Greek AMX 30 Figure Changes

I've just started the changes to the figures and have added a new pair of hands to the loader and changed the arms of the commander so he sits lower in the cupola and has covered arms instead of rolled up sleeves. I prefer the lower position of the commander as he looks more comfortable now! They also tie in nicely with my references.

Greek AMX-30 Figure Work & New Review

I've now finally selected the two figures for the turret after working my way through the spares boxes and new figure pile. The loader came from the spares box and is an old tamiya body with a hornet head. The commander is a call sign models figure, actually listed as an Australian tank commander. However the uniform is very close to that of the Greek tank crews of the 80's. 

Both figures only need a slight bit of work with putty to sort them out. The commanders headphones match very closely those in my refs as well. I must thank Igor Javutich for his help and advice regarding tank crew uniforms of the time, cheers Igor!

I am also just about to post a small review of some figures I've just received from China. This set will be of interest to those of us who are into modern Chinese armour.

Greek AMX-30 Small Progress

Not much in the way of progress at the moment as I'm feeling under the weather somewhat but I have now painted up the tarp, barrel canvas and all the straps. I can now move onto the washes and filters and will also finish off the Somua at the same time. 

Greek AMX-30 Detail Painting & Stowage

I've now painted all the small details such as tools and lights using vallejo colours and also added a very small bit of wear around hatches using vallejo German camo black brown using a sponge. I think that will be about all the chipping I add to this. The stowage has also been sorted and here I used green stuff putty to make up a large pack and sheet on top of this.
 For the camouflage netting I used some of Arkebuza model arts superb barracuda net. The packs and netting had some straps added using fine tape. A few more of the tie down points also received some strapping. 

Lastly the tracks have had the pads picked out in a dark grey after a good soak in blacken it solution and the cupola glass has been sprayed with Alclad armoured glass. Next up will be a wash then onto some oil fading once I've painted up the stowage.

ICM Panhard 178 AMD-35 New Review!

Check out the review pages for a in box review of the new ICM Panhard French armoured car, I'm sure you will be impressed I know I was!

Greek AMX 30 Decals On

The decals (what few there are) are now on. I used LM Decals generic Greek army markings set No 2 and very nice they are too. The registration plates are blank so it's easy to depict a specific vehicle using the separate numbers on the sheet. They went down beautifully with a drop of Daco products medium decal setter.

Greek AMX-30 Camo Done

After a marathon session at the bench today I've finally got the camo finished on the model. For the light grey areas I used gunze H311 grey & my usual mix of vallejo black & dark rubber for the black areas. I also painted the mantlet cover with this mix. As you can see the camo is a strange mix of masked areas and free hand which is evident in the pictures I've worked from so I went with it. 

I'm very pleased with how it turned out as it's a difficult scheme to paint due to the lack of full references. The turret roof for example is my best guess. Finally today the model received a coat of gloss so once that's cured I can get the decals on and start the detail painting.

Greek AMX-30 Paint On!

The model has now had the two main camouflage colours sprayed on and here I used gunze H64 dark green & H72 dark earth. Both sprayed beautifully with mr levelling thinners. The green in particular is a great colour and if I was building a French vehicle this is the colour I would use.

No fading is going to be added to the model at this stage instead I'll rely on filters and oils later on to alter the tones. They will also help to darken the colours as well. The scheme does look good I think and is certainly something different.

  

D-Day 6th June

Another year and another chance to remember this auspicious day 71 years ago.

Tamiya Somua Weathering

Back to work on the Somua today and I've now added a filter and a pin wash to the model. I've also added the tools and finished off the tarp on the rear with some further strapping. Subsequent filters later on will be lighter in tone to add a dusty look to the model. I've also not added any chipping or wear yet. 

The decal issue on the kit markings will have to stay as it is after my attempts to fix it went very wrong! I managed to reverse the shield for the left side on my computer and printed it out but the colour and detail was not as sharp as I wanted. It's going to be the side away from normal view anyway so what the hell! I'll just get it finished.

   

Greek AMX-30 In Primer

Just sprayed the primer coat on this afternoon & it's really popped all the lovely details previously hidden by the green plastic. I'll add a bit of pre shading later on then let it cure for a couple of days. Handy that as I've just ordered some paint for the camo. I'm going to use Gunze colours again on this as they seem to be the ones which most closely match the scheme.