Let’s be honest, going back to work after your hols is always a bit of a strain. After ten days in the South of Spain, soaking up a fair amount of sun and even more Alhambra beer, I got all of the post and mail up to date, had a bit of a tidy up and then decided that I needed something a bit exciting to ease me back. A couple of months ago I’d spotted some rather nice and very cheap T55 tanks on eBay which I thought would make great wrecks to add a bit of litter to the table.
It’s a Chinese made plastic model ready built but one which is pretty sturdy. My first step in turning this into a rusting hulk was to spray it black with cheap car paint. My usual supplier had run out of matt so I went with a satin, it really doesn’t make any difference.
With this done I slapped on a coat of Vallejo Yellow Green…
…followed by a wash of black ink watered down with screenwash concentrate and water.
I then dry-brushed this with the same Yellow Green with some white added. Once this was done I used a coarse brush to start applying rust. This was a Mahogany Sand which I dabbed on with a will. I focussed on the edges and stuff like the bottom rim of the turret and areas where rust appears first. That leaves the original paint showing on the flatter areas.
I did use some very thin white paint to add some turret numbers after which I used my Tamiya Weathering Master packs to add more shades of rust and soot to give depth to the model.
Following this I used a slightly smaller brush to add another coat of rust with the lighter Vallejo Red Leather. I followed this up by adding some white to that colour and then dabbed on some highlights.
And that’s about it. Here’s a shot of it “in action” on the table. Overall I am pretty pleased with this cheap and cheerful model which although sold as 1:43 scale is much more like 1:50 so fits right in.
Cabbages for Kings (and Commoners)
Playing Sharp Practice always drives me on in my never ending search of pretty terrain, so launching into work on the ACW supplement has seen me not just seeking to enlarge my figure collection, but also do some work on some terrain pieces for a few homesteads to populate the table. Naturally I’ve been knocking
6 thoughts on “Back to Work with a Bang”
Nice as ever.
I see the tracks have been scavenged and forged into other useful things, which would probably have happened to anything not welded to the tank, if it could be put to other uses. ( I realise that it could be difficult on a plastic kit. )
Air intake and exhaust may be blackened by exhaust fumes and/or the engine area from people who stole oil and petrol or even set them on fire deliberately
Just my 2 pence.
Ludger
Well done Rich. At that scale they look a very good representation of vehicles abandoned/salvaged/in tank graveyards I saw over there last year.
Looks great Rich, what are the dry pigments you have in the second to the last image?
They are “Tamiya Weathering Master”. I picked them up in a local model shop but you’ll find them on ebay
What is screen wash? I’ve been using magic wash (ink and Future/Klear) for a while but I cut it with water.
It’s just a cheap concentrated wash that you put in your car windscreen washer bottle. We can’t get Klear in the UK anymore and this stuff has similar, but not as good, properties. At least it’s meant to. I’m not really convinced. What it is good for is thinning paint when you put it through an air brush.