Work progressed this weekend with the focus mainly on the details and preparation for the markings and weathering stages.
First up was the running gear. The lower hull and elements were pre-weathered by stippling MM enamel Burnt Umber with an old brush to simulate scuffs/scrapes from normal driving/handling and all of the road wheels and return rollers glued into position. The Tamiya poly-cap design for the sprockets meant they could rotate freely in position and the idlers were left off to the side until it was time to add the tracks. I also applied some MM non-buffing Metalizer Steel to the sprocket teeth and also the contact surfaces on the idlers. The suspension leaf springs were detailed with MM non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and given an overall wash of thinned enamel Rust to complete their look.
Next up were all the pioneer tools and gear for the fenders. The metal portions were finished with the same non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and lightly dry-brushed with enamel Steel. The wood portions were painted with a base-coat "wood" color custom-mix I keep on hand and then given a light wash of thinned MM enamel Leather. The tools were installed in their respective clamps and locked in place. The spare track run was also added to the hull nose along with its retainer. For the jack block, I added the Eduard detail items for the reinforcing strips and carry handle after the block had been painted since they are already in a metal finish and didn't need any additional treatment as a result.
The rear of the vehicle also received some attention. I detailed the aiming stakes (or what Tamiya provides to represent them at any rate!) by hand alternating with Flat Red and Light Gray to produce the candy stripes. The rear Notek convoy light was given a base coat of non-buffing Metalizer Steel followed by a coat of Tamiya Clear Blue. The exhaust muffler was base coated with non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and given successive washes of thinned enamel Rust and enamel Burnt Umber. I also applied, very lightly, the same washes over the heat shield screen and then dry-brushed the Light Gray/Dunkelgelb base-coat color over it to blend it all back together a bit.
That brought things around to the tracks. Off-and-on over the last couple of weeks I've been slowly assembling the runs. The MK links have one pin already molded in place and you slip the links together and add the opposite side pin to assemble them. Makes for a relatively speedy process but the links are small and have 3 attachment points on the sprue, so the cleanup is what took the most time. I assembled 2 runs and test fit them, the left hand run needed 99 links while the right needed 100 to generate the desired sag.
The tracks were primered by airbrush with MM enamel Flat Black to protect the delicate pins and plastic from the effects of the lacquer-based overcoat of MM Non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal also applied by airbrush. After the tracks were dry, I heavily dry-brushed enamel Steel and then applied a wash of enamel Raw Umber. The tracks were then installed and the movable idlers used to create the proper tension on both sides to round out the day's session.
