Shelf Queen Trio Complete Thanks to the Tank!

 Yes! The trio of Shelf Queens have now been finished. Three models in a week. Normally with my glacial progress its three years a model. However lets have a look at where I started. The Emhar kit complete awaiting painting.

Following priming the tracks were sprayed Tamiya Tan and then masked whilst the main bulk of the tank received varying shades of Vallejo Russian Green! No one seems certain what colour WW! tanks were from what I have read and colours seem to vary from grey through karki to green. I am not a rivet counting modeler and green was to hand so that's what colour the tank is. 

Following on from this, the tracks were painted Vallejo rust and then the whole tank including the tracks was given a wash of dilute Vallejo Black-grey. A coat of gloss varnish later and the decals were added giving the tank its identity as 'Flypaper' It could have been Fantan as there are alternative decals or it could have been a captured tank remarked in German identity. The decals themselves are thick and by that I mean when you put them on the tank you can see the edge of the transparent carrier film. Now having watched the keen car modelers they do start to use very fine abrasives to smooth the edge of decals so that they do not show, but this isn't a Porsche or a Ferrari - its a WW1 tank so I hoped the weathering would go someway to disguise the decals. How well that went I will leave up to you. A coat of Micro Soll under and over the decals helped persuade them to conform to the surface, especially the rivets. A further coat of matt varnish to protect and seal the decals was applied and then it was onto weathering with some MIG powders to produce...

I'm happy with that! The weathering just used three products - dilute Vallejo black-grey paint and two MIG pigments as shown in the photo below.

Someone did ask me how long does it take to make a model? The answer depends upon so many variables and in my case the answer is likely to be too long! However, for this model the basic build took about two hours, then the gap of two years I will ignore, and then about an hour to paint and two hours of decal application and weathering. Five hours in total. I must admit that it was five enjoyable hours and a time to relax and be creative which is what any hobby is about. Why not build a kit this weekend and see how it goes for you.

Paint it Black!

Paint it Black - not the old classic song by the Rolling Stones, but something model related. Been able to progress on a few projects since my last post. Although not a Finish Friday project three Shelf Queens were chosen as they all form part of a bigger project which as you may have guessed is also a Shelf Queen! However in the interests of moving matters forward and taking account that if I started the three at once then one job I do not like would only have to be done once and that is cleaning the airbrush after priming them. Having 'sacrificed' one or two airbrushes over the years by my laziness of assuming that if you leave thinner in the cup than all will be well when you come back six weeks later, I am now somewhat more diligent and my wallet somewhat less thin! Moving more across to acrylic paints has also helped in that water seems to clean out the residues as well as any airbrush cleaner if you do it straight after finishing spraying. Anyway, the three Shelf Queens, in no particular order, are:

The Dapol windmill kit CO16 (previously Airfix) and if you are wondering it is motorised and more of that later. However the good guys across at Budget Model Railways (always worth a look to see what they are up to) on YouTube did a video on how to motorise it if you are interested. Video is here - Tutorial Tuesday Episode 3 - How To Motorise A Dapol Windmill Kit.

The Wills Scenic Series Barn Kit ref. SS30 for 00 Gauge.

And finally the Emhar 5001 MkIV "Male" Heavy Battle Tank in 1.72 scale.

I used, for the first time, Vallejo black primer that I bought in a 200ml bottle for about £10 (UK price) which, for what you got, seemed good value. Having now sprayed it I can say it worked well for me and it does indeed "Paint it Black" so I will be using it again. Here are the three Shelf Queens now basking in their new colour.

 More to come on progress with these but anyone wanting a Volvo fix I can report that it is not back on the shelf and although progress has slowed it now has its full body kit. Just waiting with the side skirts as I am in two minds as to whether to fit them. I will ponder but leave you with the latest Volvo FH 16 pictures.

Hmmmm! That white looks - well white! Think it will need toning down a bit!