¹⁄35

In Over My Head

Once I had the base model finished, it was time to figure out how to display it. My first thought was something simple such as a flat plinth and just show of the model. Then I thought, “where is the fun in that?”. I grabbed some EPS (extruded polystyrene…Styrofoam to the rest of us) and carved out part of the top. This allowed the M9 to sit tilted downward into the base itself. The base then was wrapped with strips of styrene plastic card to smooth out the exterior. Time to lay some ground work! I first lathered down a layer of Vallejo’s Dark Earth Effects (26.218). This base covering paste does have tiny granules embedded in it to give texture, but I added a little sifted sand I had to give the piece more continuity to the surface. Once the base coat was dried, I mixed up a little dry joint compound to a stiff consistency and put down the ridges to the edge of the hole the M9 was in. Once the compound had dried, I followed things up with yet another layer of Dark Earth. This was all finished off with random dust coats of IJA Earth Brown (71.136), German Camo Black Brown (71.042) and Mud Brown (71.047). This gave me variations in tone to the surface. Then for the real muddy stuff! I grabbed some of Vallejo’s Still Water and mixed it with a few drops of Model Air Dirt (71.133) paint. The mix was then poured into the recesses around the M9 in the hole along with a small amount inside the extruder of the dozer. This were starting to shape up quickly with this now.

Letting the Still Water mix dry for a day or so, it gave me a chance to look things over and see what I wanted to add or modify. While I was happy with what I was seeing, the piece seemed to be missing something. I decided to add a little color surrounding the M9 by adding grass flock. Anticipating early on I might want to add a figure…and after cutting the hole in the hatch area, I painted up a modern driver figure I had and stuck him inside. Since the figure was not going to be the prominent focal point, I went with basically closing the hatch about onto his head. Now came the finishing touches that would hopefully bring the piece together. I was fortunate enough to obtain some of Vallejo’s New Weathering Effects. There are a number of Thick Mud, Mud and Splashing Mud colors to choose from. I found that the range of mud were best suited for the job. To add some variation to the colors, both wet and dry, I also used some of the darker colors from the line. Light splashes were added first followed with medium brown tones and finally the darker, and more wet looking dark browns. Applications range from flicking the Splashing Mud on using my finger and a stiff, flat-bristled brush to stippling the thicker version of mud on. Again, this is all randomly applied to avoid patterns in the coloring. One of new product I like best of all, is the Mud and Grass (73.826). This is a mix of the European Thick Mud (73.807) and grassy effect similar to the flack I used on the base. This was easy and fun actually. I simply applied the Mud and Grass Mix to the areas I thought it would build up on, like the fenders and tracks, as well as incorporating some into the stiff muddy berm I created around the sunken M9. Since the mud/grass mixture is basically the same color as the thick and splashing mud, I began going back over muddy sections of the vehicle to add more depth.