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M8 greyhound

Introduction

This is a short article on my build of the Italeri M8 greyhound, using the Eduard PE upgrade set and a few scratch built details. This model is generally passed over for the prefered Tamiya kit , but it doesn't mean it isn't worth building and I hope the final result will show this.

Modifications to the kit

The first of the modifications I made was to the wheels, I had already decided that I wanted to fit snow chain clad tires, so I set about making a set. For this I used the kit wheels and some 16 link per inch chain, I cut to the chain to the lengths I needed for each wheel, this consisted of 2 lengths to go around the rims (inside and out) and then 6 lengths to link the inner chain to the outer chain, it was then attached with CA glue and I was very happy with the outcome. These were not fitted on to the model, until after painting, more of which later.

The next step was the drivers hatches, the kit allows the top hatches to be positioned open or closed but the front one's are molded in the closed position and I wanted them open, so I carefully cut the hatches off and reset them in the open position, I then needed to add some detail to the inside of them which was completely missing, for this I scratch built the inner details using what bits of wire and plastic sheet I had laying around.

The kit supplied MG was not that great, so I used an academy one that I had in the spares box and along with the Eduard PE parts resulted in a nicely detailed .50 cal MG Lastly the kit supplied stowage was badly sunken in places and I didn't really like the way it looked, so I decided to make my own using facial tissue and a mix of white glue and water. First I rolled up the tissue into the shapes and sizes needed then tied them off with string and placed them on the vehicle in their respective places and then added the glue/water mix ,allowing them to soak it up until they couldn't take any more, the tissue began to swell creating some nice looking wrinkles and folds, once this had dried, and gone hard, they were painted as normal.

Painting and weathering

The interior.
The interior was painted first, I started with a base coat of flat white ,then using a small scrap of sponge and dark colored craft paint I added some wear and tear to edges and areas that would get worn quickly by simply dabbing the sponge in the paint, cleaning off the excess and then dabbing it where I needed it.
Next I applied several washes of burnt umber oil paints, and once this had dried everything received a dry brushing of shadowed steel, finally to finish it off I did a pin wash of ivory black oil paints followed by a dry application of pigments.

The exterior.
The exterior first received a primer coat of red oxide, from a spray can, then some light texture around the lower hull and wheel wells using Bondo glazing putty stippled on with and old brush.
For the base coat I used Tamiya acrylic Khaki green, after which several all over oil washes of burnt umber were applied until I was happy with the look, the decals were added next, no gloss coat was necessary because I trimmed the decal carrier film all the way to the edges so there was nothing to left to silver.

Continuing on with the washes, I added another all over oil wash using van dyke brown, this was then put to one side to dry. I then turned my attention to the wheels which had already received a base coat of flat black ,followed by the rims being painted Khaki green. I used dark brown craft paint to base coat the chains and the metal parts of the vehicle tools after which they all received a dry brushing of shadowed steel to give a nice worn steel look.
More oil washes followed first with an all over wash of Van Dyke brown then a more precise pin wash of ivory black.

As I was getting close to the finished look, I began to focus on the final details,adding some wear and tear using the same sponge method as on the interior, using Van Dyke brown oil paint. Next the tools handles were painted, these were base coated with craft paint "stone", then, using a mix of yellow ochre and raw umber oil paints, I streaked the mix down the shafts creating a wood grain effect. The stowage was then painted with a dark brown base coat, this was then gradually dry brushed with lighter shades of the base colour each time, and then a final oil wash of van dyke brown finished them off. After this the wheels were attached, and I used a dry application of pigments to blend it all together.

Conclusion

All in all this turned out to be one very enjoyable project, and the result was in my opinion a nice looking M8 greyhound, the kit itself was very easy to work with and great practice for trying out new techniques and definatly one I would recommend to someone just starting out in the hobby or someone like myself who is just trying to improve their basic scratchbuilding and photoetch skills.