September 2017

Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) Two new

Recconoissance at the end of the war
gifts inside
GMC Bofors
The French combo

Le.IG18
The ubiquitous German
light gun

Tarawa Sherman
Welcome to a new contributor
T-54-3
A dark arts work

St. Chamond
WWI French tank

Sponsored by
Is published by Coronel Caramel S.l.
CIF B54483052
Editorial oce & administration
Club de ftbol Hercules 6
03008 Alicante
Spain
Te: 965112833
Email: fcmodeltips@gmail.com

Director: Federico Collada

Editor: Federico Collada
Design: Federico Collada
Graphics: Federico Collada
Models and photographs: Federico Collada

Editorial
Im quite happy to welcome a new friend from Poland, this issue includes the article the
Cobra from Tarawa a model by ukasz Bk. Many other friends are preparing articles for
Blitzscales covering different subjects and I really hope you find them interesting.
It seems that lately modellers have polarized their preferences around some manufacturers
depending not only on their kits qualities but also the easiness of their building process having
easy, medium or hard kits to choose from; for example, if comparing different T54/55 kits
you can have some low quality/easy building old Esci and Trumpeter kits, medium quality
and easy building Tamiya choice, then some medium quality/medium diculty kits like the
Takom ones and finally the top quality/long time building Miniart option. Each one of us make
our own decisions considering the time we can dedicate to the hobby, the abilities required
to build each model and even the sympathies we can have for each producer, I know many
excellent modellers who still prefer buying the Tamiya kit and then spending a lot of money
in upgrades to give it the quality level of a Bronco, AFV or Miniart kit, and this is just because
they love the brand that produced the best available kits 30 years ago when they started in
the hobby. In my humble opinion each kit is adequate for different modellers; novel, average
and experienced, but not just this, some modellers simply dont start a model if they dont feel
the challenge in the project. If asked I couldnt easily decide where among these tendencies I
am, I always prefer good kits and long time building processes dont discourage me at all, but
form time to time I also enjoy some weekend projects that I can see finished in a few hours.
I guess the best of all this is that, unlike 30 years ago, we now have all kind of options for all
kind of modellers.

Federico Collada

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Index Page 6

Page 26

Page 32

Page 42

Page 39

6 - Street base
8 - Blitzscales previews
26 - Aufklarngspanzer 38(t)
39 - Build and paint a 1/72 scale building
42 - LeFH 18
49 - The Cobra from Tarawa
52 - WWI French propaganda posters 1/35 scale
54 - Saint Chamond
66 - Empty shell

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 Page 49
Page 52

Page 54

Page 66

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 Cut & paste
1- Print the opposite page, resize if you need to t your wood base

2- Varnsh to protect the printing

3- Glue onto a wood base using white glue

4- Press softly with a sponge to eliminate any air bubbles

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 Scale; 1/35
Producer; Dragon

In 1943 the Panzer 38(t) had been withdrawn form all front duties due to its obsolescence but its
chassis was still valuable for many kind of specialized vehicles, from jagdpanzers to recce or flak
carriers.
The Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) mit 2cm KwK 38 was one of these recce special vehicles that was
intended to replace the halftracks and armoured vehicles that shown its limitations on the eastern
front poor conditions, the new fully tracked vehicle would show better all terrain qualities so some 70
units were built making use of the chassis of the remaining Czech built tanks.
The tank turret was replaced for the one already used with the Sd.Kfz.222, Sd.Kfz.234/1 and the
Sd.Kfz.250/9, the Hangelafette turret armed with a 2 cm (0.79 in) KwK 38 gun and a single 7.92 mm
(0.31 in) MG 42 machine gun. A new box like structure supported the new turret which covered the
opened top with anti grenade grilles for urban combat protection.
The main disadvantage of the Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) was the casemate that located the turret
which was formed by riveted plates, a technique that was abandoned in favour of the welded ones,
less dangerous for the crew when the vehicle was hit. The 2 cm Kw.K.38 gun and the single 7.92
mm M.G.42 machine gun were only designed for self defence against infantry, artillery, soft skinned
and lightly armoured vehicles so the Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) had really little offensive power. The
Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) entered service in 1944 with the PzGr-Div. Grossdeutschland and 3rd
Panzer div. none survived the war.

26
 The kit
This is a kit that Dragon released back in 2006
among other panzer 38(t) based kits, as with
the real vehicle most of the parts are common
with that tank and a few new ones are provided
for this particular version including the interior,
casemate and turret. The links are the magic
track type, surely one of the best Dragons
ideas, and three photoetched frets are included
with many fine details. Although some finer
detail would have been welcome at the interior
little is seen when the finished model is closed
so maybe this is not really that important, in
fact the kit it is representative of an era when
the company kits were better considered by
the modelling community. The only upgrade
I added to the kit was a Tasca star antenna,
better detailed than the kit one.

27
 I got the kit 10 years ago when it was
released and built part of it immediately but
the same I rushed into it I lost the interest so I
left it forgotten for a decade with the building
process nearly finished awaiting for some
inspiration for the painting. Some months
ago I found some interesting pictures from
some other Wehrmacht recce vehicles of the
WWII last years and I found some of them
really interesting showing a big green patches
painting scheme over the dunkelgelb base, I
remembered the Aufklrungspanzer 38(t) and
thought that this scheme would fit very well in
my kit.
28
 I painted the hull interior in a more or less
summary way as I didnt expect it to be seen
through the turret. Although I usually paint the
tools, tracks and other elements separately I
decided to fix them prior to painting them this
time so soon I had the model completely built
and closed to prime it with the Vallejo 604
Dunkelgelb paint. In order to highlight the base
I used the special German dark yellow colours
set that provides different lighter tones that can
be used as filters to emphasize details and
volumes, I proceeded as I always do, applying
the first lighter filter with the airbrush at the
centre of the bigger surfaces and later using an
even lighter tone with a zenithal approach all
over the model to imitate this lightening.
Once finished this part of the painting I
proceeded to mask large parts of the vehicle
with adhesive paper tape to paint the hard
edges green patches, for this I used a 71093
Field green colour and later highlighted with
71106 Ivory. Once dry I peeled off the masks
and prepared for the next stage.

29
 Before going on to the weathering stage
I painted the details with a fine pointed brush
and acrylic colours, to add some texture to the
exhaust I used the Vallejo special rust effect
paint. With that done the model was ready to
start with the chipping. I didnt want the vehicle
to look aged or heavily worn so I didnt insist
much on this stage, just applied some rust
colour paints cursory with a sponge and some
dry brushing at the edges and most exposed to
friction zones.
I used acrylic washes of dark brown
and black colour to shadow a bit both the
exterior and turret interior for an even more
detail emphasizing. Here I stopped to place
the decals, just some Balkencreuz at the
superstructure front and sides, to ease this
task I first varnished the model with gloss and
once dry used the decal medium and decal fix
products for a perfect adapting and avoid any
silvering.

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 The magic tracks are certainly one of the
best Dragon ideas of the recent years, Its a
pity that theyre not included in every kit when
mostly every modellers prefers them to the
infamous DS tracks that theyre using in many
of their recent tracked models. Building them is
rather easy as they dont have to be prepared,
just make lengths and place before theyre
completely cured. Following this system I
made four sections for each side, two covering
the idler and sprocket wheels, one for the
superior length and another one for the lower
part connecting the wheels. I primed them with
black paint and later applied some rust tones
paint washes.
To imitate a slightly dirty look I recurred to the
pigments wash technique, mixing the selected
tones with some paints thinner and applied with
a big brush. I insisted more at the lower part of
the hull, tracks, wheels, etc and less at the hull
upper part and turret.

There is something very fulfilling at finishing

models that were abandoned halfway long
time ago, is like the work done satisfaction. I
got many half built models waiting for some
inspiration and I really hope I can finish all
of them, I guess this happens to many of us.
Sometimes it helps me considering them not as
a masterpiece to be but some kind of practise
for the next one, and sometimes the practise
ends in a very charming model that you can
exhibit proudly in your collection.

31
 Scale; 1/35
U.S. truck, British AA gun, French Producer; HOBBYBOSS
combo
The French 22e Groupe colonial de Forces
Terrestres Antiariennes was part of the 2e
Division Blinde deployed at Morocco in 1943
and commanded by General Leclerc. By the
end of that year the unit started considering
mounting their 40mm Bofors guns on their U.S.
built GMC 6x6 2,5ton. The first AA truck was
completed in December at a local factory. After
some trials, in January 1944 it was decided
to convert 16 GMC into the AA role, 3 months
later 14 SPG were in service with the 1st and
2nd batteries.
In May 1944 the 2e Division Blinde moved
to Great Britain where they continued their
training until July when they were finally
embarked to France.
Once in France, the 22e Groupe was in
charge of protecting the Division stationing
points and routes. When the war was over, the
22e Groupe had claimed destroying 17 aircrafts
and 6 more damaged. The last months allied
air superiority caused the group didnt see too
much action and finally it was disbanded in
March 1946.
The 22e Groupe GMC had
a larger cargo bay modified
to accomodate the 40mm
Bofors gun.

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 And the Chinese rendition
This is the first time that we can have this
version of the ubiquitous US truck in plastic
1/35 scale, and I can say that it has been worth
the waiting, the kit is very nicely reproduced,
with crisp detail and easy building. As many
Hobbyboss kits, it includes the engine and a
rather complete suspension and chassis, the
wheels are moulded in two halves so some
putty and sanding will be required to smooth
the tires surface. The photoetched parts provide
the more subtle details and the decals sheet
Accumulated dust on the lower part of the
vehicle is very important to make it look
oerative, I applied these pigments mixed with
paints thinner.
The model was built out of the box, allt he
photoetched details you see in this picture
are provided in the kit.
includes the markings of an unidentified
vehicle. As with almost every kit, not everything
is up to what you can expect of it, in this case
the con are some roughly reproduced parts
that devalues the rest of the kit; some of them
like the front bumper could have been better
reproduced in PE, same as the screen levers,
some of the wooden parts of the rear cargo area
have no texture while others do so some extra
work is needed in that point. Finally the extra
gun covered with tarpaulins is so rough that is
not worth using it at all.
Having a nice paints variety allows you to
choose the kind of illumination you want for
your model, cool or warm tones can make the
difference .
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The kit painting
instruction shows the
only possible decoration
of an unidentified unit,
something that happens
more often than we
would like.

Black, grey, brown and earth tones are all
you need to make the tires look a bit worn, all
these colours are provided in the new Wheels
& tracks set. I painted the tires with black and
then applied sucessive filters using dark grey
and then some brownish tones.
A weekend project
I built the kit straight from the box without using
any after market and only fixed those parts
that needed some putty and sanding. I left the
wheels aside for a more comfortable painting
and the windshield as it really wasnt necessary
to be fixed to paint the truck.
The building process took just a few hours as
the fitting was smooth and the instructions easy
following. Once I had all the parts prepared I
primed the entire model using Vallejo Olive drab
primer 608 and then the special paints set to
highlight this tone. I applied a first light filter with
the airbrush at the centre of the bigger surfaces
using colour 044 and later another filter, even
a lighter shade of green from a zenithal focus
to reproduce this illumination and highlight the
details.
With that part of the painting ready I
proceeded to apply a layer of gloss varnish to
place the decals, the ones supplied with the
model allows you to make just one vehicle so
no options are provided.
After placing the decals with the aid of the
Decal fix and medium products I sealed the
surface again with another varnish layer, this
time satin.
 Every time I start a model I have to decide
the final look I want for it, one of the main
decisions is the amount of stress I want to
show in the paint, sometimes I like to show
highly deteriorated paintworks and other I
prefer to show the vehicles in an almost perfect
maintenance state with just some dust and dirt
over them. Having seen some pictures of these
vehicles in a rather good condition I decided not
to exaggerate the weathering so I went along
with a subtle chipping using both the sponge
and the drybrushing techniques using different
rust tones. After that I applied a multicolour filter A speckled filter using different tones
speckling many dots of diluted paints all over
at the same time creates a subtle worn
the model surface letting them blend together
randomly.
look at the base paint

The latex gloves are an excelent

material to replicate canvas.

The sponging technique

is adequate for a subtle or
heavy chipping, the key are
the paint amount you charge
with the sponge and the
pressure you make with it
over the model surface.

35

Both latex piece and resin rolls were
painted with the same paints as the rest
of the model.
36
I went through my stowage parts box and I
found some I could use to cover all those empty
spaces around the AA gun so I primed them
and placed with a little white glue, I covered
some of them with a tarpaulin made of a vinyl
glove.
I tried to imitate the worn out paint at the wood
planks using brown pencils to draw the vein at
the most exposed to friction parts. To secure the
job I varnished with matt.
The last touches were to imitate the exposed
metal using graphite and some subtle pigments
washes for the accumulated dust over the
horizontal surfaces and recessed details. I
placed the previously weathered wheels and
windshield using white glue and that was all.
A good pencils assortment can also
be useful in your modelling place, you
never know when you will need them.
 The graphite pigment is a must in
every military modeller stock, its very
easy to apply and provides a very
convincing metallic look when rubbed,
you can use a cloth, a cotton swab or The Hobbyboss kit is
even your finger tip. impressive once built,
and very inexpensive, is
not complicated to build
and although the painting
options are limited you
can give it your own look
with a little stowage and
some personal elements.

After more than 30 years of military

modelling I have come to prefer the vehicles
that are little known, or that simply are painted
in an unusual way, this one caught my attention,
not for the role they played during the war but
for the resemblance to the German flak wagons
that were seen all through the war, but this
one being French made with U.S. and English
elements.
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Scale; 1/35
Producer; AFV Models

The leFH18 105mm leichte feldhaubitze was a German light howitzer used during the WWII
based on the previous leFH16 model, it entered service in 1935 and become the standard artillery
piece in the Wehrmacht.
When compared with the previous leFH16, the new model had a new three-point split trail gun
carriage provided more stability and increased the traverse to 56 degrees, the heavier recoil of the
higher muzzle velocity of 470 m/s was counteracted by a new pneumatic recuperator above the
barrel, a reinforced shield, the new gun could fire a wide shell types variety being the high explosive
the most common. The leFH18 was designed to be towed both by horse or mechanical means;
while the first ones used wood wheels the last ones used pressed steel wheels with solid rubber
tires.
The maximum range of 10725m was insucient when confronted to the Soviet batteries and its
2 ton weight made it too heavy to be suciently mobile and many were abandoned during the
Russian campaign. With 11795 units built, the LeFH18 saw service in all the WWII fronts where the
German army fought and remained in service in many countries before the war.
When first confronted with the T34 and KV tanks, the LeFH18 was the only gun capable of
penetrating their armour when used in direct fire, unlike the rest of the German anti tank guns.
 The AFV kit has a lot of
fine details that makes it look
accurate even when it doesnt
include photoetched parts.

The turned metal gun and

recuperator included in the kit
are an excellent plus as they
save us the putty and sanding
process that is ineludible
when these parts are
provided in plastic halves.

Although the kit includes many
delicate parts the building process
is not complicated and the
instructions are easy following. Just
take care you make you choice
between a horse or halftrack towed
gun and whether you prefer to
represent it deployed or in a towing
position.
The kit
The Taiwanese company AFV Club released
this model back in 2003 being the first time
that we could have this model in plastic in 1/35
scale. The kit is so nicely done that 15 years
later is still up to the nowadays best kits quality.
In spite of some delicate parts involved, the
kit is not dicult to build and the turned metal
gun and recuperator avoid the usual putty and
sanding work when these parts are provided in
two plastic halves. The building process starts
with the gun and breech following by the cradle
where it can slide so you can place it in different
positions. After adding the levers, cylinder, etc.
you go to the shield where some details and the
necessary bars that attach it to the cradle must
be placed carefully. Next you add the aiming
system and the recuperator.

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 When starting building the carriage
you will be asked to select whether Vallejo has a nice primers colours
the horse or half-track moved version range that includes the most usual
each one comprising different parts. military colours, German dark grey,
The spades and other parts can be too dark yellow, U.S. Olive drab, Soviet
placed as if the howitzer is being tower 4B0, etc.
or deployed so you will have to take this
decision too and follow the consequent
instructions. The decals provided
includes the firing range charts to be
located on the inner side of the shield, a
letter that identifies the battery and little
else so you can actually select a generic
piece to paint it with any of the schemes
used by the Wehrmacht during the war.

I decided to build my LeFH

18 as one of those used at the
first years of the war so I used
the Vallejo 73603 Dunkelgrau
primer to cover the entire model,
this primer is one of the most
commonly used in military
modelling as it covers perfectly
with just one layer and avoids
using a primer and then the
correct colour paint, you can
do it all in just one application.
After this I used the special
lighting paints set for Dunkelgrau
which includes many other grey
Aside the essential primary colours, any military modeller shades that you can use as
can make good use of the lighting sets to establish the filters to lighten up both volumes
kind of tones he prefers when he tackles similar models, and details or even create dark
this way he wont need to make preliminary tests once and shadows around them.
again. I used a dark brown paint to
drybrush some subtle chipping
at the most exposed to friction
zones of the carriage and
spades trying not to exaggerate.
In order to add some rusted
texture at the spades I used the
Vallejo paint 83821 that provides
both this colour and texture
and is suitable or be used as a
standard paint, diluted as a wash
or even drybrushed.

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 Some subtle chipping using the
good old drybrushing technique,
suitable for all kind of paints, the
key is drying the brush thoroughly
with an adequate cloth.

For a more intense rust look, the

new special effects paints are very
handy, they provide both the right
colour and texture.

I made a stop here to paint and add the

details like the aiming bars, pneumatics, etc.
Then I varnished with gloss the zones where
the decals should be located and waited an
hour before placing them.
Once the decals were completely adhered I
varnished again, this time with satin.
I waited some hours for the varnish to be
completely cured and prepared a first pigments
wash mixing dark grey and sienna colour to
dirt the howitzer, I applied this wash with a big
brush insisting on the lower part of the carriage
and spades.
Not convinces with the rusted appearance of
the spades I applied some more rust toned
using the sponge technique using different red
and orange shades.
I polished some parts using graphite powder
and a piece of cloth to imitate the exposed
metal and finally applied another pigments
wash for a last dust and dirt accumulation.

Guns and howitzers are

not usually considered
as independent pieces in
military modelling, theyre
more often seen as part
of a scene or ensemble,
but in my opinion theyre
interesting enough to be
showed as a unique piece.

45

The sponging is another easy to
control technique that can be used
with any kind of paints to achieve
different effects.
The metallic pigment or graphite dust
traditionally used to imitate the exposed
metal, some careful rubbing will sow up the
typical metallic shine.
46
I decided to show the howitzer on one of the
recent FCModeltrend cobblestone base with
the Iron cross medal on it those are designed
on two different sizes to fit small, medium or
large vehicles over them, the medal is supplied
as a separate resin part so it can be located in
any position.
The pigments wash, a very useful trick to
easily represetn shadows, dirt, etc.
Another good reason to use pigments
wash instead of paints is that they can be
washed away easily with some water so
you can remove any excess or wash away
the effect if you dont like it and start again.
47
By ukasz Bk
Scale; 1/35
Producer; Dragon

Many modellers are strictly

interested in European theatre of II
world war period and that trend is very
visible at any model contest or show.
Often we forget about Pacic and its
major inuence to the development of
american equipment such as amphibious
vehicles and tanks. Representation of
the secound type mentioned is M4A2
tank used by Marines for the rst time on
Tarawa Island. That is the reason why I
picked up the Dragon model of this tank
in 1/35 th scale at my workbench.

First step was research process about

Tarawa battle and possible options. After
studying some photos and even a movie in
colour I decided to make Cobra tank from
C Company. It was one of the few M4A2 that
survived the first day of the battle. The drew
consisted of five Marines: Cpl. Bill Eads
- radioman, Cpl. Hester S. Buck Webb -
driver, P.F.C. Hank Travernicht - gunner, and
the tank commander 1st Lt. Richard Sloat.
Cobra landed on Tarawa with the third
wave on the first day on Red Beach 1 or 2.

49
 The Building process
The Dragon models are one of my
favourites because of its very good quality
and usually nice fit. Of course there are some
issues with missing equipment like wading
system elements, too thin front armour plates
for driver and radio operator and rear rack for
canisters, wich was symbol of C Company tanks
on Tarawa. After scratchbuilding those lacks the
rest of the build was rather strightforward. I liked
the PE-parts like fenders and clear parts for
headlights. Aluminium towing cable and metal
tool clamps are also a nice addition that makes it
look even more realistic.

The Painting Process

The Cobra was painted in Olive Drab

as others vehicles used by Americans during
the war. I decided to make colour modulation on
my model to enchance the nice looking shape
of this tank and to achieve some variety in the
one-color sheme. I started with white primer and
once dry I used black to make some shadows
around hull and chassis. After that it was time
to use first gradiend of olive drab. Addition of
white colour to create lighter shades of base
colour. The paint brand I used was Lifecolor. The
result was great and the final part of painting
was using very light olive drab shade to retouch
all rivets and edges of the model to enhance
the detail. Now it was time for gloss varnish
and decals. I know there is a huge chance the
elephant symbols on the side panels of the
tank were yellow, not grey as Dragon provided,
but that was something I could pass by. The
decals went down really nice and fast. After that
I applied some grey filter, brown wash and satin
varnish, preparing model for weathering.

50
 The weathering process

As I mentioned before, the M4A2 tanks

were used in battle for the first time, so there
was no reason to apply heavy weathering on
it. I tried to think about salty oceanic water
and its affect to the metal armour for the short
time. That means some wet effects and some
streaks of salt on the hull and front panels. In
this case the Abteilung oil paints was great
choice to do the job. After creating some white,
buff and green oil paint streaks I blended them.
The Tarawa Island was full of sandy beaches
so it is important to recreate some wet and
dry sand around the hull. I usually use Mig
pigments with white spirit to set them in places
I want them to be. If everything is ok I fix them
with pigment fixer. The tracks were painted in
dark rusty colours and weathered with same
pigments same as the tank hull. I used pencil
to create shining metal parts at the tracks links.
As Cobra had the rear canister rack I made
some fuel stains at engine hatches area and on
canisters. As a final touch to the model I used
great Kamizukuri brand palm leaf.

51
Gift; WWI French
propaganda posters

1/35 scale

1/72 scale

52
53
 Scale; 1/35
Producer; Hobby Boss

The
Saint
Chamond
was the second
heavy tank
produced
in France during
the WWI being the
Schneider CA/1 the first
one, designed by rival
companies, both tanks
served within the French
army although the Saint
Chamond was underpowered
and lacked of poor performance
mainly due to its too short tracks.
With 400 units produced, the Saint
Chamond was armed with the 75mm Mle 1897 field gun fixed on the
superstructure front and 4 8mm Hotchkiss machine guns, traversing the 75mm
gun involved moving the whole tank so the driver should face the enemy to open
fire. The 8 men crew consisted in commander/driver, gunner/loader, assistant to
gunner, four machine gun operators and a mechanic. The armour varied form 11
to 19mm and the top speed was of 12km/h. The Saint Chamond was used in 1917
and 1918 but once the war was over it was replaced by the better designed English
tanks.
On the battlefield the Saint Chamond proved completely inadequate for the
trenches war but on the last stages of the war when the trenches were left behind
its 75mm gun was used to engage the German artillery from a safe distance and
acting as an assault gun, a role for which it was conceived. The Saint Chamond
could be easily disabled if hit in any part of the tracks or running gear.

54
 WWI modelling
The first company that released the Saint
Chamond kit in plastic 1/35 scale was
Takom, that was in 2013, nearly 2 years
later Hobby boss released their own
rendition, good enough and nearly half
the price. Although I was attracted by the
Takom kit when it was released I decided
to wait for the Hobby Boss kit so I could

compare and decide, this is something

that happens more and more every year
as many producers release similar kits
with just a few months or even weeks
difference. I seemed to have made the
right decision as both kits are quality alike
being the main difference the price.

The Hobby Boss kit builds rather easily

following the instructions and you will

spend most of the time involved with the

running gear, this is the part of the tank
that involves most of the parts and details.
The tracks are made of separate links that
just click together with a little pressure so
you can build them in a while. The 75mm
gun is made of two plastic halves requiring
some putty and sanding, something typical
of other era kits that could have been
avoided with the sliding moulds technology.
The exterior part of the tank is just an add
details job so you will finish this last part
pretty fast.

55
 The Solomon camouage
I decided to paint the model with this
iconic scheme as it was one of the
most commonly used during the war.
The multicolour pattern designed by
Solomon Joseph Solomon in the early
years of the war intended to disrupt the
vehicles shapes using large patches
of the surrounding elements colours,
sometimes separated by a thin black
line.
I begun painting the whole model
with a medium grey primer and then
masked the zones that should remain

that colour using adhesive paper tape. Next colour was the 71143 Light stone, airbrushing again
the whole model. After taping some more patches to remain this light sand colour I airbrushed the
green zones, for this I used first the 71250 Bronze green paint and then some highlighting with
71095 Pale green diluted at 75%. After letting the colour dry for some hours I taped for the last
time and airbrushed colours 71029 dark brown, 71041 armour brown and 71043 olive brown with
successive filters to create some variety within the brown patches.

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 I let the model settle for a day and then retired the
masking tape, I decided to use a black felt pen to
paint the irregular black lines that separates the colour
patches, this is a very easy to control tool and the finish
can be sealed with varnish. Happy with the result I
proceeded to apply a layer of satin varnish and let it rest
again some time. At this time I applied some generic
markings on the tank sides that came out from the decals
surplus box.
Next phase was to reproduce some chipping on
the paint, for this I recurred to both the sponge and
drybrushing techniques using dark brown acrylic paint,
alternatively mixed with some black to add some variety.
With that part done I applied some washes using light
earth and dust tones mixing the acrylic paints with water
and using a mid size brush, I have realized that standard
acrylic paints act very well when used as washes,
the pigment precipitates where I want and the small
amount that doesnt act as a subtle filter so the effect of
accumulated dust and dirt is really convincing.
The next wash was made with pigments mixed with
water, this kind of wash is different form the previous one
as it has no binder so once dry you can remove all the
pigment, washing it with water or simply sweeping with a
dry brush, if youre satisfied with the achieved look you
can seal it using special pigment binders or some white
spirit, though this last element doesnt really provide an
enduring fixation.
The dust colours pigments
applied this way created
a more thick dirt
deposit I wanted for the superior part of the tank so I
sealed it and proceeded to create some mud for the
lower part of the hull and running gear.

The Saint Chamond, which was

designed to carry the 75
mm (2.95 in) in a big
fighting compartment,
was larger than any
previous prototypes
including the CA-1
and tended to
sink nose on soft
terrain. Further
modifications
didnt alter this
problem.

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 Aside the noise, hot environment, smells
and toxic poisoning problem, the long hull
vasculating over the holt tracks caused the
crew sea sickness. The design of the Saint
Chamond was disastrous.

I Having the acrylic mud range in stock

this task was really easy, sing and sew like
we say in Spanish, I applied the Mud & grass
product directly with a brush and sparkled
some pigment where I wanted to reproduce
some dry mud, that was all.
The last touch was rubbing with graphite pigment some edges and handles to imitate the polished
metal and with that I called the model finished.

For those like me that have a preference for the WWI and inter wars military vehicles its certainly
an exiting moment, the centennial of the Great War has made the producer look this way and
provide the modellers with a bunch of very good quality kits for the first time, I hope this trend wont
change and we can have many other tanks and armoured vehicles still unreleased.

58
 The Saint Chamond saw their
first action at Laffaux Mill on May,
5, 1917. Several were stuck in
various trenches, but three of
them succeeded crossing the
battlefield.

Just
two years
after started
being
produced, the
Saint Chamond
was considered
obsolete; the only
surviving vehicle is now
displayed at the Saumur
museum together with its
competitor the Schneider CA-1.

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www.fcmodeltrend.com
Scale; 1/35
Producer; Miniart

The T-54-3 was the second modernization program to which the

basic tank was put into in 1951 and included the new turret with no
overhang at the back, the new Tsh-2-22 telescopic gunners sight and a
TDA smoking generating system. This version was produced between
1952 and 1955 when a new modernized version replaced it later known
as the T54A.
All the T54 versions were supplied to more than 50 countries armies
and saw action in many armed conicts, their junks can still be seen in
many former battleelds and scrap yards where the disabled tanks were
scrapped to make use of the still usable parts to repair other vehicles.

To let the engine compartment and hull interior
ready for painting some minor scratch building
was necessary to supply a few parts that the
kit doesnt include; some plastic card, tin plate
and metal wire was enough for the work.
What to do with a new T-54
Being Miniart one of the sponsors of this
magazine I have included one of their kits in
every issue, during this year they have released
every version of the T54 tank and so I have
tackled most of them trying to show them in
with different perspectives. Having wanted to
represent a scrap for a long time I decided that
this could be the perfect time to do so as the
new Miniart kit provides all the interior parts
so little or nothing should be added to fulfil the
project. I checked many internet pictures of
disabled T-54/55 and some of them caught my
attention, they showed some wheels taken off
the vehicle and the corresponding axes could
be seen, the ones supplied in the kit as part
of the suspension arms are adequate to place
the wheels but they dont look as the real ones
so I immediately started to design the three
kind of axes to print them 3D, thus the new
FCModeltrend reference 35443 T-54/55 axes
was born.
There are different reasons why a tank can
be left to scrap; obsolescence, irreparable
mechanical problems, and of course, partial or
total destruction. This last reason is surely the
most interesting to the modeller as it provides
the opportunity to test different kind of building
techniques and painting effects. I decided that
my T-54-3 would have been hit with a direct
shot that caused an internal explosion and
subsequent fire that burnt most of it.
I looked at some resin burnt out wheels for the
tank at internet and finally decided for the DEF
Model ones, beautifully casted and trouble free.
With that and some inspiring photos I began the
work.
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 Having
decided
the reason
why the tank
would have been
scrapped I started
building the model
considering that I would
like to show it as emptied
as possible. I used many of the
interior parts in the kit but left aside
all that could have been destroyed in the
internal explosion or eventually taken off as
useful spare parts. The construction in this first
phase was easy and amusing, and I just made
a few parts in scratch that should be seen
inside the engine compartment once emptied.
I also replaced the seat for some scraps made
with metal wire and bent some tubes on the
floor made with solder tin wire.
I added the axes designed by myself and 3D
printed in high quality resin to the suspension
arms with ciano glue and moved to the turret.
Same as with the hull I disregarded everything
that could be taken off and destroyed the gun
barrel using the power tool and pliers bending
the leftovers by hand carefully.

The wheels axels were designed with the

Miniart kit in mind but can be fixed to any othe
rbrand T54/55 too, just cut the plastic part and
substitute for the 3D printed ones.
 Many ways for getting rusted
In this particular project the weathering would
be the most important part of the painting, I
wanted to depict a long time scrapped and
abandoned on the open air tank, somewhere in
Africa or Asia where the sun would have faded
the original green paint to a yellowish tone
and the rust would have covered nearly all of
it. I have tried many times different techniques
to reproduce worn off paint and rust so this
was no challenge for me; but I wanted to test
something I have been trying to tame lately
and is combining acrylic and synthetic paints
and thinners in the same application, this is
something that we always have been told not
to do as both kind of paints are incompatible.
The thing is that you certainly cant achieve an
homogeneous layer mixing both kind of paints,
acrylics with turpentine on synthetics with
alcohol/water, but the kind of marks that you
can make doing so are very interesting, and
more even when you try to fade away or wash
those marks with the inadequate thinner. This is
something I would not advice non experienced
modellers to test but I think that experienced
ones may find useful trying the dark arts from
time to time.

I took off many parts of the turret including the

two cupolas leaving an inside ring where they
should be bolted. This kind of details help the
scrapped look of the tank. That same reason
made me decide not using any part of the
fenders neither the tracks.

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 The forbidden wash is a very exciting
technique, though its not easy to control
as it requires some test and training time to
achieve nice results, the effort is worthwhile
as it provides a kind of stains that very hard to
achieve otherwise.
I started by priming the interior with white
paint and some hours later I applied a rust
wash an AK pigment wash mixed with a Vallejo
dark orange tone, knowing that they wouldnt
blend I shook the mix vigorously in order to
break down the acrylic paint in tiny little dots in
the AK wash, they key is acting fast in order not
to give the cohesive properties to agglutinate
the paint molecules again before painting.
This first wash dried fast leaving the first rust
traces everywhere more or less randomly,
whereas I didnt like the pigment and paint
concentration I simply washed away part of it
using turpentine, water and alcohol.
I repeated this process three more times using
different wash and paint tones accumulating the
effect until I got the desired aspect.
For the last wash I added black pigment to
imitate the burnt aspect, mostly at the crew
compartment where the tank received the shot.
I closed the hull and prepared to paint the
exterior part of the tank, for this I decided to
start with a much lighter shade of green than
the standard 4B0 as I would later lighten up As with many other painting techniques, you
this base to nearly yellowish tones. I picked can obtain better results if applying in several
the Vallejo primer 71610 Parched grass and layers changing colours and covering the same
covered the whole model with it. zone once and again creating a multicolour
filter.

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 The black pigment
applied alone or
mixed with a wash
creates the burnt
look that hasnt
been washed away
by the rain on the
inner side of the
tank. The pity is that
little is seen once
the turret is closed
and in place.

Next I used some other lighter green

shades to airbrush some generic filter to lighten
up the base by zones. The following filters were
applied speckled with a tooth brush and much
diluted, using colours dark yellow, white, sand,
etc. and applying them consecutively without
waiting for the previous one to dry, this way part
of the dots melted with the earlier filter ones
creating a dirty and stained aspect.
With that part of the painting finished it was
time now for the rust; first I drybrushed some
dark tones using the Vallejo rust colour set
paints, one after another beginning with the
darkest colour and covering large areas on
the sides and a bit more moderate at the front
glacis and turret. After that I repeated the
speckled filters, this time using light rust tones.
The following process involved real iron dust;
I call it the real rust technique; cutting a long
sort its applying the iron mixed with water as
a wash and later rusting it with a home made
rusting agent mixing bleach and vinegar. Once
rusted and dry I sealed the work with a matt
varnish layer and then placed the remaining
wheels at their axels.

71
 I prepared a simple base on a small size
wood piece representing an irregular and rocky
terrain where the tank would have been slowly
sinking with the pass of the years as the rains
would have blended the ground under the tank
once and again.
To finish the job I applied a general and much
diluted filter with an earth tone acrylic paint
airbrushed generously all over the scene to
provide a chromatic coherence between the
tank and the terrain.

The faded green base with all the further

staining was just a base for the extreme rust
painting process. One of the pros of this
painting system is that you can stop whenever
you want to have a wrecked, old and disabled
look at your vehicle.
 I prepared a
very simple
base as I didnt
want it to distract
from the tank; a
wood piece, some
mixed stones and
sand, pigments and
diluted white glue
were enough to form
the terrain.

I have enjoyed this project very much,

not tied to any historical references but some
more artistic painting processes instead. When
tackling this kind of scrapped vehicles its the
perfect opportunity to test your abilities with the
brushes and replicating the natural processes
to which the metal and paint are exposed to.

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