Well I've done washes, dry brushing and applied weathering powders. I think I've overdone it a bit but it was fun :-). The disappointing thing was when I applied the gloss coat for the decals it darkened the paint quite a bit, I used Tamiya paints for this one whereas normally on aircraft I use Humbrol and never had that problem. I'm going to dust on a spray of matt varnish to take away the shine left by the thinners from the washes. Then paint the lights etc, do the tracks and all the junk that was carried on the hull and finally airbrush a light coat of dust colour over the kit to tie everything together. Any suggestions on anything else that needs doing will be gladly accepted.

Nice work on the painting. What kit was this? Did you scratchbuild any parts for this model? The weathering is fine. Can't wait to see it finish.

I always find that the gloss coat darkens the finish, even with Humbrol. It's something to do with the reflection of light. A matt coat applied straight after the decals restores the original colour. I don't think that you've overdone the weathering, tanks get dirtier than 'planes by a long way!
With the flat finish, dust covering and perhaps some worn paint where the crew would walk I think you'll get a good model at the end of this build.

QUOTE: (I'm going to dust on a spray of matt varnish to take away the shine left by the thinners from the washes.)


why? This tank looks great...as for the shine and dark tones, i think it adds to the wear and coloring of a daily used in battle vehicle that's been on the road for a few months.

look good, i dont think the weathing is done overborad,
and the paint an deacls looks look great also
keep up the nice job

I think it looks very nice...can't wait to see the finished product, tracks and all. Keep the photos coming...

Many thanks for the encouragement guys. I've given it a coat of matt varnish but it must have been a bit heavy in places as the weathering powder has gone a dark brown colour! I will redo it tomorrow as it is a dry dusty look I'm after. I'll post more pics when it is done.

What kind of tracks were you going to put on this beauty? The rubberbands from Italeri and Tamiya just don't seem appropriate for this work of art.

Rubber band tracks it is I'm afraid, my budget doesn't stretch to aftermarket tracks.