TIP
If your compressor wasn't covered under warranty.
Get some silly putty . Take your compressor apart, fix the gasket with silly putty...your back in action.

It was covered by warranty, I just got screwed by spraypal.com...

I realize I could have probably fixed it but in the end I chose to throw money at the issue instead

Got decals on followed by a flatcoat. Ready for weathering!!
Unfortunately got some silvering on a few of the decals
It was my first time using Vallejos "decal medium" & "decal fix" and it didn't really behave as i had imagined (im used to microsol & set). Tbh im still unsure what the correct approach is for when using what solution, online tutorials give conflicting messages...

Congrats with the new compressor Johan, good to see you back on track. In what way did spraypal screw you? Just in case! Did you cover the areas where the decals was to sit with gloss prior to applying them? I dont like Vallejos primer either, ammo of migs black primer is superb though

Keep up the good work
/Erik

Hey Erik. Thanks!


They stopped responding to my emails...

I did gloss coat but i think the problem was in my use of the decal medium. Need to make some tests moving forward

Weathering started!
First a wash/filter of ultramarine blue mixed with a smudge of burnt umber applied to the entire model to get some depth and interest to the gray. Might have turned out a bit too blue but it will probably get toned down significantly when the rest of the weathering is in place.
I then started a pin wash of burnt umber but am yet to finish. I intend to fade the umber wash as it gets higher up on the tank. We'll see how that goes...

Slowly movin a long

upper hull is done, trying to finish the lower hull and turret tonight. After that I will seal it with a flat coat and then probably hit it with some lighter drybrushing, pigments and graphite.. We'll see!




Sorry for the bad picture quality, I'm still snapping with my phone :s

Looking good, although the grey is too light for my taste. I found that Vallejo's decal medium is only really good for flat surfaces and minor irregularities, it's far too mild to really soften properly like Micro Sol. I haven't had any silvering issues myself, even when I forgot to gloss coat. I did have a pleasant surprise to a scare with my Maus. The turret numbers looked to be set so I flat coated and then they started to wrinkle! I thought I was screwed but left them to dry overnight and they sorted themselves out. If you look at my IV E build here, you'll see what results I got with the decal medium.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/212564&ord=&page=6

Kimmo

Thanks Kimmo, looks like you got much better results than me! How did you apply the medium?? I will do some more testing but i think i will go back to microsol regardless.

I know what you mean about the gray, if I would do it again I would go one or two steps darker (For this particular build the medium sea gray was all i had at home). I don't really like actual panzer grey as i find it hard to weather... I suppose i should challenge myself but you know, artistic license and all

I'm all for artistic license, I tend to take liberties my self sometimes. As to the medium, I gloss coat first, let that dry for about 15 minutes or more (I brush with Vallejos) then just brush on a bit of the medium. Apply decal, sponge off excess and brush a little more medium on, let sit for a few minutes and gently press if needed with a sponge, make up sponges are pretty good for this. I watch to see how things are going and add more medium and pressing, prodding if needed. I let everything dry overnight before flat coating. Although as noted, the clear coat will shrink and suck the decal down if the medium hasn't fully cured yet. The same principle as using Future I reckon. I haven't used the the other Vallejo decal stuff as I haven't found a need for anything else. For weird shapes and so on, I use my 12 year old Micro Sol/Set. I found out you can use them afterwards with no apparent negative side effects.

Kimmo

Kimmo

cheers
I suppose I might have done not enough prodding and poking. With microsol i tend to just brush on and leave it which clearly didn't work here

Waw great paint Job Johan..😉

It might not be too late, poke the clear film a few times and see if that will get some more medium or sol underneath. Silvering is usually just air trapped under the decal rather than the decal not laying down "properly", that's why a good gloss coat is usually necessary. However, you do get instances where a bend or step causes the decal to not snuggle properly in the first place.

Kimmo

Thanks Danny!

Kimmo: I'll try that and see what happens

In the meanwhile I got the washes done and started some track assembly!

I keep spamming the log with pics hehe! However, with the tracks on and the "stowage" attached i realized all modelling is done and sans some chipping, pigments and other weathering the model is ready! My first finished 1/35 in, uhm, 15 years!?! (time flies!)


Unfortunately the silvering issue remained even after further medium application... Oh well



So many mistakes, errors and head aches... But most of all so much fun and so many lessons learned and re-learned

Turned out pretty good. I take the approach that every build is a chance to try different things and screw up in new and exciting ways. You never stop learning, especially when you've been away from it for a long time. Remember what went wrong, but more importantly, why it went wrong, and try not to make the same mistakes next time. Just don't get too bummed out, focus on what went well and what little things you can do next time to get a better result.

Kimmo

In the photos, the silvering is barely noticeable. The end result is excellent. I do agree about German gray being a few shades darker, but for the amount of weathering can is passable. Did you apply a clear coat, before and after decal placement? I have run into silvering on Academy and a couple of Tamiya kits, but never on Dragon ones.

Thanks guys

Kimmo: I think you are spot on with your approach and I try to do the same. Also keeping in mind that the process is what should be enjoyable and not just the finished product

Matt: I did gloss coat but maybe i didn't get it quite right. Tbh it's only one of the turret numbers that have silvering, all the other decals laid down great. I did have some problems with dust speckles getting trapped in my basecoat so maybe that unevenness to the surface could have done something. Who knows!

Thread lift!

Believe it or not, I'm back at this

Started the base:


There are so many things I have planned to add but not sure if I can keep the steam up. Kind of just want to finish...

I decided to create a new thread in the diorama section for this part of the build:
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/229772&page=1#1935382