Hi all,

I'm getting ready to start painting the exterior of my Tiran 4 and will be doing it in an SLA scheme.

I'm just wondering......can anyone please help

Did the IDF lovingly paint their captured Surian/Egyptian tanks including hull undersides, inner wheels and suspension?

Then, when the tanks were painted for SLA use, were they lovingly painted in the blue or just "blown over". I have the Tiran wrecks and Tiran in Lebanon books and can see lots of chipping evidence but I am unable to answer my question..

I think a model Tiran 4 depicting a tank recently handed over to SLA, ie light weathering would look great with evidence of its Russian, Syrian/Egyptian and IDF history.

Oddly enough, I'd had the same thoughts about recycled ex Syrian or Egyptian armour in IDF and SLA service.

I was thinking about actually over-painting all the schemes from the primer up, using hairspray or chipping fluid between each coat. So Russian green, Egyptian or Syrian scheme, IDF colour, SLA colour. Under-colours don't have to be especially dense or thick - to preserve detail - as they're supposed to look worn where they show.

Then scrubbing away the layers with appropriate brushes and implements to get that worn look. I don't think I could achieve it by attempting to paint the worn areas over a base of IDF or SLA colour.

BTW, if you haven't noticed....... MiniArt have just announced the non-interior version of their T4 Late. But they've broken with past tradition and provided a different exterior this time. Usually the exterior kits are the same except for the interior. The exterior-only T4 Late is configured as an SLA vehicle and includes both Spider and Starfish wheels and SLA markings. Neither of these are in the interior version. AFAIK the "Late" T4 with the D-10T gun was only used by IDF to train SLA crews, and SLA only had T4 and T5 with the D-10 gun and none with the M68.