Presidents Holiday Hand Paint Session, or You can go to war with the army you want

February 14th - 18th
∆ Middle Stone on tank tracks & touch up. Did not have Model Color Middle Stone, so used Model Air and Dunkelgleb surface primer
∆ Painted black on wheels of Trucks, Vehicles, and tracks.  Used heavy diluted black and other mixes.
∆ Paint soviet truck windows.
∆ Paint soviet trucks canvas covers in base coat. One in Khaki the other in Khaki Grey
∆ Dry Brush 15mm & 1/72nd soviets.


References:

This is video that inspired me to thin black paint for painting wheels:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm2ZPgRjlfI
Guide on how to paint tank track wheels(search"painting model wheels): http://www.scalemodelguide.com/painting-weathering/painting-guide/paint-rubber-rims-tank-wheels/
Painting windows on 15mm trucks FOW:  http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=110&art_id=727
complete paint & weathering of 15mm tank: http://modelbrush.com/videotutorial-tanks-15mm/

Misc:
Airbrush equip review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qnpLk-lukQ

MLK Tank Taco Airbrush Sessions

I do not know if Martin Luther King would approve of my hobby of creating a German vs Russian hate fest at Kursk in 15mm, but he may approve of the peaceful stress relieving effects the en-devour has on me after a week of fireworks at work.
 January and a Santa Ana was forecast and I was going to make a push on the hobby front

Saturday 1/17/2015
My original idea was to be spraying early (10am), but state worker Friday got in the way.  After a week of strategic sent eMails, I needed to blow off some steam, and a bunch of beers with a co-worker at home got in the way of my prep.  So Saturday morning, I spent prepping multiple models using hot glue techniques to adhere models to sticks that I stab into styrofoam for holding models in place. It was not till about 1:45 that I started spraying. I first started off with priming some 15mm soviets in Vallejo Dunkelgleb Surface Primer. I wanted to do a light spray, however I ended up giving figure a heavy base, that dried fine.   The airbrush worked well, the pressure was around 20-18psi
Next I started on the German AFV's. Originally I wanted to do a mix of 1:1 Vallejo Middlestone to Yellow Ochre, however I spent so much time prepping that I did not to have much day left, so I decided just to go with straight middlestone over primer of dunkelgleb surface primer, which I'm not sure was needed (not sure if there is reason not to treat surface primer like regular Model Air Paint)
   The temperature started dropping fast in my outdoor painting set up and the brush started clogging sporadically while spraying. The brush seem to stop spraying (hard to see when paint is being laid on model) at times, so I started pulling off the tip (i was using grey general purpose tip) and brushing the back of the tip with a brush soaked in airbrush cleaner and then putting tip back on and blowing cleaner thru brush.  However, I think that between the temperature dropping and the air getting much dryer, the Air Brush was clogging easier than usual.  I pushed the session until I finished all the german vehicles in middlestone.


List of Sprayed Items
Below: sprayed with Vallejo Surface Primer/Dunkelgleb RAL 7028  German Dark Yellow
35x PSC 15mm Soviet Infantry on 10 sticks
1x Zvezda 1/72 Soviet mortar team 
Below: sprayed with Vallejo model Air Middlestone 71.031 
 2x Zvezda 15mm Sd.kfz 251
1X Zvezda 15mm Pz.kpfw III
1x Zvezda 15mm Stug. III Ausf. B
1x Zvezda 15mm Pz IV Ausf. D (Camo pattern over Panzer Grey)
1x Armourfast 1/72nd Panther

Armourfast 1/72nd Panther Middlestone base

Zvezda 15mm Camo

Zvezda 15mm 251's

Sunday 1/18/2015
On Saturday I did not get to spray any green on the soviet vehicles, and that was main reason I was motivated keep spraying.  I started spraying at around 11am till about 1:40pm. The bush worked well the whole session, with no clogging.   It was warmer and I was also more organized, so spraying went smoother
List of Sprayed Items
Below: sprayed with Vallejo MA 1:1 ratio Russian Green 71.017 to Yellow Ochre 71.033 (did about 70drips of paint into paint cup with about a 1:6 ratio Paint thinner to Paint Mix.
 2x Zvezda 15mm T-34/76 (1940) : Info from Tim's Tank PART 1 & PART 2
2x Zvezda 15mm ZIS-5 3-ton truck
1x Zvezda BA-10: INFO from Tim's Tank.
1x 1x Zvezda British Matilda II (Lend Lease)

Below: sprayed with Vallejo MA 5:1:1 ratio(very ruff estimate) Yellow Ochre to Russian Green to Sand(Ivory)
1x Zvezda 1/72  Soviet 82mm mortar crew Link  I wanted to change the base color, want to green up Soviet base. So this is a test that will have Army Painter medium tone brushed on
9x figures Plastic Soldier Company 15mm Soviet Infantry. LINK I wanted to change the base color, want to green up Soviet base. So this is a test that will have Army Painter medium tone brushed on.

I'm happy with the 1:1 mix color on all the soviet, including these soviet trucks

Test of shooting on sprue

old color new mix comparison

BA-10 with missing headlight

Bottom upright figures are middlestone rest are mix with more green&Yellow Ochre

WHAT WAS NOT SPRAYED
1x Zvezda 15mm German Truck
3x Canvas truck bed tops for zvezda german & soviet trucks   To be a gray canvas look for german and Khaki for 2 soviet trucks

Test spray during sunday session of Russian Green & Yellow Ochre. Top pie is 1:1 ration, and below is a serendipitous mixture of same colors with some Ivory.

Hand painted Model Air paint sample. Top pie slice picked for Soviet AFV's

Hand painted Model Air's dark yellows & greens sample

Misc. References:
∆ Most Excellent Dunkelgleg Flames of war comparison:  Excellent post - http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=110&art_id=454
∆ Sd.Kfz.251D's by PSC from Tim's Tank Blog:  PART 1,  PART 2,  PART 3, and Part 4 HERE. This is great explanation of the complete process! Tim's Tanks BLOG also demo's Zvezda 15mm Sd.Kfz 251B HERE. Also find most of the Zvezda 1/100 WWII under the TAG "Zvezda 15mm".
∆  Lightspeed on the Wrong Lane...  blog with the tag "1/100 soviet " HERE. This is really great stuff in 15mm and lots of PSC figures used.

Zvezda 15mm_1/100 Soviet BA-10 Armored Car

Comments:

History:

Reviews:

Samples:

Progress: 1x 1/2 built. headlight went flying and is currently MIA

PRODUCT REVIEWS
Product:

Pro's:

Con's:

Conclusion:

Recommendations: Create netting inclosure to contain super tiny parts when they eventually go flying into orbit.

Zvezda 15mm_1/100 WWII German Sd.Kfz.251 Ausf.B German Personnel Carrier

Comments:

Internet Ref: HERE http://spottinground.com/15-mm-sd-kfz-2511-model-comparison/

Check this site, and make regular?: http://spottinground.com/


History:

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Progress:2x Built ready for priming

PRODUCT REVIEWS
Product:

Pro's:

Con's: tiniest parts need 4x glass or stronger, Very light for wargaming ( needs weights )

Conclusion:

Recommendations:

Merry X-mas from Tank Taco

It was a good Xmas. My son received a HO scale train that has been running in circle all Christmas long. He gave me a Tank from the local drug store (CVS) as a gift that turned out to be a Panzer IV, which turned out to be the same tank that I had just bought a Osprey Publication as a gift to my self.   It's a Xmas miracle!

Another Christmas miracle was getting some free time to put on test coat of Army Painter Quick Shade (Medium). It was a make or break moment for the future of me in this hobby, since my last attempt at shading with varnish was a horrible flop (the horror). But as I brushed on Quick Shade on to the only painted 15mm & 1/72 I had, which I had toiled over for far too long, and as the room was filled with the smell of turpentine cleaner & my sole was filled with the Xmas spirit, a Miracle happened once more, with the successful QuickShading of the figures, and thus an extension of my hobby pursuits into the future.

1/72 PSC MiddleStone 5:1 basecoat

Revell 1/72 LightGreenGrey basecoat

The Three Wise Men in 15mm. Bearing Gifts

Post & Pre QuickShade. Modle Air LightGreyGreen 4:1 w/white

1/72 & 15mm PSC Soviets MiddleStone 4:1 basecoat

1/72 Minwax Horror

15mm Soviet Horrors

15mm PSC German fighting dead, The HORROR!

Post Tanksgiving Airbrush Session

Comments:Well started of the day wanting to do a bit more spraying learning more & getting a few more things sprayed while the weather was rather dry & before I did some hand painting

Things I encountered during session:
* started with black tip on new airbrush, but after a while it seemed to clog, and I changed to white tip and then latter to grey tip, both which worked well. I'm still not sure that I clogged the black tip, maybe the ratio of air pressure and other factor may have caused issue. -- need to check out black tip to see if I can dial it in --
** started session with a mix of black & white to make grey, and started with black and then added the white, which now seems wrong. FROM NOW ON, start with white and then add black to get to the medium light grey that works best for priming
*** The "3 in 1 Airbrush Cleaning Pot" was a great buy and has sped up the process of cleaning airbrush between color changes and at the end of the session greatly.

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Happy Tanksgiving 2014 from Tank Taco

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1/72 Armourfast Panther G revisited

Although my focus is currently 15mm, however I could not resist working on this 1/72nd  Panther G form Armourfast.

 Tacks painted for pre base airbrushing. 

Since the model was primed on the sprue, I had to spend time prepping model for gluing.

Oops... Redundant Zvezda 15mm_1/100 Pz.Kpfw. III G & T-34 purchases for Battle Group Kursk

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Zvezda 15mm_1/100 WWII German Assault Gun Stug.III Ausf.B

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Zvezda 15mm_1/100 WWII German Flame Thrower Tank Pz.Kpfw

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Zvezda 15mm_1/100 Soviet Heavy Tank KV-2

Comments: Hoping to use in BGK

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Zvezda 15mm_1/100 British Infantry Tank MATILDA II (Soviet lend/lease)

Comments: to be lend/lease tank for BGK

History:

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Samples:

Progress:Assembled but broke off turret while rotating. May add magnets for turret

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Hasegawa 1/72nd WWII German Sd.Kfz.7 Eight Ton Half Track

Comments: When I was younger, this was my favorite model. 

History: Wikipedia.org

Reviews: 1/72 Depot: 1-72depot.com 

ScaleMates***: scalemates.com 

Samples: Henk of Holland: "HENK OF HOLLAND"

Progress: Un-Washed

August 1st thru 4th Airbrush Session: Results & Info

PSC 1/72nd figure in Vallejo RAL 7028 Dark Yellow Surface Primer

Handy TT Uniform Info: for Germans HERE and Soviets HERE

Armourfast 1/72nd StuIG in Vallejo RAL 7028 Dark Yellow Surface Primer

Armourfast 1/72nd StuIG in Vallejo Model Air Panzer Olive Green with Silly Putty for 2nd color

Various paint subjects: 1/100th Sd.kfz.222, 1/72nd StugIII body, StuIG 33B w/ Camo pattern, 1/72nd Soviet figures

1/72nd StugIII ready for spray with Middle Stone

1/100 Sd.kfz.222 with Silly Putty mask

HAT 1/72nd German anti tank gun crew in Vallejo Light Gret Green (straight ratio)

Figure on Parade, various colors & shades

Aug 2nd Airbrush Session

Shot the following colors:

1)Vallejo Dark Yellow Surface Primer 7028. used on StuIG 33B & Soviet figures

2) Vallejo Model Air "Middle Stone" used on Soviet figures

3) Vallejo Model Air Surface Primer " German Brown". On Hat German WWII anti Tank Gun.

4)  Vallejo Model Air Surface Primer " Russian Green". Used on German soldiers & 1/32nd soviet soldier

5)  Vallejo Model Air "Light Green Grey".  Used on German soldier figures. Looks very close to Tamiya Field Grey.

Aug. 3rd 2013 Session 

1) Light Grey Green @ 5:1 ratio on 1/72 & 15mm german figures

2) Panzer Olive Green 71.096 Ratio Straight on StuIG 33B as camo & Stug III as base color. Also on HAT german anti tank gun (after german light brown surface primer)

3) Middle Stone @ 4:1 ratio

Aug. 4th 2013 Session

1) Panzer Olive Green - straight w/ .5 white tip.  Shot StugIII gun & 222 car camo

2) Light Grey Green 4:1 ratio w/ .5 white tip on German figures

3) Middle Stone 5:1 ratio w/ .5 white tip on soviet figures. Went through Middle Stone fast also temp cooled down & Moister increased and paint seemed to go on oddly. 

What We Learned:

A)  Found out that Tamiya field grey is the same as Model Air Light Green Grey Are basically the same.

B)  Vallejo Model Air Surface Primer Dark Yellow  RAL 7028 is The Same as Model Air "Middle Stone" may be Middle Stone is slightly brighter

• May have thinned paint too much sometimes usually 5 parts Paint to 1 part airbrush thinner. worked well with surface primer but not as well with regular Model Air.

• Small tip ( .4 black tip) seemed to have a more lumpy application on test CD's

• Ran air pressure between 22 - 18psi. raised to 30psi+ when cleaning brush

• Cleaning brush & Tips went very well this session

• almost messed up on ratio, was a little confused at first and had effect of ratio backward for a minute or so.

• had problems with Lighting. light was splotchy and hard to see model also background sometime it hard to see

• • had problems with holding models to hold sticks. need to work out better system.

• • had problems with moister around 5:30-6pm

••• Soviet color combo to try = Vallejo mix 75% US Dark green + 25% white. = 3:1 mix

August 2nd 2013 Airbrush Session: Area 51 Jobe syndrome

Aztek $40 brush & 2new tips

Comments:
Shot the following colors:
 1)Vallejo Dark Yellow Surface Primer 7028

2) Vallejo Model Air "Middle Stone"

3) Vallejo Model Air Surface Primer " German Brown". On Hat German WWII anti Tank Gun.

4)  Vallejo Model Air Surface Primer " Russian Green". Used on German soldiers & 1/32nd soviet soldier

5)  Vallejo Model Air "Light Green Grey".  Used on German soldier figures. Looks very close to Tamiya Field Grey.

History:

Reviews:

What We Learned:
A)  Found out that Tamiya field grey is the same as Model Air Light Green Grey Are basically the same.
B)  Vallejo Model Air Surface Primer Dark Yellow  RAL 7028 is The Same as Model Air "Middle Stone" may be Middle Stone is slightly brighter

PRODUCT REVIEWS

Product: 

Pro's:

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Conclusion:

Cheepy Aztek brush on Badger holder.  Note: colr cup right befor I lost tiny black plug in lawn ( I knew I was going to loss a fiddily piece.)

Water Trap & Pressure Valve being held in place with Bogan Clamp&Arm, Works very well. Air Pressure worked well best between 22psi and 18psi. any lower that 18psi and tip clogged any higher and spray may splatter

Some of the session players

Some of the liquids involved. NOTE: brush which is dipped in Airbrush Thinner to keep tip clean, A MUST!

Spray Area Overview on Aug 2nd

More Info

Zvezda 15mm_1/100 WWII German Light Armored Car Sd.kfz.222

Comments: OK I'm on the edge. I Think I'm Going to commit to 15mm to build a Battlegroup Kursk (Ref&Video#1&#2) Army

History: Wikipedia, On WarWheels,

Reviews: Nice Review HERE,

Samples:

Progress: Purchased May 2013, still in box.