Stokesy's 1/35 Magach 3 with ERA (M48 Patton)

[Stokesy44]

I love the dual-colour tracks. The tank looks great as well. The engine deck louvers might have done with some more washing, or maybe it's just the angle the photos are taken from.

Have no fear my friend. I haven't done the washes yet! That was the point of the gloss coat. Rest assured, the louvres are on my radar!

[TheNordus]

I love the dual-colour tracks. The tank looks great as well. The engine deck louvers might have done with some more washing, or maybe it's just the angle the photos are taken from.

Have no fear my friend. I haven't done the washes yet! That was the point of the gloss coat. Rest assured, the louvres are on my radar!

D'OH, shows my reading comprehension skills.

[Stokesy44]

like yoda would say

"Interesting this build is!"

But beware the dark side, aircraft, ships, cars, the dark side of the hobby are they......

[Stokesy44]

Well its been a heck of a day so far!

My new bench light didn't arrive despite being 'out for delivery' all day yesterday as per UPS. I kept watching the website for tracking updates then hey presto, at 9.55 this morning, it updated to say, wait for it...., package received and signed for by STOKES yesterday at 10am. That's right, yesterday

Utter nonsense so I chased the company I bought the light from AND the delivery company. Then I had a Hercule Poirot moment.

I live in a flat in a converted school house and I know no one else signed for a package for me yesterday so I went for a walk down the street. I checked the corresponding house number that matches my flat number and gave the bell a little tinkle. Guy answers, we have a nice chat, he goes through his mail and spots a delivery note from UPS saying 'his' parcel is next door. Off I trot next door and speak to a lovely lady who tells me she took in a parcel at 6.30pm yesterday (10am - my arse ) and was waiting for her neighbour to come and get it. And there it is, MY lovely new benchlight

And here it is, all installed with much self-satisfied smugness on my part - its not on at this point.



Then I turned it on.... And this is my little tank in a whole new light



The light makes an incredible difference, not just for pics - I would find over the next 2 hours that working in this light is AMAZING!

Anyway, on to the actual modelling now the detective work is done. I normally use Ultimate Dark Dirt for my tank washes but I figured, for a desert based AFV, it was going to be too dark. I have the full suite of Ultimate washes so I went for the next cab in the rank, Earth. Very pleased with how its looking.

Hull first, I'm going for subtlety so I didn't want a general darkening, rather an accumulation of dirt and hues around seams, bolts and vents. Flat surfaces were kept as clean as I could make them.



I'm still getting an element of colour bleed in some of the photos, I think its due to the effect of light from the window and the focal point I settle on as the pic is taken. I figured it out as I went along but the main thing is there is so much more data in the images now, even at full size (I shrink them for the forum), the focussing is beautifully crisp.

Another thing I noticed is the wash has dulled the effect of the aqua gloss down to a light sheen. Its the same effect I've seen when I've used Ultimate washes on aircraft - a happy accident but I'll take it. There's no need for another varnish now.













Then on to the turret and cannon - and the colour bleed again, like I said, I'm getting there





On with the .50 cal co-ax, I figured the turret was done so I risked mounting the MGs









I still have the wheels and suspension to do but I was hungry and needed a sandwich, its all about priorities.

[TheNordus]

I've never thought your photos looked bad, or not nice in any way. Your work space looks really great though. I just use my computer desk and it's way too cramped and my screens and expensive gaming keyboard have paint and all kinds of gunk over them, it's like I'm living in a pig sty.
I really should buy a similar light for myself though, I feel like this cheap desk lamp I have right now isn't working at all.

[Kevthemodeller]

Just keeps getting better mate

I know just what you mean about delivery company's I had a similar experience today. Dpd it's being delivered at 1423 - 1523, 1540 nothing check their website, driver couldn't get access or an answer......oh really. I work in a Government area it's gate is manned 24/7 and believe me you can't miss it!

They give these drivers so many parcels they're never going to get it done in an 8hr day. So they just lie and the thing get redelivered another day, but for me that will have to wait till Mon now. I'm off the Belgium in the morning for my annual visit, oh bugger I've got to be up at 0430 bedtime for me

[Stokesy44]

I've never thought your photos looked bad, or not nice in any way. Your work space looks really great though. I just use my computer desk and it's way too cramped and my screens and expensive gaming keyboard have paint and all kinds of gunk over them, it's like I'm living in a pig sty.
I really should buy a similar light for myself though, I feel like this cheap desk lamp I have right now isn't working at all.

It’s well worth it mate. For the price of a new Dragon kit I think this is going to have a serious impact on my bench sessions. After just a couple of hours I am so pleased with it.

[Stokesy44]

Just keeps getting better mate

I know just what you mean about delivery company's I had a similar experience today. Dpd it's being delivered at 1423 - 1523, 1540 nothing check their website, driver couldn't get access or an answer......oh really. I work in a Government area it's gate is manned 24/7 and believe me you can't miss it!

They give these drivers so many parcels they're never going to get it done in an 8hr day. So they just lie and the thing get redelivered another day, but for me that will have to wait till Mon now. I'm off the Belgium in the morning for my annual visit, oh bugger I've got to be up at 0430 bedtime for me

Thanks Dude

The ineptitude of so-called professional companies continues to amaze me. If I did something like that I would be up before the beak being requested to explain why A, I'm an idiot and B, how are we going to deal with the fallout from the client?

Hope you have a great time in Belgium. Hoping for pics and a report on your return

[Stokesy44]

Well, I targeted yesterday as the finishing date so I only missed it by 1 day. A 13 day build, mojo and tempo are definitely well up.

I used the wash on the wheels, suspension and lower hull, wiped it all down nicely then slipped the tracks on. Its easy to malign Dragon's DS offerings but when you don't need sag and the packaging hasn't destroyed the guide teeth then they're not half bad.



I used wet pigments on the exterior of the tracks, front and rear, and dry pigments on the lower interior sections and the wheels. Nothing fancy, I just wanted to dust them up. On the exterior bits I wiped much of the pigment off the raised treads.









I fixed the lamps on after scraping off the masking agent I had used during painting.



The last thing was the aerial on the turret. And it's DONE, recorded as finished at 10.15am GMT!





















Thanks for looking in and for all the comments and banter. Not sure what's up next, I'm torn between a Tiger II and a 109G (Trop)

[digger303]

you make it look so easy

[Vindicare]

NOICE!

[TheNordus]

Looking extremely good. Driving me mad that I'm gonna be without an airbrush for up to a week longer.
But really, can't say a bad word about it. I especially love the effect you got on the tracks. I don't suppose you're gonna build up a diorama for her?

[Stokesy44]

you make it look so easy

Thanks mate but I would refer you to the swan analogy. She looks serene and graceful on the surface - but underneath its paddling like mad just to make any kind of headway!

[Stokesy44]

NOICE!

mate.

[Stokesy44]

Looking extremely good. Driving me mad that I'm gonna be without an airbrush for up to a week longer.
But really, can't say a bad word about it. I especially love the effect you got on the tracks. I don't suppose you're gonna build up a diorama for her?

Thanks mate.

I know what you mean, there's nothing worse than being without a piece of gear when you've got the itch to build. As for the tracks, I thought I cheated a bit, I probably should have brushed on wet pigments before I set them on the tank. The dusting looks ok(ish) on the interior flat sections but more work would be needed if I were to put it in a diorama.

On that subject, I'm probably not going to do one for this. I don't have any applicable figures so it would not be much more than a glorified display base. Also, I have several dios lined up in my mind and I don't have the brain cells to figure out another one!

[schweinhund227]

Turned out great ! thanks for sharing!

[Stokesy44]

Turned out great ! thanks for sharing!

Thanks mate, and thanks for looking in

[TommyKillander]

Truly amazing work!

I really like the weathering that is just perfect - all that beautiful detail is still preserved but it has a used look. Excellent!


Tommy

[Stokesy44]

Truly amazing work!

I really like the weathering that is just perfect - all that beautiful detail is still preserved but it has a used look. Excellent!


Tommy

Thanks mate, that's what I was aiming for. As I was building it I was always thinking I've got to make sure the paint job makes the most of all this stuff. I'm aware that my attempts at weathering can sometimes result in the kit not looking worn, just darker, and that was something I was desperate to avoid here.

[Tomcat64]

Absolutely stunning work mate - if it wasn't for the bottles & stuff in the background you'd be hard-pressed to know you weren't looking at a full sized example.

Very, very well done

[ElCapitan]

Looks amazing, well done on such a quick and impressive build!

[Stokesy44]

Absolutely stunning work mate - if it wasn't for the bottles & stuff in the background you'd be hard-pressed to know you weren't looking at a full sized example.

Very, very well done

Cheers mate, the bottles are actually huge water towers and I WAS photographing the real thing!

[Stokesy44]

Looks amazing, well done on such a quick and impressive build!

Thank you Sir, as for it being a quick build - definitely. I've been a bit concerned in recent months about my lack of application when it comes to getting stuck in at the bench. Its symptomatic of other things so I've been really pleased that I've been able to up my build tempo

[Kevthemodeller]

Lovely build mate you've really nailed it and all in 13 days

[Stokesy44]

Lovely build mate you've really nailed it and all in 13 days

Thanks Kev, it certainly was a beauty to work on.

How was your trip by the way?

[Kevthemodeller]

How was your trip by the way?

Really good I met the guy who dug out Vampire Dugout and we visited another recently dugout shelter.

He runs a pub and has a museum up stairs really interesting some amazing items

I'm not going to mention the beer

[Stokesy44]

How was your trip by the way?

Really good I met the guy who dug out Vampire Dugout and we visited another recently dugout shelter.

He runs a pub and has a museum up stairs really interesting some amazing items

I'm not going to mention the beer

Excellent - happy as a pig in the brown stuff