Looks fine to me, although I don't think the lifting eyes would be that worn. As I've read the OD-paint on US tanks was baked on and I don't think tanks would have been lifted around enough for these parts to be worn that much.

Like your progress! I'll keep watching!

Cheers
Stef

Thanks for the input Stef,

I agree and was hoping the DullCoat will react with the lead and darken the finish and not be so shiny.

I am still poking around to try diffrent techiniques and styles to find my own way of weathering.

Regards
Ryan

You're gonna weather the tools a bit right? They just kind stand out at the moment and they sure would have gotten dirty
Evan

Oh Yes, just haven't got that far yet.

Ryan

Looking real good Ryan,Keep the pics comin
Andy

Thanks Andy,

Tonite I have the tracks painted and attached. I have dusted the model with Buff paint and used pastels to re-darken the road wheels after the dusting. The tracks are not finished yet, I need to wash the connectors and seal them up.

The effect I was after a dusty tank traveling on a hard surface exposing the dark rubber treads. I think I hit what I was after a good 80%...lit's not exactly what I was looking for but maybe the wash will help.







Thanks
Ryan

I absolutely love it.

Your too kind Jon, there is certainly a large learning curve to armor modeling.

I am eager to finish this one to get on with my a2 in the works.

Ryan

What is the white substance/technique you used to give the turret and glacis plate texture? That looks amazing!

Good ole' Tamiya putty thinned with liquid cement......smells awful, but looks good. You mix it up and apply with a brush. You can save the brush by dipping it in the glue when your done.

Ryan

Very interesting. I have to get ahold of some Tamiya putty again as I have lost my supplier. I just don't like the Squadron green nearly as much.

I don't think the putty will be back for a while...something to do with the formulation and selling it legaly in the US. Too bad because it is the best stuff on the market, I'm not sure if you can get it overseas though.

I am switching to "Acryl Blue" automotive putty.

Ryan

**Update**

Got a little ahead of myself tonite, but I couldn't resist! I Flat coated the tracks and lower hull and played around with some pigments.

I found that if you apply them wet there is much more control....I mixed up a batch and added dishwashing liquid to break the surface tension. It worked nice!





Still have some work to do, but i'm pleased so far!




*Edit* forgot this one


Nose scratches....



I used Games Workshop Matte coat for the flat....it was a little too flat and seemed to go on a little frosty...has any other modelers had this problem?

It may also just be my inexperience playing here also...I have flat coated it several times
No big deal in this case as I am going for the dusty look.

Ryan

Ryan, I haven't tried GW matte yet, but I like the results I get with Testors and MM flats. I originally used Krylon matte but I have had recent issues with it wrinkling my paint for some reason.

looking good bro! Yeah, using the pigments wet does help...just watch out, when they go on wet it doesnt look like there is much going on, then all of a sudden WHAM, pigment galore!
Try various amounts of thinner -pigment ratio too. Turpinoid works great as a wet medium for the pigments.
club is next week!
Im going to post some progress on my dozer tank...

Andy

Thanks Andy,

I look forward to your update. You are right about the wet pigment transformation as they dry.
I was appling some to the glacis and ran into trouble removing them!
C-pics, it really turned into a chalky mess, and when I tried to lay down some more dull coat it frosted soemthing fierce!


Check out the frosty look to the front...sigh!

Heres one with the flash turned on to illustrate the problem.

This story has a happy ending though....desperate to fix my mistake, I tried another future coat followed by some airbrushed Dull Coat...this made it worse..no pics of that mess!

Then it hit me..I still had the mix of paint I used for the overall color...but just enough residue left on the bottom and side of the jar I mixed it in. I put in a few drops of thinner in the bottle and coaxed the paint back to life. I then surgically applied the faint color coat to the frosted area...and it worked!!

I then had to re-dull coat the finish to tone it down and further blend it in with the rest of the finish....I used the Games Work Shop out of the can and found that a "heavy" coat worked best and removed most of the frosting in other areas. Further I discovered that taking a small brush with lacquer thinner reactivated the Flat Coat and removed any remaining frosting.

I am reminded of my favorite modeling saying....

"99% of modeling is knowing how to fix your mistakes"

I'm not sure if I "knew" how to bring it back, but I've learned something for the next one.
Compare these shots to the frosted cake above....whew!






Ryan

If i may comment...

dont forget, this isnt a airplane dude. Your aircraft always look awesome and part of that is how maticulous you are about your painting...
However, that same maticulous painting may be your undoing on the armored stuff. Some of the "weathering" on my armored builds is just the natural variation of the paint (including the occasional frosting of the dullcoat), as it all gets blended and worked over so overall it looks like a combat worn tank. I build tanks to NOT have to be so anal about my painting and weathering.

I think its time to press forward and not keep redoing what you have done already...press forward...weather, wash, dust, add stowage, weather and dust some more, then leave it be!

you said on my build my tools dont look as clean as yours...well, I havent done any weathering to them yet other than wash/drybrush with the rest of the tank. The reason they look worn is because I wasnt too particular about how exact my paint was..

I think you get the hint...

In all honesty, I think the tank is a gorgeous build, the paint is smooth, the panel lines pop and have some good depth to them. Keep rolling man, it looks great. Your attention to detail and your skill is an inspiration to me during my re-introduction to building.

ryan it looks great , im curently working on a dragon m4a2 tarawa ,and i got so inspired by your build i stripped down my old sherman and decided to refurbish it.
calvin

Thanks for the compliments J Sharp and Calvin, I respect Andy's opinion and it does need something....I think a balance can be found in afv weathering. I am really looking for a nice display model, not a crusty chalky mess.

I consider myself to fall into the "artistic" weathering catagory, here are some shots with some light pigment work applied. I still need a little here and there. I also show the base I'm going to mount it to...a simple plinth.




Ryan

Ryan,

now that is looking damn nice! Its looking very good...press on brother! Its amazing how good one of those old taymia kits can start looking.

Im looking forward to seeing this in person at the next meeting!
Andy

**Update**

I have finished the lower hull "wet" pigment operations, I need to go back over it with some dry application on the hull and front and rear surfaces. The tracks need another dose also I think. I went a little heavier this time after the last touch up spray that ereased them a couple fo posts ago.

Any and all comments are welcome.




More soon....
Ryan

I guess I'll paint that front MG someday:)

i really like it ryan,it'll look sweet on that base and make a great display piece
real good work mate

It's about time to wrap this one up, here is a update...I'm trying a new background, white.

I have finished decaling the ammo boxes and K ration boxes. They are photographed futured and before any washes or futher weathering. (up next)







I'll let the future dry over night then wash them up next.

Ryan

I have finished scratching up the Turret also...took forever.

Next I need to apply some pigments and paint the recoil band at the base of the gun.

Sorry pics are not as clear as I wanted them...need more practice against white.





Ryan