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Tamiya Challenger

I cracked the box on Tamiya’s Challenger when I was in the middle of several involved aircraft builds and craving something simple. Nothing seems to meet that criteria quite like Tamiya armor of a certain vintage! Besides, while I’ve always liked the Challenger, I’m generally pretty unfamiliar with modern AFVs, so I can build them without getting too fussy about accuracy. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. Construction went fast, and isn’t really worth talking about save for the decision to paint and install the wheels and tracks before closing everything up. The overall tank was primed with Gunze Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black, then painted with a mix of XF-65 Field Gray and XF-67 NATO Green. The barrel’s thermal wrapping got a lighter green-gray mongrel mix. The tracks received a mix of XF-52 Flat Earth and XF-82 Ocean Gray, then washes to weather them appropriately. Weathering started with good old drybrushing (Model Master Dunkelgrau) then progress post-decals to various Vallejo washes - particularly Dark Gray, Dark Brown and Olive Green. I love the way these washes put a nice worn patina onto paintwork, but in retrospect I would’ve gone with a lighter base color to keep the washes from taking things too dark. The washes were followed with some oil dot filtering using a mix of greens, greys, tan/browns and my favorite, W&N Transparent White. Next game some light dusting of the lower hull and applications of mud to match the base I decided to add. Then some AK Dark Brown wash for streaking down the turret and side skirts. Then some pigments, followed by some wet effects and mud to match the base. The only aftermarket I used consisted of an Accurate Armour amber light, carbon fiber antenna poles, and some scrap Legends stowage. Overall, this turned into something rather more than the simple, diverting build I’d intended, but it gave me a great opportunity to play with techniques and effects I rarely touch, from building a base to snow to wet, sloppy mud.