M3 Lee Progress(looking for guidance)

Ok I got the thing dirty now...take a look and tell me what you think

Embark,

I am glad to say that I am also a somewhat new plastic modeler (old RC airplane buff) and over the past year have put together a 1/35 Panther and a 1/35 M3 Lee. I have not considered them complete because I do not know the first thing about painting. I came here to find out what others thought and the first thing I saw was your post here about an M3. Im delighted to see that I am not alone in the world of paint and hope that you will continue to post your pics for your M3 so I may have some help in making mine look equally as good.

And thanks for the ideas petbat, as soon as my generic started airbrush set comes in the mail, im going to try some of those techniques.

The BIGGEST question I have is this.. When you come to paint something, how far do you need to break it down? I assume you took both of the turrets off when you painted it? Or did you paint the pieces before you glued them together? I am really scared about that because ive just started on my 1/16 Full Function Tiger 1 and DO NOT want to mess that one up.

Thanks again.

Just another small update...started trying to work on some weathering. I will have to lay it on thicker but the effect so far looks pretty good.

Just thought I would post some progress pics. It's the least I can do in return for the assistance you all provided me with.

It really isn't THAT shiny. I think it has to do with a combination of the lighting in the room and the flash on the camera.




I haven't put the decal on where the shovel is because I can't figure out how I could get it in there. Besides the surface isn't very flat at all what with the brackets for the shovel and all.

I have also run into another problem. One of the end wheels (the circle one not the one with all the spokes) has gotten a bit too weak to handle the tension caused by the tracks. Whenever I try to put the track on it bends very noticably. I might try drilling a hole in it and reinforcing it with a piece of copper or other tubular metal. I guess this is why everyone always talks about how handy dremels are.

Anyway tell me what you all think. You won't hurt my feelings if you think it's terrible but I am pretty satisfied so far.

Thanks
Ben

Wow thanks for the replies. I will definitely try to work on some of the tips you all gave me. In fact I sent the wife out to the grocery store for some "Future". Hah she thinks I want to work on cleaning the kitchen floor! I am eager to try out the new airbrush/compressor I got yesterday too. I picked up a Craftsmen 1.5 hp 3 gallon compressor and a Paasche VL airbrush. I also bought a lot of Model Master Acylic paints. I have in the past tried to use enamals but I ruined my Aztek brush because I failed to clean it properly (easy cleaning my arse!!)
All in all I think I cought the modelling fever because while I was at my LHS I picked up a Tamiya 1/35 FLAK 36 , a PAK 40, and a Jeep. I also managed to pick up some various infantry and cans and crates.

Ben
*EDIT* HEY I just wanted to point out that I made that antena from a piece of spare sprue. I just held it under a lighter and stretched it out.. I know it isn't a big deal but I thought it worked out well.

thats a great site petbat, ill have to try some of those techniques

let me say first the build looks good. crisp and clean. peter has outlined weathering very well and bill has added some great advice. look forward to seeing this post weathering.


joe

Another alternative that works well and achieves the same result as Peter outlines is to use Glosscoat in place of the future...spray the Glosscoat, apply your decals (I also recommend using a Decal Solvent solution to insure the decals lay down and adhere well to the surface) apply a second Glosscoat, then do your washes as Peter outlines.

Whichever method you use, the key is to seal in your basecoat prior to doing any washes. If you used enamel basecoat, seal with an enamel lacquer like MM Glosscoat and then apply acrylic washes (water colors also work for this). If you used an acrylic basecoat, seal it with Future or an acrylic lacquer and then use oil-based/enamel paints as your wash medium.

If you don't seal in the basecoat, you may be in for a nasty surprise depending. The last thing you want is to see it shrivel up into little paint curds and stip off the model!

It looks like Petbat has you all set up!
Keep us posted with your progress.

Nice work so far Ben.

As to weathering, well you will get a lot of different advice on this. From Me:

You need to apply the decals before starting the weathering process. Before adding the decals spray the vehicle with some light coats of Future Floor Wax to seal the paint and give you a smooth base to add the decals. This will help stop the decals from silvering (a milky grey shine from air trapped under the decal). Future is water based so will not effect the enamels - don't thin the Future though. When the Future is dry add the decals and then once the decals are applied and dry, use a mix of 70% Future and 30% Tamiya Flat base and spray that in light coats to seal the decals and restore a flat finish. Allow that to harden for at least 2 days. This will allow you to apply washes.

A wash is paint that has been thinned up to 95% depending on the effect you want to achieve. The idea is that the wash is applied with a wide bristle brush, and being thin, the colour will run to the grooves, and edges of protruding parts, but will not gather on the flat surface. I use artists oil paints thinned with white spirit or enamel thinners myself, but others use artists acrylics, etc. Basic colours to use are Raw Umber for a dark wash, Raw Umber and Yellow Ochre mixed together for lighter coats, and Burnt Sienna for darker rust streaks, petrol spills, etc. The oil paint should not effect the Future Floor wax finish.

Apply the wash sparingly, but if you apply too much just use some kitchen towel to soak up the excess straight away. For areas like joins between hatches and mounts, etc, just add a little black to the Umber wash and using a fine pointed brush just touch the brush to the join so the paint will flow around the join using capilary action. Leave the wash to dry for 48 hours.

Next is dry brushing. For this you can use artists paints or enamel paints. I find acrylic paints (Tamiya, etc) don't work well. The idea of dry brushing is you scoop a little paint pigment (don't mix it, leave the runny medium behind) onto a piece of card, and let the excess medium soak into the card. This leaves just the pigment colour. Using a wide flat brush, dip the end in the pigment and then wipe off most of the paint on a rag. You need just a hint of paint on the brush. Then gently brush the tip of the brush over the model so that the colour transfers to the raised detail on the model (ie the rivets) after a few passes. The idea is that it will be added subtly, so one pass should not deposit the paint or result in streaks.

Start dry brushing with the base colour, as the future and wash will have darkened that. Then lighten that colour (yellow works best for OD) and dry brush a little more gently with that. Keep lightening and dry brushing the detail in ever lighter strokes. The idea is that the really light colour should be on the top of the detail, with gradually darker shades going back closer to the surface.

This is the basics, and you should start there. When you are comfortable with that you try applying pastel chalks, filters, shading, wear and tear etc. See this link for details on these methods.
http://missing-lynx.com/rareworld.htm