Zvezda 1/35 T-28 Medium Tank

[Guest]

Thanks Paul and John.

I know I still have a lot to learn and a lot of experimenting to do but it's good to hear I'm making a decent job of it so far :smiling3:

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
Paint job looks good to me. Light weathering will work well. A subtle, in scale effect.
Jim

[scottie3158]

Andy
There is a technique that you may be aware of called colour modulation I think there are some how too' s on you tube. But it is basically painting whole panels tighter or darker shades dependent on how much light or shadow they sit in.

[Guest]

Thanks Jim, I'm still trying to strike that balance between being noticeable but not over done.

Paul, yes I've heard of it and it's what I've been trying to achieve, in my own way. I almost bought the Mr C modulation set for Russian green but figured I ought to be able to do something similar by mixing my own colours, similar to the way Dave described.

I know I haven't picked it up too well on camera but by starting with a black primer and painting lightly lower down and around the edges of panel I'd hoped to create fake shadows. Then adding the lighter and more yellow highlights on the raised flat parts etc to emulate sun fading.

I'm not finding it as easy as those videos make it look though :smiling5: I definitely need much more practice!

[JR]

Don't bother too much about it not suddenly working Andy.
Many times i've tried and do the dark lines in the joins only to see them disappear when I add the subsequent coats of paint.
As you say it looks easy in a video or book, the first time I saw it I couldn't wait to have a go, result oop:, realised you need very thin coats of paint.
There is nothing amiss with your paint work in its self, in my case its rather like Eric Morecambe's " I play all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order "
:nerd:

[Guest]

Many times i've tried and do the dark lines in the joins only to see them disappear when I add the subsequent coats of paint.
As you say it looks easy in a video or book, the first time I saw it I couldn't wait to have a go, result oop:, realised you need very thin coats of paint.

This is why I don’t even bother trying this preshading thing. When it comes to painting, I don’t have the patience to put on a whole bunch of coats that all build up the colour eventually — I want paint cover the model, so I can see clearly where I’ve painted and where I still need to paint. The times I’ve tried applying thin coats I’ve suffered one of the problem Andy also mentioned: too subtle, so you don’t see the effect despite all the effort I put in. Conclusion: might as well not bother and paint the model to the same finish with less work

Any effects like shadows and highlights, I can also apply afterward as well. In any case I lean more towards realistic finishes like weathering, than artistic like highlights and shadows. What’s more, I don’t really see the point in making a great effort painting things like shadows that will then be obliterated by the first coat of mud …

[Steve Jones]

If you are going to go down the road of using oils then the need for modulation is greatly reduced as you use the oils to create areas of light and dark. However I would always encourage the use of colour variation on raised and shadowed areas. A while back I spent a lot of time and energy on the art of white and black before top coating but found the oils just negated all the hard work. There are many techniques available to you. Its all about developing your own style and finish. As far as I can see you are taking big strides to achieve this and its a joy to watch your work come together.

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice guys, and thanks very much for the compliment Steve :smiling4:

Steve, I have been watching a few videos lately where they use the base colour as a background effectively, and build the finished colour & contrast up with oils as you describe. It's definitely something I want to try on this build but figured a general starting point of lighter upper surfaces and darker lower ones might help.

There's loads to learn, and lots of different ways to skin a cat, and I'm trying to do it all at once. Patience has never been my strong point :smiling5:

In fact there are so many areas to this hobby that I didn't even know about when I first started and I want to push further in every direction. I have to remind myself however that it will take time. I'd love to bang a few quick kits together to get more painting practice in, but then I'd miss out on the build experience. I've loved the odd bit of scratch building I've done but if I concentrate on that I'll never get any painting done. I'm itching to try my hand at a diorama but again it would be at the expense of time spent on other things.

I need to slow myself down, enjoy the whole experience, and just let things come in their own time.

[Steve Jones]

Your doing exactly all the things I did when I first started out four years ago. You go for it and try everything until you find what you like and what you feel you can excel at. That is one of the beauties of this hobby - many aspects to try and do.

Don't get me wrong about the modulation. There are ways of using modulation and oils in tandem to great effect. I just felt my style negated the need for the extra work involved :thumb2:

[Guest]

Time consuming but necessary work. I airbrushed some Russian green onto all of the wheels then hand painted the 76 rubber and steel tyres. Steel was Citadel Leadbelcher. Rubber was a 50/50 mix of MrC tyre black & flat black and took so long that I had to keep thinning the paint as it was drying in the palette, hence some look better than others.

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[spanner570]

Andy, in real life the wheels wouldn't all be the same shade and same condition either.

Now't like a bit of variation!

[Guest]

Yes, thanks. I've thought of it more as a basecoat, so at least they aren't in bare plastic. I'm hoping to spend a lot of time with oil paints on this model, trying different things, so should be able to get plenty of colour variation in the ones that aren't completely hidden.

You have sparked an idea though. Maybe I can attack some of them, taking chunks out of the rubber in places, denting some of the steel ones, things like that. Next thing you know I'll be doing a JR and setting fire to it! :smiling5:

[rtfoe]

Hi Andy, at first camoflage was my option but now having seen the many structural corners, the single color has become interesting. I'm sure with your airbrushing experience using an index card for masking without sticking helps in straight corners. I use my old business cards for this. Modulation does not necessarily need to be subtle. For a model with so many corners modulation can be lessened, it works better on larger less complicated surfaces.
Gradation highlights can be achieved with a paint brush as I did for my Ugly Tank.
It is looking good with what you've done so far and it's a long way to go with weathering. Be patient and persevere and it should come out well.

Cheers,
Richard

[spanner570]

........taking chunks out of the rubber in places, denting some of the steel ones, things like that. Next thing you know I'll be doing a JR and setting fire to it! :smiling5:

Perfectly acceptable. Not too sure about your final idea though!..... :face-with-head-bandage:

[rtfoe]

Perfectly acceptable. Not too sure about your final idea though!..... :face-with-head-bandage:

Ya, I'm worried about the last bit too.

Cheers,
Richard