Mirage's C7P Artillery Tractor *finished*

biffa wrote:

Hi Mikael, first the windows were masked while the basecoat went on then the masks were removed and the windows received the exact same treatment of washes and filters and oil smearing etc as the rest of the model but every once in a while i would take a cotton bud/q-tip and give them a quick wipe just around the centers then at the very end the same thing but a tad harder i didnt want to remove all the dirt but just enought to look like dirty windows and that was it.

Thanks for the tip, might prove useful when working on some of the WWII transport cars in my stash.

Hmmm....it's been bugging me all day.(seriously) How did you weather those windows? They simply look amazing with that dirty, scumy look.  

   Ok Biffa nice try. So you really want us to believe that this piece of art almost got the best of ya? Well I'm not falling for it.

   Still trying to figure out were I was when you started this beauty.

Thanks Manny, i dont actually pick the kits they pick me heh i cant help myself when i see something that interests me i have to do it :)

Thanks mikael and Bill really glad you guys like it and appreciate your comments.

I really like the paint layering around the rust, it looks like there is a topcoat, some kind of primer, and the rusted metal, just like on a full sized vehicle.

Very nice effect, I like it overall, too, but the paint damage is very nicely done.

Bill 

Thanks guys for a great response,

Doog lol i wished i could blame the error on that but unfortuatly it was nothing less than not reading forward a few steps on the instructions  although it still would have been wrong heh i dont mind messing up it helps keep me in check, thanks for the great comments.

Hi Durr, when you say helped changed your mind about it i assume you decided to sit on it a while longer lol, if you decide to build it and need any more pointers about the kit or the couple of ref pics i have found let me know.

Thanks Redleg it a bit easier to dive in on a paintjob when your not worried so much about messing up a $60 dragon kit that took months to build which may be the reason i gravitate to these more cheaper builds lol to be honest there are many ways to make a kit shine some do it with amazing details others with painting/weathering and others still with a mix of both, i just love the painting/weathering side of it all

Hi Tony, you didnt miss much it was a two post WIP heh, first post announcing the build and my second post declaring it finished lol thanks for checking in.

Hi Chris i know what you mean about putting a kit off i do it a lot then one day the inspiration just hits and its go time heh i imagine the 1/72 wouldbe a lot tougher than this scale themasking of windows alone (inside and out) is daunting for me, cheers for the comments.

Steve my appologies for the massive amout of pics in one post i bet you wernt too impressed with that i appreciate you taking the time mate and your input is always a pleasure to receive.

Ben lol no way have i the patience of a kit of that magnitude heh i leave those to the experts there are some of dragons kits that still overwelm me in 1/35 heh thanks for the comments.

Hi Matt i always try finish the kit wether it is terrible or not even if i toss the finished peice (only once so far) i just cant stand the idea of an unfinished kit on my bench before starting another, must be an obsessive compulsive thing lol, thanks for checking it out.

Thanks Terry i remember your build very well i was still very new to modeling and it was one of the first styles of painting and weathering in that manner i had seen and was blown away with it,  it helped set me on the unending road  to realistic finishes

Hi Bill, thank you for the kudo's the factory has been working but im not sure if it will reach full steam for a while, the way you and Doog are building i feel the torch as been passed on you guys have been knocking out some super jobs, i think my next one should move along at a good pace being an italeri kit (i am looking forward to a fall together build)

Thanks again all for taking the time.

Cool job there Ron, looks cool, can't really add much more to what the other guys have typed about this one.

Terry.

This evening, I just about lost my mind with a dog of a kit (or it was me) and just set it aside to contemplate whether to place it in the started, never to be completed pile...  This wip convinced me to drive on and put in the time...  Thanks!

Nice recovery after that warp Ron.

The weathering is just amazing ala biffa style.

So what's next ? Maybe one of those Trumpeter 1/16 KT. Should be fun

redleg12 wrote:

Let us take stock....It's an ugly duck in real life, the kit was a pain, but....you managed to make the ugly duckling look real.....a true diamond.

A true diamond....heck,

biffa could paint a real golfball and make it look like a diamond.

Fantabulous job biff!

That's inspirational work, Ron - the paint job especially. I've got one of these - in 1/72 - in the stash. I keep looking at it and being intimidated. Initially this was because I had etched tracks to replace the kit's rubber bands, but now I've got some polystyrene link& length, si really no excuse. Mind you. I've had these for a couple of years now...

Cheers,

Chris.

Let us take stock....It's an ugly duck in real life, the kit was a pain, but....you managed to make the ugly duckling look real.....a true diamond.

Every kit is different and it is a true test of a modeler to take a kit with problems and make it work. you did that in spades.

Nice work.

Rounds Complete!!

real nice  i have been sitting on this kit for a looong time

you have changed my mind

Whatsammatta, Ron--you don't read Polish??! LOL!

I'm thrilled that you did this kit--I've wondered what it would look like built up. Such a totallly odd vehicle!

Stellar job! I think it looks great! I love the interior--those wooden seats just look KILLER!

Nice job--once again, it shows that you can take a less-than-erfect kit and turn it into a real shining star! BEAUTIFUL!!!

Well i did a real crap job of this WIP lol but here is a rundown,

I immediatly run into problems with the build with a warped hull bottom and the kit requires you to cut the sides of the hull which i over cut and took of a part in the rear that was meant to stay, this caused me issues with the back plate but it turned out this was all wrong anyway and i had to redo it to look more like it was supposed to,

The sides

The warped bottom

Now the rear plate how the kit would have it look,

Now i know this isnt proof but the boxart looks just like the actual photo i have just not on hand right now and this shows how it actually is meant to look, the side that stick out are wrong so i botched around and redid it a bit more accuratly,

I wasnt really that pleased with what i had done so i just set my mind to finishing this one up to get it done, also i decided not to use the moskit exaust because the kit one was really very nice,

The kit came with a decent interior ,

And painted

Everything else went quite smooth and fit relativly well and the detail was decent and i was starting to enjoy myself with it now the pressure was off,

Lastly i didnt use the modelkasten tracks because at this point while i was having fun with it i wasnt really that happy with the quality of my work and decided to save them for another project and use the cheaper indies that were included, i do have more build pics should anyone need and refs (i doubt many people will build this one heh)

So with that said and done i figured this one would be a good test bed for some extreme painting and weathering (not too extreme mind) and so i went at it but because of the nature of it, adding a bit of this and a lot of that here and there etc it was impossible to log so in a nutshell i used tamiya acrylic paints for the base coat and then a multitude of oils for the weathering in the manner of washes, filters, streaking and so on and so on, finally finished off with some pigments.

here are the finished pics thanks for looking and all comments etc are welcome.  

Haven't seen this model before, but it sure as heck looks intresting. Can't wait to see some progress pics, biffa!!  

Ha, remember that one. I enjoyed doing it, done it as a wreck. Looking forward to seeing her comming along. Good luck to you on this one.

Keep up the good work Ron.

Terry.