I was trying to go for the faded worn finsh on this one, but something came out seriously wrong. Of the really good models I see online the weathering is usually nice and tidy, and when I try to do that it looks too controled, so I do the oposite and get this. What would you all reccomend I change?

Also bear in mind, the model is not finished, The MG still needs to be painted, as do the spare wheel and sandbags. I also want to add on some stowed gear.

I haven't done armor modelling since I was 11 and that was 13 years ago, I wasted the last 13 doing aircraft, so go easy on me

Ralph

Uh-oh. I did something wrong. You can access the image at Armorama's MSN group under the heading ralphs sloppy garbage. here
http://groups.msn.com/armorama/ralphssloppygarbage.msnw?Page=1

Sorry


Ralph

hi Ralph
I don't think it looks to over done it looks pretty good to me, just one thing the spare track on the turret has that been painted because it looks a bit blue.
keep up the good work.

well I just had a look and you are well on the way to a good model. The spare track links on the turent need some rust adding and some wear and tear on the tracks themselves would be good. You need to look at some of the old armor posts as I am sure there is posts in there dealing with this subject. The spare road wheel needs weathering too.

Cliff

thanks guys. I still thikn its a bit overdone and on my next model I want to learn how to tone things down, thats where all of you come in

I think the spare track looks blue because its painted gun-metal and the photo is taken under a halogen lamp, but yeah I still need to add wear and tear to that. The spare wheel isn't painted yet either (just an OD base) I was concerned about that spare because I have the proper road wheels on there from a differernt kit, but the spare is the old tamiya with the gapped spokes. I've read somewhere that this mix-and-match type of deal was seen, but I'm not sure.

Ralph

Hi Ralph ...got yourself a nice little M-5 a1 there guy ..I do have to agree that a wash of raw sienna and burnt umber wouldn't hurt on the gousers...and the spare road wheel needs some weathering ...One thing I would sujest is to get rid of those sand bags and make your own out of expoxy putty ...A sand bag is just that ...a bag full of sand so it wouldn't stay square like that on the armor plate it would mould itself into the light gards..I love the weathering looks like it has been in Normandy for a while ..keep up the good work . As for the spare ...no problem with the mixing up of different types..

Richard

I just love that I have finally learned how to add pictures to posts. Looks great. I love a dirty tank.

Patrick

Hey,
The weathering is great. The previous comments about the spare track are valid.
I noticed that the spare road wheel is very clean and shiny. I'd dirty it up a bit. If possible, don't know how easy or the materials you have to do it with so take this next with a grain of salt. If possible I'd try to put some 'sag' in the sand back. I'd try to make them sag around the light gards just a bit and the top front edge I'd try to give some sag.
Here are a couple of suggestions about that - 1. If you are are using the Tamiyas sandbags you can Slowly heat them over a candle and then use a blunt instrument to sag where I mentioned. 2. If you have it you can use some 'baking clay' or two part milliput. These are modeling clay that hardens. The baking kind is put in the oven, the other hardens by itself. So, you can fashion a snake about the length you need then squish it to the correct thickness. Then cut it to length. You can mold it perfectly to fit the tank. Then take a needle to etch in some seams. You can also take some silk or tea bag or tight medical gause and press into the clay to give it texture.

Anyway - The tank looks very good! You're work is a bonus for us all to look at.

:-) Hi BornToDig,
Did you apply the wash over a matt cote? If you did that might be the problem, the wash will flow into the roughness of the matt cote, spreading where you don't really want it. gloss cote first, I use Klear, decal gloss cote again then wash. If the wash ain't how you like it you will be able to remove it. When it's to your liking add your matt cote. If you like you can then dry brush. I think that the hull and turret are fine, just the wash on the wheels is a bit overdone, which is why I'm thinking it's on top of a matt cote. Then again the wheels could as easily be covered in mud.
Hope this helps, bare in mind that I model aircraft, so what do I know.(Although I have modelled some armour, in a past life. LOL)
Mal

I agree with most of what's been said. Now, I hate to weather and am not good at it but you's looks good to me. I think the running gear looks about right and the hedge cutter looks realistic. I agree about the sand bags, and if you do change them they should be weathered as well. Your decals look excellent, which is hard to do with some of Taniya's old (and even some new) decals.
So I say, good work! And your statement about the next model being better is right on.
Keep up the good work.
Chuck

NICE WORK - CONGRATS

ROBERTO

Thanks for the replies all. One of you mentioned that you wash over a gloss coat. I actually like to wash over a flat coat because then i get a bit of tint where I want it. The running gear is actually the only part of the weathering that I like, but I've used that method for 3 of the 4 armor models that I've built and want to try something else next time. I have a few AFVs from north Africa so I'm going to try to copy Steve Zaloga's dusty undercariage look...which brings me to this point. What are the alternatives to wash/drybrush when doing an undercarriage. I've tried pre-shading and didn't get the results I wanted and I did a crushed chalk mud cake on my eastern front PzKw III which looks great, but what if I just want a dust coat? A wash wouldn't look right i think and theres not so much mud in the desert either...anyhow, I'm rambling now.

On to point two. I removed the plastic sandbags and found some left-over sculpy which I'll use to make my own. I think that should look better. If I only have the two sandbags over the light-guards do they need some type of tie-down?

Finally, any advice on how I can improve the machine-guns? Right now they're just base-coated with gun-metal.

thanks for the support
Ralph

You can model a dusty film by lightly fogging over the model with a tan/dust color in your airbrush. Remember to keep the paint fairly thin and the coat very light, you want a slow buildup of color. For weathering and other special effects, I read some great advice somewhere....When you think one more touch will be perfect...Stop, it'll be too much. Your stuart looks very nice just like it is though. How about powdering some pencil lead (or maybe using powdered graphite for locks) and rubbing that into the machine guns, they look kinda flat black in the photo.

I've worked some more on the Stuart and made new sandbags from a synthetic clay, they do look much better than the plastic ones, but I'm concerned that now they're too large. Any thoughts. The pic below (hope it works this time) is blurry so you cant see the details but it gets the size across. The bags aren't glued on yet, so I can make new ones if these are too big. Comments please. OH and no, they're not painted yet... I was thinking a light grey with neutral grey wash


Ralph

ok, lets try making that a bit larger now


Ralph

I think they look a bit big Ralph. But maybe there were various sizes. The other guys may know for sure.

Ralph,

On the feature page you can find a small article of mine explaining how I did my sandbags (in 1/35 scale) maybe this can help you?

Here is the direct link:

Making sandbags

#:-)

:-)

Those sandbags are certainly better than the plastic ones. As far as tying them down goes, in that position their weight and the fact that they would conform to the light guard would make that unnecessary, unless performing a loop is anticipated. LOL.
Looking good.
Mal

Nice upgrade on the sand bags. They look much better. As far as size, IMHO they aren't to bad. As the photo stands they may pass, if you place a figure in there the scale of the figure may give them the appearance of being to big.

I think they might still be a bit big ..cut that in half and push them into the light guards more ... you can make more than 2 throw on 6 or 7 ...Take a bean bag and whatch how it conforms to the shape of an object ..do the same with your sandbags ...but I must say they are already much better than before ..

Richard

Well She's almost done, I'm finally satisfied with the sandbags, they're not perfect, but they'll be better next time. I've placed various boxes, bags, barrels etc around the tank. They're obviously not yet painted, nor are they glued on even. If any of you can make suggestions on how these various items would be tied down, please share.

Here it is w/o the stuff


finally a full frontal shot



The shots are really high contrast and make some of the spots look "snowy" which they actually aren't. Oh well. Enjoy, and tell me what to do next. Oh yeah, I didn't glue on the antenna yet


Ralph

I forgot to mention...I'm not so much concerned with the layout, but to what each thing would be tied down, especially the barrel and tarp/box on the front fenders. Im assuming the packs and helmet on the grousers could just get some straps and be suspended by them, and the stuff on the rear deck can just be tied down to the handholds.
Should I throw anything else on there too?

Ralph

nice job on the tank, one thing i would add though is some mud between the treads. Otherwise looks great.

Thanks Michael. The mud is there, in fact I had to tone it down some. I think now it's too subtle. Can't have it all huh?

Ralph