Karl, I want to make sure I say thank you for all your hard work doing this very comprehensive review on this kit. I appreciate what you have done and hope it will inspire a LOT of T-64 builds. Good job.

Now to wee what you do with paint...

Karl,

Thanks very much for doing such an outstanding job on the build blog & a lovely clean & impressive build!!!

The more I see of post war soviet tanks the more interesting they are!!

Cheers Mike

T-64A looks so elegant~

But I think the IR sight is a little bit misplaced, it should point at exactly same direction as the main gun point at though

How have I missed this build, awesome !

Gary- what can I say, your far too kind, I'm just glad you've enjoyed the build!

Eddy- Thanks for checking in and for those kind comments, very much appreciated. I know what you mean about funds- I have plans for a small dio with this tank but zero ability to afford any of the bits and pieces for it right now! (In terms of the Review I posted a link to it back on the first page.)

Jacques- Thanks for the comments my friend, and I have to say I very much appreciate the support yourself and others here have shown for this build. I hope it will inspire some more builds too- I know I'll be doing one if Trumpy decide to release a BV- thats one mean looking beast!

Mike- Thats the problem bud, the more of this stuff you see the more you want to build it...and then you find you're addicted ! Thanks for taking the time to check out the thread.

Dave- Thanks for checking in and yes I think the IR projector's alignment isn't quite spot on with the barrel- I think I've put the frame for the projector at its max elevation allowed by the kit parts. To achieve a higher elevation I think would require a bit of sanding on the back of the housing to allow the frame to move a bit more.

Steven- I'm glad you like the build log, thanks for stopping by.


Paint is ongoing at the minute- so an update soon!

Excellent work as usual! looking foward to your future progress

Jeff- thanks a million, much appreciated.

I've moved on to the painting stage now and before I get down to what I've done I just want to say a word about color. T-64s, it seems, were mostly painted green- but not all were. The Kagero book shows a Ukranian T-64 with a rather faded green, a dark green and a red squiggly band of paint running all over it.

The front of the Concord T-64 and T-80' book has a T-64 on the front cover in green and light grey- 'uncommon' according to the text. This book also shows a few T-64s with a white cross marking which was sometimes used to denote 'aggressor' forces during exercise.

Basically- you don't have to just go for plain green! Having said that I am going with plain green!

There's a few different surfaces on this kit- the large amount of PE, the plastic and the flexible styrene- so a good multi-surface primer would be advisable. I always use Tamiya primer for my builds, in my opinion its the best.





After that dried I got out some Vallejo Model Air Russian Green.





I am planning to do some color modulation on this finish, so more on that soon.

Going back to the un-ditching log I mentioned a few posts back, I spent a while looking for some twigs that might have suited and I didn't see any that wouldn't require a fair amount of work. I wanted to get on with the painting, so I went ahead and while I was waiting for a coat to dry I thought I would take the kit log and see if I couldn't make it look a bit more...loggy...or woody...or something...

I thought the hairspray technique with some suitable colors might breathe some life...or woodiness...into it. I brush painted it with Vallejo Old Wood followed by Future and then some AK Chipping fluid.



Once that had dried I got some Model Air Interior Green (so as to add a bit of interest to the log with a different green color) and sprayed it on. Once dry I chipped it off and ended up with this:



I'm still not totally happy with it but I think a wash and maybe some strategic dryrbrushing might accentuate the poor woodgrain a bit more, so I'll keep trying at it and see what happens.

More updates soon.

Thanks for reading.

-KARL187-

As I was building this kit I was contemplating what to do with the painting. I had a good idea what weathering I wanted to do but I was wondering whether I should go for some color modulation. In the end I decided to go with CM- its a paint technique I enjoy doing and I think it adds a nice bit of interest to a model.

Personally I think its fairly easy to do but in any explanation I've read it seems to be explained at length- I don't really think it needs a massive explanation because, as I said, its relatively easy to do. Best thing of all though is that if you mess it up- just paint over it- so if you fancy trying it you won't end up ruining your next masterpiece!

I would say modellers use it for a variety of reasons- I suppose the main ones are that it adds a nice bit of tonal interest to the finish on a model- you can highlight parts you want to draw the eye to and darken parts to which you might want to add some heavy weathering.

I do it in four simple stages. Stage One is applying a base color and I've already done that with Vallejo Model Air Russian Green.

Stage Two is to put some Russian Green in a jar and add some white until you are happy with the tone- I don't measure this, I just eyeball it. Once I'm happy I start spraying.















You can see in the first picture there a small triangular piece of card. Masking can be used to make the contrast between the colors more stark but I ended up not using it- I prefer to freehand. The light color I have applied to some high points and areas where I thought the eye should be drawn. I don't stick to any hard and fast rules about where each color should go- if I step back and it looks wrong I'll just paint over it and start again.

Stage Three is to add some black to the Russian Green- just eyeballing it again.





















Its not until you start applying this dark color that you can see the contrasts coming through. I applied this in areas that could be described as 'in shadow'- like directly underneath the turret- or areas which might get quite dirty- the rear engine hatch for example. Like before I don't go by strict rules about where you should and shouldn't apply shadows.

Stage Four is very simple and it can be optional- basically it is just highlighting small, individual areas of detail and I'll explain it a bit more with the next update.

(You also have to keep in mind when using Color Modulation that if you plan to weather the model then the effect will definetly be altered by things like filters and washes etc.)

Well that was just a wee explanation about how I go about color modulation. I hope it was somewhat interesting!!

I've moved on to do some weathering now and I'll be getting that posted up soon.

Thanks for reading and taking the time to check out the build log.

-KARL187-

I couldn't resist....Today I bought it
I'd say that is the best Trumeter kit which I have (and I have lots of them)
Karl, I'm sure I'll use your thread as a reference.

A question

I've noticed that in the soft sprue there are two gun mantlets. At a first glance they look the same, I can't really explain why the kit provides two of them. Is it perhaps one of them just a spare part?

Great painting job so far!

Your build logs always are really amazing

Mauro- thanks a lot my friend, means a lot to me- much appreciated.

As for the gun mantlets- one has the barrel sitting pretty much horizontal, the other mantlet raises it slightly- very slightly- there isn't much difference between the two really.

Allright, now I've understand, thanks a lot

Great idea to have two options for the gun position!

Your great build deserved a great paint and it is definitely the way it takes.
Congratulations Karl!

Olivier

Hello Karl,

Great paint job man! Love the color variation and its not too stark in contrast as some modulation efforts tend to be. Well done Karl!!!

Gary

Karl,

looking great love the paint can'y wait to see the wearthering
dave

Very nice work Karl. Nice shades there, i think they will look great after the weathering!

Olivier- Thanks for the comments mate!

Gary- I don't usually like to go too stark for color modulation as you said, personally I prefer a more subtle approach. Thanks for stopping by!

David- I'm on to the weathering at the minute so I'll have an update for that shortly. Thanks for taking a look.

John- Thanks a lot bud, much appreciated.

As I said before I've been looking at the Concord T-64 and T-80 book and there are some great pictures in it- its black and white mostly but you can still spot some interesting things in terms of the painting and get ideas for weathering. One thing I came across was several tanks showing chipping on the three turret mounted ammo boxes- they showed up clearly in the photos as the aluminium showed up very shiny in the chips.

I decided to do some chipping via the hairspray technique using AK Chipping Fluid.

First things first was to mask off the boxes and apply some Model Air Aluminium.



I then gave it a coat of Future followed by the chipping fluid and then my Russian Green mixed with white.



Using water this was chipped off randomly and left to dry.





Then it was time to do Stage Four of my Color Modulation process- this was adding highlights in small areas using a bright green paint- Vallejo Pastel Green in this case. You can brush this on in the traditional manner but I prefer to do it via drybrushing as I find it is more controlled in this way.











I also did some detail painting- including the AA gun and things like the gun mantlet.

I've also been working on the missile shields- these were painted with Russian Green and then lightly highlighted on the front with the Green and White mix and the Green and Black mix on the rear. Dark Rubber was used for the rubber tops and/or bottoms- I plan to leave these off to the end to allow easier access to the running gear.



My plan is to depict a tank still in service in the late 1980s- there's some nice pictures in the Concord book so thats my inspiration for choosing that time period!

I've been doing some chipping and will be sorted the decals and then moving on to a Filter. I'll have updates of this soon.

Thanks for reading.

-KARL187-

karl looking great makes me want to try Color Modulation on my next build keep it up
dave

Karl,

Simply stunning build & paint job so far!! Can't wait to see more!!

Cheers Mike

Dave- Thanks a lot mate- and let me know if you do give CM a try- even better- do a build log!

Mike- Thanks a million for the comments!

So, some chipping- probably the most annoying bit of modelling- for me anyway! Like building individual link tracks- you've just got to knuckle down and get on with it.

I usually have a good idea in my head before I begin of what sort of chipping I'm after and roughly where it should be located. First of all I take a color that is quite close to the base color- in this case it was Andrea Army Green- and use a sponge to apply it in certain areas. For me this gives a bit of depth to the chips without being too drastic at first.

Once I'm happy with the placement of the chips I get a fine brush, usually something like a 5/0, and carefully add chipping in a color a good bit lighter than the base- Vallejo Pastel Green in this case. The control afforded by the paintbrush means you can add chipping bit by bit- choosing exactly where to place them. Once that is done I get a piece of sponge and use the same color to add a multitude of smaller chips around those already added with the brush.

Now its time to add some rust. This goes, mostly, inside the chips already created and my first application using Vallejo Dark Rust, is added with the paintbrush. Then, to add the chips more randomly, I go back to the sponge.



















Obviously at this time the chips aren't going to look very natural- they will appear quite stark and will stand out but subsequent weathering stages will tone them down and help them blend in to the surface to look more natural.

So, more weathering to come soon!

Thanks for reading.

-Karl187-

Very nicely done Karl!

Very clean and accurate build, nice paintjob and excellent weathering. I like this very much, its a proof of your modelling skills.

Thanks for sharing this interesting build wilth us. Keep up the good work.
Cheers
Walter

Stunning job Karl

Russian paint of the seventies-heighties, didn't look to resistant



(I'm not sure about the version depicted. It might be a T-64P)

here some pics and drawings

http://russianarms.mybb.ru/viewtopic.php?id=1011

here some other ones

http://www.russianarms.ru/forum/index.php?topic=3866.0















Here a nice video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fNEicrFATzk#!

(note the flaming tank )

A pair of Russian documentaries

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hioDx2SfEk&list=LPobvxKoAOrlw&index=7&feature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1H0UkDDjCY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-kVClgydew&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXqEP1svxQQ&list=LPobvxKoAOrlw&index=1&feature=plcp
(Mainly T-64 b)

Hi Karl, I haven't stopped in on this until now, but you've done a fantastic job on the kit, really nice work indeed!

If I may offer just a couple of constructive comments with the painting stage. Firstly I think your initial coat of CM was very good and added some excellent tonal variation to the base coat. I think however when you dry brushed the colour highlight onto to specific raised areas its ended up looking like paint wear as opposed to a highlight. When I did the T-72 I used an excessively light green colour to literally paint certain raised areas, for example the side ZIP box retaining straps, the finished look prior to weathering looked very garish but was pleasantly toned down after weathering.

Regarding you chipping as well I think some of looks a little too heavy and un-natural, like its localised in certain areas but doesn't naturally blend with the whole vehicle. Also forgive me for saying but the colour is a bit too bright and kinda looks like bird droppings. The initial scuffs should probably be a darker green, the rust colour looks fine, though needs to blend a bit more into the scuff, i'd suggest using a very limited application of a rust wash colour onto the scratch area to blend the colours. Finally you may wish to also consider (and i'm not 100% certain on this) but the fuel tanks and zip boxes are most probably constructed from pressed aluminium, therefore the paint chipping should reveal a flat or slightly gloss aluminium colour underneath.

I really hope that my comments don't offend you Karl, I offer them purely as some constructive ideas and things to think about with your model. I offer up a photo of my T-72 to highlight some of the points i've raised, and perhaps give you a reference for the chipping and weathering of Russian armour:

Walter- thanks for stopping by and taking a look at the build log and thanks for the comments- much appreciated.

Mauro- awesome links and photos as always mate- thanks!

Rob- absoloutely no offence taken, I'm always very glad to receive constructive criticism- a big part of modelling is a learning process and critiques like yours help immensely.

I see the manner in which you did the retaining straps and, also the frame around the engine grille? This looks much more structured and neat than what I've done. I think in the future I will aim to paint the highlights neatly as you have done- it appears to work a lot better in terms of the overral look- and it couldn't be mistaken for paint wear the way it could be if you drybrush it like I did.

I hear what you are saying about the chips- there's one bit in particular I reckon looks very like bird droppings- the bit behind the Gunner's hatch! At least I have a fair idea of what I should aim for if I'm ever wanting to apply some bird droppings to something ! Also- you mentioned the zip boxes and I believe you are correct in saying they are aluminium so I will have to go back and alter those chips. But if you take a look at this you can see the rear right hand cell has rust on it:



I might keep the rust on that (does anyone know why that particular bit may be steel and the rest aluminium?) one and then alter the rest with aluminium chips. I've applied a filter and pin wash since I last updated and I reckon this has toned down the starkness of the chips. I plan to alter them further with various rust tones and a couple of other things so they are far from done just yet. I need to practice chipping more often to be honest- I do that many modern vehicles where it is simply not called for to any great extent that I get out of practice with it.

Anyway Rob- I appreciate the comments and I will try and alter things as I've said and keep letting me know what you think- criticism and discussion like that is, I believe, how we advance as modellers and one of the main reasons this site can make one a better modeller .

That's a b exemplar







As you can notice there are rust stains on them, so they can't be made on aliminum (in my opinion aluminum cells would have been too expensive and maybe too difficult to weld)

Anyway, as I said before, in my very humble opinion Karl's job is incredibly good (as well as your Rob. At the beginning I thought that the pic which have posted, depicted a real subject).
The only thing which I'd say about the chipping made by Karl, is that he would add some more metal chipping on the edges. This way his job migt look more realistic

Just my two cents anyway

If you look closely at that photo, it appears to have an exhaust coming out of it, with it being "wet stacked" aka diesel/crap being pushed out of diesel engine that hasn't been warmed up to operating temperature. I'm going to assume its a APU (aux power unit) and the steel casing is to protect it better then Aluminum could.