The model has now had a quick gloss sprayed on as I found the AK paint to be slightly delicate. This stops any swearing later and seals it nicely. This was followed by some detail painting using various vallejo colours, a bit more to do here before decals go on. Hunting around for a suitable figure I went for one from Legends productions, with some work it works quite well in the turret and I do like his cool shades!
A bit of spraying this morning using AK RC079 CARC tan as the base colour. Thinned with Mr levelling thinner and a couple of drops of flow improver it sprayed on fabulously. I've also found that the AK paint can be mixed with tamiya colours so that's the next few layers of highlights sorted.
Managed to get the primer on this afternoon, you can really see that excellent anti slip on the hull now. By the time this cures the paint should have arrived with any luck.
Finished off the last few bits on the model over the weekend so it's all ready for primer & paint. In the end I didn't add the rhino IED device as I prefer the look of the model without it. I also ended up adding the armoured sections and glazing around the cab area as the glass was a tricky fit and needed some work to fit correctly.
Of course I have discovered I have no suitable paint or a figure for the model so have ordered suitable items which should be here by the end of the week. At least I can get some primer on until then.
Adding all the little details and handles now and working on the rear lights. These can be tricky as the guards are very fragile so clean up needs to be carefully done. Also added the final tie downs on the hull side and very nice they look too. The turret builds up really well with just the turret hatch to alter as there is no provision to have the hatch open out of the box.
More progress for you and today I've got all the hatches in place as well as fixing the hull roof after spraying the interior black. I added the new tie downs using Djiti productions resin set No 35002. Much better than the kit blobs and easy to add with a decent CA. The etched screen needed to be heated up first as the etch was very stiff but once heated and cooled it bent into shape very easily.
Today I've been adding the armour panels to the hull and also removing the molded blobs on the hull that are supposed to be tie downs. I have some etch tie downs which will go on later so I don't keep knocking them off! The armour panels around the front cab area are still loose as you need to add glazing before fitting. With any luck I can leave these off until almost the end of the project which will cut down on masking the glass.
The horizontal panels all have a very nice anti slip texture whish saves another job too. The hull roof will be fixed in place once I spray the interior black as well. There's not much point painting the inside any other colour as the windows are so small and there is no interior provided.
Next on the bench is trumpeter's M1117 Guardian with a shed load of goodies! This kit has been quietly maturing in the stash for some time and as I'm in the mood for a reasonably easy build it fits the bill nicely. Starting today I've already got the slightly complicated suspension sorted and ensured the wheel hubs are aligned correctly. As is they have a very slight angle but need to be vertical so time spent getting it right saves a lot of headaches later on.
The voyager replacement wheels are a straight swap and fit perfectly onto the wheel hubs. I didn't bother with the etched wheel guards supplied with them as the kit ones are perfectly adequate.
Here's the final pictures of the challenger all finished and fixed to the base. It's been a long project, almost 4 months in fact but very enjoyable all the same. The improvements made to the already excellent rye field kit added that little bit extra to the build. I was seriously in two minds as to whether I wanted to paint the urban scheme but after seeing them at work I decided it would be fun to have a go.
I'm glad I did now as it was not a difficult scheme to paint and the final result looks awesome. Likewise the figures in MTP were another first having not attempted to paint this before and again I think it came out rather well. I hope you have enjoyed following the build and stay tuned for the next build coming soon!
