Syrian 2S1 2015

All of the regional conflicts going on today produce good modeling subjects.  I saw this photo on the internet and thought that it would make a great subject.  I think there are a couple of modelers who have produced very nice versions of this vehicle in Middle East colors (Rick Lawler and Martin Kovac come to mind).  I’m hoping to make my own version.

This will take a lot of planning and attention to the weathering and finish of the model.

Here’s the Trumpeter kit completed but not yet primed. I used the Model Point barrel, but the kit is pretty much straight out of the box.  It’s a nice kit with minimal issues.  I also have some Masterclub resin clickable track for this kit.  Those are very detailed, but very fragile.  They require minimal cleanup and click together.  Did I mention they were fragile!?

More later!

Panzer 38t by Panda Models in 1/16 scale

The Panda Panzer 38t is a new 1/16 scale plastic that is truly a multimedia kit. Most of the parts are plastic, but the kit contains individual track links held together with pins, an aluminum barrel, and photoetch. The kit is fairly straightforward to assemble, goes together very well, but nonetheless cries out for superdetailing and weathering. I added some field modifications as seen on several Panzer 38ts in the Russian Campaign, including some extra track stowed on the front slope and a couple of make-shift jerry can racks on the turret sides and the rear fenders. This kit would also make a great base kit for a Hetzer, Marder or another 38t variant. One can only hope!

In this article what I would like to do is skip over the construction and go straight to the fun part – the painting and weathering! This may be blasphemy, but model construction is basically the step I need to complete before I get to paint and weather the model! So what I would like to cover here is my method of painting panzer gray using this large scale vehicle. The same techniques would apply at any scale.

Some final pictures:

 

You can see some photos of the vehicle without paint, and some of the photoetch and the metal barrel visible. Now on to the primer!

I primed the vehicle with a new paint from Scale Finishes. Their gray primer is a lacquer-based paint that sprays straight from the bottle wonderfully. I sprayed the entire vehicle with several thin coats and let it dry for a day or so.

More later!

 

 

Welcome to the Armor Modeling Extravaganza!

So I have been modeling on and off for 40 years, and I decided to start a blog on armor modeling related stuff.  Tips, techniques, kits, reviews and general stuff I have found or want to talk about.  Nothing fancy…just armor (and figure and maybe some mechs) models.

Welcome!