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.

German V1 Missile Launcher with E-100 body | Modelcollect | 1/72

I decided to build this kit mainly because it included an E-100 hull, and it was a gift from Erhan Atalay. The E-100 is one of my favorite tanks, and I’m planning to build other kits of it in the future as well. I also started this kit to get some inspiration for future projects.

The kit also included etched metal parts. Modelcollect is already known as a high-quality manufacturer, and I had no issues assembling the plastic parts. I chose to assemble the hull without the side skirts, as I personally prefer the look of the model this way.

Before painting, I primed the model using Mission Models MMS-003 Grey Primer. The main issue with Mission Models paints is that they tend not to adhere well to plastic surfaces. To avoid that problem, I preferred to use a primer.

After the primer dried, I painted the entire tank with Mission Models MMS-014 RAL 7021 Panzer Grey. To modulate the grey areas, I used Mission Models MMS-061 FS35189 US Blue Grey. Once the paint dried, I masked the grey sections.

After masking the grey areas, I applied Mission Models MMP-001 White. Once the paint dried and I removed the masking tape, I faced an unpleasant reality: despite using primer, the paint had not adhered properly to the plastic, and large sections peeled off with the tape. I then masked the white areas and repainted the grey sections—but this time, the white paint lifted. In the end, I had to touch up all the damaged areas by hand.

Once the main hull painting was finished, I moved on to the details. There wasn’t much extra equipment on the tank. I painted the tracks using Vallejo Air 71080 Rust and dry-brushed them with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. I painted the protective housings on the sides of the hull in the same steel color.

After finishing the hull painting, I moved on to painting the missile mounted on the vehicle. I used Mission Models MMS-061 FS35189 US Blue Grey on the lower part of the missile. For the upper section, I used Mr. Hobby Aqueous Hobby Color H048 Field Gray (2), which leans more toward green than grey.

Once the painting was complete, I varnished the model using Vallejo 70522 Satin Varnish. After the varnish dried, I applied decals that I had sourced myself. Following the decals, I applied another coat of varnish and then used Winsor & Newton products to apply grey, white, and blue filters. 

I did not apply an overall wash to the model—only pin washes. For this, I used Humbrol AV0201 Black Enamel Wash. I didn’t wash the missile at all; instead, I used Tamiya 87131 Panel Line Accent Color Black to bring out the panel lines.

After the washing stage, I varnished the model once more to prepare it for weathering. I used Vallejo 26518 Matt Acrylic Varnish on the hull. The slightly rough surface created by matte varnish helps pigments adhere more easily during weathering. 

For varnishing the missile, I used Vallejo 26517 Gloss Acrylic Varnish. Since missiles are not used extensively and are usually launched shortly after production, I assumed they wouldn’t show much wear, so I preferred a glossy finish.

As always, I started weathering from the lower areas. I added a dusty look to the tracks and wheels using AK Interactive AK042 European Earth Pigment and AMMO by Mig Jimenez AMIG0037 Dark Earth pigments. I used the same pigments to dust the front and rear sections of the tank as well.

I later realized that I had forgotten to paint the two exhausts at the rear and decided to weather them directly using pigments. For this, I used Vallejo Pigments Art. 73194 Rust & Corrosion Set. However, without a dark rust base over the grey paint, the effect didn’t look very natural. This turned out to be the most significant mistake in this build.

I didn’t weather the missile, but I tried to heavily fade its color using Winsor & Newton Titanium White oil paint. While it looked quite natural in some areas, it stood out awkwardly in others.

I created streaking effects on the guard in front of the missile launcher using Winsor & Newton Burnt Sienna oil paint. However, since there were too many decals in that area, I couldn’t quite achieve the natural look I was aiming for.

Finally, I highlighted the edges of the vehicle using a graphite pencil. I also rubbed a graphite art pencil on the raised details of the hull to enhance the metallic appearance. With that, I decided the model was finished.

Building a model of such an unusual vehicle—one I had never encountered before—was very enjoyable for me. With this project, I also built my first model of a flying object. I placed the model in my display cabinet and started browsing my stash to decide on the next project.

Sd.Kfz.165 Hummel [Initial Version] | Dragon | 1/35

This kit was given to me by İbrahim Öner. I believe he needed a tank for a diorama project. Naturally, I didn’t miss the opportunity and jumped on it right away. It was a very detailed kit. I had never built a 1/35 scale model with such an extensively detailed interior before, so it was a great learning experience for me as well.

The tracks were individual link tracks, which have been my favorite lately. I assembled them link by link and tried to create a natural sag. Since I wanted one side of the tank to look damaged, I used different drive sprockets on each side, as if one had been replaced after damage.

During the modification phase, I first removed the side panel. I wanted it to look as if there had been an explosion there and the panel had been blown off. I recreated the damaged parts using an aluminum soda can and other leftover materials I had on hand. I also placed a spare track link between them, as if it had flown in and gotten stuck there—but it eventually fell off. I painted the damaged drive sprocket using Tamiya Surface Primer Red Oxide Spray.

Once the assembly was complete, I primed the entire model in gray using Tamiya Gray Surface Primer. As I mention in every build, I prefer gray primer because it reveals surface flaws and gives me the chance to fix them before applying the main paint. After the primer dried, I applied pre-shading using Mr. Hobby Gunze Aqueous Hobby Color Acrylic Paint GSI-H12 Flat Black.

After completing the priming stage, I moved on to painting the tank. For the base color, I used AK Interactive German Dunkelgelb Special Modulation Set. I realize I’ve been using this set quite often in my last few builds, but the operational period of these models matched this color, so I didn’t really have another choice.

Just as I finished the main color and was ready to move on to details, İbrahim changed his mind and asked for the tank to be painted as if it had been used in a winter diorama. So I applied the hairspray technique and painted the entire tank with Vallejo Model Color 70951 White. Afterward, I distressed the white paint using water and a brush to achieve a winter camouflage effect.

Once the main paintwork was finished, I moved on to painting the details. I started with the tracks. I painted them using Vallejo Air 71080 Rust. For me, this rust tone is the classic track color for World War II vehicles. After that, I dry-brushed the tracks with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. 

I painted the rubber portions of the wheels with Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black. Using the same color, I also painted the metallic parts of the tools both inside and outside the tank. I then dry-brushed the metal parts with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. 

I first painted the exhaust at the rear and the spare track links at the front using Vallejo Air 71080 Rust. Then I tried to achieve a more natural appearance using pigments from Vallejo Pigment Set Art. 73.194 Rust & Corrosion. I also painted the rods at the rear of the tank with Vallejo Model Color 70951 White and Vallejo Model Color 70957 Flat Red.

I painted the interior of the tank in yellow using the same AK Interactive German Dunkelgelb Special Modulation Set as the exterior. The areas worn by the gun’s forward and backward movement were painted with Revell Aqua Color Aluminium. With that, the entire painting stage of the tank was completed.

After the paint dried, I sealed the tank with a semi-matte coat using Vallejo 70522 Satin Varnish. Although I’ve stopped using satin varnish recently, I was still using it at the time of this build. Once the varnish dried, I started placing the decals.

The decals included in the kit were very high quality. In addition to those, I also used some decals I already had in my collection. I believe the decal added to the gun barrel tip was a particularly nice detail. I placed all the decals using Tamiya Mark Fit. After the decals dried, I applied another satin varnish coat and moved on to the oil-paint filtering stage.

For the filtering process, I used Winsor & Newton oil paints. I first applied a white filter using Winton Titanium White. 

Next, I applied a filter using Winton Chrome Yellow Hue, and finally Winton Burnt Sienna to complete the filtering stage. Filtering fades the paint very effectively and helps bring the color tones closer together.

After the filtering stage, I waited for the Terlans odorless thinner to dry. While this thinner doesn’t bother me with strong fumes, it does take some time to dry. Once it was fully dry, I began the washing process.

For the interior wash, I used AK Interactive AK093 Enamel Wash for Interior. Unfortunately, this wash didn’t flow into the recesses as well as I expected, and I struggled quite a bit to remove it from the painted surfaces. I suspect that due to its formulation, it didn’t move well over the satin varnish.

For the exterior wash, I used Humbrol AV0201 Black Enamel Wash. I think I was more successful on the exterior than on the interior—at least I managed to save the tank with minimal staining. For the tracks, I used AK Interactive AK083 Enamel Track Wash.

Once the washes were complete and the tank had fully dried, I applied a matte varnish to prepare the surface for the next weathering steps. The slightly rough surface created by matte varnish makes weathering much easier. I used Vallejo 26518 Matt Acrylic Varnish as my matte coat.

I generally start weathering from the lower sections of the tank and work my way upward. I applied dust effects to the tracks using various pigment mixes I had on hand. I then applied the same pigments to the sides of the tank and used a mixture of thinner and AK Interactive AK4062 Light Dust Deposit both to add color variation and to fix the pigments in place.

I washed the exhaust and the spare track links at the front using Ammo Mig Jimenez A.MIG-1004 Enamel Light Rust Wash. Using the same product, I also created streaking effects on the model. Looking at them now, these streaks appear a bit too strong.

To finish the weathering stage, I washed the entire hull using highly diluted pigments mixed with thinner to simulate accumulated dust deposits. Finally, I used a graphite pencil and a graffiti pencil to add scratches to raised edges and completed the weathering process.

I finished the tank in this condition and photographed it. When I delivered it to İbrahim Öner, he wanted the tank to look destroyed, so I added an entry hole on the side and an exit hole at the front. Unfortunately, I don’t have photos of this final state. I delivered the completed model and moved on to a new project.