Just started to get into armor modelling moving away a bit from my comfort zone of 48th/32nd aircraft and would like to share one of my first builds. It's the old Tamiya SU85, mostly OOB; the gun was warped so I ordered an aftermarket 85 mm metal barrel (a first for me and I was really impressed - think I'll have to do that for every build here on out), guitar string antenna, twisted wires for the tow cables and a bucket from my spares is about the only non OOB parts.

I was disappointed in that the weathering completely faded out the winter camouflage (green/white with white netting like pattern; is there a name for that?), but I'll know better for next time. I was shooting more for getting some practice in with techniques more specific to armor modelling than accuracy just yet... heavy weathering (my favorite part of any build) and terrain/ground work/base as I'd like to eventually move on to more accurate and elaborate work/dioramas.

The ground work, by the way, is expanding foam sealant sprayed on a picture frame. I'm not sure if this is a common practice, but gotta say I think it's wonderful. A $4 can will do upwards of a dozen frames (it's a one shot can, so you have to do 'em all in one sitting), it's lightweight, but very sturdy and can be carved out very easily and quickly (leaving usable spare bits) to any contour you want and takes to celluclay and moisture very well.

At any rate, I could really use (and appreciate) any feedback and constructive criticism you guys have to offer an armor newbie.

















The pre-shaped/carved foam....

Hi Chris, let me start off by saying that this looks pretty good for an initial effort. I'm not too good when it comes to ground work. There are some things that need to be done, but I'll let someone who knows what they're talking about mention them.

As for the SU, you did a pretty nice job on it. One thing that jumps out at me is the rust streaking. Too much of it looks too similar. Some modulation in size, color, and intensity would be nice. Another is that for a vehicle that's beat up enough to show that much rusting, it has a surprising lack of paint chipping. After all, most rusting starts where paint gets damaged.

Changed the barrel?? Oh man, you missed out on a chance to say you built a special urban variant for shooting around corners!