British Tank Destroyer M10 IIC Achilles 1/35

[Steve Jones]

I also built and primed the suspension. When priming I didn't attach to the body of the tank as I wasn't sure if I would be able to spray them all over. I'm not sure if this is what other people will do and I am thinking of spraying them in the base colour off tank too.

It is very much personal preference Mike. There are modellers out there who will paint all the running gear and tracks on the vehicle! This I have never understood because as you say you want to reach all areas of the build. When you go down in scale ie 1/72 then its more common. However at 1/35 scale I find it easier to paint and weather the tyres, wheels, tracks and lower hull on a separate basis. As your skills increase you will want to get into the world of weathering and pigment work. This will give you the opportunity to bring all the separate units together as final weathering can be done once all the wheels, bogies and tracks are attached to the lower hull.

For your first build its turned out really well and all heading in the right direction. Keep up the great work my friend

[Andy the Sheep]

Mike, your building sequence and choices are very close to mine and your results are pretty good, indeed. Progress comes at every step, keep going!
A suggestion: when using primers, and paints too, from rattle cans do it in the open or in a ventilated room and keep your breathing ways protected :sick: as they stink a lot (mainly a problem for your family because we love the smell of thinners in the morning, ...smells like fun :tongue-out3 and are not really healthy to inhale (someone with a wilder youth than mine shall disagree :dizzy: on that last point... :tongue-out3: ). I use a painter's mask with changeable filters like this one
,
but an FFP2 or 3 mask is a good starting point. This is true also if in the future you'll opt for an airbrush.

Happy modelling.

Andrea

[Ian M]

You are doing fine Mike. It really is a case of what works for you. There are those that build 90% of a tank then paint it. There are those that paint pretty much most parts befor even opening the glue!
On a kit like your one, I would paint the wheels and the boogies then build them. But put them on the tank after the rest is done. Tools, and clutter I tend to leave to last after the tank is painted but befor weathering.

[scottie3158]

Mike,
Your off to a great start. The sequence of building and painting is purely a matter of choice everyone has their own way.

[Jim R]

Hi Mike
Great job so far. You've had some good thoughts from people already. A good idea is to make a mental or even a written note of what you've done and whether it worked for you or not. A great help for your next model.
Jim

[Mini Me]

Above all, have fun and just do what your "insides" tell you.........common sense will take care of the rest and if you get stuck, you have a HUGE database at your disposal here on the Forum BTW she's looking good. Rick H.

[Valeron]

I think I need to improve on my masking skills. This isn't the end of the world and I have paint to be able to touch it up with.

The paint has seeped through the masking. I used Tamiya masking tape and it seems to have work in all other places but not here. I guess it is the raised details on the floor which have prevented the masking tape from sealing properly with the level of pressure I applied.

To be honest I was more worried about the masking tape pulling off the green paint.

[Mark1]

As you say nothing that can't be sorted,I generally paint whichever part is gonna be easier to mask first and give the tape a good poke down with a cocktail stick in all the corners.

[Guest]

I also built and primed the suspension. When priming I didn't attach to the body of the tank as I wasn't sure if I would be able to spray them all over. I'm not sure if this is what other people will do and I am thinking of spraying them in the base colour off tank too.

Generally, I find Sherman bogies (the M10 is a Sherman-based vehicle, the whole lower hull is identical) easier to attach after painting, because it gives much better access for painting the tyres. Only if I’m going to spray the whole lower hull in a dirt colour do I normally attach them before painting.

I've attached most parts on the outside of the Hull but plan to paint the parts such as the spade etc separately off tank and attach later.

American vehicle tools were painted the same colour as the vehicle itself They weren’t sprayed along with it (normally) but dip-painted olive drab at the factory. This makes life a lot easier for modellers, even if most don’t actually seem to know about it: just glue them in place and paint them along with the rest of the model.

I then painted the white inside parts of both the upper and lower Hull.

Did you brush-paint them? An easier way, I think, would have been to spray the insides white first, with a can of white primer rather than regular paint, then mask off the bits that need to stay white and paint the outside. This gets around the problem of white paint covering poorly and unevenly if you brush it.

Like I said, any comments would be appreciated as I'm on a huge learning curve. And I'll give more regular updates going forward.

You’re doing very well, if you ask me. The important thing, though, is that you find methods that work for you. We can offer tips and advice, but don’t feel like you need to slavishly follow it.

However, the historical accuracy part of me wants to mention that dark green is not the right colour The outside and the interior floor of the real vehicle would have been painted in olive drab, which is a very brown-green colour, not green green

[Steve Jones]

The outside and the interior floor of the real vehicle would have been painted in olive drab, which is a very brown-green colour, not green green

If you look at photos from the time Jakko its actually B&W :smiling5: :smiling5: :thumb2:

[Valeron]

However, the historical accuracy part of me wants to mention that dark green is not the right colour :smiling3: The outside and the interior floor of the real vehicle would have been painted in olive drab, which is a very brown-green colour, not green green :smiling3:

I thought this too after I painted. I'm using the paint as per the Tamiya instructions and even Tamiya paint for the green. It looks nothing like the green on the model box.

[Guest]

I thought that would be the case Tamiya’s paint colours are not always very accurate, however, if you’re happy with it, just keep using the paint you have. If you want to spray it in a more accurate colour, you could buy a can of Tamiya TS-5 olive drab.

[Valeron]

thought that would be the case :smiling3: Tamiya’s paint colours are not always very accurate, however, if you’re happy with it, just keep using the paint you have. If you want to spray it in a more accurate colour, you could buy a can of Tamiya TS-5 olive drab.

Thansk for that Jakko. For this one, I'm going to stay with the colour I've already applied. But going forward, I'm going to start researching my subject more. Not only will it make a more accurate model, it will be very interesting and an extra level to this hobby.

[Guest]

One of the benefits of a hobby like this is that you can take things as far as you want. If you’re happy building a kit straight from the box and painting it like the manufacturer recommends, go for it, but you can also do a lot of research to add and correct every last detail, determine accurate colours and markings, and so on. It’s entirely up to you how far to go with any of this.

[Isitme]

Mike,
An idea for masking where you have raised detail, run some masking fluid along the edge first and then tape over it, then the flud will peel off with the tape.
Mike.