Philippines
Joined: October 27, 2013
KitMaker: 520 posts
Armorama: 488 posts
Posted: Sunday, May 28, 2017 - 07:25 PM UTC
Hey guys,
In the process of revisiting some of my older builds that I left hanging in the air to see what I can do to improve them. I've previously finished putting down the basecoat on this Tamiya T-72M1 and decided to have some fun weathering the tank and the tracks. Here it is after an initial session of oil and dust weathering. I am going to add decals somewhere later in the week and put a dust coat on the entire tank. Tips and feedback are highly appreciated, thanks! (Sorry for the shoddy camera quality. They don't show some of the more subtle weathering on the kit)
North Carolina, United States
Joined: June 06, 2006
KitMaker: 4,691 posts
Armorama: 3,509 posts
Posted: Sunday, May 28, 2017 - 07:33 PM UTC
Philippines
Joined: October 27, 2013
KitMaker: 520 posts
Armorama: 488 posts
Posted: Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - 08:30 AM UTC
Thank you! I am still learning the ropes. Going to try dry brushing and oil staining on the kit after the decals go on. Just don't know what color would be good for dry brushing on a green surface.
Florida, United States
Joined: November 24, 2012
KitMaker: 1,896 posts
Armorama: 1,858 posts
Posted: Wednesday, May 31, 2017 - 07:27 AM UTC
Hi;
lite Earth, Desert Yellow, Buff, Tan, Lite Grey, Lite Green, anything to add contrast to your basic color. The Tamiya kit is fine with the Decal's that come in the kit, if you are Building out of the Box then the NVA set are correct. If you are not into adding the extra detail's that are missing in the kit, then A out of the Box is o.k. ! Collect Reference Books on Basic Armor modeling such as Osprey's or any of the others and they will be very helpful.
GOOD LUCK; MIKE.
Philippines
Joined: October 27, 2013
KitMaker: 520 posts
Armorama: 488 posts
Posted: Wednesday, May 31, 2017 - 01:43 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Hi;
lite Earth, Desert Yellow, Buff, Tan, Lite Grey, Lite Green, anything to add contrast to your basic color. The Tamiya kit is fine with the Decal's that come in the kit, if you are Building out of the Box then the NVA set are correct. If you are not into adding the extra detail's that are missing in the kit, then A out of the Box is o.k. ! Collect Reference Books on Basic Armor modeling such as Osprey's or any of the others and they will be very helpful.
GOOD LUCK; MIKE.
Thanks for the input mike! I actually purchased another set of this kit a few months ago because I lost the decals for this one. I just put on the NVA decals on the kit yesterday. Do you have any suggestions on how I can improve the kit when I tackle the second one? I was hoping that I could make an Iraqi/Syrian version of it with whats available in the box and some minor modifications. I have heard this kit portrays a very rare NVA vehicle. I hope that with a bit of tinkering, it could still build up to a Middle Eastern vehicle (that may not be 100% but looks close enough haha)
Florida, United States
Joined: November 24, 2012
KitMaker: 1,896 posts
Armorama: 1,858 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 01, 2017 - 01:39 AM UTC
Hi Nigel;
There is no reason why you could not build it as A Iraqi/Syrian vehicle; If you are not building for Accuracy, then you are fine ! If you were building the kit and wanted it accurate, then you would have to replace the turret ! with one of the AM kits that are available for the Tamiya T-72, or Scratch Build the kit's turret to correct its shape.
GOOD LUCK; MIKE.
Massachusetts, United States
Joined: March 28, 2007
KitMaker: 1,169 posts
Armorama: 1,067 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 01, 2017 - 04:49 AM UTC
Nice Nigel, I'm going to do one as a Libyan version myself, I just need to decide whether to try and fix the turret or replace it. Trying to figure out these t-72 turrets are making me crosseyed!
Oregon, United States
Joined: March 09, 2017
KitMaker: 525 posts
Armorama: 266 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 01, 2017 - 04:52 AM UTC
What's wrong with the Tamiya turret?
These are great days we're living, bros. We are jolly green giants, walking the Earth with guns.
-C. Earl
Florida, United States
Joined: November 24, 2012
KitMaker: 1,896 posts
Armorama: 1,858 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 01, 2017 - 05:37 AM UTC
Hi Guys;
For those who are not in the know; you just need to read the post's that JD has on how to build A correct T-72, and it will give you all the Info; that you need ! For those who have not kept up on the Tamiya kit, its only accurate if you want to Model A rare example of A T-72 that was used by the NVA (NATIONAL Volks Army) and has A early Turret that was Smaller than the Turret's that were to become standard. The Turret's that came standard were Larger at the Back and had Cheeks added to the Turret that changed the turret front ! One early Turret was called the URAL which had A Steroscopic range finder incorporated into the Turret. The Tamiya kit is now quite old and is not as Accurate as either Trumpeter or Meng's T-72s !!
CHEERS; MIKE.
British Columbia, Canada
Joined: July 05, 2011
KitMaker: 102 posts
Armorama: 44 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 01, 2017 - 07:50 AM UTC
Philippines
Joined: October 27, 2013
KitMaker: 520 posts
Armorama: 488 posts
Posted: Tuesday, June 20, 2017 - 08:00 AM UTC
Massachusetts, United States
Joined: March 28, 2007
KitMaker: 1,169 posts
Armorama: 1,067 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 21, 2017 - 04:36 AM UTC
Nice Job Nigel! By the way what paint did you use for your basecoat?
Florida, United States
Joined: March 30, 2006
KitMaker: 3,736 posts
Armorama: 3,697 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 21, 2017 - 06:40 AM UTC
Quoted Text
What's wrong with the Tamiya turret?
It's an early turret (T-72M) mounted on a late hull (T-72M1). The late hull had a slab of armor steel welded on to strengthen it, and Tamiya molds it in place, making it a real nuisance if you want to backdate it.
You can chase down the Verlinden resin hull and use the Tamiya turret, to build a T-72M, or use a resin T-72M1/T-72A turret on Tamiya's hull. The combination in the kit is correct only for the small batch built for the East German NVA.
Parma, Italy
Joined: February 09, 2014
KitMaker: 241 posts
Armorama: 241 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 21, 2017 - 03:34 PM UTC
Philippines
Joined: October 27, 2013
KitMaker: 520 posts
Armorama: 488 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 21, 2017 - 08:41 PM UTC
Thank you all for the praise
Would definitely appreciate tips on what aspects I can improve on my painting and weathering.
Quoted Text
Nice Job Nigel! By the way what paint did you use for your basecoat?
I sort of goofed with the choice of the base coat - I read that XF-67 Nato Green was a good match for Soviet Armor.... in World War 2. I laid that color on top of a black primed coat. I then lightened the green with a bit of yellow and used that to highlight some of the raised panels. I figured that subsequent weathering and filters would change the base coat anyway
Going to try olive green on my next post-war soviet armor.
Massachusetts, United States
Joined: March 28, 2007
KitMaker: 1,169 posts
Armorama: 1,067 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 22, 2017 - 03:32 AM UTC
Thanks for that Nigel, I really like using Tamiya paints myself. I have tried some of the other brands acrylics, I really like the fact that they have different shades of each color for panel fading. I am just more comfortable with Tamiya, so I bought the dropper bottles by the dozen on Amazon (I think) and mix my own shades.
Florida, United States
Joined: November 24, 2012
KitMaker: 1,896 posts
Armorama: 1,858 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 22, 2017 - 06:06 AM UTC
Hi Guys;
"O.K." I Will play the devil's advocate ! Your paint is Spot On !!
But you need to pay attention to your Panel lines and mold lines. ie;) The Lower Hull above the Entrenching Blade, the Barrel, the Smoke Mortar's etc; Other areas on T-72s would show more are the Exhaust port, the Fuel Pannier's, Zip Boxes !!!! Concentrate on area's that would show more wear, the Pannier's and the Zip boxes are made of Aluminum, so Chip them according to references !
Before you commit to cutting plastic; Gather all the reference material that you can, study the instruction's and Take Notes on your Build !
GOOD LUCK; MIKE.
Gauteng, South Africa
Joined: July 03, 2014
KitMaker: 82 posts
Armorama: 77 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 22, 2017 - 11:39 AM UTC
Tamiya's kit was the only kid on the block when released. The only competition were the awful dragon kits that were not worth the effort. Despite some inaccuracies it was still a pretty decent base line kit that with a little extra work resulted in an acceptable replica. The reality is, that unless the viewer is a Soviet armour guru, most would not know the difference anyway. Nice effort. Keep it up.
Wien, Austria
Joined: March 09, 2016
KitMaker: 2,408 posts
Armorama: 2,300 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 22, 2017 - 03:21 PM UTC
Great job! Despite its age, the Tamiya kit still builds up into an impressive model.
Oklahoma, United States
Joined: March 01, 2002
KitMaker: 6,043 posts
Armorama: 4,347 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 22, 2017 - 03:29 PM UTC
Nice build of the kit, looks good.
Did not Trumpeter come out with one also?
Either way, nice,you putting it on a base?
Jeff
Philippines
Joined: October 27, 2013
KitMaker: 520 posts
Armorama: 488 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 22, 2017 - 08:25 PM UTC
Thanks for you all for the feedback!
Quoted Text
Hi Guys;
"O.K." I Will play the devil's advocate ! Your paint is Spot On !! But you need to pay attention to your Panel lines and mold lines. ie;) The Lower Hull above the Entrenching Blade, the Barrel, the Smoke Mortar's etc; Other areas on T-72s would show more are the Exhaust port, the Fuel Pannier's, Zip Boxes !!!! Concentrate on area's that would show more wear, the Pannier's and the Zip boxes are made of Aluminum, so Chip them according to references !
Before you commit to cutting plastic; Gather all the reference material that you can, study the instruction's and Take Notes on your Build !
GOOD LUCK; MIKE.
These are noted
Yeah, on closer inspection I saw the mold lines. I'll pay more attention to them on my next build, thanks for pointing that out. Will try adding scratches and dents next as per your suggestion!
