A few weeks ago I was finally able to declare the Pakwagen project complete. The scope of this project continuously kept increasing and increasing and in the end I was left with a fully completed diorama. I’m considering this build my best work so far so I’m hardly complaining.
I also decided to make a significant investment in the form of a new camera, a Canon EOS R50. Since starting this blog I’ve largely been taking photos with my phones, a iPhone 8 before and more recently a iPhone 12. The quality was passable at best but this new camera is amazing at being able to capture detail on the model. I’ve also been able to start incorporating a new technique, Focus stacking! Being able to see the entire model clearly in focus is such a huge improvement and I love the shots I’ve been able to take and share.
Also new is the base that the model is sitting on. I first tried out a workflow for building diorama bases with my work on Miniart’s T-55 and I’ve honed that process here as well. It’s comprised of insulation foam with styrene sheet on the edges. I used AK terrain paste along with foliage from green stuff world. Believe it or not, the base was in limbo for a while, I was convinced that it was going to look terrible and that I should just cut my losses and move on to the next project. Despite the rocky start I stuck with it and I’m so glad I did. It’s still got some shortcomings but I’m happy with the result, especially considering that this was my first swing at a base with heavy foliage.
I utilized a set of Tamiya late war German figures which were fantastic, the best figure set I’ve ever used. Amazing surface detail and plenty of spares were par for the course here. It had been years and years since I hade done any kind of figure painting and this set was perfect for getting the rust off. I love the way these turned out, especially the splinter camo.
That’s it for this project! Thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of the gallery below!
With the completion of the interior of AFV Club’s Pakwagen, I could move on to a phase of the build I was really looking forward to, the painting and weathering. It has been a long long time since I’ve done a German camouflage scheme (I don’t count the DAK Pz.III I did last year) and they are undoubtedly my favourite kind of paint job to recreate.
I wanted to simulate some hairspray chipping, so I opted to use Tamiya LP-18 “Dull Red” and to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of this shade. It’s a little too red in my opinion and almost looks like blood. For my next kit to utilize this shade I’ll probably add in some dark brown to tone it down a bit.
Following the primer red I hit the model with a coat of hairspray before moving on to the camouflage colours. Tamiya released a new set of German camouflage colours some time ago and I wanted to try these shades out and see if I liked them enough for future builds. I used XF-88, 89 and 90, Dark Yellow 2, Dark Green 2 and Red Brown 2 respectively for the base colours. I throughly enjoyed how the Dark Yellow and Dark green shades came out however I have my doubts about Red Brown. For starters, it can look quite green in the bottle and unless you spray quite an opaque layer over dark yellow the edges will look somewhat orange to my eye. I’m not sold on this shade and may look elsewhere for future builds.
I unfortunately don’t have any more “in progress” photos of the painting process as I was fairly busy during the couple of days it took to apply the camouflage scheme. I also added some excellent dry transfers as the unit markings. I loaded up with some of Archer’s dry transfers after they closed down and I’m really glad I did, I’m very happy with how they perform and look.
Overall, the initial painting stage went very well and I sealed the model with a coat of VMS Satin varnish to protect the previous work and prepare the model for an oil wash. I used the Bitume shade oil paint as a general starting point for the weathering as it it a good base to build off of with more focused weathering effects.
Following the pinwash, I started some streaking effects with AK’s “Winter streaking grime” I often don’t pay much attention to what the name is on the label and the dark brown shade of this product contrasted well with the dark yellow main coat.
I also unmasked the interior as I had laid down my last (anticipated) coat of matte varnish. I’ve been aiming to get out of the habit of over-sealing my models between weathering steps as I’ve come to realize that too many varnish layers can really diminish the realism and overall look of the final product. I think that the vertical streaking effects done help to break up the lines of what is a very angular vehicle and enhances the overall look.
Weathering the main gun also progressed quite smoothly with a few applications of oil and grime washes. I wanted the breech area of the pak40 to both contrast with the dark yellow interior but also be subjected to the same level of dirt and grime as the rest of the interior. I’m still not 100% satisfied with it and I may do more work with this area of the build but I’ll have to see.
I then moved on to the mud and dirt application of the build. Seeing as this vehicle would be situated during the spring thaws of 1945, it would make sense that the vehicle would see a liberal application of mud in and around the running gear. Still, I had to be careful as I wanted to strike a balance between almost black (winter) mud v.s more brown (summer) dust/dried mud. I’ve begun experimenting a lot more with enamel dusting and it’s quickly becoming a favourite technique of mine. The general process is as follows:
Spray a highly diluted layer of enamel paints in areas where dust may accumulate.
Let the enamels dry for approx. 10-15 minutes.
Brush a light layer of enamel thinner onto the painted area.
Streak the brush in a vertical motion until the painted enamels begin to shift in accordance with the brush strokes.
(Optional) add another light coat of enamel paint to depict dust/dirt that has not been disturbed yet.
Enamel dusting along with light splatter effects.
Next I applied a liberal application of mud to the underside of the vehicle and the running gear. To do this I applied AK’s “Damp earth” and “Fresh mud” fairly sloppily. I then sprinkled two shades of pigment, MIG’s “Track Brown” and Abteilung 502 “Trench Earth”. These various shades were used to provide variation in the final product. While I think that the final result looks good, It is fairly uniform and I’ll have to work on achieving greater contrast between different shades of mud and dirt.
Before and after the Enamel dusting and mud application
These comparison images really show how powerful the enamel dusting and mud splatter techniques can be. An area I wanted to target was the vertical plates with the storage lockers. Seeing as this area of the vehicle would see regular use by the crew and would be exposed to mud and dirt being flung up by the tracks I made a dedicated effort to single out this area for a little more attention than other parts of the model. The effects can further be seen by comparing the unweathered balkenkreuz in the before and after images.
Despite my minor issue with the lack of contrast in the mud tones, I really do like how this area of the build turned out. To my eye, I think that the end result is realistic and ascetically pleasing. I’m looking forward to adding mud and debris to my future models!
That’s it for this update! Really happy with how the painting and weathering process has turned out so far. There’s not a whole lot left to complete on the vehicle itself but there is still a fair amount of work to do on the accompanying figures, stowage and diorama base I have planned for this kit. Thanks for looking!
Miniart’s T-55 has been in progress in one form or another for almost two years now. It’s survived being stuffed in a box and a move across the country. There’s a few reasons why I’m only getting around to finishing it now, namely that I was more interested in other projects and that it’s a complex kit and not one you’d try to finish when being away from the hobby for a sustained period of time. I’ve slowly picked away at it for the past year but with a new year returns an old build as I’m determined to start the year by finishing off this shelf queen.
In starting the weathering process I’m reminded that conceptualizing the final result *before* beginning the painting process is needed for a good result. In slowly chipping away on this build I painted a layer of 4BO with no real direction as to what I wanted the final result to look like. Looking back this was a mistake, as I would have liked to add some chipping effects via the hairspray method. This mistake could be salvaged however and I decided to use this build to experiment with post shading, colour modulation and other heavy weathering effects. Basically I want to push this build and really go far with the weathering and pigments to get a better understanding of what works and what doesn’t. I settled on a dusty finish of a vehicle set in a desert environment and I think the green of the tank will contrast nicely with the brown environment it will be set in.
The weathering process started with adding some rust highlights by spraying some various rusty shades on the fuel tanks to create some contrast between the tanks and the vehicle hull. I then opted to treat the fuel tanks to a chipping effect to simulate areas where the paint has peeled away and exposed the rusted metal underneath.
Hairspray chipping helped to start a rust effect on the fuel tanks.
After getting the tanks where I wanted them, I hit the model with a gloss coat to seal the paint prior to an oil pinwash. Normally I’d stick with satin finishes on armour but seeing as there were a lot of details for a wash to skink into I opted for the gloss coat in this stage. After the pinwash I used VMS Satin to seal the model again before moving onto further effects. I opted for a satin coat instead of working over a gloss surface because it would allow for easier blending between the various effects I wanted to use.
Initial weathering was comprised of enamels from MIG using various grime and fuel stain effects. I like how this initial stage turned out although I think I need more practice with enamels as they are not my go to as much as oils are. That said, I like how “grimy” I was able to make the surfaces look and how the staining interacts with the colour modulation. This phase was only meant to be a base for the pigment work which will come next.
Since I knew I wanted to pose this vehicle in a Desert or Arid setting, I wanted a significant amount of dusting done to the model. I started on the running gear and underneath the fenders and stippled on AK’s “Kursk Earth” along with various other pigments. I also utilized a “light mud” product from AK to get very light splashes to add contrast. With it having been quite a while since I had really dirtied up a tank much of this process was experimenting to see how I liked the end result. I also cut up some static grass and mixed it with a light pigment before applying it to the model to simulate foliage being stuck to the underside of the vehicle.
For the initial dusting I utilized two pigment shades with pigment fixer and while I think it was good experience to practice with using pigments I think my application of this medium would use some refinement. I do think I need to slow down a bit and put more effort into blending while the pigments are still drying which is something I’ll need to keep in mind for the next build.
I used T-Rex tracks for this build and couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. I painted them in Gunze Mr. Metal Color “Iron” which if left unbuffed will remain a dull dark grey but will result in a really great shine if you rub the surface. I added some more “Kursk Earth” long with several different pigment shades to create a dusty weathered look. I then used several q tips to wipe away the pigments where wear would occur and revealed a nice shine to represent polished metal. I also added graphite onto the cleats on the reverse side to represent where the track would contact the ground the hardest and buff them metal.
This is where I’ll leave this update for now but there are sill a few things I’d like to do before declaring this one complete. I’d also like to put this one on a proper base so I’ll need to get that completed as well. Hoping to get the T-55+Base all done by the end of February so not a whole lot of time left!
This past week I was able to finish Kinetic’s 1/48 CF-18 and just in time for the holidays! (currently finishing this write-up out of Toronto Pearson) This build took around 3 months to complete and although I’m definitely happy with the end result (probably my best result to date!), the build itself was challenging to be completely honest.
The kit was plagued with rough fit and unclear instructions. The infamous nose/windshield assembly lived up to its reputation and fought me the entire way.
As I had been thinking about this build for the better part of this year, I spent the months leading up to it gathering various aftermarket pieces to enhance the build. The full list is as follows:
Leading edge “Combat Hornets” decal set
Aries Resin ejection aeat
Flying Leathernecks 3d printed accessories
Wheels
Hud
Pitot tubes
Weapon pylons
Eduard Resin Aim-9 Sidewinder and Aim-7 Sparrow missiles
Anyz decals and 3d printed parts
Various scratchbuilt wiring and tubing
3d printed pylons and resin missiles added a lot to the final product.
The Leading Edge decals really were the catalyst for the build, I knew I wanted to build a Canadian Hornet but that I also wanted build a specific aircraft, No. 188780, one of the participants of Operation Friction, Canada’s contribution to the 1991 Gulf War. This aircraft stood out because of the Cyrillic writing “oсмотри назан” on the Lex fences, with some sources translating the text as “check six”. This marking was specific to aircraft based at CFB Cold Lake which were responsible for “greeting” Russian aircraft over the arctic. As far as I can tell 780 was the only aircraft with the Cyrillic writing present in Desert Storm.
“780” seen here on the ramp in Doha.
The Leading Edge decals performed perfectly, definitely would use again.
Refocusing back to the build, I tried to scribe my own panel lines for the first time along with adding rivet details. While I feel my scribing skills need improvement, I think that the rivet details I added really stand out and were a worthwhile addition to the model. Kinetic is missing some pretty prominent rivet details on the wing and vertical stabs and the custom detail really enhances the area IMO.
Riveting details were added with a Galaxy tools 0.75mm rivet attachment
A more detailed breakdown of the painting and weathering stage can be found on that phases’ separate post but the basic overview is as follows. I primed the model in black, added an initial marble coat, followed by a blend coat and detail coat before tying the entire finish together with a final blending coat. I really do enjoy this technique, the method of slowly raising the opacity of paint layers comes very natural to me and is a straightforward (if time consuming) process. That said I do think I need to experiment in this area, and possibly start to add more post-shading to my workflow. As it stands now I see two distinct disadvantages to my current process, the first is that this is a very “dark” method in that since the model is being primed black I often need to finish the model in a shade lighter so that the end result is tinted the correct shade. The second issue is that the best gloss varnishes like to burn hot and will reduce the opacity of the paint by about 5% or so which needs to be taken into account when spraying the final blend coat.
One area I wanted to pay specific focus on was the cockpit, and took extra care and time to get it looking how I wanted. Of immense help was Kris Sieber’s book, “Superdetailing the F-14 Tomcat” which is a must buy for anybody serious about building modern jets. Even though the book is about the process of detailing a Tomcat the techniques can be applied to any ghost grey jet.
Anyz 3d printed dials and knobs really make the cockpit pop.
All in all however, I really do feel that this is the best kit I’ve built so far and I was able to use everything I’ve learned over the past year or so to really enhance both the building process and the painting/weathering process. Enjoy the final build photos below!
Nomad Models 