What's on my desk? Part 35.
Hello again.
Summer vacation is over. September has started; it's also one year to the date that I stopped my regular employment and started working on what is today Modelist. I haven't regretted that decision... yet. :-)
So, what's on my desk?
Three things:
First off: the houses. I finished the inner roofs. As said in the last episode, I used 1x3mm strips of wood to build up the timbers. Once everything was in place, the wood was stained and darkened with Ammo-1203 Streaking Grime (for the café) and Citadel Agrax Earthshade (for the grey house). The reason for the different paints is to make a little variation. Both of these were well-thinned with their respective thinners: water for the Citadel paint, enamel odourless thinner for the Streaking Grime.
Here's the grey house:
And the yellow café:
I still need to paint the cut-offs black, to blend in with the rest of the house.
Two: the Panzer 35(t). I painted the tires. This is one of the least enjoyable tasks in model tank building. Especially for these early-war vehicles, which have lots of little wheels. Worse still, they all have a very small ridge, so you need to be careful applying the paint. This was Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black. There are dedicated 'tire' or 'rubber' colours now, but I've been using NATO Black for years. Just don't use it for NATO tanks, otherwise your tire colour is indistinguishable from the camouflage colour.
Cheap modelling in action here. To hold the wheels: the mighty toothpick! An old sanding pad to stick them in. And a bottle cap to decant some paint so the jar doesn't dry out.
Halfway there:
And finished:
I haven't sprayed the camouflage pattern on the bogies and lower hull yet. Once that is done, I can assemble the running gear and then build and wrap the tracks around it.
Finally: the Virago.
I filled the tire pattern with Ammo-1620 Panel Line Wash Dust. Using a long-haired brush you can pick up plenty of the wash, then lightly touch the recessed pattern. The paint will flow into it. Let it dry for a minute, then use a thinner-moistened cotton swab to clean any excess.
I also washed the brake discs on the front wheel with Neutral Wash. This is the result:
The instrument dials received a layer of Micro Kristal Klear to create a glass effect. Once dry, this will form a shiny transparant coat.
Getting close to the end on this one. It's a nice model, but it shows its age (from 1985!) a little bit on the placement of the handle bars/mirrors and some attachment points here and there. Still a nice intro to motorbike modelling.
That's it. See you next week!