Tamiya 1:35 T-55A Picture Heavy!

[Jasonb13]

*Kit : Tamiya T-55A

*Scale : 1:35

*Paints Used : Humbrol Rattlecan, Brush painted with Revell Aqua Colour, Tamiya Acrylics, Citadel Badab Black Wash, Promodeller Wash, Tamiya Weathering Kit & Artists' Pastels

*Extras Used: Value Gear Details 'Tents & Tarps'

So this is my first ever Armour, and I have to say I'm happy enough with how it turned out. It's a Tamiya Kit, so fit etc. was just perfect. The Humbrol Rattlecan helped me paint it all in one go ( and as an aircraft builder, it was weird building everything and *then* painting! ). I knew the weathering would be interesting, and so it proved, my first attempt at 'mud' using pastels. But all in all, I'm happy. That said, I'd appreciate all feedback and advice, I'm sure there's a lot I could have done better! Thanks...

J.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Jasonb13

[gmoss]

Nice work mate - looks great. The subtle weathering looks really good and the tools and kit bags look very realistic too. Did you enhance the weld seams on the top of the turret? (if so - nice job). Often the weld seams are something a lot of kits miss the mark on in my experience.

Cheers

Greg

[Andy K]

It looks good for your 1st attempt at armour, nice job. A couple of things I noticed was the paint build up in the mesh of the engine intake screen although this was probably due to the rattle-can and the lights on the front hull and turret would be better painted dark brown as these are infra-red lights;

A couple of tips when doing armour is to avoid bright silver to replicate worn metal, graphite from a pencil looks much better also try painting the the tow cables with Vallejo Black-Brown (or a similar colour) and then rub graphite along it. One more thing and that is the ammo boxes for the Dshk machine gun on the turret sides could be painted in a different shade of green for a bit of contrast.

Hope the armour bug has bitten you and I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Andy K

[Calum]

I'd be happy with that.

[Pete H]

WOW! For a first attempt that's pretty stunning. Love the "fabric" parts, look very realistic. Only a couple of very minor changes I can mention,,,,, on your engine deck screens the paint seems to have filled in quite a bit of the mesh, perhaps a going over with a fine pin would help,,, and maybe a few more scratches and paint chips would add to the overall effect.

But at the end of the day, it's your model, your choice and I reckon if you keep going like that,,,, you will have a very fine collection building up.

Regards,

Pete

[Jasonb13]

Thanks for the comments, they're much appreciated!

The weld seams on the turret are all down to Tamiya, it's just a good kit.

Yep, I got too heavy handed with the spray and made a balls of the engine mesh. It's annoying, 'cos after the primer it was perfect! I can try a pin on it, but I'm worried about breaking the mesh. Another option might be a black wash which might reduce how obvious the blocked holes are now. Or I could always try to remove the mesh covers and do it again, they give you plenty of mesh with the kit!

That's a good call about the 'lights'. Tamiya suggest Silver or Gloss Black, and I just went with the silver 'cos it seemed the obvious colour for a light. But it can be easily changed!

When you say a graphite pencil for chipping, is that just 'normal' graphite, or some different colour? Pardon the silly question, I've never used Graphite pencils before. Would a standard graphite penciil not just look like black marks on the kit?

Finally, the 'fabrics' are made by a fellow modeller here in Ireland, all I had to do was paint, weather and stick. His stuff can be found if you Google for 'Value Gear Details'. They're excellent for adding that 'something' to a kit!

Thanks again, please keep the advice coming!

J.

[AngloSaxon]

A graphite pencil would look dark from some angles and give a metallic reflectiveness from others...just like real chipped or worn paint areas on an armoured vehicle.

Personally I use Koh-i-noor Progresso solid graphite 8b pencils but, any soft graphite pencil will give the same effect.

Mike.

[HL-10]

For a first attempt at armour, you've done a stonking job!

[JackG]

I think this looks very good. It does look clean, but it's an individual's choice on whether you want a battle weary vehicle. With a solid colour such as this subject, many would use filters to give a slight variety to the tone.

You should be able to clear up the clogged screens with some kind of paint thinner that matches the paint brand/type you used. Apply with a cotton swab or brush, and work lose the paint and soak it up with a cloth.

Another detail to fix would be the log on the back - I think it would be more grey but I guess that depends where it was cut down. The ends though should be lighter and not the same colour as the bark.

regards,

Jack

[Radleigh]

Lovely that is

[Jasonb13]

Ah, thanks, that makes sense about the Graphite Pencil, I'll get one today.

I'm actually surprised how clean the model looks in the pics, it's a bit dirtier in real life. But I always prefer not to weather too much ( it gives me less chance to feck it up! ).

Could you explain what you mean by 'filters' JackG? And I was thinking about thinners as well, though of course that would mean that I'd have to spray the mesh again, which might be difficult, though I could just mask everything else before spraying. I'm definitely going to work on it this evening. And excellent point about the log, it should be lighter at the ends!

Thanks...

J.

[Jasonb13]

Me again,

Well, thanks to the great tips I've gotten here, I've done some work on the model.

Firstly, I got a Graphite Pen ( 9B actually ) and it really works well. So I've used that a fair bit, and made the model look a little more 'worn'. I painted and washed the ends of the logs, so they're a bit lighter now. I also dirtied up the model a bit more, especially around the exhaust. And the lights are now a much darker colour for the IR look.

And finally, and most importantly, a pin seemed to do the trick on the mesh! It took a while, but it's looking so much better now. It's still not perfect, as some of the holes are smaller than others, but at least they are all holes now!

So thanks once again, I think it's really improved the build. And please keep all comments and advice coming.

J.

Edited July 31, 2012 by Jasonb13

[JackG]

Filter technique - a great in depth description here.

regards,

Jack

[Value Gear Details]

Jason, It looks fantastic... good job for a flyboy... you need to propose a group build at IPMS Dublin for tanks, before they make me embarrass myself by building a plane... I just don't have the "right stuff" and I am like a gorilla about to break off those little bits all the time... I hope the experience was a fun one...

Anyone looking for the stowage items, they are from

Set #3 Universal Tents and Tarps

I have made 7 sets of Generic/Universal Tents and Tarps and 2 sets of crates so far and am working on some more specific Allied and Germans things too.

www.valuegeardetails.com