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M103A2 Heavy Tank

Part 12 - True Colours

I applied a primer coat and blended in all those added on details and modifications. For primer I used Tamiya Neutral Grey XF-53. I find this a very likeable paint colour to cover metal and plastic parts with an even coat as well as to provide depth for the base coat application.

The M103A2s were painted in USMC Green. The Dragon instructions have you painting the kit in Olive Drab. There is a visible difference between USMC Green and Olive Drab.

I omitted any pre-shading as I find the majority of it gets covered with the base coat and additional weathering. I will fool around with the colour during weathering.

Instead of mixing a cocktail of paints for USMC Green, I selected Model Master Acryl Marine Corps Green 4724. I thinned it with distilled water and set off with the airbrush. The paint covered very well and really starts to pull the details such as the cast texture and weld marks that I added.

There are many details to paint now that the base coat is on:

• The searchlight will be painted OD for contrast.
• Searchlight cable
• Jerry cans
• Tank phone indicator light
• .50 Cal HMG
• Tow cable
• Cupola interior
• Commander's hatch pad
• Periscopes
• Antenna mounts
• Road wheels
• Return rollers
• Taillights
• Mantlet cover
• Spare track links

Sometimes the mantra of scale military modelling is two steps forward, two steps back. In looking at my base coat I wasn't quite happy with the colour. Once it had completely dried it looked a tad too much OD. After a short debate I decided to strip all of the paint and start again.

I find stripping Acrylic paint a fairly straight forward low tech process. Fill up an appropriately sized container with straight Windex and submerge all the parts. Within minutes the Windex starts to dissolve all of the paint. I usually leave the parts in the Windex for 24 hours. During that time period I will use a soft paint brush to remove paint build up and get into the nooks and crannies.

The result is the model stripped to the bones, void of paint and primer. One caveat, be careful to not break off any tiny parts while it floats around in the Windex or when using the brush. Just to be safe I usually strain the Windex when complete to look for any tiny PE parts.

I then defaulted to mixing paints to get the colour I wanted. I used the Model Master Acryl Marine Corps Green and added Model Master Acryl Medium Green. There was no specific ratio and a bit of trial and error completed the task.

I went straight to the base coat and skipped another primer coat. The change in colour is subtle but I like it better than my first base coat.