as I'm painting 2 vehicles at once, I've decided to start another thread, just to keep things organised.

first thing was to check if those vehicles are really amphibious, using a soap water tub

I'm kidding, and this bath (with warm water, mind you) is intended to dissolve oil, dirt and what not so the model is ready for painting.

oh, and notice that the BTR-50 is sinking, while the PT-76 is actually holding very well

DSC_0415 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

DSC_0417 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

this is a video of HMS sinkhole going down



the models were then let to dry (not in direct sunlight):

DSC_0419 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

DSC_0418 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

ok, i admit. i screwed things up. after too long a break from the hobby i thought i could just pick an AB and blast away. and blast away i did i primered the pt-76 with the wrong pressure, at the wrong distance and with wrong dilution.
worst of all, i used a micro filler primer, so i got all these sand like particles on it. ill try to sand what i can, but not hoping for much. i should have tried it first on some paper or something to get a feel of the AB back, and the whole pressure/distance thing... oh well.
at least i learned from my mistake, and the BTR-50 came out better. also, i was worried i won't have the right paint - but i do! got DoA pre 82 sinai grey, which looks fantastic.

you can see my shameful clumsiness here:

DSC_0421 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

DSC_0420 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

I'm really happy i bought DOA paint when i could. they are great and after over a year of storage still function like new.

waiting for the paint to dry, then ill fix the tracks and start with weathering. btw - did i mention how much i hate the supplied tracks? if i had a nickel for each time they broke at the connection point (with ever increasing amounts of glue)... my wish list would have become very, very short

DSC_0422 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

DSC_0423 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

its time for decals and washes. unfortunately, the BTR was involved in wash accident - i used one from GW, and it wasn't diluted properly and now the model has stains all over. i will have to figure out what to do, but for the mean time I'm only going to continue work on the PT76.
as there is very little info regarding "Dov Lavan", there aren't many reference photos, so i used what decals i had laying around.

DSC_0424 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

DSC_0425 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

DSC_0427 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

DSC_0428 by Nathan Ram, on Flickr

next up are pigments and pigment wash.