Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Quick Fix For Camouflage Gone Wrong






I painted these Lehman Russ tanks quite some time ago, and they've sat unloved in the very back of my display cabinet since then. As my first attempt's at Kursk style camouflage on IG vehicles, they came out ok, but not great. With my big press into ww2 modeling, I decided that I needed to figure out how to salvage these old models. On the historical side of things, I've been using a lot of filters to improve the surface texture of my models. Filters are basically really thin oil washes that soften and blend colors together. One technique I have never tried is the traditional military model's goto method of spraying dust colored paint all over the model. Since these tanks were destined to live out their remaining days hidden away in a box, it seemed a good time to give it a shot.

So, one diluted pot of Tamiya XF-57, and ten minutes of work, and this is the result. I think the moral of the story is to keep trying out different techniques regardless of whether they have been superseded by more advanced ones. I like this result. It dulled down the model just enough to blend the green lines into the yellow. I strongly recommend this. (though not if you want to keep your color modulation crisp!)

Next easy steps:

  • practice mud spatter
  • add darker tones to the rust
  • add oil leaks around the sprockets


2 comments:

  1. Well I like those - they remond me to apply much more chalk on tracks while working on the next Chimera :)

    -Demi-

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  2. Your tanks are nothing short of a continue source of inspiration for me John. Never stop improving until someone shows up and arrests you for owning military equipment.

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