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.
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