Just finished adding washes of burnt umber and black to the base coat ..I added two coats of future before and will add another layer before I add the decals... let me know what you think...











Rick

Looks great. I especially like the paint chipping. What technique did you use? I have never been able to get realistic results. Could you post a picture showing the tank in full? Did you put surface texture on the hull? If so, what did you use?

nice realistic effects on this one Richard!




I'd like to know that too!

cheerz Q!

Thanks for the comments ..Yes I did texture the hull I used Mr Surfacer 500 and applied it using a cut down paint brush..I chickened out spraying the stuff through my Airbrush... :-) .. I'll add a picture of the whole tank tomorrow..got to run to work... as for the chipping I used salt and a rough paint brush to get this effect ...

Rick

looks cool
I like the chipping effect. And your wash... so the whole tank is cool

Do you give it still a drybrush?? if so do it very carefully on some places becouse this result is good enough!

Greetz Hilbert

Hi Richard,

very nice work so far.

the paint chipping, washes and colour matching is superb.

i dont know if its just the photos but the gimpy and the smoke grenade covers look glossy. the grenade covers are rubber so very dull matt black.

the gimpy, whilst painted in gloss black when made will be pretty dull by now( i know all ours are) so you might want to tone them down slightly if it is glossy on the model.

also on the gimpy, nice touch moving the carrying handle!

are you adding a crew to it?

regards

joe

Hey Rich it looks great. I love the wreathing and chipping effects you achieved. I wish I could do Armor

i kneel before your weathering, richard!
you said you put on the base coat, then added future, then weathered, and will now add future again, and then put on the decals. I'm guessing afterwords you will put on a dullcoat.
My question is- could you put the decals on and weather the model in one fell swoop? Or is it better to take everything in stages as you are doing?

cap

Thanks guys ..to answer a few questions ...Joe I glossed the whole thing to add the decals ..It'll be good and flat by the time I finish...
Hilbert ..I very rarely ever drybrush ...I get the same effects from pre-and post shading techniques..but if I see a spot that needs it it might.. I did drybrush a bit of white over the panels on the sides of the turret.
Mother ..hey my first tank didn't look anything like this one ...practice ..practice practice.. Hey I ain't much good at airplanes either.. :-)
and last but not least Andrew...why take the chance? There are quite a few decals on this tank compared to what I'm used to... with the anti-skid texture even after 3 coats of future I don't find it that glossy..so I'm putting all the precautions possible in my favor..I just like the idea of the washes being sealed before adding the decal over them. I will add the filters over the decals which of course I will seal with one coat of future and a couple of coats of dullcoat..

Rick

Looking very good Rick! Maybe it's my aircraft modelling past chiming in, but doesn't it make more sense to add washes after decals? I'd be afaid the markings stand out as being too clean. Or do you touch up those areas?

Cheers,

Kevin

Ahhhh!! but that's why I do my filters after the decals...Filters will bring everything together..

Rick

Filters?



I have so much to learn about weathering targets, oops, armor vehicle (another aircraft slip).

Hey Rick,
Life has been crazy lately but I've finally come up for some air after the Nats . This is really looking good! I think you have nailed the C2 in the pic you have. Like Tom said I'd love to see an overall pic, and I'm also looking forward to the next phase.
By the way did you see the post by Steve Zaloga on the Allied DG over on ML about the DXPO E8? If not here's a link to it:
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=47208&messageid=1122836291

Hopefully Dragon will get the all new E8 to us before too long.

Cheers,
Mike

Ok, so you snuck up real close to a real C2 and took some pics, no wonder it looks so real.

I think this one cold use a 'feature' on it, VERY nicely done and very realistic. Excellent work, it's seeing details like that that motivates us newer guys to try to do better.

Wow awesome job Rick, I'm looking forward to the rest of the pics.

BTW, did you paint the canvas part of the skirts a different color to the rest of the vehicle, or did you achieve the effect with a wash?

Cheers

Hi Guys thanks again for the nice comments...
Kevin ..us target builders have a new technique to help blend everything together filters are very diluted washes I'm talking dirty thinner ..You can use almost any color you want to get the feeling you want to achieve..on this kit I'm planning to use red...a beige color and even a yellow I think... (not sure about the yellow yet...) It is like using a filter on a camera . Red gives the feeling of heat while if you want to show a winter scene you would use a blue filter.. I hope that explains filters...in the latest Millitary Modelling ,Mark Bannerman did a good article on this and other weathering techniques..worth the read I think .
Mike...Glad to see you again ! :-) I hear you guys really did a great job on the show ...congrats to you and the rest of the organization..Thanks for the link ...I had seen it ..now I don't feel so bad about not getting one...
Maurice...Gosh I never really thought about it ,but I might try and write up an article...I did try some new techniques on this kit ..first time using Mr Surfacer for the anti-skid and first time using the salt for the weathering .. But you know if you have any questions just ask either in here or PM me anytime ..I'm always ready to help ...
Darren ...I painted the skirts with humbrol 26 (a brown khaki color) ..drybrushed with Humbrols 72 (khaki drill) and did a wash of burnt umber oil paint...
So here are a few wider shots and one showing up the anti-skid surfaces of the tank ...







Now I got to add all those darn decals...time to get up the courage ....GULP!

Rick

Cool. Thanks for the explanation Rick.

Hi Richard, Not sure how I missed this, but wow, you've done a heck of a job on this Challenger II. Your scratches and chips are very realistic without going over board, nice texture on the hull and the paint looks great with the diiferent tonesand shades. The slight rusting is just subtle enough. Another masterpiece.
You better get that buddy of yours to take some photos, so you can really show this one off :-) :-)
Bruce

Though I'm partial to Abrams that is simply stunningly realistic. Gold in my book! I keep asking for a "jaw dropping" emoticon!

Hey, remember, if the decals don't work, they can always come off. (if not, its been a great learning experience!)

Jeff

Excellent model!!! The infinite amount of variations in the single color scheme really make this stand out. I still have not been able to replicate on my own all the different tones one finds on the real vehicle.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

Thanks for the comments guys ...Slug (Bruce)
I got the decals on and wow... I have more appreciation for you aircraft modelers that have so many little stencils and stuff to put all over ..I used the Bison decals and found that they didn't react to Micro- sol so I brought out the big guns and used the Solve-a-set... that really made them stick!!! Scary stuff ! I'll add another coat of future and a couple of polly S flat coats and then I'll take it over to my friend to have pictures really taken! I'll post them next week some time..
:-)

Rick

Rick, a tip from an aircraft geek:

For those really stubborn decals that don't want to stick or conform to details, instead of pulling out the big-guns, use Future as a setting solution. Brush on a little right where you want the decal to go. While it's still wet, place you decal using your preferred method. As the Future dries, it pulls the decal down with it, and gives a rock solid bond.

Works every time. So well in fact, that my bottle of setting solutions have been collecting dust ever since I found about it.

It also helps in the chipping process, should you wish to go down that road. Makes it much easier to prevent tearing of the decal, giving a more "natural" appearance.

HTH

Yah ...someone told me about that technique just the other day...I really didn't want to try it on this kit ,but when I realized I hadn't glossed my amunition can I gave it a shot ...Hey it does work !! Even on Tamiya decals.. I think I'll be using this tip again soon...
Thanks Kevin..

Rick

Hey Bear!

Looks great buddy! The washes and paint chipping look great!

Great idea Smithery! Thanks for the tip!!