I like it!

That's some great weathering Stik!  I've always liked these old Heller kits.

RB and Chad, thank you. 

Chad, Heller kits are not for beginners, nor “shake and bake”, by any stretch of the mind, but they can look good with some extra effort. This is only my second Heller 1/35 armor build completed out of three starts. 

This is flat out gorgeous to me. I love that last picture. Those figures are beautiful.

Fantastic! 

It looks good to me. You know those Heller kits were pretty decent with some patience. I didn't start messing with their armor kits until I was stationed in Germany in the late 80s, the AMX-30 specifically. Over engineered, yes, but it was an enjoyable build. And I also did their Jeep copy.

Mike and Rob, thank you. 

Mike, the figures are more for scale and practice for painting than anything else, but based on some comments here and elsewhere, an idea is forming for a base.

Rob, you are quite right about patience a requirement on Heller kits. Focus is another... lol. I built their CCKW Deuce and a Half many years ago and that turned out nicely. Fiddly, but worth it. I started the AMX-30 years ago as well, but it has been severely damaged while sidelined. That is one that I’d like to add to my collection. 

Great work! I have this wee beastie in the stash somewhere. Love the paint job.

Thank you Dodgy. And go build your beastie! It’s a fun kit.

The paint scheme came out perfectly--and that's not an easy thing with French camo.

Outstanding job by every measure.

That French armor is pretty unique, near addictive (despite Heller, sometimes )

Thanks Capn. The French camo is enjoyable to do, even if a bit challenging. I think that, along with the designs of French armor does make it addicting. 

Very nice paint work indeed. Hard to believe that’s a 43 year old kit.  

Hey Stik, excellent work on this tank. The camo is outstanding as everyone else has commented. Question: Did you airbrush the enamel paint or hand brush. BTW the Mr. Surfacer really gave it a realistic rough metal finish and the figures look great.

PJ and Tiger, thank you.

PJ, ‘77 was indeed awhile ago. But not exactly the dark ages for armor modeling with kits of that era. 

Tiger, the enamel paints were airbrushed on using Silly Putty as a mask for the color demarcations. I then used a Sharpie enamel ultra fine tip paint marker for the black borders to get a fairly constant width line.

She turned out great SP! I did the camo on my Char bis years ago the same way- Silly Putty and a Sharpie!! 

Nice work!!! 

Thank you Gamera. Simple techniques like the Silly Putty and Sharpie paint pen are great for challenges like the French AFV camo.

Thank you Grey. It’s funny how much you read of these Heller kits being “dogs”, yet the few that I’ve built so far are not bad at all. They may not be super detailed like Dragon or AFV Club, or shake & bake like Tamiya, but they are worth a go. Especially if you want the French subjects that no one else makes.

Very nice work. It feels really nice to get one off the shelf. Well done.

BK

Thank you Brandon. It feels great to get something finished!