Ernest you got that MG kit at Ace Hardware?? It looks awesome. Dang I wish I knew about that kit I spent $19 on 2 resin Maxim's by Plusmodel and they were so so. 

Kien that JS is looking good. Love the markings. 

Kien

Bufflehead, 

The gloss black primer is actually the exact same primer you used, but in gloss black. I like grey though, and will probably buy the same you have. Is using the gunze leveling thinner better than using any other lacquer thinner? 

Kien 

 

It comes in black?!?!   Oh, I need to get me some of that!

As for the thinner, never tried anything other than Mr. Hobby thinner for their own products, but I assume other lacquer thinners would work...??

Nice work on the JS-2!  Base color, stripes and markings look great!

Griffin25

Ernest you got that MG kit at Ace Hardware?? It looks awesome. Dang I wish I knew about that kit I spent $19 on 2 resin Maxim's by Plusmodel and they were so so. 

Kien that JS is looking good. Love the markings. 

 

Yep!  Berkeley Ace Hardware has a pretty decent hobby section including scale models and accessories.  Never seen that in any other Ace.  The MiniArt kit was $24, but it does have those two cool Maxim MGs, plus the others.

Hey Kien, that IS-2 is looking really good!  I have not seen Russian tanks having much stowage in photos, which is odd, because pretty much every other nation has a ton of stuff crammed into any corner they can find room.  I don't think crew comfort really figures into their designs.  That said, use whatever you want.  I can't see them passing up crates of potatoes if they could "liberate" them. 

Ernest, those tanks look good with primer on them.  Looking forward to the base coats.  You are making great progress on those kits.  

I may be able to finish up the Wildcat this week (phew!).  Just needs the landing gear, a flat coat, and last bits of weathering.  Then I can focus on weathering the KV-1, and start the SU-85, an old Tamiya kit with the holes in the bottom of the hull for motorizing.  Won't look anywhere near as good at Dutch's, but it's in the stash, and I still have plenty of Russian Green paint, so I will make a go of it.

That's some inspiring work guys!

Dutchman: Looks great, looking forward to paint. 

Ernest: Ouch, sorry to hear about the car accident. Glad to hear you're okay and hope they've made some progress on getting your vehicle back in shape. Great job there on the tanks and tracks. That DShK 12.7MM looks amazing!

Kien: Very nice work! I've heard the Soviets looted all kinds of stuff like factory equipment, statues, even toilets. Probably just a few knapsacks or rolled up tarps should look better on your IS-II though.  

Gamera, MCF, thanks for your kind words.  Damage to my car in the accident was minor, just a dent in the tailgate.  Wasn't my fault so the other insurance company is paying for all damages...yay!  It will be fixed in a couple of weeks.

Base coats for the T-26 and JS-3 laid down this evening.  I found these new (to me) acrylic paints at the same Ace Hardware...AK Interactive Real Color line.  Among the bottle s I bought are the Russian Protective 4BO and the Russian Modern Green. 

For the T-26 I went with the "black&white" method.  The undercoat:

and used the Protective 4BO as the base color.  Thinned more than usual so I could lay down some light coats to build up the color without losing the B&W contrast underneath.

Used a 50/50 mix of the 4B0 and the Modern Green for the JS-3 straight over the gray primer.  I'll paint this with my usual method of highlighting/shading.

The base color is a bit brighter and greener than I expected, but that will tone down with the shading and weathering to come.

Ernest, that is some skillful painting.  Both tanks look great, and I especially like how you got the B&W contrast on the T-26.  I have been too heavy handed with the base coat for that to work (add to list of skills that require patience).

This will be fun to see two methods of weathering, one with the B&W pre-shading, and one done after a good, but uniform base coat.  Please continue to show your process!

I like that B&W preshading on the T-26. Definitely have to try that. Looks great.

MCF, Griffin, thanks for your comments!  I agree, the T-26 looks pretty nice with the B&W method.  I might have to use it more often!

I completed the base painting for the JS-3.  I used my standard (for now!) method for this.  After the base coat I typically will hit all the shadow areas with a very dark shade of the base color.  Then I lighten the base color quite a bit with white and other light colors and use this for the highlights.  Finally I'll use either straight black or a very dark color for the panel lines... sort of like preshading on airplanes.  Finally I'll spray light thin coats of the final base color to blend everything in.  This final base color may be different than the original base color depending on what I want my final color to really look like.

Here's a progression pic of the process.  The final color was less green and a bit darker than the first base coat.  Also, you can see the effect is very similar to the B&W method, perhaps more subtle.

I also gave the metal on the MG a coat of the same mix that I used for the panel lines. 

I think that's it for a few days.  Going out of town again and won't return until next week.

Those are turning out great, Ernest. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Ernest, that is a nice explanation of your process, and really helpful.  I am going to try this on my kit when I get a chance.  The effect looks realistic, and provides a nice variation on the base color.  You have excellent control with your use of paint.

Thanks for the explanation of your process.  I sort of understood this method before your post, but this really helped clarify the what and why.  It is much appreciated.

Now if I can get those nice thin coats of paint down, this will go a long way toward becoming a better model builder. 

Ernest: Thanks for walking us though that. Love the results. 

Seems to have gone quiet in our GB.  I don't have any progress to show, but I did finally finish the Wildcat I have been working on.  If you are so inclined, you can see the final pics in the Midway GB. 

I was also at Noreastcon this past weekend, the Northeast regional convention/show/contest.  Had the time of my life there, and was a JIT (judge in training) for a couple of the categories.  Very interesting to see the process, and got to see some exceptional models up close and personal.  Oh, and bought some kits, cause, well, you know, vendors.  One of the kits is a Matilda, so all set for a UK armor GB.  Posted some pics in the IPMS Nationals thread, again if you are so inclined to take a look.

So I am finally ready to re-focus my efforts from "plane, plane, plane" to "tank, tank, tank".  Put the KV-1 back on the bench, and realized I have put some "bits" on the tank, so it would be difficult to use Ernest's method to break up the solid green, so will use my standard (this if my 4th tank, so I guess you can call it my standard ) oils then pigments.  Going for dusty as opposed to muddy on this one.  Stay tuned.

Thanks for the explanation Ernest, I'm going to try it on my KV-1 when I get to it.

Cheers

Tony

The new track arrived so now I can finish the T-34.  For $19 shipped this is a nice replacement to the kit track.  flexible like real track with good detail.  Applied the base coat to create a surface rust look.  Once clear coated will continue with weathering to give it the right winter look.

Route, the track detail on that set is excellent.  I put together a set from Kaizen for a previous build that looks quite similar.  Huge improvement over vinyl tracks, and not a huge $$ invesment.  Just some added time.  How hard were they to clean up and put together?  

Almost no clean up.  No flash.  Cut very clean from the sprue.  Just a few swipes from the xacto blade to clean up the cut.  It took about two hours per side to cut and assemble.  There is enough track left over if I want to add some spare links onto the hull or if I had damaged any links beyond repair.  Recommended and Miniart carries track for all types of tanks.  Not Fruil quality but much cheaper and once weathered and installed don't know if i would be able to tell any difference.

Route62: Those tracks look good! Personally I'd much rather deal with the plastic that I can cement rather than running wire though a bunch of metal links. 

Dwayne: Judging is a whole new ballgame. I tried it once or twice but I hate it- trying to decide between a couple of perfect models gave me fits. Your plan for the KV-I sounds good, looking forward to the new photos. 

I'll try to get some photos up. Still fiddling around with the interior, just not that much new to show.  

route62

Almost no clean up.  No flash.  Cut very clean from the sprue.  Just a few swipes from the xacto blade to clean up the cut.  It took about two hours per side to cut and assemble.  There is enough track left over if I want to add some spare links onto the hull or if I had damaged any links beyond repair.  Recommended and Miniart carries track for all types of tanks.  Not Fruil quality but much cheaper and once weathered and installed don't know if i would be able to tell any difference.

 

Gamera

Dwayne: Judging is a whole new ballgame. I tried it once or twice but I hate it- trying to decide between a couple of perfect models gave me fits. Your plan for the KV-I sounds good, looking forward to the new photos. 

 

ManCityFan

 

 

Gamera

Dwayne: Judging is a whole new ballgame. I tried it once or twice but I hate it- trying to decide between a couple of perfect models gave me fits. Your plan for the KV-I sounds good, looking forward to the new photos. 

 

 

 

 

Hey Gamera, I found the judging interesting, but you are right.  Picking between two perfect models is hard.  I wasn't actually involved in picking the winners.  More of a "this is how we do it" thing.  But they did have me look at models and provide my input.  It felt very weird for me to be critical of models that were WAY better than anything I can produce.

 

 

 

It's a good they provided you with some training, they just just tossed me in the pool and told me to 'swim'.  And the same here, it's very hard to try to judge something that's lightyears ahead of my work. 

route62

Almost no clean up.  No flash.  Cut very clean from the sprue.  Just a few swipes from the xacto blade to clean up the cut.  It took about two hours per side to cut and assemble.  There is enough track left over if I want to add some spare links onto the hull or if I had damaged any links beyond repair.  Recommended and Miniart carries track for all types of tanks.  Not Fruil quality but much cheaper and once weathered and installed don't know if i would be able to tell any difference.

 

Ok, you sold me on them.

Ever have one of those days?

Was trying to apply a clear coat when I managed to knock over the bottle.  Pulled back in my chair quickly to avoid having clear coat all over my clothes.  In the process, I knocked the KV-1 model, and one of the gas/oil tanks pops off.  So I think "no problem, it's a big piece, I will find it".

Nope.  It has gone into the ether that sucks up model parts. 

Fortunately, I had a backup in a T-34 kit.  

Thats a bummer Dwayne. My ether / carpet monster swallowed some P/E on the weekend too.

Cheers

Tony

Wayne: Ouch that blows!!! Good to hear to hear you were able to dig up a replacement. I probably have a half-dozen tanks from scrapped kits if you need anymore.

route62, I really like those MiniArt track links!  I may have to try a set....once I get another T-34 kit!

Dwayne, sorry to hear about the lost fuel tank.  I've lost plenty of tiny parts to the ether/carpet monster, but never anything that big.  Watch it suddenly turn up AFTER the model is completely done!!

Sorry to report that I have no updates on my builds.  I've made absolutely no progreess since the last post.  Other home projects have kept me busy and I have a fishing trip coming up that will also take up most of my time the rest of this month.  Hopefully I'll be back at the bench in June, but I'll keep checking back to see how others are doing!

Some more progress on the IS2. After finishing the painting I’ve started weathering the chassis with wilder pigments and fixer. I’m using 3 shades of brown for the dirt. I’m also working with washes and oils on the upper surface and turret, I will get pictures of that when I add some of the stowage on. I am near done with this kit, and it was a great one!

Kien 

Hey Kien, very effective use of pigments.  That specific area behind the running wheels is a spot I am never quite sure how to deal with in a way that looks realistic.  I think you nailed it.  I may be stealing that technique. 

Kien: Looks great! I've tried fooling around with pigments but mine never come out that well.

So close to finishing this T-34. Tracks are on and shot it with flat clear. All that is left is a little snow.