And as a last touch I added some “wet effects” by Mig Ammo to the mud, in order to create a little more visual interest, and I also painted the drive wheels’ teeth and the tracks with some metallic paint in order to show the wear
All in all, a great little project, not complicated, like a MiniArt kit would be, and the interior gives a nice little extra.
Semi-gloss varnish, decals, pin washes and some further weathering.
Well, that’s it, really. I left the wash dry for a day (Mig Ammo’s dark wash), and then used a turpentine-moistened* brush to remove the wash from the unwanted places, leaving it around raised details, such as rivets, and to create an illusion of depth in the deeper areas.
*Yes, it sounds horrible. Yes, it was intentional
Important to mention that it is not possible to remove the wash completely even from a gloss surface, so you will get darkening -a sort of filter- and streaking. Both of these side-effects can be used for weathering. (And this is why I do not like the whole-wash method, when a model is drenched with washing liquid, and then subsequently cleaned up.)
Since it is a solvent-based wash the model will be sitting like this for a couple of days, and then I will add a matte varnish layer to protect the wash from the subsequent solvent-based steps (further oil filters, streaks and whatnot). Once that is done, I will finally do the thing I wanted to build this model for – mud on the sponsons…
Until then there are -again- a ton of tanks and three Mandalorian figures (among others) to be finished, so hopefully I can do some headway on them, too. I am currently preparing for taking an exam for a PMP certificate, so most of my precious little modelling time goes for studying project management. Apart from some career prospects of minor importance, maybe this would enable me to plan my model building better…
Finally, painting.
Priming was done with Vallejo’s dark grey primer, and then used AK’s protective green for the base color.
Painted some of the smaller detail with a lightened version.
After this the main course of the day: drybrushing. I bought some special brushes from Army Painter, and made a dry brushing palette, so it was time to try them out -after all we have a TON of rivets here.
The results are not bad -if you do the effect a bit heavier, you can also modulate the base color to simulate fading somewhat on the edges and sides. I quite like the results – would be curious hearing what others think.
And then came the oil paints and ready-made AK filters. This is where I am at now: oil filters applied (dot method), and added the different greenish/brownish filter hues using AK’s products to different parts of the model.
The Vickers Medium looks nothing like a tank. It looks like a child’s toy, or one of those “egg models” -when I first saw it in Bovingdon I fell in love with it.
The only real problem is that the Hobby Boss model (the only one available) does not have any interior detail. On a whim I did a google search, and got absolutely floored – there IS a set available! (It can be purchased on IMA’s website.)
Well, the interior first: the set is pretty nice, I have to say. It fills out the spaces inside the tank, so you can leave the hatches open. It is easy to assemble and reasonably cheap- however it is not a superdetailed interior that is for sure. It is probably what Hobby Boss should have provided us with so we do not have a large, empty hole in this quite big, boxy tank. If you want to do a cutaway, you will need some serious scratchbuilding to do, though. It does not have anything for the turret, doesn’t have the engine, and all those tiny details that really dress up the interior. Word of caution: it fits very well inside the hull once completed, BUT the bottom needs some trimming – otherwise it does not allow space for the bottom of the hull. I did not notice it, only after gluing.
The set comes with some resin parts -no surprises there- but some parts are actually plastic -these are the long, narrow parts that need to be stiff and strong. Very good idea not to use resin for every purpose.
The Hobby Boss model is quite simple to build -it is a typical Hobby Boss model. No-nonsense, well designed, OKish detail, low part number and easy to build -with the exceptions of the tracks. The tracks are not fun. They are not as horrible as the Toldi’s, but close. First, you have to attach the guide horns individually. Second, the links do not really click into each other -it is a chore to build them. (My strategy: use the boring video conferences while doing them.)
If you can, get some replacements -any Valentine 2 type tracks would do; these tanks used the same set.
Overall, it is a decent model, but not a Tamiya-level one, though -there are small annoying things. Apart from the tracks, the most prominent one was the locating pins for the PE-brackets for the mudguards – they are simply too thick for the holes on the PE parts. (On the other hand you DO get individual links and PE -not something Tamiya normally provides.)
Well, it is done. (OK, not completely – I just noticed on the photos that the dark wash on the interior of the turret hatch was not adjusted -since then I corrected this issue, but did not retake the photos.)
So what do I think about the build? Well, it is a typical, nice MiniArt model, with some fit issues here and there, some overcomplicated parts, but in general, quite enjoyable. (Although not the tracks. They are workable, but the assembly is hellish.)
What about my build?
Well, it is not perfect by any means, but I am quite happy with it. The dust on the stowed equipment is somewhat strong, but the AK dust was clinging quite strongly to the recesses – I would have preferred less contrast but there you go -lesson learned. As for yellow – I just realized I had a “British yellow” purchased already- which I did not use because I was trying to mix the base color. I have so many paints, apparently, I forget which one I need and which one I already have.
Beh.
OK, so weathering. Being a desert vehicle, dusting is in order – at least I get some experience with the process.
First I applied a semi-gloss varnish, applied the decals, and did some washes using AK’s wash products (dark browns), and some oils. Once dry, I adjusted the effect with a wet brush to remove the excess, and create some streaks. I sealed it all with a flat varnish to give a good base for the next steps: dust.
First step: using Mig’s washable dust, and adjusting it with a wet brush
Next steps: AK Interactive’s dust products (dust and light dust deposits).
I applied the dust products (mixed) onto the tank’s surfaces: the lower parts received a heavier applications as did the top parts (dust accumulating there).
Once dried I looked at the tank and got seriously concerned – a thick, absolutely unrealistic paint covering up everything. Obviously this is not the final state, but it does make you worried. Using a wetted brush (ZestIt) I started to remove most of the dust.
One thing to keep in mind that you won’t be able to remove the dust 100% (with oil paints it is possible to do so).
I added some oil and grease effects using AK’s products to the turret ring and the engine compartment, and also sprayed some True Earth Dark Aging there to make it look even grimier.
A few pieces of canvas and personal items to be added, some details to be painted, and I call this tank done.
This is the part that gets tricky – you cannot build the whole thing THEN paint the whole thing. The process needs to be split up. So I built up everything, added all the tedious little PE (as much as I could), then primed the whole tank. I painted the tank in the base color. It is supposed to be “British sand”, but it is given as Tamiya XF-59 Desert Sand. It looks much warmer than the color in the color guide. Anyhow, I started to layer Flat Earth significantly lightened with white to make it look similar to what the color guide is with more or less success. I focused mainly on the sides, obviously. Once the paint dried, I added a lot of dust (AK’s dust products) which was essentially invisible on the dust-colored surface), and finally installed the tracks.
Adding the mud guards is tricky -they are long and thin, so they warp easily. I went section by section. This is where the tank stands right now. I will have to add the remaining PE stuff from the top part of the hull and finish the painting.
Nobody said these things were simple.
Interior is finally done. All the small details painted, finished; everything wrapped up. Turret is closed ( was considering cutting a hole on the side to allow a better view into it, but I decided against it -you can see the details quite nicely through the hatch, and looking in from the turret basket.)
The engine deck is a dilemma as I want to leave the engine visible. Perhaps leaving it off, or cutting a hole in it – but then it would look strange as it would be the only place with a cutaway.
Onto the exterior, then. I am so not looking forward to adding all the tiny little bits.
Well, the hull interior is finished, the exterior is mostly done. (The rest will be added once the tracks are installed, but there is some painting and weathering to be done beforehand.)
The issue with this model is the fit – I am sure if you do 100% correctly, it fits like a glove, however, the tiny mismatches will amplify into half-millimeter gaps by the time you get to the end of the build. It would not be a problem if the model was constructed as a “shake the box” model, where all the parts fall into place with extreme precision. Here the attachment points are small, the alignment of parts is not always simple (or even clear where exactly they go), so by the end you will have issues with fitting. There are some gaps where the hull’s sides attach to the vertical parts, and some more gaps on the top of the engine compartment. More annoyingly, the back plate of the engine compartment is slightly bulging outside, because the engine is pushing it. (We are talking about less than a millimeter. I should have shaved some plastic off the engine but did not see the bulge only after I glued the part in place.)
I bought a Mig oilbrusher (dust) to try and used it inside the interior. I have to say I am impressed. You just dabble it on the surface, then use your solvent of choice (ZestIt for me) to adjust. It looks very dusty with a little effort. (Some more adjustments will be needed after looking at the photo…) Overall, not a bad thing to have, but similar results can easily be achieved in other ways. I bought a grime colored one as well – we will see how it performs. (I tried it on the bottom of the turret basket- it really “pulled together” the paint chips and rust.
Oilbrushers are not much different from “regular” oils. What sets them apart are the color choices and the matte surface/ease of use (these two are related somewhat). On the other hand, they are not as flexible, so it is something you need to decide.
But all-in-all, the interior looks great. Perhaps a bit too dirty on the photos, but I can assure you it does not look as filthy in real life. Now onto the turret interior…
The issue with assembling a complex kit like this is that building, and painting are not easy to plan. It also does not help that the instruction manual does the hull interior first, then finishes the exterior, goes on to the turret interior, and finishes with the turret exterior. It makes planning to paint even more of a nightmare if you decide to follow the suggested order. (Which I did not.)
I tried to paint everything before assembly (tried to judge what I need to paint well ahead), but several parts were left out. So once everything is dry, I am going to get my brush and start painting white manually. Not fun.
There are a lot of small pieces that need to be painted before installing them -the PE grid protecting the radio, ammo box in the turret basket, and lots of other tiny, tiny things. Checking the instruction manual, I have to say the woes do not stop once you are done with the interior -the exterior is full of PE…
The Butterfingered Modelbuilder's Adventures 