M-40 155mm self-propelled M40 and

[Tommergun]

Looking pretty great, such a cool subject.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Looking pretty great, such a cool subject.

Thanks. It is pretty cool. It's also really obsolete. I sure wouldn't take this on today's modern battlefields. I mean, if I was a driver I would park it and run away as fast as I could and jump in that ditch!

 

[BarleyBop]

try to blend it all in.

Ya, that is a pain.

Working on my Italian vehicles I was mixing a bit at a time as 'pre-mixed' off the shelf Italian paints weren't easily available. And so, there were variations in colour on the same model...
I ended up using a filter (essentially a very thin colour wash, almost like a tint) to pull the slightly different hues in the same direction, and thankfully that did the trick.

Your build is looking pretty good from here; a very cool piece of kit to say the least!

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Thanks BB! I was real surprised at the rubber tank treads. I didn't think they would look that good. But I prime them in Black and brushed on NATO black mixed with hull red. I will fiddle with them a little bit more once I get the decals on. I haven't really decided if I want to dirty this up

 

[Ron2]

Got all the road wheels and the track on one side. I don't know. I painted the wheels olive drab and the body came out of a spray can. Ts28 or something like that. They don't match so I had to spray some olive drab around the body to make it look okay and try to blend it all in. Not really happy. I'll put the decals on and blend in a little olive drab here and there along with some dirt and stuff. Hopefully that'll Bring It Around. But word of warning. When you start off painting sub assemblies in one color? And that same color will also be used on the body? Don't sit there and start procrastinating saying this might look better if I do it this way. No. One color throughout the whole build and then at the end you can dick around with the weathering to make it look good. Pima. I make double the work and then buy the time I get to the end of the build I'm sick and tired of it and want to throw it away or start building something else. I can't do that. I got to start something and I have to finish it. None of this half ass s*** for me. Okay I feel better now thanks

Got all the road wheels and the track on one side. I don't know. I painted the wheels olive drab and the body came out of a spray can. Ts28 or something like that. They don't match so I had to spray some olive drab around the body to make it look okay and try to blend it all in. Not really happy. I'll put the decals on and blend in a little olive drab here and there along with some dirt and stuff. Hopefully that'll Bring It Around. But word of warning. When you start off painting sub assemblies in one color? And that same color will also be used on the body? Don't sit there and start procrastinating saying this might look better if I do it this way. No. One color throughout the whole build and then at the end you can dick around with the weathering to make it look good. Pima. I make double the work and then buy the time I get to the end of the build I'm sick and tired of it and want to throw it away or start building something else. I can't do that. I got to start something and I have to finish it. None of this half ass s*** for me. Okay I feel better now thanks

Why don't you hit it with a filter to tie it all in?

 

[Ron2]

Got all the road wheels and the track on one side. I don't know. I painted the wheels olive drab and the body came out of a spray can. Ts28 or something like that. They don't match so I had to spray some olive drab around the body to make it look okay and try to blend it all in. Not really happy. I'll put the decals on and blend in a little olive drab here and there along with some dirt and stuff. Hopefully that'll Bring It Around. But word of warning. When you start off painting sub assemblies in one color? And that same color will also be used on the body? Don't sit there and start procrastinating saying this might look better if I do it this way. No. One color throughout the whole build and then at the end you can dick around with the weathering to make it look good. Pima. I make double the work and then buy the time I get to the end of the build I'm sick and tired of it and want to throw it away or start building something else. I can't do that. I got to start something and I have to finish it. None of this half ass s*** for me. Okay I feel better now thanks

I don't know what is going on tonight but things are either not posting or posting weird. Why don't you hit it with a filter to tie it all together?

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I don't know what is going on tonight but things are either not posting or posting weird. Why don't you hit it with a filter to tie it all together?

That's a good idea. Let me get the decals on and button it up a little bit more and I'll throw a filter on and see what happens

 

[Redleg]

Looks good!! Everything below the skirts gets dirtier anyway so the color difference isn't all that big a deal. Gotta love the big guns.

As a former artillery guy I am slightly biased. King of Battle!

 

[BarleyBop]

dirtier anyway

Good point! Even with soft skins, I'll have the undercarriage and wheel wells slightly darker, just for shadow effect at scale.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Looks good!! Everything below the skirts gets dirtier anyway so the color difference isn't all that big a deal. Gotta love the big guns.

As a former artillery guy I am slightly biased. King of Battle!

Thank you. Yeah that's why I wasn't too worried about the difference of color. Little bit of dirt here and there and some dust and mud will blend it all in.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Getting the boys together.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Primered up

 

[BarleyBop]

Primered up

Wow, two of them have jet packs in their feet!

I swear that's what I saw at first!

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Wow, two of them have jet packs in their feet!

View attachment 192018
I swear that's what I saw at first! the Silver Surfer

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Okay. I think I got the main body colors on the crew. And what I'm thinking is let this dry overnight I'll clear coat it tomorrow and that way I can start adding the special effects? You know? Like googly eyes and one eye staring off into space and sunburn on only one side of his face you know stuff like that? Seriously though. I'm just winging it. I watched a video and the guy says I'm not going for Museum quality I'm going for two to three feet away and I told myself yep that's what I'm going for. I don't know how many times I had to repaint these faces because wow those eyes are hard. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BarleyBop]

Sometimes it is enough just to add shadow to the eye socket. Never mind the pupils and the whites of their eyes.
Go for the squinting look.

Another YouTuber I saw who wanted to add the iris used short vertical stroke, then clipped the ends with horizontal stroke in shadow flesh colour.

Yet another guy adds just a dot of off white ( don't use bright white) in one corner of the eye... Pick either the left or the right for both eyes...

I've tried all the above and more, sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.
In all cases, very thin paint.

Your figures are looking pretty good, with nice casting detail, so at least there is that!

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Thanks for the tips. I think the guy also said something about the shadowing of the eyes. I'm sure I'll try them all including paint on a pin. The toothpick trick. And of course, if all else fails, sunglasses.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

And binoculars

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Working on the little tidbits. Wow tedious, real tedious. There was a couple times when I almost called it.

 

[Redleg]

I always feel that way about road wheels or separate track links. My ADHD does not like repetitive tasks. I end up starting something else.

It's looking great. Can't wait to see it all together.

 

[WtShark]

Wow-
Your patience, skill and persistence really paid off. This is magnificent work!!
Makes me want to do an armor model....
Nicely done!

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I always feel that way about road wheels or separate track links. My ADHD does not like repetitive tasks. I end up starting something else.

It's looking great. Can't wait to see it all together.

Thank you. I don't know why I get to the end of a build and I get to all the stencils like on an F4 airplane and I just lose interest. Maybe if I just put on a third of these stencils? But I force myself to complete the endeavor because my wife says all the jobs you do for other people you complete to an excellent conclusion and then you come home and your work is half ass. You never finish nothing. It's half done. You know? It's the same old s***. If you're a carpenter I'll bet you a hundred bucks you got some wood work to do around the house that you don't want to do cuz you do it all day long. How come painters always need their house painted? So I'm trying to get better and lose that stigma

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Wow-
Your patience, skill and persistence really paid off. This is magnificent work!!
Makes me want to do an armor model....
Nicely done!

Thank you wtshark! I do know I need to get a whole heck of a lot better at weathering and dirtying up my builds but man sometimes I have an aversion to it. For some reason I get a model and build it nice and shiny and then I'm supposed to throw mud all over it? That's kind of hard to do.

 

[BarleyBop]

kind of hard to do

...and not at all necessary, unless you really want to!

 

[Redleg]

Thank you wtshark! I do know I need to get a whole heck of a lot better at weathering and dirtying up my builds but man sometimes I have an aversion to it. For some reason I get a model and build it nice and shiny and then I'm supposed to throw mud all over it? That's kind of hard to do.

Thats why I build cars and armor. Usually have one of each going at any given time.
I get tired of trying to make everything look shiny and nice, then I switch to dirty and weathered, and back and forth I go.

 

[WtShark]

Thank you wtshark! I do know I need to get a whole heck of a lot better at weathering and dirtying up my builds but man sometimes I have an aversion to it. For some reason I get a model and build it nice and shiny and then I'm supposed to throw mud all over it? That's kind of hard to do.

LOL, I completely understand. It's your model, your build, etc. build it how YOU want it.
If you don't want it "weathered", or dirty, leave it bright and shiny.

 

[Rockin' Rob]

LOL, I completely understand. It's your model, your build, etc. build it how YOU want it.
If you don't want it "weathered", or dirty, leave it bright and shiny.

I think it just comes down to experience. Like everything else in life you learn by doing. Job experience? But I'm only 18 I just got out of high school!

 

[Ron2]

Getting the boys together.

Looks good- did it come with the chains?

 

[Rockin' Rob]

Looks good- did it come with the chains?

I would love to answer that truthfully off the top of my head but, alas, I can't. I don't build much armor so I don't know the terminology and it's supposed to go here not there. There was some chains that support the work platform in the back that came with the kit. I still have to build I guess you would call it the tow hooks or I mean tow ropes? Tow cables? But everything came with the kit. I'm not that big into buying aftermarket although for some planes I will buy The Mask set for it you know like the b29. I don't like it when things start getting to be a p i m a. And masking is a Pima.

 

[Ron2]

Thank you wtshark! I do know I need to get a whole heck of a lot better at weathering and dirtying up my builds but man sometimes I have an aversion to it. For some reason I get a model and build it nice and shiny and then I'm supposed to throw mud all over it? That's kind of hard to do.

I'm the same way. Plus sometimes it's just old, why do I have to put mud on every tank I build? I don't mind a little chipping, some fade and dust but that's me. I think a lot of the weathering is overboard- not so much in this forum but in others. Some guys out so much rust on their tanks it just isn't realistic to me- plus I suck at rust!