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I should at least try to finish it in time, so here's the current progress - detail painting and subtle chipping are done and I'm ready for a gloss coat and decals.




Naturally as a freshly painted test vehicle there's not much wear and tear to speak of, so I had to keep it subtle. There is some sort of colour modulation as well, but it probably won't survive the washes



It's not really visible, but I've experimented with adding clear lenses by putting a drop of diorama water into the headlights. It shrunk considerably over night so I have to repeat it at least once.


Speaking of decals, I've made a template to print my own number plates. I hope it turns out better than last time



Philipp

Nice base for subtle weathering. I hope the decals printing will turn out good. I more than often fail at this step.

Lookin’ good so far Phil. I’ve tried using two part expoxy glue as a ghetto solution to lenses but they always dry a bit yellow and with bubbles. Let me know how the water works out

Thanks everyone

Adam, the model water has dried crystal clear and it's difficult to see if it's even there...I guess that's good?

The decal printing turned out....somewhat okay, I guess. I made eight license plates and had to use 7 of them until I got a somewhat acceptable result. The printer ink started to flake off the carrier film at every opportunity, even with a generous coating of decal fixer. In the end I needed to carefully fix a lot of little broken spots by hand. I need to get a clear coat over them as soon as possible before more damage happens.




You might have guessed it, the French flags were carefully cut from leftover decals because my printer didn't even come close to creating something like that Not sure what the white particles are and where they came from, I hope they come off again...

I also made a base - a cheap wooden picture frame covered in plaster with plate edges and cracks carved into it. The "base coat" is a layer of Wilder "Industrial Dust" pigments, with various other shades of grey sprinkled on top. The little yellow flowers are "Meadow Flowers" grass tufts by a company named Army Painter. Their target audience are wargamers, but I found their products to be very useful so far


Philipp

The base looks nice Phillip, the cement has come up nice.

Thank you Adam!

Regrettably I found out the hard way that turpentine and mineral turpentine (aka white spirit) don't exactly behave the same when used for an oil wash. Suffice to say, the sudden appearance of bare plastic on the turret roof was rather unpleasant experience. Thankfully the spot wasn't too big and I've already managed to repaint the damaged area. I've ordered new turpentine, but it won't arrive before the end of June, so no medal for me this time...

Philipp

That sounds really frustrating Philipp!

I had something similar with the Tamiya pin wash, which wouldn't move with odourless thinner, but did with white spirit.

I then lost some paint on the barrel!!

Back in the paintshop for a few hours yesterday and I am hoping to have a finished kit for Wednesday, fingers crossed

We shall see?

More later

Regards

Steve H

When I use oil paint and enamel washes I always seal the paint job with a coat of Klir/Future. As it's an acrylic product it gives a good protection.

Thanks Gentlemen. Usually a coat of Tamiya clear gloss keeps everything in check, but whatever was in that bottle would have melted away the plastic if I hadn't wiped it off as soon as I noticed. I guess an enamel gloss coat would be slightly more robust but I loathe the smell it would cause

Anyhow, I managed to get a bottle of turpentine at a DIY store in the next town and just made a successful oil wash without melting the model Since this tank was never in service I'll keep the weathering very subtle. Just a little more dust around the running gear and I can call this one done.

Philipp

Well, I wouldn't have believed it possible yesterday, but I'm calling this one done!



(yeah, I'll fix that spot on the base )



Thanks everyone who joined in, and especially to Olivier for all his AMX 13 advice

Philipp