Final areas on the hull are now done and I've somehow managed to replicate the slightly oily & sooty look on the exhausts, no idea how I did it but it looks good! Also a final light bit of dust effects and some fuel stains and the hull is now completed. Now to start on the turret.
Working away on the side skirts, rear & front hull and the rear drums adding various tones of mud & dust using wilder aqualine light mud, common dust & brown mud. Followed by small amounts of modellers world dust oil wash, mig streaking dust and mig dry earth splashes.
Done in multiple layers and using the oil/enamel based products as a sort of barrier to seal the water based products I've managed to get a very convincing look. Perhaps just some mud splatter to add later on now as I don't want to completely cover all that lovely camo pattern. Upper hull & turret will get a similar treatment next.
Finishing up the side skirts with the rear sections positioned in the often seen configuration for mud clearance. The front sections are also on. If I built this kit again I'd definitely make new skirts from thinner plastic card as the kit parts need a lot of thinning down for a better inscale look and fit.
All the lights and periscopes are also sorted as well & I've added a coloured disc to the gunners main sight to simulate the lense behind the glass. Two new rear view mirror mounts were also made up using brass rod and painted green for a bit of contrast. Now I can move onto the upper hull and turret final weathering.
I've now finished off the road wheels & tracks using a selection of products to get the desired effect. These have now been fitted so I can move onto the upper hull & turret next.
The models now had a primer coat followed by a bit of pre shading before the main olive drab went on. I used Mr hobby aqueous H52 OD1 for this. As usual this was followed by some highlighting adding tamiya flat flesh XF-15 to the colour gradually adding more flesh. This will now cure for a few days so I can get back to the Challenger.
That's the construction phase now done after adding a bit of wiring to the quad turret and finishing up the last few parts. I'll be adding some stowage later once I have a sort through the stash and see what I have. So should be in primer sometime tomorrow.
Quick progress on the model despite the crappy instructions, a few areas where references are useful for the correct placement of parts. The upper cab brace and windscreen took two attempts to get right!
The cab and rear body have been glued to the chassis as I wanted to ensure everything lined up properly. The .50 quad turret is very nice indeed as are the guns themselves. Just a bit of cabling to add here and there to tart it up.
Next on the bench is Dragon's M16, one of my favourite halftracks and a kit that's been lurking in the stash for a very long time. This is being built for a group build on Modellers Haven Online forum. As usual with dragon you get a massive amount of parts in the box as well as their rather vague instructions!
After a few more pin washes the model had a good coat of matt varnish last night. This will now cure for a few days before more weathering and the dust & mud goes on.
The model has now had a couple of pin washes and already the details are really popping out and there is some nice variations in tone. I'm being extra careful not to swamp it with the washes though and am blending as I go to ensure a nice transition between the main colours and the weathering effects.
Textured effects have also been added to the lower hull and some will also go onto the wheels. The antennas have also been painted using a suitable green then stippling very thinned vallejo stencil on for the bands.
