G'day guys,

I wanted to show you this because this is my second attempt at a kit in my 'adult' life and I wanted to do it as a 'practice' kit before I attempt an M1A1 with Mine Plow...just to make sure that I could still put a kit together...

But what I really wanted was some feedback from all of you pros, "this bit sucks", "I would have done this" , etc...

I know the weathering is almost non-existant, but I was keen to not make a model that looked like "it'd been to hell and back" like most models do these days... I do regret not adding a layer of dust though, so if you have some good 'tips for dummies' please let me know Only a thin layer of mud has been dry-brushed on...same as the exhaust grilles...

I didn't put a wash through it (too scared that I'd wreck it) and didn't add camouflage because I wanted to keep it an 'old school' BW tank...

Anyways, let us know what you think

hello!

the pictures are kinda dark so its rather hard to comment. maybe you could re-shoot with better lighting or take the pics outdoors? i'm sure a lot of guys (myself included) are more than willing to help critique the build. get better pics quick!

Ok, not a worry Sir - I'll give that a go and fix the pictures...it's getting dark here in Australia, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow when there's a bit more light...I tried it with the flash and all of the 'effective' bits of shadow on the Leopard1 (all of the cool angles) go out the window...it just looks like painted bits of plastic...so standby...

Thanks again

It looks like a good, clean, solid build. The one area that I can see that couldd use some work is the pioneer tools. It looks like they are painted all black, including the straps and brackets that would be part of the hull sides.

You may want to see if some of these tools had wooden handles or if the metallic parts were left in a natural metal shade or were painted differently from the handles. It may add some more "life" to the build.

Additionally, check some references for some detail painting. It looks like you didn't paint your headlights, taill ights or the rearview mirrors.

Hi Stewy,

Dont be afraid of the wahes - if you seal the model with an acrylic varnish and leave it alone for 24 hours, then nothing can go wrong.
I agree with the lighning issue - some nice pics taken outdoor will help a lot.

I would loose the figure too - not that it is not OK, but these old figures are ruining more than they help these kits.

Which Abrams are you going to do - Tamiya, Trumpeter or...?? On www.vodnik.net you will find a good camparison of what is avaliable today in regards to abrams kits - I think he only misses the latest Dragon offering, but its been a while since I visited the site.
On www.primeprotal.net you will find a lot of nice ref. pictures to help gathering info for that next build, and the next one, and...

best regards from Denmark
Morten

Hey Morten!

This might sound like a dumb question but when do you seal the kit with acrylic varnish? Before the wash or after? I apologize in advance is this is, like I said, a dumb question.

Much thanks,

Kurt

Hi there
Great model. Nice consistent paint work with clear detail. Try dry brushing the tools on the side of the tank with some silver. It will bring them to life a little more. Get some Mig pigments as well, they are worth their weight in gold!

Good work though. I'm also on my second armour project.

What kind of camera are you using? If you can do it, a long exposure with low aperture (e.g. F20+) works miracles for lighting and having the whole model in focus. Mind you, you need a tripod for that.

Don't be scared to add a wee bit of dirt. You don't have to clart it all over.

My preferred method is seal with gloss clear, apply decals, seal with matte clear and then make it dirty after that. But I've never done a complicated wash.

The Tamiya Leo 1A4 builds out rather nicely. It's nice to have the skirts step holes cutout already and the mudflaps already bent up.

Paul

Stewy,
From what we can see it is a good looking kit. Definitely need to paint those details.

I gather you have a digital cam? Have you tried adjusting the 'white balance' to 'indoor' or 'fluorescent'? Works wonders for shooting inside.

Keith

Thanks guys for your comments, I really appreciate them.

@ Sabot - yes, you're completely right about the tools, that's probably one of the bigger things wrong with it, the lights too, I painted black so they wouldn't be noticeable from medium distances, but in hindsight, I probably should have painted them.

@ Houborg - yes mate, the trumpeter kit

@ Murdo - thanks mate, yeah, lack of dust another glaring problem with the tank - how do you think I should add it? (ie, what would you do to make it dusty?)

Thanks again guys, here's some daylight pics, but I think the comments above pretty much cover it anyway



Thanks

EDIT - you can also see in the second pic that I dry brushed some steel on the top of the turret to simulate paint chips - but I don't know if this effect was successful or not...

Cheers
Stew

nice looking tank stewy! all of a sudden i have this itch to build the leo myself. :-)

i like the color, it kind of has a dusty look to it already. did you mix it yourself? one method i learned for toning down a paint job or giving an afv a more weathered or dusty look is to spray most of the surfaces with tamiya buff (add lots of isopropyl alcohol to make it very thin, something like 70/30 alcohol to paint i think). spray this from at least a foot away so that it actually "mists" onto the model. presto! your vehicle is now covered in a film of dust.

Hi Kurt,
I always apply acrylic varnish before oil washes. And as Paul Truhe said you can start out by adding a clear coat, put on decals (to avoid silvering of the decals and the either use clear or satin coat again to seal the markings as it also enhances the "flow" of the oil wash before applying a matt coat to dull everything down. I also use a slight drybrushing after this before washing as it raises detail and can be toned down a bit again with the wash. (hope this makes sence :-))
Best regards
Morten

What about the tools? They would have to be amended something else. Otherwise a fine kit, even more mud your Leo is ready