Techmod T-70M Light Tank (1 Dec 2019) Completed

[RLFoster]

Over the past two days, I've spent about 5 or 6 sessions working on painting the light grey rubber tires and the dark brown tracks. Then, even though I haven't decided on how heavily I'll weather the running gear, I decided to go ahead and add polished steel to the wheels and return rollers:



I'll probably stop there, seal the whole thing with acrylic lacquer, and then start adding some oil paint fading starting next week.

Until next time...

[JCON]

Looking good Robert!!!

[RLFoster]

Happy Halloween, Everyone and thank you for the continued comments and support.

I've had a couple of very good days at the bench and have managed to complete both the fading (streaking) and shadowing of the base coat. This will be a slightly larger update as I'm not sure how many people here use or want to know about these techniques. The only critical thing with these steps is to make sure your model is first sealed with a good, acrylic coat. Even modelers who use one of the various acrylic paints currently on the market will frequently add a clear satin coat first as added insurance against possible damage. Using enamels for my base coat, I use a spray can of Duplicolor Automotive Acrylic Lacquer to seal everything before starting. So what's next?

First I get all my materials together. This includes Turpenoid (my preferred oil paint thinner), appropriate oil paint colors for the model being worked on (in this case white, yellow, light green, and dark brown), and a selection of good brushes including a spotter, a small liner, and some large flat and round brushes. I put a small dab of each oil paint on the edge of the paint tray and some thinner in a couple bowls and we're ready to get going:



The fading begins with adding small dots of thinned paints to the area of interest -- here, the side of the turret. While you want to be somewhat random with the dot placement, I generally like to concentrate the lighter colors toward the top of vertical surfaces and the darker colors lower. On horizontal surfaces it's generally uniform over the entire area:



Once the dots have been placed on a large enough area to work on (varies from model to model) I used a LIGHTLY dampened large round brush and begin removing the majority of the paint using long, downward strokes and cleaning the brush on a paper towel frequently:



Some people can be intimidated by these steps and think they might be ruining their model. However, as long as you are careful and take your time, there's really not much damage you can do that won't be blended out during subsequent weathering steps. Even though the effect of this fading and streaking step can appear severe, the more you leave on the model, the more that will show through all the additional weathering to come. Here's a shot of the side of the turret once the paint and thinner have had a chance to dry:



It took basically 3 hours of work yesterday to apply this fading and streaking to the entire model. Today my attention shifted to the next step...shadowing. Unlike pin washes, which are much bolder and darker, shadows are applied to models in order to subtly highlight raised edges, recesses, and corners by simulating the darkness caused by shadows. While one's instinct might be to use black or even a dark gray for this step, do NOT do it. That would ruin your model. Instead you have two options, both equally effective but for different reasons. First, you could use a substantially darker version of your base coat color. This is the most accurate in terms of what actual shadows look like, but in many cases will almost disappear later in the weathering process. This can sometimes be desirable. The second option is to use some shade of dark brown. While less intuitive, this option will actually help "kill two birds with one stone". By using brown for shadowing along edges and recesses, you are actually beginning the process of "dirtying" the same areas where dirt and grime would naturally accumulate. I actually wish I had a slightly darker shade of brown in this case, but this will do...particularly once the pin washes and weathering have all been applied. Here's a shot showing the turret with all of the shadowing complete on the uncompleted hull:



And so, another 2.5 hour day in the books and the shadowing is complete. Here's what the model looks like at the moment:



Tomorrow is a chore day for me with several errands needing to be accomplished and dinner with my Mom on the schedule. However, with Saturday's football schedule looking a bit lighter than normal, I may be able to get to the next steps then. Hope you enjoyed the update.

Until next time...

[JCON]

That looks really good!!!

[Ernie]

Very nice! Thank you for taking the time to detail your steps, it is always interesting to see how other modelers approach these techniques. I am especially interested in your shadowing, it is something that I have not done with oils, I have relied on the initial paint work to accomplish the shading. However, I really like the results you have achieved and have definitely learned something to try on a future build.

[Dukemaddog]

Thanks for posting this step-by-step Robert. I tried this same technique on my Austratt turret emplacement and seeing this; I know where I went wrong on mine. Still, I'm happy with the results I got, despite the mistakes I made. I'll try to memorize this better for the next time.

Sensational work as well. Brilliantly done.

[RLFoster]

After a couple of days taking care of other things, I finally got back to the bench yesterday and today. The next step in the build is adding the aforementioned dark brown pin wash to further increase the contrast around various components as well as add the first layer of contrast to rivets, bolts, and panel lines.



Since the wash I use is enamel based, the same acrylic sealer used before the last step works at protecting the base coat here as well. As for the oil fading, any further blending of that step actually works with this step to make everything appear more natural. The actual application of the wash is simple, but somewhat tedious. You do not want to slap the wash on everything (unlike a wash on miniatures, for example), but selectively apply the wash along component edges and around each rivet and bolt head:



After letting the wash dry for about 10 minutes, I then use a brush lightly moistened with Turpenoid to remove the excess wash around each part and feather out the edges. If done correctly (something I do not do), the pin wash will end up being nearly indistinguishable from the oil paint shadowing completed previously:



Over the course of two days - perhaps 3.5 hours - I accomplished the same steps as illustrated in these photos on the remainder of the model. Here's what she looks like at the moment:



Next up will be a little highlighting followed by the application of chips and scratches.

Until next time...

[JCON]

I have a bottle of that wash I haven't used yet, thanks for explaining its use to me!!!

[JED]

Great reading/watching Robert,how would you adapt this technique to cover patches of black camouflage ?

[RLFoster]

Nov 5, 2019 14:26:48 GMT -6 JED said:

Great reading/watching Robert,how would you adapt this technique to cover patches of black camouflage ?

Great question, Jed!  That is something I've wondered myself, but haven't yet tried to tackle.  Given that my next build will be an old Firefly kit, there's a chance I could use it to actually try some variation on this technique.

I think it really comes down to several factors.  How large or small are the patches?  What are the other colors involved in the pattern? And of course, how heavily do you plan to weather the build?  All of these things will play a part in helping to determine the way you want to address paint fading, streaking, and shadowing.  In some cases, you may decide that the oil streaking is either not appropriate or unnecessary and address fading in another way.

On many of my previous models with camouflage patterns I've used the much simpler airbrush technique to apply a light dusting of a light color (usually cream or ghost gray) over the entire model.  The nice thing about this technique is that it shifts the darker colors enough that shadowing is still effective and is also quite accurate.  Having been in NATO for 12 years of my career, I saw first hand that the black areas of ground equipment, vehicles, and aircraft was never really "jet black" except on the actual day it was painted.  Within a short time, the paint (which was always applied either flat matte or very slightly satin) would sun-fade to a charcoal grey color.  The dusting of these models does a good job of replicating this fading and addressing "Scale Lightening".

In any case, I would likely still apply the shadowing and pin washing in much the same way as I had because even though the effect will be far subtler, it will still lay the foundation for the dirt, dust, and grime weathering that is still to come.

Sorry that's not exactly helpful, but like I said, maybe the next model will actually address the issue more visually.

Again, thanks for the great question!

[RLFoster]

After a one day break, I spent about 4 hours over the next two days adding some highlighting to the higher parts and selected components before moving on to accomplishing the first application of chips and scratches to the build. The highlighting was fairly straight-forward and basically involved adding a lighter shade of green with a dry brush technique to make the high spots and details "pop" a little more. I kept this effect very subtle.

Next up was my standard two-step process to apply chips and scratches. This process is always time-consuming and is also the step some modelers hate. Yes, excessive chipping and even heavy scratching on a model does NOT accurately represent how a real vehicle would likely appear, even under the harshest of conditions. If your goal in modeling is to accurately reproduce real vehicles in terms of appearance, i.e. look at modeling with more of an engineering eye, you probably will want to skip this step. However, if you're like me and look at modeling as more of an expression of artistic interpretation, you might want to include this technique in your next build.

First, I get a small piece of sponge ripped (never cut) off of a larger one. I clamp this in some self-closing tweezers so that the outer edges are as irregularly shaped as possible. I lightly dip this sponge into a light shade of paint that varies dramatically depending on the model's base color and my anticipated weathering later in the build. Then I dab the sponge on a paper towel to remove the majority of the paint -- when a dab on the towel produces lots of little spots and not one big blob, you've get it just about right. Then, starting in the areas where you would anticipate the heaviest chipping (if it were to occur), I begin randomly dabbing the sponge on the model, focusing primarily along component edges, the front and rear of the fenders, and where ever crew members would frequently climb on or around the tank. Care is taken to ensure I constantly rotate and change the angle of the tweezers to avoid what I call "duplicate stamping", when two or three consecutive dabs all result in identical patterns. Note that if at any time you're not happy with some of the spots (as I was), you can once again use a brush lightly moistened with Turpenoid to essentially erase the offending paint. Once finished, do not be surprised if this step looks WAY too stark and over done:



After allowing this to sit overnight, I got up this morning and began the even more tedious task of applying the darker chips over top of all the largest areas of light paint. When doing this, I leave just a hint of the lighter color along the edges of the darker chips. This gives the chipping a more three-dimensional appearance and adds depth to the appearance. It also very effectively reduces the "stark" appearance of the lighter chips and makes them look more realistic - from an artistic standpoint. Here's an in-progress shot showing this effect. The right side of the front hull and the right fender (as well as the entire turret) have had the darker chips applied. On the left side, you just see the original lighter colored chips. I'm always somewhat surprised by how effective this technique can be:



These chips are all applied by hand using one of the smallest brushes I own, continuously cleaning the paint off the brush when it starts getting tacky, and ensuring the paint itself stays sufficiently thinned to avoid clumping. If the paint forms a small half bubble dome when you touch the paint to the model, the paint is too thick and need to be thinned. While the entire process requires a great deal of patience, I find it to be almost therapeutic and oddly calming. So, after the full two days here's what the model looks like:



Next up will be some final adjustments to the base paint using some speckling and additional streaking followed by the painting of the various tools, exhaust, and stowage components. After that, it will be time to start weathering the model.

Until next time...

[JCON]

Looks good!!!

[Ernie]

Coming along very nicely!

[RLFoster]

Another day and another good 3 hours at the workbench.

Today I accomplished two steps with the finish. First I applied very subtle rust tones to the larger chipped areas then I added some equally subtle speckling of the finish using a color only slightly lighter than the base coat. The purpose for both of these steps is to further blend together the techniques applied to this point and give the finish a more unified appearance. With the exception of some subtle additional streaking this also represents the last major step in the finish of the model. All that remains now is painting the tools, exhausts, and spare track links before weathering can begin.

Here's a shot showing the application of the speckling:



Because of how difficult it is to accurately see how heavy the speckling is going on the parts, I always perform this technique on top of a piece of plain white paper. By doing this you can more clearly evaluate not only the quantity of speckles, but also the color. Once all the surfaces were done and dry, I took one more photo showing the progress to this point:



Depending on how early I get going tomorrow, I might be able to get the details painted before the big college football games. If not, it will be Sunday before the next full update.

Until next time...

[JCON]

Spot on!!! Actually lots of spots on... lol!!!

[RLFoster]

I didn't get much done yesterday, but today I finished up all the detail painting including thing like the tools and the light. Today's update will focus on how I decided to attack the exhaust system on this build. However, since it doesn't appear there are a lot of folks watching, I'll make this short and sweet:

First I put down a base coat of steel on the mufflers and anodized metal on the pipes:



Then I mixed up a light blue wash and applied this to the mid section of the exhaust and the ends of the pipes closest to the engine:



I mixed a dark red-brown rust color and applied it completely on the ends of the mufflers and then liberally where the pipes and muffler are joined. In the mid section of the mufflers and up the pipes, I applied the color is spotting manner, representing spots of corrosion rather than general discoloration:



After masking off the entire exhaust system, I applied an overall reddish wash to lay the foundation for the next steps:



I mixed a thicker red-brown color and using a stippling brush, applied the paint with opaque speckles to represent varying spots of corrosion:



After letting everything dry for a bit, I removed all the tape to see how the system looked:



I thought it could use just a bit more of a rusty color and mixed a quick wash to apply to everything:



That's all I'm going to do on the system for now. Some additional rusting as well as the diesel exhaust blackening will be added later in the weathering process.

Until next time...

[JCON]

Those look great!!!

[RLFoster]

Thank you, Joe. I'm relatively pleased with how they turned out.

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

That is amazing and what effort that took.

[RLFoster]

Thank you, Bruce. It really wasn't too difficult, but like a lot of stuff in modeling, time-consuming.