Frank is right (as are your many other fans) --- following this build is a delight. Each new update is a treat to follow and find out about, especially with your superb photography to enhance the experience. It's the sort of project modeling magazines wish they could afford to showcase so masterfully. Keep up the great build, and thank you, on behalf of all of us!

Thanks for the kind words guys! More updates soon, I've been putting the stencil decals on the ammunition chests, 4 decals x 12 chests = a lot of squinting and tedious positioning!

Hey Everyone,

Here is a small update. I put the stencil decals on the ammunition chests. I really wanted to do them, because I think they add a great detail to the build, but was having very little luck showing their existence in a period photograph (plenty of restored vehicles) My friends over at Missing-Lynx found some pics so I felt comfortable going ahead. The vehicle I am modelling has the ammo chests to the side in the pic so I can't tell. Next issue was white versus yellow stencils. The kit includes both. I checked my Archer Transfers set and it only included yellow, so I went with that. I considered using the Archer transfers, but then considered the odds of placing 48 transfers correctly, and went with the kit decals which allow you to position them after they are applied. So...I shot the faces of the chests with some "Johnson Wax with Future Shine", let them set for a couple days and started the tedious work of applying them. Used Micro set and sol, and once I hit them with some dullcote they will lose any sign of being decals



Next, I wanted to play around with some pigments. The tiny muffler I made for the Briggs engine was really my first foray into pigments. I bought a set of pigments from the Hobby Chest in Jacksonville, NC They are made by Bragdon Enterprises (www.bragdonent.com ) I think I paid around $25 for a 12 color pigment set with generous quanitities in a nice compartment case.

So, I kind of made this up as I went along. First I gave it a heavy coat of Mr Surfacer 500. Then I slopped some Floquil Rust paint on the muffler, then sprinkled dark rust pigment on pretty thick and let it dry







Then I took a toothbrush and scrubbed off the excess and dabbed on some spots of medium and light rust, then some soot on the tail pipe end and here's how it turned out






Considering it will be covered in mud, I think it turned out pretty good :-D

Next I started with some markings. Of course the registration number on the vehicle I am modelling is nothing close to anything in the kit, my decal stash or my Archer sets. So...we'll have to do it like they did at the factory. I used the Lion Roar Stencil set



Since my registration code has an "s" code (for Radio suppression) it was too big to fit in the little frame provided so I had to line them up freehand on a piece of tape.



Turns out it was too long for the hood cowling! Dang, I thought I would have to compromise accuracy...but I went back and studied my picture and noticed that the "hyphens" are more like dots, so I removed the hyphens, just left a small space, and used a tiny piece of tape to create the dots stencils.





We'll have to wait til next time to see how they turn out!

Next was agonizing over the hood Star. I needed a big one (36 scale inches) in an unbroken circle. I considered stenciling with a "broken circle" stencil from the same Lion Roar set and then go back and connect the segments for the solid circle I needed, but the hinges are just too big to let it sit down on the hood. I didn't have an appropriate decal, so I went with an Archer dry transfer. Taped the hood down to the top of a cement bottle. Centered the transfer on the hood, taped it in place and rubbed with the round end of a small paintbrush until I was sure I had a complete release from the backing paper. It went down in one piece, but there is still a LOT of settling left to do, so I am just dousing it with Micro sol with a big soft brush, let dry and repeat twenty times or so. I'll let you know if it worked on the next update!





Thanks for looking!

Terry

Terry, you are my hero !

When I grow up I want to work PE just like you.

Superb !

Marco

Alright, I need to warn anyone with a heart condition or a weak constitution to skip over this next installment. If you decide to venture on, you should at least be seated and have a stiff drink handy! You will not be able to "unsee" these images...

So, the circle star on the hood was settling down nicely. I knew I would have to touch up the hinges with a little white paint, but that's OK, since the hood will be open anyway.

I kept the surface wet with generous amounts of Micro Sol, which as you know wrinkles the transfer up pretty good


But then, things went south quickly. Somehow the micro sol got beneath the paint (and I had even coated with future!) all of a sudden I had wrinkles in the paint!


I waited, and said a silent prayer that they would settle out when the Micro Sol dried. No such luck. Time for drastic measures....



I had never used this method before, but it worked pretty well. The paint under the transfer was pretty stubborn, I had to scrub with a toothbrush and ended up dislodging some hinges...




Ultimately I was able to clean the hood up pretty well, and hopefully the easy off has etched the brass enough for me to get better paint adhesion next time around.


I guess with a project of this size I shouldn't be surprised by a little setback. At least I hadn't stenciled the registration numbers on yet.

Back to the drawing board, thanks for looking!

Terry

OMG, I admire your self control you didn't destroy something when the paint started to come up.

About the muffler: do I understand right that it had a uniform rust colour paint and then all the colour variation on it was achieved by dry pigments sprayed and dabbed onto it? It looks perfect to me.

Bum luck Terry. A trick you might try should you run into this again is a hair dryer or some hot water and a soft cloth. I use the dryer most of the time and it does the trick. Set it on low and hold it over the decal you want to lay down. It will soften it easily and with a small drop or two of Micro Sol and a Q-tip the decal will settle into place. Hot water and soft cloth works well, but I have had the decal stick to the cloth too which creates its own set of problem. I'll use that when a decal has set overnight and is still setting high over raised details etc. Hope this helps. Looking forward to seeing more. "Q"

Hey Laszlo,

Yes, I just put on a thick coat of Floquil rust paint, then sprinkled on/dipped in the dark rust pigment. Once it dried I brushed off the excess and dabbed the medium and light rust pigments on with an old #2 paintbrush.

Hey Q!

Thanks for the tip, I haven't had problems getting the transfer to settle down, but when the paint buckled up, I was at a loss, so I had to pull a mulligan!

This is a fantastic build and I can atest after spending most of my earlier career working underneath vehicles, THAT exhaust system looks very real!

Nice work!








~ Jeff

Gutsy move, Terry! But, FWIW, I think it was the right one.

Since you've got to re-paint the hood assembly, maybe consider using reverse masking on the hood star and circle.

You can use the Lion Roar PE stencil as a cutting template to cut the star and circle out of masking tape. Start with flat white on the hood. Apply the star and circle cut from tape, then spray the OD. Remove the tape, and you should have what you need.

Also, a little over spray around some of the harder to mask spots (like the hinges) would, IMO, probably be prototypical. If you're having trouble painting the markings, then the maint folks / crew would have had the same toubles.

Anyways, just a thought.

I'll be looking forward to seeing this one in person one of these days.

Jeff,

Thanks, I was pleased as well. Those pigments are awesome and a great deal when compared to AK or MIG.

Mike,

Thanks for the tip on the reverse mask! I have done that before, but on a flat surface. Do you think Tamiya tape or frisket would be best for the mask? Will you be at the Columbia show next month? I hope to go, pretty sure this beast won't be ready tho'!

Thanks!

Terry

Hi Terry,

I generally just use ordinary blue painter's tape for all my masking, but given the delicate nature of your PE hood assembly, something like frisket might be a good idea.

This star was reverse masked using painter's tape, though. You can see how I deliberately lifted the edges in places to get some "over spray" in order to achieve (I hope) a more candid look. The "over spray" around the center of the star was actually done by simply not spraying the OD at full coverage (reverse under spray?).



Yes, I'll be at the show in Columbia, most likely in the registration area working as Ram Rod and Scorer. If you get down to the show, be sure to say "hi." It'll be nice to meet you in person.

BTW: If you get a chance, sign up for a judging shift or two. It's a great way to meet other model builders at the show and to get a peek "behind the curtain" into the judging pits. We can always use the help, and I always find that it's fun and interesting. There's no better way to get a close look at the models than at the judges' table with good light and in the company of 2-3 other armor fans!

Heck, all you have to do is just sit there and the Runners bring the models to you like another course at a fine restaurant... "Hey, garcon! I'll have another serving of fine armor modeling over here."

Right now we have a lot of guys from various AMPS chapters in the South East who're planning to attend, so you'll get a chance to meet guys from Atlanta, Greenville, Northern VA as well as the chapter up in Fayetteville. Mike Petty, the AMPS National Chief Judge, will be there probably runing the juding on show day, so you can meet him too. Mike will also be presenting his judges' training seminar on Friday evening before the show if you can get down for that.

If you're interested in maybe attending the Friday evening seminar, send me a PM or an email at:

[email protected]

Maybe your M16 will be finished for the Fayetteville show in November.

Outstanding build Masterclub are the best bolts and rivits you can get.

Hood finish, take two!

Thanks so much to Mike Roof for the reverse masking suggestion. Here's how it played out.

First of all, easy off is a cheap subsitute for "Blacken-It" This is what the hood looked like the next morning!



I cleaned it up, with brasso and some rubbing alcohol, then sprayed with Tamiya flat white cut 50/50 with rubbing alcohol.




Then I went to Michael's craft store and picked up this little number for $6.99 (didn't have a coupon, but at $3.50 it would have been a steal!




Then I laid out some frisket film and painter's tape on a clean cutting matt and went to work




First I cut the inside (smaller) circle (9.5mm radius) After some experimentation, I decided the Frisket film seemed to cut cleaner with the cutting compass



Then, using the same center hole for the cutter, I did the outside circle (13mm radius) I made a few, just in case (kinda reminds me that the Olympics are coming up!)



Then, using the Lion Roar template, I cut out the star from the painter's tape. First try was perfect!



Then centered it on the hood



And applied the circle around the star, using the points to align it. I had to make some small incisions around the hinges so it would lay down.



Sprayed the hood with Floquil Rail Brown (flash went off in this pic for some reason)



Then, as soon as it was dry to the touch, I peeled off the masks. A small patch of the white paint pulled off, but should be easy enough to touch up.



It will not be a central point of focus since the hood will be displayed open. I think it's a great improvement over the mess in the last installment!

Again, thanks Mike for the suggestion!

Terry

Camo time!

Did a rough mask just to keep the paint out of the fighting compartment, cab and engine compartment. I have a pretty good 3/4 driver side pic, so I used that as a guide and winged it for the left side. Freehand with Floquil Weathered Black 50/50 laquer thinner














Thanks for following along!

Terry

More progress! I masked and sprayed the registration stencils (smallest airbrush job ever...)



Applied the decal for the instrument panel, detailed the radio with a black wash and a Testor's Steel drybrush



Did some detail work on the engine, black paint/wash, steel and rust drybrush, and a little AK Interactive Engine Grime.



Everyone have a great weekend!
Terry

Another installment. Haved noticed some dust, particles etc in these pics, probably should have brushed her off before I took them....

Glued the engine in place and connected all the hoses and wires




Painted and attached the pioneer tools. I painted the metal parts with ModelMaster Steel. Brushed on a coat of hairspray, then a coat of Floquil Steam Power Black, which was chipped/scraped off in places of wear. I tried a similar method on the wood with dark and light brown, but didn't like it, so I just used ModelMaster Wood. Attached them with the Griffon brass straps, which are a little difficult to work with, and all the paint chipped off as I wrestled with them, so had to do some serious touchup once they were in place. Attached the jerry can as well, my vehicle has a German one in the passenger side rack, I used one from Italeri.



Put some markings on the back, Archer transfers. Just noticed a tiny bubble in the star as I post this, so I will settle that down.


Added a couple ammunition chests and the seats, which were airbrushed a "greener" mix of my Floquil Rail Brown, then washed with Tamiya Khaki.


Finally, detailed the dashboard with the Griffon decal for instruments, and the Archer placards from the M2/M3 dash set.


More later, I will be heading to the Columbia SC AMPS show next Saturday, don't think this one will make it, but I have a few others to bring. Drop me a line if anyone is planning to go. Mike, I will make sure I track you down!

Thanks for looking!
Terry

You have a lot of patience! Great work on all the stencils and decals big and small.

This is just amazing what a work of art.I am enjoying the posts its been a great read.
Well done !!!

I hope this doesn't sound goofy Terry, but you have inspired me to get some of the tools you listed and try my own vehicle markings, at least the star. I hate the 'sterile' look of decals and if anyone looked at photographs, they're not perfect there either.

Oh, and nice camera work too.






~ Jeff

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Terry

Amazing job there Terry !
Fantastic work, skills, congrats !!

Frank, your folding hood and detailed dashboard are works of beauty. Bravo!

Hey Gang!

A real mixed bag here, but a lot coming together!

Here are a couple tarps I plan on adding, they are the resin offerings from "Value Gear" and I really like 'em!

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/news/11456

These pics are just the base coat, I will do some washes and detail painting.


The Griffon brass straps that hold the ammo chests in the fighting compartments are way too stiff for a realistic look, so I yanked 'em out and ended up using the buckles only and making new straps from masking tape


My particular vehicle didn't show the tarps on the front fenders in the pic I have, but I love that look so I made them anyway! I use "gift" tissue, folded up all the edges so that all the visible edges have a scale thickness. Then I measured the distance between the tie downs with a caliper, placed a piece of thin aluminum foil on the fenders and nudged it carefully into the recesses with a rounded toothpick


Next I painted the Elmer's and water mixture on with a soft round brush, and rolled them up.



Then used some black thread to shape the indentations where the straps will ultimately go. and formed the tarps onto the fenders so they will lay convincingly when dry.



After they dried, I painted with a base coat of Polly S "Aged Concrete" and then applied a raw umber wash



Then I cut some masking tape straps and fed them through the tie downs. I glued the tarps in place, glued the straps around them and added some Royal Models buckles painted ModelMaster Steel



The headlights were done with MV lenses, the Jerrycans painted in different shades of OD. I masked the inside panes on the windshield and the driver's side windshield wiper pattern (the passenger side on my vehicle is on the fritz!) Added an Elmer's and water tarp for the radio cover.



Next it is time to start dirtying this beast up! The pic of my vehicle shows it "dug in" so I wanted to apply a nice base coat of undercarriage mud. First I secured the model in a vice holding the gun platform and inverted it.



I mixed up my mud using Liquitex "Blended Fibers" texture medium. You can get it at Michael's or AC Moore. Use a 40% off coupon, it's about $10 a jar, but it will last you a good long time. I spooned it out into a pallette with a popsicle stick and added an eyedropper full of Polly S "Roof Brown" Looks appetizing huh?



Then I put a liberal coat on the underside, careful not to hit the "moving parts" very much because the mud wouldn't stick there. I also splattered a little bit up on the edges.



Then I put a coat on the tracks and front wheels and just wiped it off the "road contact" surfaces with my finger. Forgot to take a pic of the front wheels will put it in the next installment.



When dry, the liquitex has a sheen to it, but I will take care of that in the next chapter!

Thanks for looking!

Terry

OK, the mud has dried and time to start the final weathering stages. Before that, here's the pic of the wheels after the liquitex. You can see the sheen, we're about to take care of that!



And here is a side view again showing the sheen, and also how relatively unnoticeable all that mud is from a normal viewing angle!



So my next step, is for the lower 1/3 of the vehicle. I thinned Floquil Roof Brown (same color I used to make the mud, but laquer as opposed to acrylic) Thinned 80% laquer, 20% paint, sprayed at relatively high pressure (25-30 psi) from a distance of about 6 inches. This causes the paint to essentially dry as it hits the model and produces a translucent dead flat finish. I painted the entire undercarriage, wheels, tracks and just a thin line above suspension on the sides where I splattered the mud.

Here's the result



Next I will finish assembly of all the final pieces and then a little more weathering and we will be finished, dare I say it, possibly in time for the SC AMPS show on Saturday!

Stay tuned...

Terry