Clayton has already given us a very nice construction article on his Takom M3 Grant Medium tank. and today he is back with a completed kit and a different take on his Australian training tank in a slightly different training scenario. see how it came out in his step by step guide.
Painting & Weathering Guide: British M3 Grant Medium Tank
Product No # 20861/35th scale
4 different marking options
From Takom's distributors Worldwide
Price: ¥4,640/ $42.96 USD/ €36.61/ $56.88 AUD/ £32.45 GBP From Hobbylink Japan
With construction complete, (Link here) I now move on to the painting and weathering stage.
As mentioned in the build review, from the outset, I was planning on painting this in the scheme of the 2/10 Armoured Regiment, 1st Australian Armoured Division. Whilst the Australian Grants were only essentially ever used for training, the pull to build something Australian was too great for me to deny, so I set about getting some paint down on the model. I would later try and create a little vignette with a play on the ‘training theme’, but more on that later.
Because the tank was a training vehicle, I was conscious not to over-weather the model. In reality, the tanks would have been reasonably well maintained, so restraint was in order.
We left the model at the priming stage at the end of the build review.
The model was primed using the AMMO One Shot Primer – White. This is a really impressive product and I highly recommend it.
Pre-shading is something I generally do as a first stage, although every time I do it, I end up wondering if it was worth the time. I find with armour, most of the tones tend to get lost during the layering of the weathering elements, so whilst I have pre-shaded this model, I am reconsidering this stage for future models. That said, I do find this step enjoyable, as it acquaints me with the shapes and the flow of the model.
The pre-shading was done using a thinned mix of Tamiya Rubber Black
A.MIG 113, Khaki Green No.3 for British Army 1939-1942, is now freehand sprayed in the appropriate positions as shown on the colour plate provided in the kit. I was surprised at how dense the pigment in the paint was and how solid the coverage was. I was conscious not to build it up too much as I wanted to keep some variation in the finish.
A.MIG 061, Warm Sand Yellow is now used to fill in the gaps. This layer was carefully built up with a thinned mix of the colour in an attempt to hold some of that pre-shading. Care was taken where the two colours met so as not to overspray the yellow onto the green.
It was now time to assemble the pre-painted tracks and fit them to the model. The kit comes with a jig for the top section of the track in order to achieve the appropriate rise onto the drive sprocket.
I did fight with these link and length tracks a little I have to confess, and I did use one less link than suggested in the instructions. I really could have used a half link or the ability to adjust wheel positions. On paper, the link and length tracks sound like a great idea, but in reality, I never seem to be able to get them how I would like to see them. Maybe I am doing something wrong…
That said, It wasn’t drastic, more frustrating than anything. Here you see the tracks and sand guards fitted to the model.
I felt the contrast in the two camouflage colours wasn’t presenting how I was hoping, so I made a mix of the base green, A.MIG 113 and A.MIG 112, and set about deepening the colour.
Then, using a heavily thinned mix of A.MIG 070, the camouflage pattern was further deepened. Subtle vertical streaking was added using the airbrush in a downward motion.
The model then received a satin varnish and the decals were fitted. Micro Sol was used to further help the decals settle on the surface of the model.
Another coat of satin varnish, and after leaving it to dry, the model received a basic line wash using a thinned ‘Industrial Earth’ colour oil paint.
To add a bit of interest, the stowage rails running along the sides of the tank were chipped using a dark grey colour and dabbed on using a sponge. By masking the piece as seen in the photo, you can achieve an interesting effect and focus your chipping to just the one section of the model.
Light, superficial scratching is now brush painted on using a lightened mix of the Warm Sand yellow. By diluting the paint we can make the dry paint soften out and blend in well with the painted finish.
I now use my new favourite thing, the liquid chrome pen for the headlights.
Using the Buff Oilbrusher from Ammo, I now look to extract a little more tonal variation from the horizontal surfaces of the model. By applying a very small amount and then blending the paint using white spirit, variation can be achieved.
Two quick coats of hairspray are now applied, and a treatment of A.MIG 105, Washable dust in now sprayed along the lower edges of the model.
Using an old moistened brush and a downward motion, the dust-coloured paint is now carefully removed. The muddied effect is quite convincing.
The model now receives a little more weathering through pigments and oil paints on the lower surfaces of the model. Given this tank was used for training only, I was conscious to show some restraint on this one.
In an attempt to add a little texture and mud to the bottom of the model, A.MIG 2102 Acrylic Mud was stippled on using an old brush.
A couple of minor touch-ups and the model was done.
Here it is in some closer in detail
Given the tank was a training vehicle, I wanted to come up with a way to play on that theme and display it on a simple base. I stumbled upon this Masterbox figure and had the dog in the stash and felt these figures created the play on words I was looking for. I wanted to convey a different type of training going on on the tank, that of the canine variety.
I call this one ‘Training Day’.
It’s funny the things you pick up in the pictures but miss in real life. There are a few things I will go back and touch upon the model, for example, I forgot to paint the rear lights! Overall, I am reasonably happy with how it turned out.
One of my goals this year was to build more Australian subjects, so thank you to Takom for the M3 Grant, as it helped me achieve that goal.
I really like the simplicity of this kit. I guess no interior will deter some, but for me, it was a nice quick build and an enjoyable model to build and paint.
So, what’s next Takom? A Canadian RAM perhaps??
Thanks to Takom for this kit to build and review
Thanks also to the tea at AMMO for sending Clayton the paints & weathering tools he used with this kit
See more of Clayton’s work at his website “Workbench Hobbies” or join him on his Facebook page
