1/35 Trumpeter's - E100 Heavy Tank (Part 4)

Hello everyone! I'm back again with some more update photos of this project. As a raw, recently-manufactured and unpainted turret on a 'red-oxide' hull was by far too much of the same tonal value/s (and not pleasing to my eyes), I  decided to use some camo to break up the colour and add some interest. 

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In reality, had this been a real machine I can assume only the side-skirts would have received camouflage, and maybe the front/rear hull, however, as I am planning to have some of the side-skirts missing I decided to continue the camo pattern across the upper deck.  In these photos you might notice I have started to chip the yellow and also added a pin-wash.  

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More soon...............  

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1/35 Trumpeter's - E100 Heavy Tank (Part 3)

Being a semi-fictional subject (the hull existed while this particular turret didn't) I am not strictly tied to any particular colour scheme, so decided to paint my turret to represent a recently manufactured turret that hasn't even had its primer coat applied.

Photo above: just as I did with the hull in my previous post, I applied texture using Mr. Surfacer (click here for more info) and as there are no welds represented on this kit as supplied by Trumpeter, I made my own using putty (click here for more info).

Photo above: first I used the 'black & white technique' to create some interesting tonal contrasts under the base coat. Second came the base coat itself, and this was produced using highly diluted rusty tones which represent steel plate that has been exposed to the elements. I concentrated my darker tones in the lower turret areas and regions that would be in shadow, while the higher areas, especially the top surfaces where light would naturally fall, were significantly lightened.  The reason the paint is highly diluted is to allow the 'black & white technique' beneath to heighten the tonal effects I'm trying to create.     

Finally, I carefully airbrushed some black along my welds to represent burn marks, and then went in with some silver colored paint for the welds themselves which although may now look overly bright, will be knocked right back down with future weathering techniques.  Like I mentioned in my last post, I have learned to go really bright at this stage if I plan to weather my model - and I mean really over-exaggerate the colours - because if I don't, all my previous hard work will be more or less obliterated.

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1/35 VK1602 Leopard update (Part 5 - completed model! )

Above: I think this is my favourite build thus far. I'll admit, I've not built many models since I picked-up my childhood hobby once more, but yes, this is my favourite.

Above: I was originally going to have this tank depicted as a captured machine and had even hand-painted my white allied star on the hull, however, it just didn't look right to my eyes. I will save this idea for another build.

Above: a mud mixture with grass scatter works well to add some realism, even though my aim is not to try to solely make it look real - which sounds weird, I know, but to create an interesting model which is visually satisfying in its own right, whether or not it looks real or not; a realistic model is, of course, a nice bonus.

Above: I just had to use the lovely photo-etch hinge/bracket supplied with the kit. I used my trusty artist pastels to rust it up and fixed it with thinner - this might be my favourite little area of the tank simply because I love the colour contrast it provides and think it also looks quite convincing as rusty metal.

Above: I added both Mig dry and damp mud pigments to the underside of the hull and behind the tracks/running gear.

Above: cheap jewelry chain from an art shop adds some visual interest to the engine deck. It's weathered using pastels and pigments.  The red-oxide thing to the far left is a scratch-built spare road wheel holder and securing clamp.

Above:  a plain black base 'frames' the model nicely without distracting the viewer from all my hard work.

Above: I did plan to have a spare road wheel/extra armour on both sides, but wanted to have a different look to the model on both sides, thus opted for one to the port side - that meant on the opposite side I could show off my scratch built wheel bracket.

Above: oil and fuel stains finished off the engine deck

Above: using brass wire I added loops to the turret which enabled me to hang any natural vegetation the crew wanted to camo their machine with.

I often find that the little extras like a bucket finishes off a machine nicely and adds a human element, after all, without a human this machine is just a static piece of steel. The exhaust pipes were weathered using artists' pastels fixed with thinner.

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