Scimitar Washes & Filters

A day of weathering now and here I started off with a very diluted wash of MIG neutral wash followed by selective pin washes using Modellers World black brown & deep black oil washes. Finally finishing off with their dust oil wash as a pin wash.  

I've tried to keep it subtle as I feel too much would just spoil the effects especially on such a small model. The dust has really helped to fade the black camo very nicely. The model will now get a matt coat before final weathering which will consist of a dusty application to the track & lower hull. 

Scimitar Crew Figures

My attention has now turned to crew figures for the model and sadly yet again the choice is very limited especially for late 90's & early 2000's era vehicles. You either have to sculpt some yourself or adapt stock figures which is what I have done.

 Using the Valkyrie British army tank crew 1970-80 era set I've managed to come up with a decent enough crew. This set comes with heads with dan dare helmets and berets but I'll use some hornet modern British tank crew heads instead.  

Some surgery is needed to fit the turret hatches as they are quite small but luckily the figures look pretty good once this is done. I'll also be adding a driver figure to complete the look.  

Scimitar Gloss & Decals

The model has now had a gloss coat followed by decals. Here I used some of the kit supplied ones, some from my spares and some accurate armour ones. The fire extinguisher decals in particular really look the dogs bollocks!  

Scimitar Detail Painting & Chips!

All the detail painting for now is done on the model and I've added some paint chipping, fading & scratches as well for good measure. It's now ready for a gloss coat and decals of which I still need to sort out. The spare decal stash needs to be rummaged through to hopefully find some nice markings for it.

Scimitar Painting

Paintwork has started and I've gone for the classic green & black scheme in the end. I mean you just have to don't you? Tamiya XF 65 field grey was used before small amounts of XF 15 flat flesh to the field grey for some fading effects. Then vallejo dark rubber & black where hand painted on for the black areas followed by the start of detail painting. 

You just can't beat a bit of British armour in green & black, it just looks right. I'll finish off detail painting next and add some wear before getting a gloss coat on.

  

Scimitar In Primer

Primer coat on yesterday evening using Mr finishing surfacer 1500 black. Thinned with Mr leveling thinner this is a superb tough primer which leaves a perfect finish. A couple of days now for this to cure then I can get some colour on.

M18 Hellcat Base Time

With the Scimitar now drying after a very careful wash it's about time I finished off the Hellcat with a nice simple base. As usual a small picture frame was pressed into service for this with the inner frame section made up with foam board followed by plaster then fine sand & gravel. 

It's not going to be anything special just some dusty ground and vegetation but it should set the model off nicely. 

Scimitar Ready For Primer

With the arrival yesterday of the new rear hull bin I cracked on with the final bits to finish the model off. I also used some magic sculpt to make new engine covers for the grills and finished off this area with some more post handles and the tow ropes. On the exhaust stowage bin I made up a antenna storage tube as well. 

Now all I have to add are some straps to the engine covers before the model gets a very careful wash before I can finally get some primer on. Really looking forward to getting some colour on the model as well.

Scimitar Turret

The main focus yesterday was on the turret and I managed to get it almost finished by the end of the day. Some working out of parts placement was useful to ensure everything was in the correct location. Very pleased with how it looks and in particular the Bowman box on the turret side. Fire extinguishers are from accurate armour as well. 

Next I'll finish off the engine deck whilst I wait for the new rear hull bin to arrive then I can finish off and get some primer on! 

Scimitar Loads Of Progress

I've been busy on the hull adding the engine grills and starting to make the lifting posts using fine copper wire and plastic rod. The rear hull bin is too small being the early version so I've again ordered a correct sized bin from Scorpion Models. For just over 8 quid it's a good price and saves me the hassle of scratch building one. A few more bits need to be added to the engine deck before it's finished.

I've also been working on the turret adding kit & resin parts. The ESPIRE sights look really nice in place as well. The model is really coming together now so I will start to look at crew options soon just to make sure they fit the hatches properly.

  

Scimitar Tracks Done

With both track runs now finished I've now started adding the details to the hull. So far it's going very well with just a few tweaks here and there. I have found that the rear hull bin needs to be replaced as the kit one is the earlier style and needs to be bigger and positioned slightly differently.