Its to somewhat, pay homage to his citizenship in Australia when he was my age.
Anyway, this was a fun build, especially given that the lee/grant was such an ungainly monster; there are so many dimensions to work on.
Kits Used:
# Academy - M3 Grant
# Czech Master Kit - Desert Rats
# Alpine - British Tankers
#Custom Dioramaics - utensils and pots, etc.
# Eduard - M3 Grant Exterior Detail Set
This has to be by far the fastest build, given the deadline of two weeks. I was unable to finish the Alpine figures in time. However, one great surprise was CMK, who really nail a less-than-represented subject: ANZAC infantry.
Initially I was going to do a diorama for this one; and not
even a real dio, so i feel pretty bad for not getting that far. I was trying to locate a Banzai Tree/Buddist rock garden to convey a desert oasis. The Aussies sipping tea under the shade of a Poplar tree, etc. Alas, I was not able to find one in time for Christmas.
The Grant was built, then I painted it, then got the photo etched detail set in the mail, so i put them on, then i
gave it another base-coat in staggered shades of light browns; then i glued on salt. After which I painted it again in extremely light shades of Afrika Khakibrun and camoflauge blobs of 2:1 Hellblau/Faded Olive Drab. Then i chipped off the salt, producing scrapes and paint-chips (the first time EVER). The general oil burnt umber wash and dry-brushing followed.
Figures were done with a method I stole from calvin tan's camo technique. That is, drybrush/wash BEFORE the base-coat. Infact, you never technically add a base-coat; you actually weather the colors on. You can see in some photos of one of the alpine tankers in the first stage(in which he's black and (dry-brushed) white).
I'm increasingly painting faces with acrylics instead of oils. These guys were painted w/o any oils. Only the stock of the Bren gun was oiled (fake wood grain).
more info @ here
