A word on the lacquer based dullcoat...if it hasn't cured (usually meaning left to dry overnight), applying thinner-based washes over it will cause it to haze/fog since the tiny particles that produce the dullcoat effect will come out of suspension and no longer be "clear". Alcohol will do the same thing regardless of whether it's "cured' or not from my experience.

Not trying to steal Ron's thunder, but applying washes over a flat coated surface will produce "blooming" or tide marks depending vs. a gloss coat which will cause the wash to flow and accumulate around the detail/raised areas. Depending on the desired effect, either approach can produce what you're after.

Hi guys,

K S all the surgery was done with an exacto with a fresh blade i just score it and keep scoring till i get enough you come through from the back side then a slight sand with a nail file board this helped keep the cut square.

About the pool/tide marks yes as Bill pointed out (no thunder to steal here Bill :-) ) washing on a dull surface will leave these marks as the dullcote tends to suck the wash which is one of the benifits that i like about it unfortunatly the tide marks are a side product, in my experience as long as the tide marks are only being caused by the thinner and not the colour which also in my experience is generaly the case then i can either go carefully over the entire model with thinner which cancels the tide marks out and/or a final dullcote will also cancel them out. if using this method practice on something first and see how it works out for you.

In general i usually spend more time weathering than i do building and painting its just fun to me and i am definatly no expert on either i just like to build models and try new things out, i will try something then look at it and think oh i know what will look good now so i'll add that and so on and so on till i finally get the look i want so i am in noway trying to promote what i am doing here or say its the best method im purely sharing the ride.

K S, im glad this pushed you to post you models you have some very nice stuff i really like the contrast you got on the whitewash it is very striking and the JT is gonna be awesome love the camo, as far as inspiration goes well Bill is to thank for that seeing as he was the one that inspired me to write this in the first place with the great ones he as done.

Hi Ron, I just read Frank Glackin's M4A2 blog and now all of this thread and I have to say these step by step builds are a great idea showing people how you tackle a particular kit as you go along and letting them ask questions about techniques. Great work congratulations.

WOW Ron thats all I can Say is WOW




Matt

Thanks Pat and Matt.

here are the last stages of this build,

time to get the tracks done, here i once again used the powder and piled it on liberally


then used the brown wash to soak it all and sludge it around


once this dried i used a muddy coloured wash followed by a light wash




finally another brushing with the powder scrubbing it into the tracks then hard brushing the loose away

the tracks were finished up with a light redrybrushing of the steel and they were finished.

back up on top i used a rust wash very lightly for some rust marks here and there.


at this point the whole thing looked a tad flat for me


so i used a very watered down future mix to add just a very slight sheen and the whole thing was finished up by scrubbing a little of the powder here and there mainly where the bedsprings were attached to the tank and travel areas to show crew wear.

well that basically concludes this project i would like to thank you all for the support and input and tagging along, it was a wonderful kit to work with and i would definatly recomment it.

from this


to this


and the rest.

This looks like a good kit, Im going to have to get one for the stash

superb thanx for sharing i found it very educational

wow i am so happy to see this article you have encountered the same issues i have with my t34 , i have a problem with the fuel brackets though they have been everything but fun i am trying to get my t34 done in time for our ipms show here in indy ..i work a lot of hours and have been off and on this project for three months i am building the original kit 6203
but have a pair of the new ones two i love the t34 and i can say i am very happy with your end results ! i am afraid to use indies so i spent 40 dollars on friuls and ended up having to file off extra bolt detail on those
anyway i love the article and if any of you want to check my pics in my gallery ,suggestions are welcome

Nice job Ron. the T-34 came out very nice. That sure looks like a lot fo work though. I hope you enjoyed it. That one is on my list. Now If I could only learn how to do the smaller pieces. I have several Tiger I's from DML that are in progress. I have to get going on them.

I finally got to the bedsprings on mine and the instructions are extremely vague. Even the drawnings show nothing whatsoever regarding the bending of the parts or the orientation of the brackets. I think that some of the fun with this addition is that it doesn't need to be neat and tidy anyway.

On the rear plate, on the dragon instructions, it shows to mount it forward up enough that it does not block the engine hatch. The drawing used is pre-turret installation. There is obviously no clearance for the turret to turn if it is done this way, so the instructions/paint chart simply do not show that particular screen in place again. :-) Again, it's a relatively crude set of parts, so artistic license doesn't really spoil or hinder it ...But I still think Dragon yet again comes up short in the instructions department.

oh yes it is basicaly about making an educated guess like you said, it being russian give way to just making it up :-) i noticed the same thing on the rear engline deck one too, one thing i did that i know was'nt right was on the long side deck ones i turned the ends up instead of down because i prefered the way it looked turned up up on the turret pieces also on the pics on the box.

I turned them out too, looks more 'complex' to the eye(and may be more accurate?? based on the box art). I turned the rear panel edges down though because it looked............well because I bent them wihout checking the relief etching first

Excellent SBS Ron. Was a joy reading through it. Its always very interesting to see how other modellers tackle certain situations. Keep up the good work!!

Great job and a good read.

Thanks a bunch