very nice build!!!! and I like the weathering, sometimes weathering can be overdone and it will take away from the general look.

I agree with you on Tamiya having great instructions and rather straight forward engineered kits.

I made some progress on my 1/48 type 10 last night, but the tracks are throwing me some issues, as I can't get the length right, so I might deal with them being short, and since the side skirts come so far down and cover almost all of the tracks, I really only need to get the front and rear to look right.

Cheers to you for realizing that you can do it, and you stuck with it!

Thanks. I sometimes think that once people have learnt a new weathering technique they feel obliged to use it every build as much as possible which sometimes can spoil a perfectly good model. When you think about the life expectancy of say a Panther in Normandy it wouldn't last long enough to get rusty. The same applies to Shermans there. From the beaches to being blown up you'd probably be looking at a couple of weeks, hardly enough time to scuff the paint off. I always try to show wear where the crew would hold onto getting in and out of vehicles and with this one where the loaders would walk as the gun traversed. I'm glad it turned out okay and was reasonably subtle. I used Tamiya XF-84 dark iron dry brushed in patches then lightly dybrushed Vallejo 70864 natural steel over the top so it showed oxidised patches where the paint had worn off (XF84) then the bright metal bits are the areas that take the most wear on a daily basis. I was quite pleased with it and did debate doing a bit more but I thought that would spoil the look of it. Weathering is not something I'm very confident about. As most reference photos are B&W it's really hard to judge what's right.

Karl, I think you are right on about this. Like any other sort of artistic endeavor, modeling is an exercise in restraint. There is a constant temptation to say that "if a little is good, more must be better." Knowing when to stop and say "enough" is something that only comes with practice.

Finally finished the camo on this one. Used Hataka Early War French armor set. Really nice colors, but some challenges getting them to spray nicely with the AB. Markings and weathering next, should be fun.

Hi all my completed Matilda (I need to improve my photography and figure painting techniques).

Really impressive job with that camo, Chris.

Good looking Matilda, Linus.

Today was a very sad day. I suffer with a couple of long term medical conditions which get worse as time goes by but take them in my stride as there's no point in moaning or getting upset about them. I'm waiting for an ECG as just recently they think I may have a heart problem (on top of my other ailments) and that it's not pumping properly. Today I had a blackout while sat at my desk, fell off my chair sideways, hit the Ikea folding table (which weighs a ton) next to me that had the Sdkfz 7/2 on it and a newly completed Panzer II that I built after the half track. The table went over and crushed both of them. F***ed off would be an understatement. At the moment I can't even bear to look at them to see if they're retrievable I'm that gutted. I just picked up the bits and put them in freezer bags until I can stomach sifting through the wreckage. I don't think that there are two parts of the Flak 37 that are still glued together. I suppose the moral in that one is when you've finished something put it away safely. I hadn't even got around to taking any photos of the Panzer II and was pleased with how it had turned out for such a basic kit. It wouldn't be so bad but I'd worked out dioramas for both of them that I was going to start this week and now they both look like they've been on the receiving end of a flight of Typhoons! At least I got my pictures in last week

Chris, great job on the camouflage. Well done on a big canvas like the Char B.

Linus, nice Matilda. I like the weatherbeaten look of the tank. For the figures maybe a couple of washes and subtle highlights would help(?)

Thanks Marc and Jesper for the kind words.
Linus, really like the finish you achieved on the matilda, what brand paints did you use for the camo?
Karl, that is a heart breaker. So sorry to hear about your situation with your health. Hang in there!

Thanks Chris. The only positive (I have to find a positive in everything. Always have done lol) about being too ill to work anymore is it means I can spend as much time modelling as I like. I've had a look at the Sdkfz7/2 and it's beyond reasonable repair as the superstructuress badly damaged and bent plus the Flak 37 is in more bits than it started off as so that'll have to go into the spares box now. The chassis is okay though. I think I'll buy another one to build as I enjoyed building that particular kit and liked the way it looked. I may see if I can build something else in the time left. I know I've qualified but I was going to build something else anyway as I've always got something on the go

Karl,
Heart-breaking news all round, although your a tougher man than I; were it me, I think I wouldn't have much left to spare to give a passing thought to any models. I most sincerely hope things get better for you soon.

Chris - A most impressive paint job. How did you get the black separation lines so nice? I have this kit in the stacks and would love to actually build it.

Karl - I'm sorry to hear of your ailments and of the trashing of so much fine work. I hope you can gather the gumption to see what can be salvaged and get on with the projects.

Linus - That is a very unusual scheme on your Matilda. The mid color looks almost bluish. Was this a desert paint job?

I made some progress on the long delayed Tamiya Churchill project over the weekend. The decals went on and were sealed a week ago so this week it was time for some filters & washes to try to bring things up a bit. The white in the decals is still pretty blinding and so will need more attention. Detail painting got a start as well.. The tracks went into the chemical dark/rust bath and are drying now waiting for further attention. Here are a couple of snaps:

Karl, sorry to hear about your health. I hope everything works out. As long as you can build models it is not all bad I wish you all the best.

Thanks Paul! The Churchill is coming along nicely as well, are those Fruil tracks you're using?
The Char B is a dream to put together, so I would highly encourage you to give a go. I hand painted the lines with a 000 brush, slow but steady work. I use the vellejo 70.822 German Cam. Black Brown as I didn't want the contrast of straight black.

Yes, Fruils. The more I work with other makes of tracks, the more I like the Fruils. I'm working on a set for a Panzer II right now, very tiny links, very time consuming but the look terrific and they drape just right to look like real steel tracks. I just did a set of resin tracks for a KV-1 and found that while they look terrific, they need to be posed rather than taking a natural drape.

Your choice of black brown makes a lot of sense in helping to fool the eye. One of my favorite blacks is an old bottle of Pactra Scale Black which I have had for 30 years if I have had it a day. It is more a very dark grey with a bit of brown than a pure black.

I sure admire your steady hand. I would need a gin & tonic or two to be that steady . . .

Hi everyone,
It's my photos of finished model.
Thanks for really nice campaign I had a lot of fun.

Nice weathering, Pawel. What kind of products did you use for the running gear?

Thanks Jesper
For running gear weathering I used pigments from Vallejo. I was putting wet mixture of pigments, plaster and turpentine by airbrush from old brush. When the mixture dried I rubbed surface with a sponge makeup. To some areas I added dark wash and wet effect liquid.

Nice weathering Pawel. Is this the old Tamiya release or the more recent one? Curious -- why no markings? Cheers, Tat

Thanks Tat.
It's a new release of old Tamiya. The vehicle was used in Italy, according to instruction have marking on upper hull front armor plate and two licence plates.

Very nice job Pawel!!

Pawel - Your build came out great! It really makes me think about digging my kit out of the stack and building it.

Karl, so sorry to hear about your health problems and the accident with your models, I would be gutted too. I hope for the best for your health and that you can salvage the kits!

Everyone else, great work!