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Forums - Site / Build Logs

Messages in this Build Logs forum are automatically posted when new Build Logs or Chapters are added. Other modellers can then comment on them. Refer to the Build Logs section for more information.

Topics	78
Messages	2855

Subject:

[Chapter 15] Painting - Step 2 - Camouflage and details

Date:

Feb 18, 2006

From:

James Wechsler

Painting - Step 2 - Camouflage and details

I really struggled with the camouflage. In the Osprey book on 76mm Shermans, there’s a very nice rendering of a Pakistani Sherman with a nice, feathered tan stripe camo scheme. I thought it looked very cool. But later in the book there’s a photo of this tank and the camo scheme seems to be hand painted with a hard edge. I looked through what additional photos I could find and there was another, even more clear shot that definitely showed the camo to be hard edged. Bummer. This was going to make it a much more difficult camo scheme to paint.

I decided to first airbrush the camo scheme and I did my best to hold a very tight edge. My plan was to then go back with a brush and harden the edge.

At this point I must switch gears for a moment. In Chapter 12, The Turret, John Yergin correctly pointed out that I had mounted my spare tracks incorrectly. I had used a mounting that was typical of WW2 when they were used for additional armor protection. However, the post war rebuilt tanks usually had the tracks mounted on brackets so they could also be used as spares. Unfortunately, I was at this point in the build when the chapter was posted and John pointed out my mistake.

I decided that I really needed to fix this mistake and so I popped off the tracks and cleaned up the turret. I then mounted the spare links directly to the hull. One concern I that I’d noted in Chapter 12 was that the RHPS tracks set doesn’t always give you too many spare tracks. Sure enough, when I counted them out, I only had 4 extras and I needed 8. Fortunately I had another set that I’m planning to use for another project. So I stole 4 more links and I’ll worry about being short on the next project.

After I mounted the links, I drilled a small hole between each of the pins. I inserted a 0.020 inch rod in each hole and then mounted a small strip of lead foil across the pins. I bent the foil to the shape of the mounting bracket. Then I used my punch and die set to knock out small hex heads that I mounted on top of the foil opposite the 0.020 inch rod. Finally, I repainted the area and touched up the camo.

Correction completed.

Back to the camo. I gave the whole model a coat of Dullcoat and then proceeded to harden the edges of the camo. I found that by using thin paint I could get the edge covered without leaving brush strokes. I ended up painting over the whole camo I’d sprayed to get a uniform color.

When that was dry, I then did some light dry brushing using Model Master Burnt Umber to get a bit of a worn look to the paint. It’s subtle but makes a difference in the final weathering.

With all of this dry, I then painted the details on the tank like the tools, machine guns, etc. I use Model Master Gun Metal for the tools with a light drybrushing of Model Master Aluminum. The wood is Dark Tan and the Straps are Leather.

Up Next: Weathering – The Wash