Painting a T-34/85

[Guest]

Thats looking the nuts Patrick , nice one.

Richy

[yak face]

patrick ,this is superb ! you seem to have got the hang of the airbrush really quickly, the faded effect is brilliant. Its that good a paint job it doesnt need too much extra weathering,it already looks the part. cheers tony

[Guest]

Thanks Tony, I'm sure that I've still got a long way to go yet but I really enjoy using the AB. I only wish it wasn't winter with these short days & little natural light.

[spanner570]

Nice one Patrick, I've been following this from day one. It is looking the part now, and no mistake.....These squeaky clean tanks look O.K. but you can't beat the real thing!

[Guest]

Cheers Ron, I'm learning new stuff as it goes on & enjoying myself, which has to be the most important thing! And if it helps others or gives inspiration, then so much the better!

[Guest]

I am really pleased you are doing this as once and for all I can get the order of painting right ! keep it up :-) I can also see an approximation of what my painting SHOULD look Like at each stage

[Guest]

Got a bit more done on this over the weekend. Now that the main paint is on, it's time to protect it from the rigours of weathering.

First are a couple of coats of Klear (Future to our American cousins!). This much-discussed wax floor polish can be applied by brush or by airbrush as I have done. Not only does it seal your paintjob but also provides a good surface for decals, which is the other thing I've done.

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After that, I added a little bit of white paint to simulate runs as the markings on Russian tanks were often applied quickly-they weren't as bothered about appearance as the Germans!

Once the decals & paint have dried, I used very fine grit (10000 & 12000) sanding pads to bed the decals down. It gives them a real painted-on look. Then another coat of Klear is added to seal them. This helps to prevent the dreaded 'silvering'.

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The next steps are applying washes. Im going to try 3 colours: lamp black, raw umber & burnt sienna, all thinned with humbrol enamel thinners.

Patrick

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[Centurion3RTR]

Hi Patrick, is the Tamiya acrylic good to work with bud?

I do like the looks of it too, i know you have got to put a matt varnish on but, at the mo it looks wet after rain. This has given me an idea.

[Guest]

To be honest John, I'm still undecided on that front. It does go on well but still seems to leave a slightly 'gritty' finish, even with some retarder added. I'm going to try using some lacquer thinner that I've got to see if that helps because I've still got quite a lot of Tamiya paint to get through! As I run my stocks down, I may try Vallejo because using the double-action means less paint & their 'eye-dropper' system seems great for popping it directly into the cup.

[Guest]

That really is looking great already, Love it !

[Guest]

Its looking superb Patrick

Richy

[Centurion3RTR]

To be honest John, I'm still undecided on that front. It does go on well but still seems to leave a slightly 'gritty' finish, even with some retarder added. I'm going to try using some lacquer thinner that I've got to see if that helps because I've still got quite a lot of Tamiya paint to get through! As I run my stocks down, I may try Vallejo because using the double-action means less paint & their 'eye-dropper' system seems great for popping it directly into the cup.

Thanks Patrick, i was thinking about Vallejo because all the reports i've heard are good.

John

[Guest]

I have used Vallejo once John & it went on really well, very sooth so it could be interesting. Plus it's hard getting Tamiya thinner round my way so that's another reason to change!

[stona]

To be honest John, I'm still undecided on that front. It does go on well but still seems to leave a slightly 'gritty' finish, even with some retarder added. I'm going to try using some lacquer thinner that I've got to see if that helps because I've still got quite a lot of Tamiya paint to get through! As I run my stocks down, I may try Vallejo because using the double-action means less paint & their 'eye-dropper' system seems great for popping it directly into the cup.

I'm not sure about laquer thinner,it's very hot stuff. It will melt styrene undiluted. If you haven't got the Tamiya thinner I'd try isopropyl alcohol (90%). I don't use Tamiya but a friend does and he recommends it. His paintwork is always very good. You can get it from Maplins.

The Vallejo "eye droppers" are really good. I use a bit of their Modelair range from time to time and it works well.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

This is a stunning thread, superb paint job and so informative. I certainly could not get anything like this with a brush, just hoping that when I get my airbrush I am able to get somewhere near this standard.