Well it's been a long time but I actually finished something. This is the Tamiya kit which I actually built about 3 years back, then I stalled because I wasn't to sure of my painting skills. I have also learned a few tricks building wise since then and will do a few things differently on the next one. (a 2A6 waiting in the wings...along with several other kits ) I used a few pieces from the Eduard PE set, Modelpoint barrel, Karaya tow cables, and MV lenses for the headlights. It actually looks a little more weathered in person, my camera doesn't pick up some of the more subtle "dirt". I might come back and add a couple of small things sometime in the future, (longer antennae, a little stowage, that kind of stuff). From the pics I based this on the Germans didn't appear to carry too much "baggage" on their tanks while in Kosovo. Anyway on to the pics, all comments welcome.

Mike

A couple of pre-weathering shots:



The finished kit:

That's some nice work Mike!

very nice work indeed!

Sean

wow looks great!!!
Ron

Wow nice job Mike, congrats on a cool looking build and personally I don't think it needs anything extra

A couple of questions on 5the build if you don't mind.
In the pre-weathering shot I notice the road wheels, idler and drive wheel are all painted a lighter shade of green than the rest of the tank. What color did you use and was it done to blend in with the dust?

Is the camo hand painted or did you use a mask of some kind?

Cheers
Darren

I like it Mike

Those Leos are really different looking. The turret looks massive esp. when you look at something like a T72.

Your camo job looks great.

Jeff

Very, Very nice! I have the same issue with my camera so I sympathize with you. What brand and colors did you use because the colors are really spot on and add a lot of realism IMHO.

The colors themselves and what I think is a near perfect scale effect on the airbrush work make it look fantastic! The touch of weathering is just right for a modern afv too, looks totally convincing!


I also definately want to know what colors too for my pzh2000

I love it! Great work, subtle and effective weathering.....I see some silvering in the decal over the KFOR sign though....

Congrats and cheers

I definitely like what I'm seeing here. Great piece of work Mike. The camo paintjob and dusting looks absolutely great. Top job Mike.

It looks really good , I would not add anything else.



Mark

Superb work, great camo and just the right amount of weathering, cheers Bob.

Nice work espacially with subtle weathering

Looks very fine to me. I've got a picture of Wild Thing if you're interested. I think the turret bins could be filled with some crew personal stuff or a roll or something like that to give it a more life-like look.
Anyway, it's weathered enough, the Germans entered Kosovo on roads unlike the French (on mountain tracks !) so their vehicles were only dusty, at least at the very beginning of the deployment.

Olivier

Outstanding job. love the weathering

I really like kits that have subtle weathering and arent over done such as yours.




I'd definitely recommend it. Stowage equipment somehow gives the kit another dimension to it.

Great job overall!

Many thanks for the kind words guys I really appreciate them! To answer the questions;


Darren, The color is Tamiya XF-49 Khaki, I put a light coat over the basecoat of NATO green on the running gear as a base for further weathering.
The camo scheme was done freehand using my trusty Iwata HP-B (I LOVE this airbrush!!!)





hellbent11& kevinb120, The base colors were the Tamiya NATO colors, XF-67 NATO green, XF-68 NATO brown, and XF-69 NATO black. After I had the camo scheme laid down I used a technique that I read about in Graeme Davidson's "Modelling the M113" from Osprey. It's kind of a cross between a filter and post-shading. After the base colors were done, again using my Iwata HP-B, I went back over them with a VERY thin mixture (more of a tinted thinner than thinned paint, probably 90% thinner at least) of the base colors to lighten them up. To lighten the colors I mixed the black and brown with Tamiya XF-57 buff, and the green with XF-60 dark yellow, then thinned them out. I repeated the process 3 or 4 times letting each color dry between applications. In an e-mail Graeme gave me this advice, "the stuff has a tendancy to dry lighter as you go and if you overdo it you're screwed". It was a tedious process but one that I feel was worth it.



Klaus, I'm not sure which pic you're referring to but it must be the lighting of the photo. Thankfully I can assure you there is no decal silvering.



Yes Olivier I am interested. I have one of "Wildthing" but wouldn't mind having another. PM inbound.

Olivier and Jeremy, I agree, some stowage adds that little extra bit to give it a "lived in" look.

Thanks again guys!

Cheers,
MIke

Look great, keep it up mate...
cheers...

nice..looks great with the weathering. nice pictures too. thanks for sharing. ed

Coca, Ed, thanks for the compliments!

Mike