1st Armour kit and weathering products

[Wizard]

Hi everyone,

Ive been thinking recently about doing somthing new for a change and tackling an armour kit and try some proper weathering out.

I know nothing about this area of the hobby and was wondering what kind of kit would be a good starting point to have a go on, also where would a beginner start with the vast amount of different weathering products ive seen out there?





Any advice greatly appreciated.



Rich

[ScaleArmorBuilder]

Ive been partial to Dragon/Cyber Hobby kits. Very good fit and finish.

Id suggest finding a vehicle you'd like to build and find a review on it. That will give you a pretty good idea of what you're getting into.
As far as weathering products many companies are making "starter kits" that come with a variety of pigments/weathering powders. Ive used MIG and Vallejo pigments and have been happy with their results. Oil paints can also be used to weather a model. I normally try to find them on sale at my local art store. Black and raw umber are all I normally use to do washes, and a tube of oil paint will last me forever.

Just my 2 cents on starting out.

[garywintin]

If you haven't try any armour kits, I wouldn't suggest dragon/cyberhobby AT ALL lest he goes insane with anger.

I strongly suggest tamiya kits ... something cheap and not too big in 1/35 ... say Panzer 3, Walker Bulldo or a M3.

For a starter as a weathering, I guess you best route is to go from - preshading - post shading - pigments ( dust mud etc ) - filter - rust - chipping - streaking - oil

That's the route I took to get me where I am now ...

As a beginner and still in a learning phase myself, I know what you are going through... so if you any assistance, just PM me

[ScaleArmorBuilder]

What's wrong with Dragon/Cyber hobby as a beginner armor kit?
My first armor kit ever was a Dragon King Tiger.

[Paul]

What's wrong with Dragon/Cyber hobby as a beginner armor kit?
My first armor kit ever was a Dragon King Tiger.

Dragon kits are brilliant but they can be over complicated, instructions are hard to follow and you get about a million different spare parts in the box which coupled with the hard to follow instructions means it can be very easy to use the wrong parts, been there got the wrongly glued parts lol

[Radzy]

Hi,
Dragon / Cyberhobby kits are bustlijg with detail. Amazing, but as Paul & Gary said too complex sometimes for beginners ( I know it from own experience ). I'd also suggest Tamiya kits and something in 1:35. Something that's bigger too like panthers tigers or t-34s. Smaller kits like Pz 1 or 2 can be annoying even with Tamiya.
In case of weathering - try ready products from MIG, AK INTERACTIVE or Vallejo. They have variety of products prepares for specific paintschemes. Like washes for panzer grey or filters for DAK or Soviet camo.

[alextheblue]

Got to agree with Gary, for a first armour kit you can't go too far wrong with a Tamiya. They fit together really well, have good levels of detail and there are some smaller parts that push the old skills, but they are not so small that you need an electron microscope just to see them. In terms of weathering, I'm just dipping my toe in these waters myself, so I can really only tell you what I have tried. I'd say the first thing you will need are a couple of flat brushes for dry-brushing. Great technique for highlighting details and adding a bit of fatigue to parts, especially tools, crates etc. As ScaleArmourBuilder pointed out you really only need a tube or two of oil paints for your washes plus a spirit based solvent to dilute it right down. And finally some pastel chalks for things like soot, rust etc. I find the easiest way is to shave some of the pastel off with an old craft knife and apply it with a brush, plus you can dilute it with water to thin it a bit. Once you find out what effects you like and what works for you, you can then look to buy the more specific weathering products. I'm still baffled by the range of products you can buy and have bought stuff that I still haven't used. But then, one of the fun parts of this hobby is collecting stuff that you have every intention of using - one day!

[Gav0909]

In terms of weathering, that purely depends on what effect you want. What vehicle you get will also dictate the weathering, for example, a modern vehicle is not likely to have any chipping or rust as nowadays, crews keep their vehicles clean and well maintained. Whereas a war weary WW2 combat vehicle is likely to have a build up of mud, dust, grime, some battle damage perhaps, chipping and rust in places.

A lot of the newer Trumpeter kits are nice, and affordable as well.

[Rob]

My first armour kit was a 1/48 Hobby Boss Russian KV-1. A joy to build and paint at a cost of a tener including postage within the UK

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HBB84810-D-Ho ... 19dadb5ba6

For weathering, my best investment ever was the Tank Art books - truly eye opening...

http://www.bookworldws.co.uk/tank-2wwii ... -5901.html

[Wizard]

Thanks for all the great info guys

[ForbesHutton]

Another vote for Tamiya as a starter. Parts fit and the instructions are complete and clear.

Dragon instructions can be unclear at times. Photo etch may require additional tools and skills.

[SuperDryBeef]

You can't go wrong with Tamiya, their kits are basic and not very expensive and I would recommend getting 2 jar of humbrol paint(black and a rust colour) + thinner and try to do some washes, streaking effects.

You should end up with something good enough for a good price.