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.
Decals are now on, all seven of them! Also just fitted the Bowman antenna bases to the turret and boy do they look good. Just need to paint them black & paint the actual antennas and I can then get the weathering started.
With all the details now painted the model has had a gloss coat applied ready for decals & weathering. As you can see I've painted the front barrel thermal shroud green & sand as I have seen that on the real thing this has worn down to show the original paint underneath. Very pleased with the blank firing adaptors as well, they add another splash of colour to the model.
Start of the detail painting now, not really that much to pick out. I'm not even going to paint the wheel rubbers as they will mostly be covered in mud & dust. I did however give them all a spray of NATO black.
Another long masking session today after I put the model in the airing cupboard overnight to cure. Then Ammo A.MIG- 0070 medium brown dark earth was sprayed on. After an hour I removed all the masking which took almost as long as putting it on. There are a few areas that need some touching up but I'm bloody chuffed with the result. The tracks have also been sprayed black followed by a blast of vallejo oily steel.
