Built pretty much straight out of the box, the only improvements were to blank off the vents as I didn't like the see through effect, filled in the odd shape gun sighting hole with plastic card and re-cut the correct "T" shape and added some shims top and bottom to the gun shield as it was very gappy.
Just needs decals and weathering to be called done.
-- Edited by CrashandBern on Sunday 13th of July 2014 05:30:48 PM
-- Edited by CrashandBern on Sunday 13th of July 2014 05:31:09 PM
-- Edited by CrashandBern on Sunday 13th of July 2014 05:31:32 PM
I have to say the Emhar decals were absolutely excellent despite having a lot of carrier film (which I trimmed most off anyway) one coat of micro-sol and they pulled down over rivets and hatch hinges without any drama and the carrier film completely disappeared. They are some of the thinnest decals I have ever seen, robust enough to slide around into position without breaking up and were in perfect registration.
Having said all that the arms of the crosses are much too slim and didn't match the pictures I have of Mephisto so were replaced with a selection of Almark and FCM aircraft decals... pity really as neither were as good in performance as the Emhar decals.
Anyway here's the pictures for your viewing pleasure!
-- Edited by CrashandBern on Tuesday 15th of July 2014 01:54:52 PM
So the idea behind the weathering was a dusty, muddy tank left out in the rain and gone streaky. It's a technique I haven't used before, basically a standard oil wash left to go tacky then streaked from top to bottom with a flat wide bush dipped in thinners but wiped off until nearly dry. For the heavier streaks like the ones from the corners of the machine gun ports a tiny blob of oil paint was deposited and streaked in the same way. I think it came out pretty well... although I may have got a little carried away but I'd really like to hear what you think of it.
-- Edited by CrashandBern on Wednesday 16th of July 2014 08:11:54 PM
Ok so I'm calling this done now, the final touches were to paint the machine guns flat black and dry-brush them with graphite powder, wash the track units with several more shades of brown and orange and then muddy them up with ground pastels.
Do you think so? I guess it looks fine and not overly weathered as many tanks models look these days. I admit, though, that a model placed on a cutting mat and in plain light can do little to deceive the eye and disguise the fact that's made in a small scale. I'd love to see this model in a scenic base and photographed in a low angle with a difussed light source! Speaking of tank models in general, I think that one of the main disadvantages of these vehicles is that even with the best of the building and paint techniques, the very shapes of them make them look like small boxes. And that's because the real vehicles were just big metal boxes painted green!
-- Edited by d_fernetti on Wednesday 30th of July 2014 12:15:27 PM
Thanks for the feedback gents it's always good to get some honest criticism.
Morgoth what is it about the model that makes you say it looks plastic and toy like? Is it that it's a satin finish not entirely matt or is something else? It would be good to know so I can either correct it on this one or bear it in mind for future projects if I think it would improve the results.
Btw. there will be a small base for this one but like the other 6 tanks it's waiting it's turn.
-- Edited by CrashandBern on Wednesday 30th of July 2014 09:52:28 AM
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Has anyone else noticed "new and improved" seems to mean it doesn't work as well as it used to?
When I first looked at this I thought it was 1/35th. Then I saw the one piece track units and realized it was not the Tauro kit! Hope you don't mind me saying this but the weathering on this one could be your best!
Thanks for the feedback gents it's always good to get some honest criticism.
Morgoth what is it about the model that makes you say it looks plastic and toy like? Is it that it's a satin finish not entirely matt or is something else? It would be good to know so I can either correct it on this one or bear it in mind for future projects if I think it would improve the results.
I think it's the non-matt finish. It could be also something about surface details. Though I'm not sure what exactly, I never got beyond the beginning stages of modelling due to lack of manual abilities to not break stuff or not leave fingerprints, etc.
These guys seem to be pretty hardcore (and by the way, they are the main reason why I got seriously interested in WWI - it's a shame Wh40k miniatures were not made with realistic miniature proportions, though.).
