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Tamiya M26 Dragon Wagon and M4 Sherman

Painting and weathering

Painting began with a base coat of Model Master dark 34029 green for the M26 Dragon Wagon, trailer and M4 Sherman. To give variation after the dark green the truck is then painted in Model Master Olive drab 34087 both inside and outside of the cab with the a coat of Testors Dullcote shortly thereafter. This was allowed to dry and the interior of the cab had all the seats, steering wheel and the inclusion of the Royal model tarp on top of the engine cover. This is where all the sub assemblies like the fire extinguishers, water bottles, spare barrel had been painted separately and glued in place. The fire extinguishers and other components had the decals applied and glued into position. It was at this point I used pastel chalks on the inside floor of the cab. Trying to create realism and depth in the appearance.

The best thing about the Tamiya design of the dragon wagon is the whole cab and rear wall could be slid on and off the chassis as required (Perfect for painting applications). Before gluing the seats and jerry cans in place I used some rub on Verlinden stencils on the engine cover. With the armoured window shutters down you can see right into the cab and the stencils would be picked up easily. The winch still in the sub assembly stage received a coat of olive drab. The winch was painted before it was glued to the chassis .By doing this you ensure all areas of the winch and the chassis have got paint and there is no areas showing bare plastic. All the tyres had been left off the rims and they too got the same treatment of the dark green, olive drab and Testors Dullcote.

The 2 front armoured window shutters had been left off and painted separately. This allowed me to glue the front windows in place with mixture of white glue and water, once dried I had the windscreen wipers glued in place. The wipers had been painted when doing the sub assemblies. After the wheels had been painted the tyres had been placed back on and the whole tire got a coat of Tamiya earth with a highlight colour of desert yellow. The whole underbody of the truck and trailer received the same colour in order to show the vehicle had been traveling in cross country conditions.

Continuing on the tyres for the moment I created a paste consistency from interior wall filler, matt black and burnt umber acrylic paints .This was then initially applied with paint brush and water but got out of hand and I was using my fingers to press into the tyre tread. Getting down and dirty with the beast. With excess paste I proceeded to the underside body of the Sherman and Dragon Wagon. The outside and inside of the tyres then received a rough up of sand paper rubbed against the tyre to show wear and tear in transport through streets and terrain. The dirty weathered look can then be lightened out with pastel chalks at a later time.