15mm Scale Shermans - Part 3

Weathering Effects...
Right, onto the creative part. Having laid down my base colours I turn to applying weathering effects, like staining, dirt and wear.

And here I came across another example of how effects that worked well for me in 1/72 scale didn't quite work out for me in 1/100 scale. I began with the tracks and set to work with my tried and tested powder pigment 'mud' mixture, but what would have been a light coat of mud on the larger scale turned out to be a thick clart (a Scottish word for a gooey mess) of mud on 1/100 tracks...

These are far muddier than I wanted but are - I suppose - realistic if the tanks had been driving through ploughed fields. It wasn't the effect I was actually after but will do, I'm happy to leave it and just modify my application for the smaller scale on future models. I suppose nobody will know that I didn't mean them to be this muddy if I don't tell them!

Staining the Sherman Hulls & Turrets
Finding that my usual 1/72 scale painting techniques were, perhaps, a little heavy handed for the smaller scale I decided to try something different for my usual 'staining' stage.

My staining and bleaching method is normally based on using oil paint which I dab on in spots then smear into streaks using thinners. I decided that this might be a little too invasive and harder to rectify if I didn't like the end result, so I looked for a 'softer' approach. I looked through my paint effects box and picked out the 'eyeshadow' set!

I've used these on a smaller scale on my previous models, as a secondary powder effect, but in this case, I will be trying them out as the primary weathering medium. These, in combination with Citadel's washes - which I am using more and more - gave me a rather more controllable (powders can be easy removed) staining technique for smaller models...

I was going for a dirty and oily, war-weary Sherman and I think I achieved this. I was quite please how well the eyeshadow effects went, so I will probably try this out on my 1/72 models now.

Conclusion
I'm really enjoying these little 1/100 tank models. The detail will probably not satisfy the most pedantic modeller, but I find the simplification takes a lot of the pressure off and I can simply relax and enjoy the painting.

An additional benefit of these particular models is that they come with the option to swap out the turrets so I can have a 76mm gunned Sherman to 'play with' as well...

It'll be nice to get these on the gaming table as - as many wargamers point out - units always perform better when they are painted! :)

I'll be building up a few small 'armies' of tanks for the GF9 Tanks game, but my next priority to to get the 'bad guys' - the starter set Panther/Jagdpanther - painted!

15mm Scale Shermans - Part 2

I'm experimenting with and modifying slightly my 1/72 scale painting techniques for the smaller 15mm scale models. Because of the smaller scale, and commensurately smaller detail, painting is a little more 'impressionistic' and I am doing things with broader brush strokes than normal.

Here's where I left off. A bit too clean and sparkling for my tastes.

I have seen plenty of very experienced 15mm scale model veterans paint in this scale to a very high degree, to the point where you think they are working on a larger scale. But, as I am fairly new to this diminutive scale I am going for a wider picture and fudging the minutiae a bit.

So, here's the process I've planned...

1. Taking the Shine Off
My newly base painted Shermans look a little too factory fresh for my liking. Sure, they might have looked something like this fresh straight off the landing craft (if not so glossy) but I prefer the dustier 'seen some action' look to my tanks.

So, the first job is to take the shine off by applying a very light overall wash of Citadel's lovely Agrax Earthshade. I dilute the wash slightly with some water as I want a soft surface dirt effect and not the deeply ingrained mucky look that neat Agrax normally gives...

The wash effect is subtle, but it just scuffs off the shine so they don't look like
brand new tanks. The wash also defines some of the detail (like a sort of pre-
pin wash) and you could leave your tanks like this, as if they were just off
the landing craft. But I want to go a step further - say D-Day + 30 days.

This stage is - in effect - a 'pre-weathering' preparation, so I conclude this phase with a light coat of gloss varnish to protect and preserve it.

Next: Stage 2 - Staining & Streaking with Oils.

15mm Scale Shermans

Time to slap some paint on the little M4A3 Sherman models I got in the  GF9 TANKS starter set. I'm not going to town with these, I pretty much want a generic vanilla US Army Sherman without all the bells and whistles (so no applique armour or hodge-podge of stowage).

This should be as simple and easy a modelling project as it gets and takes me right back to when I started modelling again as my first kit was a very unsophisticated 1/72 Armourfast M4A3...

It will be interesting to see how the little 15mm Shermans compare to the above attempt as - for simplicity of detail - both makes of model have a lot in common and are designed to do the same job, just in different scales.

I primed my GF9 M4s (make by Battlefront, I believe) with Humbol Olive Drab acrylic spray - as I no longer have an airbrush, so it's back to basics. This is a lovely warm, slightly yellow tone, US OD, and as usual, the Humbrol paint goes on nice and smooth despite coming out a rattle can...

I chose to prime these models in their main sub-assembly groups, rather than a complete model. This is mainly so I can get at all the fiddly nooks and crannies in the track components. I masked off parts of the components that I knew I would later want to glue together with poly glue.

After priming I started to pick out all the black base coat areas and bits that I wanted an underlying coat of black (like the tools). I'm trying out a black base for the tracks, as Sherman's tracks are characterised by large black rubber pads over the steel links. We'll see how that goes (they will be finished off with a coat of mud anyway.)

Once everything is base painted it's time for a quick coat of gloss and then the addition of the decals. The GF9 TANKS starter set does not include any decals, which is a wee bit annoying but I guess they are aiming the game at people who are maybe not so interested in modelling as gaming?

Luckily, I had plenty of spare US Army stars in my scraps box, the only downside is the set I have has no 'US ARMY' & vehicle registration number decals for the side (towards the rear). However, I had it in mind that I wanted these Shermans to be pretty generic/anonymous so I could use them as a basis for any Western Allied force I build (US Army, US Marines, French, Polish, British Commonwealth), so not having the 'US ARMY' lettering is a good thing...

A light squirt of gloss varnish over the decals to seal them and that's a job done. The gloss also is the preparatory coat for the next stage which is streaking and staining with oil paints.

Next: The 'weathering' phase...We are getting there!