ARMOR BASICS

This is my normal construction sequence:
• I first build the entire hull. First the lower hull, then the upper hull, and I attach the two. Any filling and sanding to be done, is therefore done prior to painting the two hull halves. With the exception of the bogie wheels, I glue on every part that is going to be painted the same color as the base hull color, as long as it won't interfere with ease of handling the model.
• I then build the entire turret following the same guidelines as the hull.
• After the main construction is complete, I paint the vehicle. I paint the hull, the turret, and the bogie wheels while they are still on the sprue. I apply the wash to everything, and then the overcoat of paint, and drybrush. (See article on painting for some simple painting suggestions.)
• After the painting, I cut the wheels off the sprues, clean them up, and then paint the tires, if necessary, repeating the wash and drybrushing for them. While they dry, I paint the tracks, usually while on their sprue. After everything is dry, I then attach the wheels to the hull, followed by the tracks. If there are any final parts to be attached, such as tools or tow cables, I paint them separate, and then attach them to the vehicle.
• Now that assembly is complete, I touch up wherever the paint needs it (like where the track links were glued together, etc.). Then it is time to weather the vehicle. First, I apply any decals that are needed. It's important to put on the decals before the weathering, so they get weathered too. Else they will look fake. As for stowage, it depends on what you want for the final look. Some you may want to attach before the weathering, some after. Remember, anything that you attach after weathering will look new.
• However, with the advent of the hard plastic link-and-length style of tracks, I find myself sometimes following the proscribed sequence for ease of assembly of the tracks, but then it really screws up the logical painting sequence. I end up painting the two hulls, glueing them together after I attach the painted wheels and tracks, and then touching up the hull join areas, while masking off the tracks.
• I find that it is very difficult to attach the tracks to vehicles that have overhanging side hull sponsons that cover the tops of the bogie wheels. In instances such as these, it is actually easier to glue on the tracks before attaching the upper hull. Unless, of course, the side sponsons are actually part of the lower hull, as is the case with Revell's new Tiger kits (one of my few complaints about those kits).
• That sums up the basic construction procedure

ARMOR PAINTING

Having said that, here now, is my method for painting small-scale armored vehicles:
• I leave off the wheels and tracks until after painting (see article on construction). I paint the wheels while on the sprue, touching them up after I cut them off. I completely build the tank (sans wheels, tracks and stowage), and paint the base color. Follow your airbrush instructions to obtain a nice, even coverage of the vehicle. I never use a primer, I know that many people do, but for some reason, I've just never been motivated to do so. If the model is clean (wash gently in soapy water prior to painting), then you should have no problems getting the paint to adhere well to the plastic.
• I normally use Polly Scale acrylic paints, the "New Polly S." Don't let anybody tell you that this is the same paint as the old Polly S, because it is a completely new formulation, and is incompatible with the old paint. I also use some AeroMaster acrylics (which is licensed paint from Polly Scale, but toned down for scale effect) because I only airbrush acrylics. I've never had any adhesion problems with these paints. In fact, they are some of the best paints I have ever used. I have tried a single color of the new Testors Acryl line of acrylic paints, and was very impressed with the brand.
• After painting the base color, I apply the wash. Here's the trick to a good wash... don't be delicate, trying to only get the wash in the crevices and nooks. Baste the entire model in the stuff as you would a turkey. It will seep down into all the little nooks and crannies, but also leave unsightly puddles in all the open areas. Don't worry about those, we take care of them later. Just make sure you get the wash in all the places you need it.
• Considerations about the wash: I have been on a quest for the past several years to come up with the best wash, i.e., the best solvent and paint combination. I have tried just about everything I can find in all the art stores, and have settled on the same stuff that I was taught to use by a member in my former model club. Perhaps this guy went through the same trial and error as I did. For the solvent I use an odorless turpentine called Terpenoid, which you can get in any good art store like Michaels, Pearl, Hobby Lobby, etc. For the paint, I use artist's oil paints. They have a much finer pigment than do model paints. I've tried several different brands to find the one with the finest pigment, but they all seem to be the same. The combination still isn't perfect. I still occasionally get clumping of pigment sometimes, but these are the best that I've found. If anybody has a great combination that they think works very well, I'd enjoy hearing about it.
• I normally use only two colors for washes: black and burnt umber. The black is used on vehicles that are painted panzer gray, and for browns and greens like Russian green, olive drab, khaki drab, etc. The burnt umber is used on panzer yellow, and all the tan colors like middlestone, sand, etc. It's also good for rust on the tracks, but sometimes I make a special wash of rust red for rusted tracks. An advantage to using an oil-based wash, is that it does not attack the acrylic paint beneath it.
• After the wash is completely dry, the next step is the highlight coat of paint; this highlight serves two purposes: it gets rid of all the wash puddles, and it weathers the vehicle. Use the same paint that you used for the base coat, but add some white to it. With the fine nozzle on the airbrush, carefully spray this lightened color onto all the open areas of the tank, like the glacis plate, turret roof, hatches, anywhere away from the nooks and crannies. I pull the brush away from the kit, and ever so lightly spray the lightened paint over the whole thing. Basically, use it to get rid of any wash stains that you don't want.
• Highlight paint considerations: The person who taught me this technique would buy two jars of the same color paint, and add a few drops of white to one of the jars, and use that jar for the highlights. I don't do this for two reasons. 1) I don't use enough paint to warrant two jars of each color. They'd go bad before I got around to using it all. 2) No matter how close the colors may look, it is possible to get colors that are ever so slightly different. Unless the jars came from the same batch of paint in the factory, this is always a risk. What I do is lighten the paint right in the airbrush cup. I add one or two drops of white and mix well. Don't add too much, or the colors won't match anymore, and don't add too little, or you won't be able to tell a difference from the base coat. Sometimes, you may want to repeat this process a couple of times, each time, lightening the paint a little more.
• The next step is to drybrush. Again, I've been looking for the best way of doing this. Sometimes using acrylic paint works well, but other times, it seems that I get the best results by using an oil paint. Perhaps climate plays a part in this, and acrylics work best on very humid days. I'm not sure. Many armor builders I've met use pure white for drybrushing, but I think that tends to be too light. I instead use a very light gray. This is only for sharp edges, like along joints on the turret and hull edges, or any sharp, pointy protuberances. For rounded, softer, raised areas, like the mound-shape ventilator covers on Russian tanks, I use a very lightened shade of the base coat instead. Again, you may want to repeat this step more than once, using lighter shades each time.
• The final step is chalk weathering. I have some artist pastel chalks (earthtones and black, grays and white) that I scrape into a powder with my putty knife, and apply with a very stiff bristled brush. This is good for simulating dirt, rust, dust and exhaust stains. The wheels on my Revell Tiger H have a lot of pastel weathering.
• An extra step that I do on occasion is to highlight the tank with my metalizer buffing cloth. You're familiar with Testor's Metalizer? I spray it on aircraft for bare-metal finishes, and buff it with a paper towel. I use the same paper towel, with the metalizer residue on it, and buff portions of the tank, rubbing the residue on it, sort of like drybrushing. It's an excellent technique to make the vehicle look as though the paint is wearing off. Great for hinges, or high traffic areas like around hatches and whatnot. This is also an effective technique for the cannon muzzles.
• To prepare the vehicle for storage, or display, I use a flat clear coat. After I wash, and highlight, I apply the decals if any. Then I'll spray on the dullcote, either before or after the drybrushing, usually before. Putting on the chalk after the decals is an excellent way of making the markings blend into the overall "grungy" appearance of the vehicle. As for which dullcote to use, I find it difficult to control the spray cans of Testors Dullcote. I tried airbrushing the same product, but with dismal results. I've tried every brand of clear flat that I could find, including some intended for model railroading. I've found that once again, Polly Scale (or AeroMaster Warbird Acrylics) Clear Flat gives the best, and "dullest" results. Most of the others come out with a semi-gloss or satiny appearance. A warning: do NOT use Tamiya Flat Base. This is not a clear flat coating, but rather an additive that you add to other colors to make them flat. I didn't know that when I bought it. I sprayed a 1/72nd Ki-44 Shoki with it, and the whole thing turned pure white, like frost. I was able to rub most of it off with a towel, but I couldn't get it out of all the crevices and panel lines. It actually makes the plane look very dusty, like it's operating from a desert airfield. I've been tempted to try it on a tank as either a winter whitewash, or a coating of desert dust, but I'm scared to try.
• And that does it. Sometimes I'm very happy with the results; other times, not so much. I usually end up botching at least one of the steps. But usually one poor step can be concealed by good application of the other steps. One big complication to the entire shootin' match is camouflage. I usually paint the base coat, add the camouflage color, then wash the entire vehicle, but highlight the two colors separately. It's pretty tricky. For colors that normally would require different wash colors (like Panzer Yellow, Green and Brown), I take the easy route and just use black for the entire vehicle

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