War in the Desert - African campaign GB - 12/9/07 to 5/13/08

Nice paintwork, Mark.  Did you mask the camo or freehand it?  Either way looks darn good.

Looking good Mark.  Nice work.

Regards,  Rick

Well, I knew it's been awhile since I last posted, but I didn't realize it's been since January..  Anyway, I've had the opportunity to catch up on everyone's work and all that I can say is all the builds, completed and in the works, are simply outstanding! 

SMJmodeler:  Steve, your Jimmy is unbelieveable!  One of the most realistic weathering jobs I've ever seen.  Can't wait to see it in person.

I have had the chance to work some on my entry, and finally got the decals on my Kittyhawk:

Mark

Cool, SMJ!  Nicely done all around.  Nice touch on dusting the barrels as well.

Guys:  Here is my completed "Jimmy"!!!

If you'd like to see all the walk-around photos, I started a new thread in Armor...I didn't want to bog down this thread with so many pics'...

Lu no problems with your expression from where I'm sitting I’m understanding everything you are saying.  The build looks great and I'm really enjoying it come together thanks for the tutorial, it's excellent

SMJ the truck is looking better and better every post (if that's possible) keep the updates coming .  Oh and btw Rick is rjkplasticmod.

Greg the Spit is coming along nicely, now all we need are some shot of the top of the bird

Cheers 

gzt, looking good.  I like the patchy look of the underside.

For my progress, still plugging away.  Primer and preshading is applied, hopefully I'll have the azure blue underside color on by today.

a little update on my progress

Mk IXc

last night I masked the bottom side but forgot about futuring canopy and now I have to wait untill tonoght to continue masking  

Wow. SMJ, this one is REALLY good. You planning on throwing this one out on the armor forum in "tutorial" format? I'll call you with my veritable plethora of questions...

Lu - digging the UC, level of weathering detail is even more impressive in 1/48! Good stuff!

WIP:  Here's tonight's progress pic'...becoming a regular thing now, huh?!?! I added some drybrushed oils, raw umber/lamp black mix (straight) to all the areas that would receive heavy wear.  It dried flat so I will hit it one last time,where appropriate, to simulate grease from hands and boots. I used up the last of my "dust" mix and airbrushed it on the lower half of the vehicle...AGAIN.

I'm in the home stretch now...I will put the windshield in next, "grease" the hinges and lugnuts, add oil and fuel spills/streaks, and then add all the dirt/mud clods and dust pigments/pastels.  I should have it done and on a completed "desert" base by the end of this weekend. 

Lu:  Thanks for the compliments on my Jimmy, questions though...did you mean I could/should add more dust, and who is Rick?  I chose to stop and not overdo the spray, letting the pastels finish the look. 

A lot of good information in your latest post.  You and I sound alike in our writing of a tutorial.  I particularly like how you identify where most modelers "struggle" or "hesistate".  I have used some of your techniques, or at least similar to them.  Tamiya Buff XF-57 is my weapon of choice in my weathering arsenal!!!  You describe streaking the armor...in a desert environment I would be more stingy with that effect, IMO.  Rain is scarce and streaks would be limited.

Your build looks fantastic!  The photos are great and the bottle backdrops are helpful.  Thanks for taking the time to put it all together...I will re-read it before I add my final weathering.

Looks really great Lu & thanks for the tutorial.  Do you ever resort to using products like MIG pigments to achieve the dusty look ?

Regards,  Rick

Tamiya 1/48 scale Universal Carrier

Scott - I see it is time to sacrifices to get the right markings for yours Pz II. Good work so far and keep it rolling.

Saddler - Very nice micromachines you have there. Sorry to hear your nightmares with the camo scheme but I always liked the look of those Sherman III with desert camos and does not matter what I like yours too.

SMJ - Wow! I see you are working very fast on your Jimmy and the model is looking better in every update . No fear and I think you can go far beyond on your weathering particularly for one truck travelling along the dusty desert. By the way I love GMCs and I made the smaller 1/48 scale version past year. I strongly recomend Rick to give it a chance because is a very enjoyable biuld.

Weathering countinues by adding dust which I suspect is one of the most traumatic effects for modellers our there. I started working on the lower hull by falling strokes of several colours to reproduce heavy deposits on those areas. In this case I am overlapping acrylics, but the medium is not important because this effect  can be done with enamels alike. The important thing here is to create enough stark contrast to be seen once the running gear is positioned in place, and to not concern if the effect looks a bit messy because reality and war seem to agree in that point and the initial messy impresion will decrease visually/menthaly once the model is finished thanks to our (imperfect) perception and understanding tend to unification and to make different things/effects to look uniform and continuous forming one whole thing visually. (I hope you can get what I mean, because I feel my expresion is quite poor for that kind of psychology concepts).

On the running gear I need strong dusty look I made by weting the whole part with diluted acrilics. The trick here is to wait and see how it dryes before following applications. Particularly Tamiya buff color is quite useful for this task because it leaves very light sand traces very convenient for my purposes but required to make it little by little to avoid color saturation on some areas. Going back to track the following picture shows clearly the traumatic point modellers fear (and avoid) because here you can see well how the running gear looks terribly messy and awfull(!?), but please do not panic because this messy look will be retouched and completed with other weathering effects later.

On upper hull I am dusting up with thinned enamels which are really easy to use and help to add dust on one model without stress, particularly because I think dust produces panic to many modellers whose believe all theirs former beautiful paintwork will dissapear under one coat of dust. Honestly I think that is one very common mistake and I totally believe one good and well made dusting up will help to highlight shapes and details of our models. To me the advantages of enamels for this step are: (1) enamels are easy to apply (2) can be corrected or removed with thinner when necessary and (3) are permanent.

To me one one good dusty effect is achieved by creating contrast (1) between dusted and non-dudsted areas and (2) between areas closer or farer from the ground. In most of vehicles that is very easy to make by adding dust on horizontal surfaces and keeping clean vertical ones, but as for the Universal Carrier this cannot work because its open top nature and its very low profile. Then I think one good way to create that contrast necessary to make one credible dusty look will be to reproduce that contrast between interior and exterior sides in some grade. Whew... to say true I think this is one good sample of how many times modellers do not follow reallity to achieve one reallistic finish.

Now it is time to paint all stowage before continuing with weathering, so I guess it will take a couple of days to color all accessories I picked for this tiny vehicle, because my time to make models is very limited currently.

Lu

Can I ah...change my build? Since this GB started I have built both a Honey and a Stuart and currently building a Tiger initial version instead of all the wingy things I signed up for.

Funny thing is, I was thinking armor when I signed up for the planes

I have to decal my spit and P 40, and still working on the final paint on my 109

{actually I am thinking of being a double dipper, 2 for each badge British, American and German might even find a Italian armored car or something too

JMart:...I don't know what to say......but thanks.  I like that term "realism modifications"

jgeratic:  Thanks for the compliment...about the seams, didn't notice, can't fix 'em now.  I'll be sure to remember it for the next set of tires I assemble.  I plan to add a lot of desert dirt to the wheels anyway.

Here's tonight's WIP:  The "desert dust" is back!!!  I can't express how much I like this airbrush technique.  I've sprayed thinned paint before, but not NEARLY this thin.  The control of the air flow coupled with the paint consistency is a bit tricky to get right, but it's hard to mess-up once you do because the paint goes on SO lightly that it takes several passes to build-up the effect.  There are NO powders or pastels applied at this time...that will come near the end.  The base "dust" paint will make the pastels cover better and add to the "realism modifications"-thanks again JMart for that one. 

Before "desert dust":

After "desert dust":

more to come...

SMJmodeler - whoa... that looks awesome! Not sure whether to call it great technical or artistic skill - either way super work. Just one little thing, can still notice a bit of seam on the rear tires.

saddler - glad to help out as I too am working on a Sherman and had some info at hand. I take it you had wanted to depict one during the El Alamein battles? There is a book out that deals with shermans during that time frame:

Jack 

dupes:  Thanks!!!, and good to hear from a guy with experience that I got the chipping and wear in the right spots. 

About leaving it before this last step, a few thoughts...I always try to improve my builds, it's those touches of realism that bring it to the next level.   Leaving "well enough alone"  isn't a challenge, which is where I get a lot of my satisfaction with this hobby.  The next step is to re-apply the "desert dust" that I lost in the washes (I didn't think that would happen to such an extent that it did)...I could leave it now, but I know it will improve more if I add it, AGAIN...it is A DESERT GB, afterall.  Good part is, I know how the paint behaves and I have the airbrush patterns memorized.   Oh, and lastly, it's just as important to know when to STOP, and not OVER DO IT!!!

rjkplasticmod:  Thanks for following along, I appreciate the compliments.  The re-application of the "desert dust" should take it up another notch!!!

arki30/razordws:  I do enjoy the weathering A LOT, thanks for noticing!!! 

jgeratic,

Thanks for the info, it ties in with what ive read. The Dragon kit is based on Shermans in Syria post-Alaimein. This is around mid 1943. This is after the order on 23 april 43 to replace all  previous schemes with mud /blueblack scheme (S.C.C 5 and S.C.C 14 respectively).

Ive got a good article written by Mike starmer for an IPMS magazine in pdf form which i'll share if someone can show me how.

The 3 marks in the Dragon kit can be see here http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/dragon/dr6313ref01.htm 

Saddler, I think the colours you have there are correct based on the research/writings of Mike Starmer.  Quote:

1942.  Over Light Stone 61 the single colour disruptive was still in force although many units did not employ it whilst others used a variety of schemes, designs and colours, some with black and/or white outlining.

October 1942.  Another policy change issued this month.  G.O.1650 cancels all previous patterns and colours and introduces standardised drawings for certain type and classes of AFV and vehicles as decreed by the Camouflage Directorate of GHQ ME (G(cam)).  Colours to be used are :- Basic shade – Desert Pink Z.I. with a disruptive pattern in Dark (Olive) Green PFI.  Black ( S.C.C. 14), Very Dark Brown ( S.C.C. 1A) or Dark Slate BS. 34 are alternatives.  These designs are common on Shermans , Grants, Valentines, Crusaders, Stuarts and the Churchills of Kingforce (which were most probably Light Stone No.61 over Khaki Green No. 3 or S.C.C. 2 in the Crusader design).  As Desert Pink was a new colour, Light Stone No.61 continued in use on vehicles with or without disruptive paintwork.  Desert pink occurs on its own as a single shade on vehicles of no tactical value and ACVs.  Some ACVs disguised as 10 ton trucks by application of specifically shaped black areas to resemble shadows and structure joins.

Where dyed tilts were supplied from the UK and Commonwealth they were chemically bleached to a pale brown colour. 

Although M.T.P.46 had provision for ME colours actual use of this type of scheme has not been confirmed.

Here is the web page:  http://www.mafva.net/other%20pages/Starmer%20camo.htm

 What might be wrong is the bogie style.  Early shermans had the return roller centered and not trailing.  

Jack 

SMJ, the chipping & additional weathering really takes this one up a notch.  Excellent work .

Regards,  Rick

WIP-Three steps completed:  Drybrushing, chips/scratches, and final washes:

Now time to add the "desert dust", AGAIN!!!

SMJ - excellent job, love the "dust" weathering and shading, has a nice worn look. The seats look nice with the folds but maybe a tad too "new" if compared to the rest of the vehicle?

saddler - hey I like the "wrong" camo ;) nice job on the build, specially 1:72!