DML SU-76m Russian SPG 1/35 - Kit No. 9001

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:56 am

So this kit was acquired through a trade, so I knew nothing about it at the time. I did a little research on the real SU-76m and now my interest was piqued. I'm thinking this would be a cool build for the Russian GB... time to do some research on the kit itself.
The reviews ranged from "worst kit ever" to "throw it in the (garbage) bin"!!! Not what I wanted to hear. Now call me stubborn (or worse if you prefer) and darn the reviews, but I'm going to try to polish this turd into something respectable!

The infamous DML SU-76m kit no. 9001. Turns out the kit is actually the old alan tool re-issued by DML in 1993.

The main reason I'm going to build this? I just like the looks of it from the built photos on the box!

The box is a bit smaller than usual, and this is how it was received. Nothing missing as far as I can tell and all sprues were loose in the box. It also seemed very heavy which we'll soon see why!

Sprue A: Looks like the X-acto blades and sanding sticks will be getting a workout with flash removal.

The parts are JJJJJUUUUUSSSSSTTTTT a bit thick, which explains the extra weight of the box. For comparison sake here's a Tamiya Tiger exhaust shroud on the SU-76 side hull plates.

Whoo Hoo more flash!

Sprue B:

Sprue C:

I don't think I'll be able to live with the molded on tie-downs

Sprue D:

Sprue E:

I think this is an axe, and the flash was included for FREE!

Sprue F:

And you thought the hull sides were thick???

And then the tracks. I'm just guessing here but these are the only "new tooled" parts Dragon molded for this kit.
Not too bad I suppose for 1993, but some of the reviews mentioned the roadwheels do not fit between the guide horns.

Instruction sheet:

And lastly the decals:

A brief note on the SU-76m combat history (taken from https://www.onwar.com/weapons/afv/firearms/fsu76m.html).
The SU-76M virtually replaced infantry tanks in the close support role. Its thin armour and open top made it vulnerable to antitank weapons, grenades, and small arms. Its light weight and low ground pressure gave it good mobility.

The SU-76M combined three main battlefield roles: light assault gun, mobile anti-tank weapon and mobile gun for indirect fire. As a light assault gun, the SU-76M was well-regarded by Soviet infantrymen (in contrast with their own crews). It had more powerful weapons than any previous light tank for close support and communication between infantry and the SU-76M crew was simple due to the open crew compartment. This was extremely useful in urban combat where good teamwork between infantry and AFVs was a key to success. Although the open compartment was highly vulnerable to small arms fire and hand grenades, it very often saved the crew's lives in the case of a hit by a Panzerfaust, whose concussion blast would mean death in an enclosed vehicle.

The SU-76M was effective against any medium or light German tank. It could also knock out the Panther tank with a flank shot, but the ZiS-3 gun was not effective against Tiger tanks. Soviet manuals for SU-76M crews usually instructed the gunner to aim for the tracks or gun barrels when facing Tigers. To improve the SU-76M's anti-armour capabilities, armour-piercing composite rigid (APCR) and hollow charge projectiles were introduced. This gave the SU-76M a better chance against heavily armoured German vehicles. A low profile, a low noise signature and good mobility were other advantages of the SU-76M. This was ideal for organizing ambushes and sudden flank or rear strikes in close combat, where the ZiS-3 gun was sufficient against most German armoured fighting vehicles.

The maximum elevation angle of the ZiS-3 was the highest of all Soviet self-propelled guns. The maximum indirect fire distance was nearly 17 km. SU-76Ms were sometimes used as light artillery vehicles (like the German Wespe) for bombardments and indirect fire support. However the power of the 76.2 mm shells was not sufficient in many cases.

The SU-76M was the single Soviet vehicle able to operate in swamps with minimal support from engineers. During the Belarus liberation campaign in 1944 it was extremely useful for organizing surprise attacks through swamps; bypassing heavy German defenses on firmer ground. Usually only lightly armed infantry could pass through large swampy areas. With SU-76M support, Soviet soldiers and engineers could effectively destroy enemy strongpoints and continue to advance.

The SU-76M had a large number of ammunition types. They included armour-piercing (usual, with ballistic nose and subcaliber hyper-velocity), hollow charge, high explosive, fragmentation, shrapnel and incendiary projectiles. This made the SU-76M an excellent multi-purpose light armoured fighting vehicle.

One famous crewman was Rem Nikolaevich Ulanov. In his younger days he was a mechanic-driver and later a commander of a SU-76. He and some other soldiers called their SU-76 Columbina after the female Renaissance Italian Commedia dell'Arte personage.

After World War II, the SU-76 was used by Communist forces in the Korean War. A small number of SU-76Ms were captured and used by the South after the landing of Incheon.

So there we have it. In about 36 hours from now I'll either be diving right into this build, OR the kit will be in the "bin"!

ScaleMates · Post by **papatika** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 12:13 pm

Nice challenge!

I'm really curious how it will turn out.

GL & HF!

Post by **kozzybear** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 4:41 pm

That kit sure does look like a challenge! Best of luck, cant wait to see how it turns out!

Post by **TheTroyster** » Thu Dec 31, 2015 6:20 pm

Why are you doing this to yourself? If you need a friend - I am here for you...

I know you'll do a great job.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 3:08 am

papatika wrote:Nice challenge! I'm really curious how it will turn out.
GL & HF!

kozzybear wrote:That kit sure does look like a challenge! Best of luck, cant wait to see how it turns out!

TheTroyster wrote:Why are you doing this to yourself? If you need a friend - I am here for you...

I know you'll do a great job.

Thanks everyone!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 3:09 am

A bit more research was done on the SU-76m, mainly browsing for photographs to help with the build details. So now the motivation meter has been pegged!

Lets build this old dog!

Post by **Sturm** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 3:38 am

Good luck with the build

The decals look as if someone peed on it and left it to dry in the sun

Post by **OliveDrab** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 4:41 am

Jan. 01 2016, the first parts were cut from the sprues

Some close inspection of the upper and lower front hull plates revealed some rather nasty sink marks. All other hull plates looked fine as far as sink marks go. These front plates will need some fixing though.

The plan is to remove the bolt and rivet detail, fill the sink marks, then add the bolt and rivet detail back from some spare bolts/rivets (from some old sprues).

The bolt/rivet detail removed. A round bladed hobby knife did the job.

LOTS of thinned putty added. I added a second layer of putty after the first had dried to fill the low spots.

Let the sanding begin! The plates were wet sanded, first with the course grit sanding stick, then medium grit. Sand until the water turns green... or maybe until the plates look good to you.

With the wet sanding complete.

That's Better! The completed plate after a coat of Tamiya liquid surface primer (wet sanded with fine and extra fine sanding sticks), and the bolt and rivet detail added back. I had originally drilled some small holes to mark the locations of the bolts/rivets. Photos of the SU-76m revealed the original bolt locations molded into the part were not very accurate, so those hole were filled too and the bolts re-positioned.

Lower hull assembly: The first four parts fit great!

No more parting lines on the roadwheel axles

Floor plate, internal side plate, and lower rear hull plates glued. The floor plate needed some sanding to fit well. It was too long, which did not allow the lower rear hull plate to seat correctly.

Just one ejector pin mark to fill so far. The other ejector pin marks should be hidden by other parts (I think).

With the poor reviews this kit has received, I'm doing lots and lots of dry fitting. With the upper hull plates dry fit, it looks like there's hope for this kit yet

Yeah, the kit parts are thick. The ammo bins look awful with the super thick sidewalls. Gotta do something with these

Some coarse sand paper taped to a block just might work!

One down, two to go.

Better, but they still don't look right.

Not exactly historically accurate, but now they look better to me anyway

Some spare photo etch frame was used to make a simple bracket.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:24 pm

Sturm wrote:Good luck with the build
The decals look as if someone peed on it and left it to dry in the sun

Thanks, and yeah those decals do need help

I just may end up using them though to add to the war weary look.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:26 pm

WOW...this GB is on fire! So many great builds going on!

The latest on the DML SU-76m...The tracks do not fit the roadwheels or return rollers

The build reviews warned of this issue so this is not a surprise.

The roadwheels out of the box:

The return rollers out of the box:

The real issue seems to be the guide horns on the tracks were molded too close together. Its evident in some photos that the horns should be spaced further apart. Moving a few hundred guide horns is NOT a task I'm willing to do to correct the fit issue!!!

So, the backside of the roadwheels were first trimmed with a hobby knife, then wet sanded with a course sanding stick to thin them. (Stock part on the left, reworked part on the right).

Sure am glad there's only 15 roadwheels (1 spare not shown). My thumbs are still a little raw from working on these though

And then like magic the roadwheels fit!

The same song and dance was done with the return rollers. (stock part on the left, reworked parts on the right).

A dry fit of the track and running gear exposed the next dilemma. The roadwheels and return rollers are spaced a bit too close to the hull. There is no clearance between the tracks and side hull plate. The tracks are hitting the very large and thick locating rib for the fender.

The real tracks also look like they are spaced from the hull slightly more than the kit.

Rather simple fix for this issue. Added .010" plastic strip to the return roller posts and the roadwheel axles posts.

The large locating rib for the track fender on the side hull plate really bothered me for some reason

So that was also cut and sanded down. Whoo Hoo, there's clearance for the tracks now!

With the track and roadwheels fixed, I hope the worst is behind me on this build

Thanks for stopping by, Model On everyone!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 2:32 am

With the weekend winding down, the SU-76m is beginning to take shape

The hull plates, return rollers, and sprocket housings all glued in place.

Thats all for this update, thanks for viewing and Model On!

Post by **Smiffy** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 7:54 am

Great work all the hard work making it look more accurate sure is paying off.

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:46 pm

Dude...........

So good to see you make a poo kit into a show stopper. Hat off too you for not giving up with this kit !
Keep up the great work !

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:12 pm

You should get new sanders from dragon! But you're doing a smashing job on this kit.

a real ugly duckling in my eyes but a duck with real swag. Good luck buddy

Post by **OliveDrab** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 4:03 am

Smiffy wrote:Great work all the hard work making it look more accurate sure is paying off.

fly1ngdutchm4n wrote:Dude...........
So good to see you make a poo kit into a show stopper. Hat off too you for not giving up with this kit !
Keep up the great work !

gustavlekstal wrote:You should get new sanders from dragon! But you're doing a smashing job on this kit. a real ugly duckling in my eyes but a duck with real swag. Good luck buddy

Your so right, an ugly duckling...with an ATTITUDE!

Kinda what intrigued me to build this in the first place.

Thanks all, your wonderful comments are keeping my motivation going strong on this build!

Post by **Nige201980** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:21 am

really cracking work buddy love what your doing to this kit.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 4:11 am

Nige201980 wrote:really cracking work buddy love what your doing to this kit.

Thank you Nige!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:06 am

With the lower hull plates assembled, its time to move on to the upper hull plates.

The upper rear hull plate. Something could really use help here

Off with the molded on tie downs. Some copper wire was formed to make new ones.

The new tie-downs all super glued in place. Looking much nicer now with some resemblance to the real deal

With the upper rear plate glued in place, I decided to add some weld seam detail. First the edges are masked, just keeping the area of the "seam" exposed.

The putty is thinned with liquid cement, and a thin even layer of the putty is "painted" into the seam with an old brush.

The putty is left to dry for around 5 minutes, then the tape is removed. The edge of the tape will leave a ridge which is easily corrected with the Testors liquid cement and a small paintbrush. Blend the edges with the liquid cement, and any other areas that need attention. Always blend the edges of the putty toward the center of the weld seam. You want a relatively even layer of putty. This pic is just after the tape is was removed, without any blending done.

After the blending and shaping with the Testors cement, let the putty cure again for another 5 minutes. A toothpick was then used to add the weld detail into the putty. After the weld detail is added, I'll sometimes add a thin coat of the Testors liquid cement to the entire weld just to soften the weld detail if needed.

Thats all for this update, thanks for viewing and Model On!

Post by **TheTroyster** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 5:24 am

Yea, yea I admit it those tie downs are epic looking!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Mon Jan 18, 2016 4:27 am

Some initial painting on the roadwheels and shells was done. Straight flat black enamel for the shells, and flat black lightened with flat tan for the roadwheels (Testors enamels again).

(Very few of the shells are actually round.

The alignment of the molds for the shells is very poor, so once the heavy parting lines are cleaned up, your left with an obround shell. I did what I could to make them look O.K. Good thing they'll be inside the fighting compartment which will hide them a bit!)

The shells were set aside a few days to let the black paint cure, then the tips of the shells were masked. Then came some brass colored paint.

The build is in full swing now. The bench is getting filled with SU-76m parts and sub-assemblies so there should be more detailed updates soon

Thanks for viewing, Model On!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 4:51 am

The gun took some work...O.K. maybe lots of work to get it together. Many of the parts just did not fit like they should. The oval shaped barrel housing fits "inside" the weld detail of the gun shield. Well it is supposed to anyway, but it wasn't going to happen without removing lots of plastic from the inside of the weld detail. This was the worst of the bunch, there were other parts that needed some cutting, sanding, and filing, but in the end it all came together

Next up was attaching the lifting lugs to the gun. The plastic parts looked O.K. so the thought was to use them (cuz I was feeling lazy at the time not wanting to make new ones out of wire)...then the plastic parts broke. Thats karma! They were the smallest molded parts included in the kit so this shouldn't be a surprise, but man I barely touched them and they broke in two

So new lugs were made with some wire afterall. The broken plastic lugs really didn't bother me too much, as the wire ones should look much better. The wire lugs were then glued to the assembly with cyanoacrylate glue.

A good shot showing the lifting lug location:

The completed gun assembly

A dry fit of the gun assembly to the chassis revealed another fit issue

which was again corrected with more cutting and sanding. There's not many parts left on the sprues so there can't be many more surprises with this kit, can there???

Thats all for this update. Thanks for viewing, Model On!

Post by **Smiffy** » Thu Jan 21, 2016 7:57 am

Great work, the wire lifting lug certainly to look an awful lot better

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Sun Jan 24, 2016 8:14 am

Perfect build log. This duck are getting its crown. Wonderfull skills.

Post by **Dunhill2005** » Sun Jan 24, 2016 9:36 am

Great built so far!!!
Your self-made hooks look great too

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Jan 24, 2016 8:14 pm

Smiffy wrote:Great work, the wire lifting lug certainly to look an awful lot better

gustavlekstal wrote:Perfect build log. This duck are getting its crown. Wonderfull skills.

Dunhill2005 wrote:Great built so far!!!
Your self-made hooks look great too

Thanks all, I think there's hope this old 'ugly duck' might just grow up handsome

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Jan 24, 2016 8:54 pm

The tracks are built

Its always a big milestone for me to get the individual link tracks built, they take lots of time and you never really know how they'll work until you get the complete run assembled. I'm happy with the fit and the sag, just hope they fit the same after they get removed for painting and then put back in place.

So somewhere under the steel bars, masking tape, toothpicks, hobby knife, wood block and whatever else I had laying around the bench, is the top run of tracks being formed with some sag before the liquid cement had cured.

And then 24 hours later. (There's two sections of track so they can be removed for easier painting. One bottom section and one top section).

WHOO HOO tracks are built!

I recently found a paint chart suggesting this Tamiya paint mix for tracks and thought I'd give it a go for these tracks.
The tracks were already molded black, so I airbrushed two thin coats of paint allowing some of the black to show through. I wasn't sure of the color at first, but after some washes and weathering, I think it will look good.
The paint mix: XF-64 (5 parts) XF-2 (3 parts) XF-52 (1part) X-21 (1 part)

Thanks for stopping by, Model On!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:08 am

Time to deal with more of the molded on tie downs, this time on the upper hull plates.

The stock upper left hull plate. These are going to need some surgery

The molded on details are not very accurate when compared to the real hull plates.

First up was to try to make some of the smaller tie downs located around the upper edges. It probably took an entire evening (or maybe two evenings

) to make these, they have to be the smallest parts I've ever made

The copper wire was glued through holes drilled in the plastic base using CA. After the CA glue dried, the excess wire was cut and then filed flush with the backside of the plastic base. They still are a little large compared to the actual, but they should be better than the stock molded on detail.

With the upper hull plates updated, they could be sub-assembled to prepare for some initial painting. I decided painting the interior fighting compartment will much easier with the upper hull sub-assembly removed. Also, the tracks definitely must be assembled before the fenders are glued in place, so I'll need to paint the lower hull first, then assemble the painted tracks, followed by the fenders. Then the rest of the upper hull details will follow.

The dry fit of the upper hull and gun. The gun needed a plastic shim under it and some trimming/sanding to the outer frame for it to fit correctly, but all the major parts have either been assembled or dry fit now

Time to get some of the preliminary painting started

Thanks for stopping by, Model On!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 7:30 am

Great job done,mate

Details looks excellent and the tracks as well!

Cheers

Tommy

Post by **OliveDrab** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:23 am

TommyKillander wrote:Great job done,mate

Details looks excellent and the tracks as well!

Cheers

Tommy

Thanks a bunch Tommy!! Loving your KV-2 build by the way

Post by **OliveDrab** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 4:25 am

I chose Model Master Dark Green for the basecoat. The lower sides and bottom of the hull, the bottom of the fenders, the fighting compartment and anything that went into the fighting compartment were first primed in black enamel, then came the dark green. Basically anything that could not be accessed for painting after being assembled was painted now while there was easy access.

This circle template worked great for painting the roadwheel centers.

The tape removed and ready for more building

This is where she sits now. The interior fighting compartment is all buttoned up, and all the hull plates glued in place. The upper hull had some weld seams added and some minor chipping and drybrushing was done in some areas that will become hard to reach later. The tracks will be going back on next, followed by all the rest of the exterior details

Thats all for now, thanks for stopping by!

Post by **TommyKillander** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 7:54 am

OliveDrab wrote:
Thanks a bunch Tommy!! Loving your KV-2 build by the way

Thanks

Post by **Avgas** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 9:24 am

Looking good.

Post by **wookiee76** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 12:59 pm

Looking good and a heck of a lot more work than the miniart one, least all i have to deal with is flash and sloppy fits.

Post by **arilo76** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 2:42 pm

really great work on this Su76, looking forward to see it completed.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sat Feb 06, 2016 9:42 pm

Avgas wrote:Looking good.

wookiee76 wrote:Looking good and a heck of a lot more work than the miniart one, least all i have to deal with is flash and sloppy fits.

arilo76 wrote:really great work on this Su76, looking forward to see it completed.

Thanks all, Model On!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:13 pm

90 Builds! That's so awesome

The tracks received a wash of Tamiya paints thinned heavily with distilled water. Flat black, flat white, buff and a few drops of metallic grey were mixed to come up with a dark iron shade. I liked the look of the tracks after the wash, so back on the tank they went. (I only broke them in about four places getting them back on

)

With the tracks back in place, the rest of the exterior details could be finished and here she is all built up with the exception of just a few parts like the spare roadwheel and radio antenna plus some interior details. I couldn't be much happier with how she looks right now, but it was definitely NOT an easy build.

As I mentioned at the start of the build, this kit does not come highly recommended, in fact "worst kit ever" may have been used in more than one review

With the construction phase now complete, I can definitely confirm those reviews are accurate!!! The kit is nearly un-buildable out of the box! The fit issues are so numerous I lost count, some awful mismatched mold parting lines, thick and chunky details, and there's no shortage of flash either. This is truly the worst AFV kit I've built (I had a '69 Ford Torino kit built many years ago which was worse than this if you can believe it)

But... The good news is, it CAN be built with lots and lots of TLC, and I'm REALLY digging the looks of it

I haven't settled on the final paint scheme yet, perhaps some winter whitewash scheme or just Russian green?

The spare parts box was raided for some photo etch details for the front fenders. The tow cable was made with some spare Tamiya ends, photo etch clamps, brass sheet for the brackets and picture hanging wire for the cable. A little bit of stowage was added to the rear also.

Next up, the painting stages. Thanks for stopping by all, Model On!

Post by **RonBurgundy** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 1:42 pm

I really like the look of the tracks, great job on them. The kit is far from perfect, but you make it shine so far. Keep up the good work

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Tue Feb 09, 2016 4:48 pm

How in the world did I overlook this build? Brilliant scratch building and detailing! I "fell in love" with the SU-76m when I saw a build review on it some years ago in a German modeling magazine. I can't remember the company it came from, but it wasn't this here kit. Great choice of vehicle, but somewhat suicidal on the other hand, hehehe! I'll keep an eye on your build, mate! Take care!

Jens

Post by **wookiee76** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 6:53 pm

Looking good, whilst the miniart isn't great to build, it's certainly a lot easier. Currently weathering up the inside before i finish construction.

Post by **OliveDrab** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 4:11 am

RonBurgundy wrote:I really like the look of the tracks, great job on them. The kit is far from perfect, but you make it shine so far. Keep up the good work

Thanks for the compliments and thanks for stopping by

NonProlificModeler wrote:How in the world did I overlook this build? Brilliant scratch building and detailing! I "fell in love" with the SU-76m when I saw a build review on it some years ago in a German modeling magazine. I can't remember the company it came from, but it wasn't this here kit. Great choice of vehicle, but somewhat suicidal on the other hand, hehehe! I'll keep an eye on your build, mate! Take care! Jens

Thanks! So true, the SU-76m is not a very popular subject, but was a very important AFV for the Red Army. So that's why I chose to torture myself with this kit, plus I really did not want to throw the kit away as was suggested in several reviews

wookiee76 wrote:Looking good, whilst the miniart isn't great to build, it's certainly a lot easier. Currently weathering up the inside before i finish construction.

Thanks wookiee, your miniart kit looks darn nice!

Post by **Chip1942** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 11:09 pm

Great work on painting so far

I initially thought the tracks were burnished

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 9:11 pm

Chip1942 wrote:Great work on painting so far I initially thought the tracks were burnished

Thank you Chip!

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 10:32 pm

The base coat painting phase is complete

The interior and running gear were masked with paper and tape to protect these pre-painted areas.
The same black enamel used earlier went on first followed with a basecoat of the dark green. I lightened the leftover dark green paint with Model Master sand enamel, and then lightly airbrushed the lightened paint over the tank, concentrating on the center panel areas.
I was still considering a whitewash paint scheme at this point but decided I really like the look of the Russian green.
I'll save my first attempt at a whitewashed AFV for another project.

With the tank basecoated, the detail painting was up next and was a tedious job. I made lots of mistakes that needed touch-up later

Glad this part is complete! Next up will be a gloss coat and decals.

The T70 didn't make it onto the bench for this GB.....

But a few of these fellas will make into GB

These two comrades were picked from the T70 kit to man the SU-76m. The detail on them is fairly nice. Their arms just needed some minor adjustment to fit the SU-76m, and then some putty at the seams. Then came a black enamel primer coat.

The large coat was airbrushed Tamiya Desert Yellow after the black. The rest of the painting was done by brush.

The main paints used for the figures:
Coat - Tamiya Desert Yellow
Coat collar - Tamiya Buff
Coat belt - MM Military Brown
Pants & Mits - Model Color Russian uniform WWII
Pistol Holster - MM Leather
Face - Tamiya Flesh

The comrades are all painted up, waiting for the gloss coat. Then the weathering stages and detail face painting will follow the gloss coat

Thanks for stopping by, Model On!

Post by **TheTroyster** » Wed Feb 17, 2016 6:31 pm

I love the color of the muffler (?) pipes. This unit looks great.

Post by **Chip1942** » Wed Feb 17, 2016 11:46 pm

Nice clean build so far love the use of old school MM enamels

I find the way the running gear is painted and masked interesting, i must say I have never seen it done like this before

Post by **OliveDrab** » Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:35 am

TheTroyster wrote:I love the color of the muffler (?) pipes. This unit looks great.

Thanks Troy, not much accomplished on this build this week but she should be getting "dirty" soon.

Chip1942 wrote:Nice clean build so far love the use of old school MM enamels I find the way the running gear is painted and masked interesting, i must say I have never seen it done like this before

Thanks Chip, I would normally prefer to do all the exterior painting at once, running gear included, and then assemble the painted tracks afterward. But I soon realized it would be near impossible to assemble the tracks to the tank after the fenders were assembled since I had already permanently glued the sprockets and idlers in place. I must say assembling the tracks to the tank was a breeze using this method, so I would not hesitate to use this method again if needed

Post by **arilo76** » Mon Feb 22, 2016 5:37 am

Really Well done

Post by **Tiger131** » Mon Feb 22, 2016 8:51 am

well done on a dragon classic kit just gone through your thread top stuff and love the colour you have finished with look forward too seeing more of this

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 3:53 am

arilo76 wrote:Really Well done

Tiger131 wrote:well done on a dragon classic kit just gone through your thread top stuff and love the colour you have finished with look forward too seeing more of this

Thanks, really appreciate all your comments

Post by **OliveDrab** » Sat Feb 27, 2016 4:44 am

With the figures base coated, they were given a gloss coat of Model Master Acryl. Then it was time for some washes.

The faces received a wash of Burnt Umber oil paint.

The tan coats and tanker helmets were washed with Raw Umber oil with a drop of black added. The pants were washed with some darkened Tamiya Field Drab, and the boots took a wash of straight black.

After the wash had dried, the faces were detailed and the uniforms were given some light drybrushing.

Hard to see, but the eyes have been painted in the following two pics. I mixed Burnt Sienna and white oils to make a light flesh color to use for the eye whites and applied a tiny line of the paint to the eye sockets using a sharp splintered toothpick. A small dot of Raw Umber oil applied with the dull point of a stick pin completed the eyes.

No longer headless!! Oil paints were used for shadows and highlights to finish up the faces, and with some light drybrushing completed, I'm calling these comrades almost ready to be sent to the front! They'll get a coat of Testors Dull cote and then maybe some pigments to finish them off.