Bishop I Italeri I 1/72

After spending some time building 1/35 scale models, I went back to 1/72 scale once again. Unfortunately, I can no longer devote enough time to scale modeling, and 1/72 scale is the most efficient option within the limited time I can spare. This time, I started working on a model that I honestly can’t remember how it ended up in my hands. I had never built an SPG before, so this model did spark some excitement for me.

I began with the assembly stage. Almost none of the kit’s plastic parts fit properly. As you can see in the photos, I had to use a large amount of putty to fix the issues. Since there was no proper wheel spacing for the link-and-length tracks, fitting them into place was also extremely difficult.

Once the construction was finished, I moved on to painting. First, I primed the vehicle using Tamiya 87042 Gray Surface Primer, spraying a gray primer coat over the tank. You have to be very careful when using spray cans, because it’s hard to control the amount of paint or primer being applied. It’s very easy to end up with a coat that’s far too thick.

After the primer dried, I corrected the remaining visible flaws and moved on to painting. Instead of using an airbrush, I chose to apply the paint with a sponge. First, I used Vallejo Model Air 71093 OTAN Verde FS34094, dabbing the green paint over the entire tank with a sponge.

To begin modulating the color, I applied a lighter green using Vallejo Model Air 71137 U.S. Verde Claro FS34151, again with a sponge, covering almost the entire tank. This left the darker green in the recesses, while the upper surfaces became predominantly light green.

 

To push the modulation a bit further, I used the lighter green tone of Vallejo Model Air 71009 Eau de Nil Duck Egg Green. This time, I applied it only to the raised areas of the tank, focusing more heavily on the upper surfaces.

Finally, I loaded a brush with Vallejo Model Air 71321 IJA Light Grey Green and painted all the edges and raised details of the tank. This was essentially a highlighting step. With this application, I completed the green color modulation and moved on to painting the details.

As always, I started detailing with the tracks. I first painted them using Vallejo Model Air 71080 Rust as a base coat. Then, I applied Vallejo Model Air 71065 Steel to the areas that contact the ground and rub against the wheels, creating a metallic effect.

For the wooden parts of the tools on the tank, I used Vallejo Panzer Aces 70310 Old Wood. To make the wood look more realistic, I applied a wash using Tamiya Panel Liner Accent Color 87132 Brown. For the metallic parts, I first painted them with Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black and then dry-brushed with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. For the exhaust, I started with Vallejo Model Air 71080 Rust and added soot effects to the exhaust outlet using Humbrol AV0004 Weathering Powder Smoke pigment.

Once the painting stage was complete, it was time to apply the decals included in the kit. First, I sprayed the tank with Vallejo 26517 Acrylic Gloss Varnish. Then I applied the decals and, at intervals, used Tamiya 87102 Mark Fit over them. After the decals were fully set and dry, I applied another coat of gloss varnish.

I didn’t apply any general oil-paint weathering to the tank. Instead, I went straight to pin washing using Winsor & Newton Lamp Black oil paint. To give the tank a dusty overall appearance, I washed the entire model using Winton Burnt Umber. This wash tended to accumulate slightly in the recessed areas.

After the oil paint had dried, I sealed the entire model with Vallejo 26518 Matt Acrylic Varnish. After the matte coat, the colors settled and blended a bit more. Once the matte varnish dried, I moved on to the weathering stage.

For weathering, I first applied chipping using AK Interactive AK711 Chipping Color with a sponge. I focused this application heavily on the edges. After that, I used a graphite pencil and a graffiti pencil to enhance the metallic effect on those same areas.

In the final weathering stage, I mixed Vallejo 73121 Desert Dust and Vallejo 73119 Europe Earth pigments with Cadence thinner and applied them to the model. Since the tank hadn’t seen heavy combat, I avoided excessive weathering. I finished the model in this state and placed it in the display case. It didn’t turn out to be a high-end model, but in the end, the goal is simply to enjoy the time spent building.

AMX 30B I Meng I 1/35

Up to this point, I had never built a model from a Meng kit. When I found an AMX-30B kit at a very low price online, I decided to buy one. I had already been warned about this kit, but I didn’t listen—and I learned my lesson the hard way. 

The assembly stage actually started off very well. The only issue at first was some gaps at the hull joints. However, once the hull was finished and I moved on to the tracks, things completely went off the rails. The tracks were designed to be workable, but the connection points were so thin that I had to glue them together and shape them manually. Even then, they probably broke off a thousand times.

After somehow finishing the assembly stage without losing my mind, I moved on to painting. I wanted this tank to represent one used by the Chilean Army, so I also bought decals suitable for that version. Before deciding on the final paint scheme, I primed the tank using Tamiya Gray Surface Primer. I didn’t apply any pre-shading, but in hindsight, it might have been a good idea.

During the painting stage, I first tried to identify colors appropriate for the Chilean Army scheme. I started by painting the tank with Vallejo Model Air 71288 UK BSC 64 Portland Stone. 

After the first coat dried, it was time to apply the second camouflage color, Vallejo Model Air 71009 Eau de Nil “Duck Egg Green”. Up until then, I had always done freehand camouflage. This time, I wanted sharper edges, so I tried separating the camouflage transitions using Uhu Patafix. However, since I didn’t mask the beige areas, the green paint created an overspray effect over the beige.

As the final camouflage color, I applied Revell Aqua Color 36302 Satin Black with a brush. I was expecting a more satin finish, but compared to Vallejo paints, it ended up looking slightly glossier. Once the overall camouflage was finished, I moved on to painting the details.

I started by painting the exhausts with Vallejo Model Air 71080 Rust as a base rust color. Then, using a sponge, I applied Vallejo Model Air 71129 Light Rust and Vallejo Model Air 71130 Orange Rust in layers to try and modulate the tone.

I continued detailing with the tracks. I painted them with Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black and used the same color on the rubber parts of the wheels. I then dry-brushed the metallic sections of the tracks and the contact points on the wheels using Vallejo Air 71065 Steel.

For the wooden parts of the tools on the tank, I used Vallejo Panzer Aces 70310 Old Wood. To make the wood look more realistic, I applied a wash using Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color 87132 Brown. I painted the metal parts first with Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black and then dry-brushed them with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. I applied the same process to the towing cable, spare track links, and machine gun. 

To paint the periscopes, I used Vallejo Panzer Aces 70309 Periscopes. The color itself was nice, but I think adding more of a glass effect would have improved it. I painted the rear signal lights with Vallejo Model Color 70957 Flat Red, completing all the painting work.

After painting, I sealed the entire tank with Vallejo 70522 Satin Varnish. For decals, I used the Chilean Army markings from Star Decals 35-C 1016 AMX 30 B/B2. While the decals were drying, I softened them using Tamiya 87102 Mark Fit. Once the decals were fully dry, I applied another coat of satin varnish.

After the varnish dried, I moved on to the filtering and oil-paint modulation stage. I use Winsor & Newton oil paints for this. For the filters, I used Winton Titanium White, Winton Chrome Yellow Hue, and Winton Burnt Sienna. Then I tried to modulate the color using Winton Sap Green and Winton Chrome Yellow Hue. I was quite careless at this stage; since I didn’t blend the oils properly, instead of toning down the paint, they remained on the surface like extra layers.

Once the oil paints had dried, I applied a pin wash using Humbrol AV0201 Black Enamel Wash. If I had applied this wash more strongly, I think the result would have looked better. The tank also seems to need an additional overall wash in brown tones—something I realized more clearly after reviewing the photos.

After the model had completely dried, I applied a matte coat using Vallejo 26518 Matt Acrylic Varnish. Matte varnish creates a slightly rough surface, which helps weathering products adhere better. It also makes the colors look more natural. The only downside is that if you overdo it, the model can start to look toy-like.

During the weathering stage, I first applied chipping to areas frequently used by the crew using AK Interactive AK711 Chipping Color with a sponge. Since modern tanks don’t usually rust heavily, I limited the chipping to this single color. I applied a wash to the exhaust using Mig Jimenez A-MIG-1004 Enamel Light Rust Wash.

For weathering the running gear, I first mixed Vallejo 73121 Desert Dust and Vallejo 73119 Europe Earth pigments with Cadence thinner and applied them. After these pigments dried, I applied a wash using AK Interactive AK4062 Light Dust Deposite. Finally, I applied pigments directly onto the model without mixing them with thinner. To be honest, the weathering wasn’t very successful—but at that point, the tracks had broken so many times that I was simply tired of the model.

I applied soot stains to the engine grilles using Humbrol AV0004 Weathering Powder Smoke. I honestly don’t know whether these areas look like this on the real tank. I applied the same pigment to the muzzle as well.

As the final weathering step, I tried to give a metallic look to the raised areas using a graphite pencil and a graffiti pencil. This was the last weathering process applied to the tank.

Once everything was finished, I gifted the tank to a friend. It could have been a much better model. But once the tracks got on my nerves, all I wanted was for the build to be over. 

Entwicklungsfahrzeug E10 I Trumpeter I 1/35

I don’t usually prefer building 1/35 scale models. The main reason is that I simply can’t find enough time to dedicate to a single model. With the limited free time I have, I much prefer building 1/72 scale kits, which I can finish more quickly. However, I decided to break this rule and build the E-10 model that my wife gave me as a birthday present. The build actually started off quite well, but once again, the final result didn’t fully satisfy me.

This vehicle was actually a prototype that never entered mass production, and the Germans planned to equip it with an air suspension system. Because of this, the design drawings show the tracks in two different positions. I chose to build the model in the position that looks a bit like a modified Honda.

The assembly stage went smoothly, just like most Trumpeter kits. There were no issues at all. All the details were provided as separate parts, which is definitely a positive aspect of this kit. The mantlet also featured a very nice cast texture. The box even included some high-quality metal parts, although I chose not to use most of them.

After completing the assembly, I primed the vehicle in gray using Tamiya 87042 Surface Primer Spray L Gray. Many modelers prefer not to use primer, but I like it because it reveals mistakes before painting. Since the vehicle has a very boxy shape, there weren’t many assembly errors to begin with. Once the primer dried, I moved on to painting.

The build instructions showed this tank in the classic German three-color camouflage scheme. Camouflage is one of the hardest techniques for me, and this tank simply couldn’t be painted in a single color. For the camouflage, I decided to start with the yellow base color. For this, I used Vallejo Model Air 71025 Dunkelgelb RAL 7028.

For the green camouflage color, I chose Vallejo Model Color 70968 Flat Green. To create modulation, I added a small amount of Vallejo Model Color 70951 White to the green and lightly sprayed it over some of the previously painted areas.

I wanted the brown areas to have a slightly purplish tone, so I decided to use Vallejo Model Air 71402 UK BSC-49 Light Purple Brown. After painting the brown areas, I mixed in some Vallejo Model Air 71027 Light Brown to lighten the color and tried to modulate the brown sections of the camouflage with this mixture.

Once the camouflage was finished, I painted the barrel in anthracite to add some visual interest, using Vallejo Model Air 71052 Anthracite Grey. For the tracks, I chose Vallejo Model Air 71080 Rust. I used the same color to paint the machine gun shield and the exhausts.

As always, I painted the wooden parts of the tools on the tank with Vallejo Model Color 70917 Beige. For the metallic parts, I painted them with Vallejo Model Air 71052 Anthracite Grey and then dry-brushed with Vallejo Model Air 71062 Aluminium. I also dry-brushed the tracks with the same aluminum color.

Since I didn’t use any decals on this vehicle, I applied a satin varnish directly after finishing the painting stage. For this, I used Vallejo 70522 Acrylic Resin Satin Varnish. Gloss varnish actually makes later stages easier, but once I apply a gloss coat, I can never fully knock down the shine again. That’s why I prefer using satin varnish.

Before moving on to oil paints, the camouflage already helped break up the monotony, but the colors still felt a bit too dark. For this reason, I applied white, yellow, and blue filters using Winsor & Newton oil paints. After that, I placed white and yellow dots across the model and blended them with the help of thinner. My goal was to lighten the overall tone of the vehicle slightly.

Once all the oil paint work had completely dried, I applied a matte varnish using Vallejo 26518 Acrylic Matt Varnish. Matte varnish protects all the previous layers and also provides a slightly rough surface, which is ideal for weathering. After the matte coat, the colors on the model become more defined and visually pleasing. That’s why using matte varnish is important.

Since these vehicles were never produced or put into service, the level of weathering is entirely up to the modeler. I generally don’t prefer heavy weathering, so I decided to keep it light and rely mainly on pigments. That said, I did heavily rust the machine gun shields, which created a bit of a contrast.

I applied a wash to the flat surfaces of the tank and the tracks by mixing AK Interactive AK4062 Light Dust Deposite with thinner. For areas where soot would accumulate, such as the exhaust and barrel, I used Humbrol AV0014 Weathering Powder Smoke to create a black soot effect. I didn’t add any streaking effects to the vehicle.

To create wear on the areas prone to abrasion, I dabbed AK Interactive AK711 Chipping Color onto the surfaces using a sponge. To enhance the metallic appearance, I rubbed the edges with the tip of a graphite pencil. After that, I applied a graphite art pencil over the surfaces to diversify and naturalize the metallic effect. With this final step, the model was completed and placed in the display cabinet.