Churchill Mk.III AVRE COMPLETED 3/6/11

hughes2682

Karl,

Thank you for the compliment and checking in on this build.  I'm working on getting some color on it now.  Taking a break at the moment as there are A LOT of angles to get painted on this beastie.  I ended up running my paint cup dry.  I am using Life color UA219 Olive Drab.  The kit calls out for Tamiya XF-62.  I've used that on Tasca Sherman V and it turned out much too dark.  I am going with my gut feeling on this color..... I figured by the time I get all the washes, filters and whatnot it'll be right where I want it.  I am also trying to figure how to make an Ultracast British T/C work with the turret hatch.  IMHO, armor just doesn't look as good without a figure in, on, or around the vehicle.  

Cheers

Dave

I rarely ever get hung up on "exact" colors--I think the term itself is an oxymoron.

You're getting some good effects with your painting, and with all that bling..... it's one of the crown jewels!

(Those heads are rolling along quite nicely too)

Sorry it has taken so long to reply to you folks.  Things have been quite busy in and around the household of late.

Jester,

Thank you for the compliment sir. The beast has sat idle for a bit so I was able to see it with really fresh eyes this week.  The highlighting is where I want it though I may have to do some touch up on the turret roof.  I shot a small area with a gloss clear coat for where the aerial recognition star is to go.  I'll see how it goes after I seal it with some flat coat.

Karl,

Thank you for the advice.  I am getting more comfortable with mixing colors of late.  The mechanical aspects of modeling come rather easy for me..... it's the artistic aspect that I have to work harder at.  As for "exact" colors... what are those?  I was concerned once, long ago about getting the right color and, then I really thought about how correct it would be after being fielded, beat up, run hard, shot at, etc......

Disastermaster,

Thank you very much sir for the compliment.  The beast is at idle while the gloss coat dries for the decals. I've been working on the figure. I'll post some pics of him later as I am able.  The guillotine is cracking me up. 

Cheers

Dave

I had a nice session at the bench today.  Decals, tracks and, commander.

Obviously, the top may need a slight retouch after the flat coat is applied. Hey, at least there was no silvering.  One of the serial numbers started to silver and, I applied a coat of Solvaset.  It pulled it right down and two hours later.... still no silvering.  Woo hoo!

It looks as though I've got some clean up to do....

The tracks were base coated with MM Exhaust Buffing Metalizer.  The wash was MIG pigment P037 Gulf War Sand mixed with water to about the consistency of milk.  I used a 1" wide brush and liberally applied it to the tracks.  When this dried I then applied graphite to the high wear areas on the track and toned it down with a smudge stick.  WIth the graphite toned down, I then took a stiff brush and got rid of the excess pigment.  This in turn toned the high wear areas further giving the appearance of dust.  

Here is the commander thus far. He was painted entirely with Vallejo.  There is still a bit of tweaking yet to be done.  The hair is not yet complete and there are the washes to apply.

Cheers

Dave

Really nice base color for a really stunning vehicle!

You have nice weathering options with this tank! I´ll follow this one!

Those tracks are just super. They LOOK real.

Jose Luis Lopez,

Thank you for your kind words, stopping by and, following this build.  I'm not breaking any ground speed records with the rate of speed on this build.  Come to think of it, I am not breaking any speed records.  

DM,

Thank you so very much for that compliment.  Aside from assembly, it's five rather easy steps:

1. Base coat with color of choice.  I use MM Exhaust Buffing Metalizer. Let it dry about 24 hours.
2. Coat tracks with wash.  My mixture of choice is MIG pigments with water.This mixture will not eat the delicate plastic track pins when it gets into crevices. Mix it  to about milk consistency. This concoction will dry in about an hour.
3. Rub graphite onto the high wear areas.  I prefer to use graphite sticks as they give me more options.
4. Rub the graphite areas with a smudging stick .These are rolled paper sticks that are pointed at either end and, come in a variety of thicknesses. You can get them at any art store or store with a decent art supply selection.
5. Take a stiff brush and brush off the excess wash.  This will also give the graphite areas a coating of dust.

I'll get some pics up later.  I flat coated the decals last night with something I forgot I had.  Polly Scale Flat Coat.  I gave a dead flat finish.  So, I went ahead and gave the commander figure a blast of this stuff as well since, there were a couple of areas that had a bit of sheen to them. Even better, is that I won't have to touch up any of the areas on the tank that received gloss coat for the decals.  There were only a couple of very small areas on the front serial number that had any trace of silvering. These may not even be visible once the weathering and washes start.

Cheers

Dave

The decals came out great Dave and those tracks really look fantastic!! Graphite is awesome for that burnished worn metal look IMO. Got to invest myself in some pigs though for sure!!

I like where this one's headed Dave, decals look sharp and those tracks are awesome as well.

Jester,

Thank you for your compliments.  Those were the best kit decals I've played with in a long time.  The Solvaset gave them that final nudge and, the result (seeing it in person) is that they look painted on.  Uber thin and tough.  Graphite is my go to technique for high wear areas.  It looks different when burnished with a smudge stick.  When coated with mineral spirits it looses almost all of its sheen and takes on a gray appearance.  As for the pigs, they gave the appearance of my builds a leap forward.  You don't really need to use that much.  A little bit truly goes a long way.

Bill,

Thank you for the compliments.  As I said above, they are some of the best decals I've played with in a long time.  I got some painting done on  the tools and exhaust system yesterday.  

The tool handles were painted with Vallejo Old Wood and the metal parts were base coated with German Gray then darkened up with a thin black wash.  

The exhaust system was painted with Vallejo Dark Rust.  The unevenness of the base coat was creation by mistake.  

v

The aerial recognition star that snuggled down ever so nicely.  This is after I Flat coated it with Polly Scale.  

Cheers

Dave

MERCY MERCY

Dave you sure are making it harder to top this one with your next project.

Tony Lee

Wow, been a couple pf pages since I last checked in Dave, but looking fantastic mate, as has been said the tracks look wonderful

Regarding the lifecolors, I've only tried their rust set for brushing, for airbrushing what thinner did you use, their own brand or water....any issues?

Tony,

Thank you for high praise. I've got a couple of Cruisers and a Matilda in the stash that I may pull out after this beastie is done.  By the way, How did you get the distressed paint effect on that wooden box on what looks to be the back of a Marder?  Or is that I was so tired that I did not see the "how to" in your thread?

Eoin6661,

Thank you very much for the compliment.  I saw a thread a while ago by Bill Plunk, where he applied a pigment wash to road wheels, let it dry, and brushed off the excess.  So, I took that idea and applied it to my tracks.  The results were far better than I had imagined.  

Cheers

Dave

I decided to try out some chipping on this beastie.  I figured the box would be a good place to start since stuff gets hauled out of it and tossed into it.  Also, if I didn't like it I could just repaint it.  I'm thinking I'll keep it.  Mind you this is just a start so, it's not completely done.  The box that is. For the light discolored areas I used Life Color UA223 OD Faded Type 1 and for the metal areas I used Vallejo 995 German Grey. For brushes I used a 3/0 size and, a light touch.  One of the tricks is to keep it as random as possible.  

Cheers

Dave

The subject is great, dont see much British, The craftsmanship / artist is awesome!  This is a fantastic build so far.  The chipping looks great, I would also say keep it!  Looking forward to more.

Rob

Rob,

Thank you so much for the compliment sir.  The chipping will most certainly be staying.  There is one spot on the rear panel of the box that is just that, a "spot".  That'll get touched up.  The chipping on this beastie is going to take a while but, it'll be worth it.  I need to start in on a base for it soon.  Nothing too fancy.  Just a simple rubble strewn street.  

Cheers

Dave

Outstanding work... no more lurking as I have been following your work since day one.  I am not into British armors but you have been such an influence that I am starting to like others than Americans and Germans.  Looking forward to the end!

Andy,

Thank you for following this build and your compliment.  I, myself have been getting more into British armor of late.  I've been called many things but never an influence that would cause someone to like something.  You may wish to take a look at this link

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/newkitnews/bronco.html

Check out the second vehicle down.  An Archer!  Wooo Hoooo.  I'm hoping that someone will do a Bishop. 

I got a bit more chipping done on the hull this evening.  I'll be able to get even more done this weekend as I'm batching it myself.  I used the same colors as on the turret but, I'm thinking of going back tomorrow and adding another shade of OD.  Just something to add more layers.  I'm getting excited to see what this is going to look like with the filters, washes and, weathering.  

Cheers

Dave

Nice and subtle chipping!

Jose Luis Lopez,

Thank you sir for the compliment.  You should look back through the threads and have a look at Bodge's King Tiger.  Absolutely stunning.  Oh I found it!

/forums/p/120415/1217573.aspx#1217573

Cheers

Dave

Very nice work Dave, the chipping truly does look great!

Eric,

Thank you sir for the kind words.  I got more done last night at the marathon bench session.  The hull and road wheels are close to completion.  I had gotten to the point last night that I needed to give the Mk I eyeballs a break that, I decided to give it a rest and come back at it with rested, fresh eyes.  There a still a lot of wee details to get done before any washes, filters or weathering (chipping not included) get started.

Cheers

Dave

Looking good so far Dave, adding in more layers through the weathering process will really blend it together and bring it to life.

Bill,

Thank you sir and, I couldn't agree more.  I learned from taking notes from you and others that, the layers were necessary to achieve anywhere near the caliber of builds that I admired.  

The chipping is done and, now it needs to set for a bit.  I found some water marks on the paint. I'll be darned if they didn't just show up over night. Yeah, I know they didn't but, how the heck did I miss that?!   I mocked up the tracks to do a final check on the chipping.  I did find a couple of areas on the upper sponsons that were going to be more visible than I had originally thought.  So, while the touch ups dry out I'm going to grab a cup of tea and warm up, as the garage is rather cool today. outside today. 

I finally got around to getting the oils on the tool handles.  

Cheers

Dave

This evening I got the dot filter on the turret using Abteilung oils thinned with Turpinoid. 

Dots before

Dots after

A few more after shots of the turret

Cheers

Dave

Here is a sampling of what I got done on the hull before I had to start my work stretch.  All that remains is to do the road wheels. For the filter that is.  There is plenty more weathering to be done.

Cheers

Dave

Really starting to come alive Dave, looking forward to the next set of updates.

some fancy cookin' here........

Bill,

Thank you.  Sorry about the delay in responding. Work has taking a fair bit out of me lately.  Today, I'm looking forward to time at the bench and posting some updates later. I've been playing around with some MIG rain effects on a scrap hull and I think I'll have a go at it with the AVRE.  One more layer. . I've still to do the road wheels. I almost forgot that one.

Disastermaster,

Fancy cookin'?  Actually, just some pretty simple ingredients put together.  Thank you just the same

Cheers

Dave

Very very nice there sir Dave!! Very realistic look you are achieving here!