M-1117

I'm not into armor but it looks cool to me

Dunno why you think this is sub-par, it's causing me memories of dust on  plastic canteen necks with a trace of powdered grape drink on stale, luke-tepid water for some reason.  With hints of hot, dusty lube oil and fresh-burnt diesel.  Is that not what you were going for?

I dunno, Wayne, I think you're selling yourself short. The finish and paint look really nice on this. Try a little bit of varnish "rain staining" on the side to break up the dullness of the dust---it would give it some visual "pop", but that's only if you want to spend a little more time on it;  Looks good as is, though. :)

Looks good to me too. IF you wanted to add something more in weathering, maybe flick some splash behind the wheels onto the lower body. 

BTW, the tires' rubber and trapped dirt in the treads like that look realistic 

CapnMac82

Dunno why you think this is sub-par, it's causing me memories of dust on  plastic canteen necks with a trace of powdered grape drink on stale, luke-tepid water for some reason.  With hints of hot, dusty lube oil and fresh-burnt diesel.  Is that not what you were going for?

thanks guys. i will look up doing rain streak in my weathering mags and try it.  i think i will splash up behind the wheels a bit more. looking at my grafenwoehr muddy sprayed canadian GRIZZLEY and do like the way that looked..

i am getting into some lighting in my sci-fi GB but i am thinking of how to incorporate smell into some presentations. catching a whiff of diesel exhaust on a fall morning takes me back to germany in '76. the smell of  burning latrine barrels might be a bit much but  or kerosene with a jet might work.

Makes me think of how interesting our camouflage used to be before the NATO 3 color standard.

Hello Wayne!

I'm suspecting you wanted people to cheer you up - so the machine look s good! I like the treatment of the tires a lot, too!

I'd like to suggest framing the base or otherwise finishing the edges more smooth - that would improve the looks of the dio. Tire marks would also help it to look more natural.

So good luck with your project and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

Hello Wayne!

I'm suspecting you wanted people to cheer you up - so the machine look s good! I like the treatment of the tires a lot, too!

I'd like to suggest framing the base or otherwise finishing the edges more smooth - that would improve the looks of the dio. Tire marks would also help it to look more natural.

So good luck with your project and have a nice day

Paweł

hey PAWEL

 that's funny. how perceptive of you. thanks.

the base is just a generic one, only one close to a dusty  scene i have. reminds me i have to make a nice generic sandy base for pics.

i suspect this will grow on me. as a friend at the LHS said, "if you don't point out the errors, most folks won't see them."

the tires were washed with thick engine gray paint. which is something i do with all my rubber ties. i oil washed the ties and hubs with raw umber and a touch of black. then, since i was using charcoal ashes i put the whole assembly in the bowl of ashes, than brushed off the excess.

Rob Gronovius

Makes me think of how interesting our camouflage used to be before the NATO 3 color standard.

hey ROB

nice new avator. when did NATO 3 color come in? when ni got to germany in '75 my tanks (2 M60s, 4 A1s) were still painted some makeshift desert camo. our new A2s were MERDC winter forest, dark green and brown with sand and black "highlights:.

In 1987, while at AOB, the M1A1 that was on display was in NATO 3-color and HEMTT trucks came off the assembly line in the 3 color scheme. When I got to Germany, most everything else was still in the MERDC but the M981 FIST-Vs were 3-color. My guess is sometime in the mid 1980s, but it wasn't like flipping a switch. New equipment like HMMWVs started arriving in the new scheme in the late 1980s. It seemed like a short window before our stuff started coming in desert sand. By 1992, seeing vehicles in 3-color was odd.

Rob Gronovius

In 1987, while at AOB, the M1A1 that was on display was in NATO 3-color and HEMTT trucks came off the assembly line in the 3 color scheme. When I got to Germany

well i feel old. i graduated AOB in '74. our A2s were od from the factory so we painted them at the battalion. even did different roadwheels different color to blend the camo and the lower hull was camo too. 

took everyones advice and airbrushed some dirt on the underside. used my fine airbrush this time. made the streaks with some oil PAYNE GRAY and also a brush with alcohol to take away some of the spray. this is another generic base because the generic dessert one is going to have a 6 foot high arroya rock wall and i don't have time to build it before november.

and the vehicle just drove into an oasis which is why there is green. thanks for all the tips. everytime i ask for critiques i get great suggestions. i will put this in local contest and probably make a quick dusty sandy base.

think i'll take a break and knock out a 1/700 dreadnought for the contest.

Here's something to make you feel older, the M1117 Guardian wasn't produced until 1999. It's a fairly late armored car. I remember seeing them at the Armor Conference.