well this kit has been on my bench longer than any other and its finally done thus completing all builds in progress from 2006 and i must say it was a joy to build and i am delighted with the result. it was built oob and i highly reccomend it please feel free to comment and as always thanks for looking.

Very nice looking tank. I love the grimy look to it. I really like the way the exhaust was texturized. Can you explain how?


Nice photography too!

Looks like

Yes, exhaust is particularly nice. Has that operational look to it. Heated, cooled, grimy, oily, oxidizing look...

The overall weathering is more than nice, but its seems that we all flashed on the exhausts pipes, wich are astonishing.

Excellent job - love the weathering and...... those exausts! they look ace! Please tell us how you managed them!

James

Beautifully done Ron.
Did you mix talc powder into your paint for the exhausts?
For OOTB, it's great.
Cheers.

jjumbo

Great job! One really has to love that French early war camo. Very effective weathering.

Thanks for sharing.

Ron,

Outstanding. Looks great!

As usual, looks good Ron.

Excellent weathering!

Looks great!

Cheers, Michael

Great work! I really like the weathering. What did you use on the chain?

Very nice work!!

Excellent job Ron, stunning weathering.

Very nice I like the weathering.

A very nice model, as the other said the exhaust look is very convincing !
Cheers,
Julien

Magnificent workmanship! Wow! I am camouflage green with envy. Well done.

Excellent workmanship. The tracks look like the real McCoy. Top notch weathering as the others have mentioned, the exhausts look like they would roast your fingers if you touched them. The chain looks great and the wear and tear on the paint is some of the best I have seen.
How about a diorama and a figure or two?
Ironmike

NIce job Mike. Very well done. I particularly like the weathering job. Those treads are huge compared to the rest of the tank. Nice markings too. Any idea what the word on the Tank represents. Sorry I don't speak French.

First a bit of explanation, B1s and B1bis were assigned names during production, and for the first production batches these had obvious themes. The alphabetical list on chars francais hides this a bit, but if you look at the units instead the themes are more apparent.

Bourrasque is a sort of strong wind, the production batch Bourrasque belonged to was given the names of French destroyers and similar warships, where the name was even more appropriate. Some of the names of other ships in the same class of destroyers also appeared on B1bis.

Bourrasque class

One of the destroyers which had its name mirrored on a tank was Tramontaine; the Char B1bis so named was the only other known user of the heraldic beast that appears on the front of Bourrasque.

David

Hi there

Great work ............go on, tell us how you did it. I bet it was pigments mixed with paint. Could be wrong.

Keep it up

Stu

Many thanks for all the great comments (wow so many) this kits perfect to build and lends itself to heavy weathering beautifully,
The weathering was done using oil paints in the manner of washes and a bit of chipping and lastly this powder i got from a craft store called temp powder its brown and i dont know what its used for but i guess it might be kinda similar to pigments,
The powders is how i got the texture on the exhaust, i painted it using regular craft paint then while it was still wet i ground some powder into it then when it was dry it recieved a couple of washes at the same time the rest of the tank did and finally it was dry brushed with oil paint, burnt sienna and van dyke brown.
The chain was rattlecanned with some brown camo paint (generic) i had, then given a wash and while still wet the powder again was crushed in and finished off with a little rust wash in a couple of areas for variety.
The rest of the tank was done in the same manner, lots of heavy all over washes and in the early stages after the wash had dried i took a brush with clean thinner and using down strokes cleaned a lot of the panels off i also employed a q-tip/cotton bud for this in some cases,
Towards the end i used the powders again while the washes were wet and ground them in certain places for buildup effect.
fianlly for the high spots i used Reaper master series "Shadowed steel" and lightly drybrushed to give a heavy metal effect.
oil colours used= titanium white, van dyke brown, burnt sienna and lamp black, all mixed for different colours of dirt , mud and rust type washes.

Now i want an honest opinion, the stain on the rear was intentional i wanted it to look like wet muddy oily chains had been thrown up there and effected the surrounding area but if it comes across wrong then its an easy fix i just wanted to add a little variety.
thanks again.

Simply stunning Ron
Your work really inspires me,I can see my Char creeping its way to the top of the pile,I fancy the idea of doing an OOB build for once
If mine turns out half as good as this ,I'll be pleased
Andy

I can't but join the choir!