Weathering almost done. I just have to add a touch of pigments & dust. Some minor details too (painting periscope lenses, tail light, adding machineguns on the sides of the turret).
Enjoy the pics!
Tanks
All posts tagged Tanks
I painted my E-100 tank. No weathering yet, just base colors, camo and decals.
I used Tamiya Dark Yellow as the base color, with highlights of a mix of Dark Yellow, White and Buff. The green is from Model Master 4798 Panzer Olivgrün 1943, It is a blueish medium green I find particularly good looking on Dark Yellow.
The tracks were simply painted black then added touches of Red Brown from Tamiya.
The red primer on the guns, on exposed parts of the sides and one of the skirts is Vallejo 70.985 Hull Red.
The skirts are not glued on yet (they were just applied temporarily to the tank with blue tack for the photos).
The fun will begin soon: weathering!!! Yeah!!!
Stay tuned!
Hi folks!
I want to show the monster tank I am currently working on: The german E-100.
This tank never saw actual combat and was only found as a partly assembled hull and plans. Nevertheless, it was supposed to be equipped with the Maus turret, wich was built (a prototype in fact), so we have a good idea of  the overall look of the E-100.
The model I assembled is from Dragon. I was disappointed by the lack of details (no tools, inaccurate front side plates, no hooks for spare tracks etc. So I decided to improve the kit with some scratch built details.
I am almost ready to base coat this enormous beast. Enjoy the pics for now!
E100 global view.
E100 closer…
Lifting hooks for the turret and hooks on the side for the spare tracks. I also added covers for the periscopes.
Ladder and handles added for the hatches.
An extension to the armor was added under the hull. Clamps and tools were also added. The antenna fixture is scratch built tool.
Front part of the armor corrected, and weld seams added for the fender fixations.
Texture added to the gun mantle. Notice the holes and handles added to improve details on the hatches.
Gun mouth drilled and replaced with a brass tube.
Rear detailed: texture for the exhaust covers, scratch built jack block and jack, etc.
A view of the photo-etched grills.
Size comparison: E-100 vs King Tiger
Size comparison: E-100 vs King Tiger
The E-100 is as large… as my entire Hetzer diorama!!!
Hell! The turret alone is the size of the Hetzer!!!
Ok, so my E-50 is 99% completed, with dusting and all.
So it is time to begin the diorama. Yeah!
Take a look at the process: you will find comments on most pictures detailing the techniques and materials used.
Enjoy! Part 2 coming soon…
An Ikea picture frame is used as a base for the diorama.
A piece of plywood was screwed on the main base to provide elevation for the road in the diorama.
The road is made of foamcore: I used the same technique as for my ISU-152 diorama.
Some improved Tamiya tank traps (I added the welding lines with epoxy putty)
I would like to put this old bike model from Tamiya among the debris… not sure yet…
Some simple wood planks assembled together.
A scratch build shed door, to put on the ground in front of the tank. Putting a door in the middle of the road is a clear way to illustrate the state of destruction in a city…
Random bits to use as debris.
I removed some individual stones from the road to damage it. Then pieces of cork were glued on the “crater” part of the diorama.
A quick dry assembly of the different components, just to get a “feel” for the composition.
Another angle…
And another angle again…
I filled the gaps using Wood Filler putty. I think the earth like texture looks great!
The sides of the diorama were covered with Wood Filler too to simulate soil and hide imperfections.
Another angle to show the ground work.
I brushed some white glue in patches on the road and debris to add some finer sand and rocks. Once the glue was dry, I coated all these areas with diluted white glue (50/50 mix of glue and water) just to bind everything together.
Details of the ground work.
Again, a close-up view of the ground work in the “crater”.
And some sand bags, sculpted from Magic Sculpt epoxy putty.
Another view of the sand bags.
I also sulpted sand bags to hold one of the tank traps “leg”.
By sculpting the sand bags myself, it is possible to bend them in a very natural way.
The chipping, oil filters and washes are completed on my E-50 Standardpanzer. I also made some mud for the tracks and wheels.
I still have to:
- Do some retouching on the paint in some areas.
- Install the skirts.
- Paint and install the jack.
- Correct a bit the “sag” effect in the tracks.
- Paint and install the night vision device on the cupola ( infra-red light ).
- Paint the lenses of the periscopes.
- Paint the rear light.
- Add some pigments and dust to the hull and turret.
- Add some sooth to the muzzle and exhaust.
- Add some grime / oil spill to the engine deck and the wheels / suspension.
- Craft an antenna.
- Make a small diorama for this beast.
- Get a glass of Rum and celebrate the new year.
Not done yet…
I think I’ll start with the Rum 🙂
I have been working recently on a very nice E-50 Standardpanzer tank from Trumpeter. The model was easy to build (not too many parts) and is nicely detailed. The only problem is I got it on discount because the box had been opened and the barrel, gun mantle and fixation was missing. I ordered an aluminum barrel on E-Bay, and I scratch builded the mantle and gun fixation.
Since this is a so-called “paper tank” that was never built and never saw actual service, this is a “what if” project. This gives me a lot of freedom, for the camouflage, accessories and diorama.
As for the camo, I decided to go with a polka-dot hard edge ambush pattern. I used a paler shade of dunkelgelb because I wanted more contrast than usual. For the brown, I used Tamiya Hull Red XF-9 as in late war camouflage, the rust proof primer was often lay bare and used as brown in camouflage patterns. The green is Tamiya J.A. Green XF-13.
I tried using the airbrush to paint the dots (with a mask) but it was really tedious. It was also very difficult to be precise on many areas, so I finally decided to hand-paint the dots.
I’m planning to put this beast on a diorama full of debris, a “what if” version of Berlin in 1946, if the war turned out differently than it did…
Here it is! A dirty Soviet Steel Monster on a muddy and snowy Russian field.
I took more photos than usual to get a good view of the snow/mud effects, which I enjoyed making. I am quite pleased with the results.
Enjoy the pics!
Sorry everyone: I didn’t take photos of the painting an weathering steps of my ISU-152 diorama. This is just the final result.
The painting of the base began with a few dry-brushing of dark blue grey, up to  a light brown-grey.
I then used various pigments, with alcohol as a temporary fixer. When I was satisfied with the pigments, I dabbed matt varnish onto the base using a soft brush. Once dry, I used the airbrush to slightly darken an lighten some areas.
With various diluted shades of blue grey and greenish grey, I went over some individual rocks to break the monotony of the cobblestone pavement. I then dropped some twigs, hemp rope fibres and small rocks, to dirty up the road.
The manhole cover, the drain grid and the tram rails were given a brown coat, followed by rust and pale dust pigments with a final metallic highlight (dry-bushing with gun-metal acrylic).
For the newspapers, I searched the web to find real examples of WWII german newspapers and printed them to scale on my laser printer. I soaked them in diluted white glue and apply them to the base. When they were dry, I used an earth coloured wash to make them look dirty and old.
I then spayed 3 generous coats of matt varnish on the whole diorama with the airbrush to seal everything and bind the pigments.
The tramway post is from Mini-Art and the wires are scratch builded from thin metallic wire.
The Nazi flag was made from Magic-sculpt and carefully painted. I think it adds a nice touch of color to the diorama and goes really well with the red star on the tank.
Finally, I added tiny dead leaves (dried Oregano…) to the base and the tank.
Enjoy the pics!
I received my order from Precision Ice and Snow. Since I was quite disappointed with my previous attempts at making realistic snow (take a look here). I decided to give this company’s products a try. So I got my Krycell  snow by the mail and went to work on a brand new test diorama.
I am VERY pleased with the results. The stuff is simply amazing! It’s a very fine powder, similar in consistency to cooking flour I would say. I simply sprayed matt varnish on the base and used the provided stainless steel sieve to dust the Kycell on the fresh coating of varnish. I then quickly builded up many layers by spraying again and dusting many times. The stuff builds up like real snow. And I live in Canada, so I know very well how snow looks like 🙂
I also tried the Vallejo Environment Snow again. This time by putting  a thick blob of that paste and then dusting it with Krycell snow. I think the Vallejo Environment Snow used in this manner is more convincing (the Krycell snow softens the grainy appearance of the Vallejo product and makes it less “stark white”).
I’ll be able to use Krycell snow on my KV-1 diorama soon, so stay tuned!
A bag of Krycell Snow and the stainless steel sieve
The test “diorama”, without snow.
First dusting of Krycell on a wet coating of matt varnish
After a few coatings (maybe 5 or 6)
It’s getting really interesting…
Nice!
Very nice!
A test of Vallejo Environnement Snow with a dusting of Krycell snow on top. It looks better and can now be used to represent thicker snow in some areas.
Overall effect is quite realistic I think.
I did some tests recently to create realistic snow for my KV-1 diorama. I’ve made a simple diorama with left over bits and pieces to try different solutions.
So far I have tried the following products to simulate snow:
- Woodland scenic soft flake snow SN140
- Vallejo Environment snow (73.820)
- Citadel snow
- Baking soda
To make it stick to the diorama, I have used:
- white glue (and yellowish construction “white” glue too)
- hairspray
- semi-gloss varnish (liquid)
- matt varnish (spray)
As for now, I am stuck and here’s why:
- Woodland scenic snow seems too grainy to my liking at 1/35th scale when sprinkled. Mixed with glue or liquid varnish, it is better and looking like melting snow, but still too grainy to my liking.
- Vallejo Environment snow is even worst: Way to bright and way too chunky to look realistic at 1/35. It may be better suited for miniature basing but I certainly would’nt cover a fine 1/35th model with that stuff.
- Citadel snow look good from a distance, but when you look closer you understand that it is not a powder but tiny white… fibers! Not realistic at all…
- Baking soda? Not really… The best result I achieved was with baking soda sprinkled on a fresh coating of matt varnish (hairspray works fine too, with similar looking results). The effect looks really like soft, smooth snow that just fell on things in a very cold environment (I am from Canada: I know the stuff!). But the problem is that, from what I read on many web sites and forums, baking soda tends to get yellowish with time and sometimes even reacts with paint and varnish and melts in a sticky goo… Not something I want to happen on (or even near) my precious models.
Alas, no solution was satisfactory to simulate snow the way I want…
I then did some research on the net and found this company called Precision Ice and Snow (http://www.precisioniceandsnow.com/) that sells a product that seems promising to achieve the look I want. I just placed an order for their Krycell FINE snow powder. I’ll post my tests with that product as soon as I get it.
So I am now waiting for Santa to bring the white powder to me.
Yeah, I now: that last sentence sounds weird 🙂
MINIONVAULT 