Short notice : matt clear

After some remarks about the Puma being too shiny, I bought Alclad II matt clear, a slightly duller version of the semi-matt (or semi-gloss, depending how you prefer to call it).

This matt coat seems to have had no influence, it's still too shiny.
Not sure if a matt coat on top of a semi-gloss one is supposed to work, if the matt coat is too thin or if there's some other underlying issue. Maybe I'll buy the Alclad flat, which should be the least shiny of all.

More clear parts

All other clear parts for the Enterprise-C are now painted, on the inside, with transparent paint.

All decals placed

A quick update. All the decals have been placed on the submarine. Just another coat of varnish to seal them in and it'll be finished.

I spent roughly 2 hours doing all the decals. The long white lines alongside the entire hull were sturdy enough to be manipulated, but flexible enough to be really hard to get straight. Just don't look to close to the end result.

Puma finished

The Puma is now finished, and unlike the Abrams (which still needs weathering) I truely consider it finished.
Even though the weathering isn't very heavy (no pigments, no battle damage) the "dirty look" looks very nice.

(Edit: It's a little too shiny, as multiple people have remarked, so I'll buy some matte varnish and add a layer. While we're at it, why don't we try some pigments too.)

Price : € 10
Number of parts : about 130
Time spent : 12 hours
Project completion time : 6 months

Paint : (Vallejo, unless otherwise noted)

• Grey primer
• Dark yellow
• Tank green
• Tank brown
• White (interior)
• Gunmetal grey (machine gun barrel)
• Matt black (tires, driver seats, steering wheels, ...)
• (LifeColor) Wood (shovels, axe, gunner seats, ...)
• (LifeColor) Rust (exhaust)

Other :

• Alclad II Semi-matt clear
• Micro Sol and Set (for decals)
• Tamiya panel line accent color (dark brown)
• AK Interactive Dark mud wash

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Dirtying things up

After an earlier not-so-successful attempt to make the Abrams look sandy/dirty, I hesitantly starting applying a "Dark mud" wash (from AK Interactive) to the Puma's wheels.

Not entirely satisfied, I thinned it 50/50 with White spirit and tried again on a few side panels. The effect was really to my liking, so I coated the entire model with it. The wheels have received 3 coats in the meantime and I dare say it all looks really good. It's no longer a factory-fresh Puma.

Almost done

The Puma is almost finished. I've added a first clear coat (Alclad semi-matt) and let that dry for 24 hours. It's not sticky to the immediate touch, but if you hold it in your hand for longer than a few seconds, it does stick a little. If you press hard for a while, it will leave fingerprints, as I've noticed on the submarine.

I'm yet to find out how long it takes to fully cure.

The decals are in place now (there were only 9). I've treated them with Micro Set, just to be sure they cling to the surface perfectly. When dry, I'll add a second clear coat to seal them in.

Now that painting is done, I've removed the latex protection I put around the wheel discs and started installing the wheels. The wheels are held in place by a small cap and (are supposed to) freely rotate.

(I predict none of the wheels will rotate in the end, but I'm trying anyway.)

I painted the gear on the side of the tank (shovel, axe, wire clippers) with wood and natural steel colours. On future models, I'll probably leave off the tiny bits, paint them separately and only install them in the finishing phase. This way, for instance, the jerrycans will not be camouflaged, but I don't think it's pretty realistic to expect this anyway. I don't expect, in the field, those jerrycans were always in the same place, or on the same vehicle, for that matter.

Attack a Submarine with sanding paper.

The submarine is finished, but before I can start placing the decals, I need to (try to) repair a few spots where painting or varnishing went wrong.

The top of the sub has a pebbled surface, where the gloss varnish went on too thick. I scrubbed this down with fine-grain sanding paper. It's still easily noticeable, but hopefully wil be better after another layer of gloss.

The right side, under the tower, had some runners. I can't remember if it's paint or varnish. I sanded a little too deep and the bare plastic peeped through. Some paint will be required.

You may remember a big blob of varnish that had pooled up at the bottom of the nose. I sanded it away as far as I dared before I would start removing the brown paint.

Second camo colour

The second (and last) camouflage colour has been added. I'm happy with the result, although I know it could be better. I also (think I) know HOW to do it better.

What I did :

1. Paint the base colour
2. Mask everything that should not be green
3. Paint green
4. Remove masks
5. Mask everything that should not be brown
6. Paint brown
7. Remove masks

Step 5 was the difficult part, because I had to mask nicely around the edges of the green areas. As you can see from the bottom picture, this was not very succesful, although the result is still looking good. I will touch up with a brush, if I can do it without it being too noticeable.

What I think I should have done :

1. Paint the base colour
2. Mask everything that is to remain in the base colour
3. Paint brown
4. Leave the mask in place
5. Put additional masks where the colour is to remain brown
6. Paint green
7. Remove all masks

This way, there will be no space between the green and brown lines, as is now the case. You won't have to wait long to see this newfound knowledge in action, because I intend to apply this "technique" to the M60, which is probably the next model I'll (try to) finish.

Ready for the next colour

Painted chocolate brown

The result

M1A1 Abrams is finished (for now)

I consider this one finished, except for further weathering. I tried a sand-coloured dust-wash but the first try was too subtle and the second too heavy. I tried streaking grime on one panel, but was heavily overdone and I removed it again. 

I'm putting it aside and continue on other models, until I want to experiment more with weathering.

Price : € 29.95

Number of parts : 300

Time spent : 23.5 hours

Project completion time : 4 months

Paint : (unless otherwise noted, all are Vallejo)

• Black primer
• Sand yellow
• Matt black (wheels)
• Olive drab (Stowage details)
• Steel (guns and track details)
• Transparent red (tail lights)
• Silver (head lights)
• Gold (monitor screen)
• 50/50 mix of Dark green and Sand yellow (smoke grenade launchers)

Other :

• Alclad II Semi-matt clear
• Tamiya Panel line accent color (dark brown)
• AK interactive Africa dust effects (tracks and wheels)
• Vallejo black wash (grilles)

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First camo colour complete

I carefully laid out a camouflage-pattern on the Puma using Silly putty. It's a tedious job, but since free-hand airbrushing is out of the question with my current airbrush, this is the only option. 

I've already used play-doh and modelling clay for masking, but silly putty is simply the best substance. It sticks in place very well, doesn't dry or shrink and is very easily removed without damaging the model or lifting the paint.

Ready for painting.

Painted in Panzer green 

Carefully lifting the silly putty

Looking good so far.

The result is what I'd hoped for. On to the next batch of putty, because we need a second camouflage color : chocolate brown.