WIP: Takom Mark I male, Part I

 

I know that the title says "Part I," but I must admit that is a little bit of a lie. The truth is that I've had this kit painted twice before. The original paint, which was water-based acrylic that I attempted and failed to chip, was painted over with a Tamiya mix, but I was again unhappy with it. I was on the verge of binning the entire kit, but decided to strip it and start again. 

This time, I primed it a dark red-brown I made mixing  a couple different Stynylrez primers together, sprayed a couple of coats of AK Scratches Effects, and then gave it a coat of Tamiya Khaki XF-49 to serve as the base drab color and then lightly chipped. This color, of course, is an approximation (I firmly believe that the exact color was lost to history) and that's good enough for me. After a coat of X-22 Clear, I added the handful of decals, four in total, and then went to work on pin wash using Mig Wash for Desert Sand Base and yes, this was applied to every rivet... Every. Single. Rivet.

From here, I'm unsure of what direction to take the weathering. I'm leaning towards adding some post-shading with an airbrush and definitely a nice pass of pre-dusting to kick off the weathering, which will eventually be a dusty and dirty finish (this is one of the eight tanks that were sent to Palestine in December 1916). Regardless, I'm pleased just by getting to this point considering the struggles I've had with this kit. Part of my new outlook of scale modeling has been to "let go," trust the process, and know that the finish will turn out okay. If it doesn't, just chalk it up to learning and move on to the next one. 

They don't all have to be barn-burners after all.

Showcase: Armored Fighting Suit C.D. Type "POLAR BEAR"

 

WIP: Ma.K Armored Fighting Suit C.D. Type, Part II

 

I got to spend a couple of hours working on oil paint rendering on the helmet and body. Most of the work was done with Abteilung 502 Industrial Earth and Faded UN White to add some grimey tones in the recesses and refine the whitewash, respectively.

There's more OPR in the future as I turn my attention to the lower areas. I also need to figure out what do with the hand, which has been left in the base olive drab so far.

WIP: Ma.K Armored Fighting Suit C.D. Type

 

This was my first go at a whitewash and it turned out... okay.

I initially tried Tamiya Flat White thinned with water, but it sprayed like shit and didn't chip the way I was used to so I tried to remove as much as I could, which left a kind of interesting effect. I added a couple more coats of chipping fluid and sprayed AKRC Off White thinned with MLT just over the OD areas and it chipped much better. This, of course, will be further enhanced with washes and OPR as I move on with the build.

Showcase: StuG.III Ausf.G

 

WIP: Dragon StuG.III Ausf.G, Part IV

 

I spent some time flexing my Warhammer muscles and put some paint on the figures. Overall, I think they turned out okay and definitely look good in the hatches. In my reference photo, there's an Stg44 resting in the machine gun mount, but I couldn't get the kit parts to play well with the the figure standing in the hatch, so I'll leave it off for the time being.

WIP: Dragon StuG.III Ausf.G, Part III

 

For me, mounting the tracks is always a momentous occasion on an armor build; it signifies the beginning of the end of the build. I refined the mud from the earlier pictures and added some wet effects in a couple areas for more visual interest. 

Now I can turn my attention to mud and dirt effects on the upper hull, which I’m still trying to decide how to tackle and to what degree.