Here finally is my "what if" project of the Swedish S Tank in British service in BAOR circa late 1970"s. Final weathering was all done with wilder aqualine acrylic effects and finished off with a very light overspray of heavily thinned tamiya buff.
On a small base with the figure in place I'm very pleased with the final result even though it's taken far too long to complete.
Here is the figure all painted up. Nice and simple to paint and quick too. He should look right at home on the model when it's all finished.
That's the model with a good matt coat which has gone down very nicely. Final weathering is now imminent. The figure for the model is from firing line, the relaxed pose should look just right when mounted on the model.
I've now added a few filters and pin washes as well as a bit more detail painting to the model. This has all been finished off with a quick dust wash before the model gets a matt coat. Very pleased so far with the effects and will build on this once it's had the flat coat.
I've now got some decals on the model and have also made up a couple of reg number plates using the actual trial vehicle plates as a starting point. The model has also had a gloss coat in preparation for weathering.
Well real life has chucked a few spanners in the works modelling wise lately which has ment I've done almost no modelling since the last post in January. I did however manage to get away for a spot of winter sun and Cyprus was the destination of choice this time around. Nice and warm with some excellent archaeological sites to visit I really did recharge the batteries and just relax for a week.
I've also found some time over the last couple of days to get some fading on the S tank as well as a bit of black using tamiya NATO black which looks suitably faded as well. Next will be some detail painting and making up some registration plates for it too.
Here's the model with a good solid coat of tamiya XF 65 field grey over a black primer coat. I'll be adding some fading to this using my usual method soon and then adding some black patches as well.
I've been slowly working away on the model in between various other tasks and also a bout of illness. I've now finished the build as far as I want to go with it. I did try adding a crew but the hatches are very small, especially on the commander's cupola so in the end I decided on adding a standing figure later when this goes on a base.
A few modifications have been made, the most obvious being the wing mirrors and a convoy board on the rear hull. Not sure I will use the exhaust piping in the end, we shall see how it looks later on.
Now on the bench is the very old Trumpeter Strv 103B Swedish S tank. I've been mucking about with the basic kit whilst finishing off the M60 so I've got the main structure and running gear all sorted already.
Now my cunning plan is to build this as a what if in British service during the 70's. Not many are aware but during 1973 ten of these tanks were actually put on trial with the Royal tank regiment in Germany. Information is quite scarce but some info and pictures are out there on the internet.
The trial was not a success but I thought it would be fun to model a vehicle in service had the British army decided that the S tank would make an excellent second line of defence in BAOR. So the idea is the basic structure and systems would be in place on the tank but with British enhancements and improvements in certain areas. The best thing with a "what if" is that it's really only limited by your imagination. So let the fun commence!
Here is the model all done after painting up the figure for the turret. The model should really go on a base but I've no room in my cabinets at the moment so it will have to wait. I did enjoy this kit, it built up very well with nice details and not too much fiddly stuff to deal with. Also in this camo scheme the M60 just looks awesome.
First post of the year so a happy new one to you all. Work has progressed well on the model with quite a few dusty filters and pin washes added which have really helped fade slightly the vivid camo colours. Also the tracks and running gear have been fixed in place as well as the searchlight. This was a very fiddly part to fit as the location position is not very positive and the rear mount on the light is very fragile.
But it's on there now and looks good. All that's left to do now is some oil dot fading and a little bit more dust then light lenses and finally an antenna. The figure will get painted once some essential paints arrive!
