because the instructions do not explain anything about making them.........just bend them to shape! They are not perfect at all but will be partially hidden by the slat armour: You can probably see the nice, fine holes in the turret baskets' sides.......in the photo above. These have now been mostly lost because the PE supplied in this set does not like being painted. Admittedly I use acrylic paints but usually, with a little care, I usually manage to get a nice coat on photoetch. This stuff took lots of coats and of course, filled up pretty much all the holes. Anyway - this is what it all looked like with the paint on: The paint, despite being Humbrol Matt Acrylic (117 US Light Green) - recommended in the instructions - does look a bit shiny. I think it's because I was brushing it on when it was quite hot in the house - and I tend to overbrush a lot if paint dries quickly. I'm not too worried as I have a lot of other weathering to add. I did paint the wheels, etc. too but this was late on Sunday and I didn't get time to take photos. Weathering next. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Great work on the build, and the CAN is a really cool looking tank! I am going to be a bit of heathen here, but I couldn't really tell the difference between the base green and the plastic colour 🤣 Impressive finish for brush only painting though!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenoz Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Brushpainted????? Wow. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted June 29 Share Posted June 29 On 6/21/2023 at 10:33 AM, PlaStix said: Weathering next. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Not much advice I can offer, as you have a very well developed and beautiful weathering style all you own. One thing I'll say is don't sweat the shine in the paint. The semigloss contrasted under dead flat earth effects will probably look realistic. I looked at photos of Canadian leopards and they're not entirely non-specular. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 On 6/2/2023 at 12:25 PM, PlaStix said: Thank you very much for your comments Silenoz and Craig. Much appreciated. First off I used a paint bottle, of a smaller diameter than the circular vents, to wrap the PE mesh strips around - to form them into a circular shape. I wanted the formed PE strips to grip on to the plastic vents and that is why i used the bottle which was smaller in diameter. Next I applied a small amount of thin SuperGlue, which I put on with the aid of a cocktail stick, to the front, forward facing surface edge of the vents. Next I put the PE mesh strip into place, so that the centre of the the strip was over the glue I had applied. I wanted the join to be at the rear, facing backwards. (I have no idea if this was correct but my instructions didn't indicate where the join should be.) Then, when I thought the SuperGlue would have had enough chance to set, I carefully lifted one of the ends and applied a tiny amount of SuperGlue, again using the end of a cocktail stick, behind the mesh, on the vent edge, before using the end of a micro screwdriver to push the that end of the strip back into place again. Once that had set in place I lifted the other end, applied glue again before pushing that end back into place. Seemed to work okay. It did take a lot of patience though!! PE is not my favourite thing in modelling although I like the finished look of it. Hope that is of some use. Please fell free to ask if something needs clarification. Kind regards, Stix That's a useful tip, Stix - thanks for sharing with the group. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted July 10 Author Share Posted July 10 Hi all. Thank you for your comments. I am really sorry about the lack of updates for this and my lack of responses to everyone else's threads. My job continues to be very time consuming at the moment. Over the past few weeks, since my last update, I have found bits of time, here and there, to make some progress on this project. My usual weathering has been applied all over the lower hull, upper hull and turret. Gunship Grey wash, Anthracite targetted wash and drybrushing of a lighter version of the base colour, have been applied with brushes. The details seem to show through quite nicely: A test fit: Tracks painted: Wheels, etc., also painted: These were done is the same way as above, but with the tires painted with thinned Anthracite and given a very thinned wash of Gunship Grey. Wheels, etc. fixed together: Comments and suggestions welcomed. Detailed painting and weathering plus decals may be next. Kind regards, Stix 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 And your usual weathering technique has produced the usual extremely good results. It has picked out and highlighted all the details and helps to give the used look that you will be going for. And no need to apologise for anything, I haven't touched my build for over a week and really need to get a move on with it. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 On 10/07/2023 at 15:53, modelling minion said: And your usual weathering technique has produced the usual extremely good results. It has picked out and highlighted all the details and helps to give the used look that you will be going for. And no need to apologise for anything, I haven't touched my build for over a week and really need to get a move on with it. 🇺🇦 Hi Craig and thank you for your comments. There has been a bit more progress over the past week as I had a couple of days of leave to use up. First off I got the sides of the lower hull lightly weathered before I got all the wheels, sprockets and idlers attached. The all attach using polycaps which is nice: Then it was time to attach the tracks and upper hull: Then it was time to add some other parts - rear view mirrors, lights, vision blocks, etc. plus a couple of tiny PE parts which I had managed to miss in the instructions!: I also got the boxes for the top of the turret painted and basically weathered: Like a couple of other modellers in this GB, I have kept mentioning, at the end of a couple of posts, that I'd do the decals soon. As you can see...... I haven't yet!! And this is the reason.....at some point I need to apply all these: Only 506 of them to apply!!!! So I found other things to do like put together the slat armour parts: ...............and take photos of the overall progress so far.........: I'm going to paint the slat armour next and then maybe, just maybe, I will make a start on the decals. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 That really is awesome work mate, the weathering of the lower hull is superb and with all the main parts assembled it is very much coming together. I like the additional boxes on the turret and the fact that they're a different colour, adds even more interest, not that your model needs it. 🇺🇦 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 Very nice work, Stix. Lovely progress. Your brush painting is exemplary! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickhenfrey Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 On 17/07/2023 at 14:09, PlaStix said: Only 506 of them to apply!!!! I assume these are track pads? Can you paint them? I slapped on a rubbery black mix on in about ten minutes, and any overpaint between them I just ran over with rust.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 On 17/07/2023 at 14:25, modelling minion said: That really is awesome work mate, the weathering of the lower hull is superb and with all the main parts assembled it is very much coming together. I like the additional boxes on the turret and the fact that they're a different colour, adds even more interest, not that your model needs it. 🇺🇦 Hi Craig. Thank you. Yes - this Leopard is a bit dull green all over!! The sand coloured boxes and slat armour will add a bit of visual interest to an otherwise plain looking tank! 13 hours ago, spruecutter said: Very nice work, Stix. Lovely progress. Your brush painting is exemplary! Thank you very much Richard! 3 hours ago, nickhenfrey said: I assume these are track pads? Can you paint them? I slapped on a rubbery black mix on in about ten minutes, and any overpaint between them I just ran over with rust.... No, unfortunately the decals represent the Velco strips that appear all over this version of the Leopard 2!: I think the Velcro strips are what holds the Barracuda camouflage in place on the real thing, but this kit doesn't have the Barracuda setup as an option. I have started to apply them but they seem to be taking forever!! There are a couple of photos below which show how few I have done so far!! As can be seen from my reply to Nick, I have made a start on the decals now, but I did try to avoid them as long as possible by starting work on the slat armour painting first: With the paintwork finished and basically weathered, in my usual way, I did make a start on the Velcro and other decals. I have cut all of them out to the printed design, using a craft knife and a ruler for the Velcro. I noticed in some photos, of this kit, that the carrier film for the decals is significantly larger than the printed bits and seem to silver quite badly in some instances. That is basically four rows worth of the Velcro decals applied from the sheet in the photo in my previous post above! So just another 18 rows to go! I spread those four rows out over two modelling sessions because they are tedious to apply! They are also tricky to avoid getting them stuck to my fingers while handling the kit while applying new ones! Fun times! More Velcro decals next time................. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Those decals would test my patience as much as the tracks! You made the right call removing the carrier film as they look very good in place. The weathering looks very good, as always, and there's no way you will end up with a dull looking tank at the end of this, but will have another superb model for your cabinet. 🇺🇦 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickhenfrey Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Omg, velcro????? I guess if a piece of velcro is say 1mm thick, a scale piece of velcro would be about 0.03mm, how thick is masking tape? You could paint it black, slice it and just stick on the remaining pads? Wow, I thought tanks would be easy after planes, no cockpits, but velcro and individual track links (both of which I dodged 😄) what will they come up with next.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 Well done for persevering with the decals. These armour kits have been designed to test our patience! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 Hi @modelling minion, @nickhenfrey and @spruecutter. Thank you again for your comments. Yes, it was just a modelling day, this weekend, Sunday, and it was only a velcro day!! Not the most exciting! So all the Velcro decals have been applied to the turret and they have been sealed in place with Humbrol matt varnish. I decided to just push through and at least get the turret ones finished: Closer views: Onto the hull Velcro bits next!! 😭 Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mippie Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 Wow,....that is an insane amount of decals! Fair play for cracking on and getting them all done 😲 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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