Tamiya 1/35 scale M24 Chaffee Tank Crews

I reckon I should also include the tank driver. Fortunately, I was able to find a spare crew from Tamiya 35347 US Tank Crew Set (ETO). 

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya 1/35 scale M24 Chaffee Tank Crews

I guess I could not resist taking a stab at painting the tank crews from Tamiya's new M24 Chaffee, released earlier this year. I base-coated the figures with Tamiya paints thinned with AK Perfect Cleaner. No primer or flat coat was necessary, as Tamiya acrylics seem to adhere quite well to the bare plastic. 

Once the base colours had cured, I used AK Interactive’s 3rd Gen and Quick Gen paints to render the highlights and shadows. It feels as though everything has come full circle. After years of priming in black followed by a grey/white zenithal overspray, I've returned to starting directly with the base colour and working my way toward the darkest and brightest values 

The game changer for me was employing AK's Ultra Matt Varnish and 3Gen Thinner as painting mediums in lieu of water. These two items are quintessential to my workflow, as they help to resolve the one big problem surrounding painting with acrylics, water marks. If you are reading this blog post, I strongly recommend that you try them. 

That said, I am currently preparing another painting article that showcases an update to my painting technique, so stay tuned. In the meantime, here are some photos of the tank crews completed in under 6 hours. 

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya 1/35 German Infantry Set (MID-WWII) - 35371

I just managed to just get this completed in time for SMC later next week.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya 1/35 German Infantry Set (MID-WWII) - 35371

Moving on to the third figure from this set, precariously perched on a pipe from MiniArt Models. 

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya 1/35 German Infantry Set (MID-WWII) - 35371

Moving on to the second figure in this set, applying the exact same painting workflow as the first.

The key distinction here is the stone-grey trousers—a subtle historical detail that pins this figure specifically to the early stages of Operation Barbarossa during the Battle of Kiev, Summer 1941.

Cheers,

Calvin

Alpine Miniatures - Panzerschütze, LSSAH, Kursk 1943 - 2

 All done for this piece.

Cheers,

Calvin

Replicating Brass Metal - Fast, Easy and Effective

This is a short tutorial on how to replicate a rather convincing "mock" brass metal finish on a plastic injection-moulded brass cartridge. The brass cartridges are from MiniArt 35375 7.5 cm Sprgr., Nbgr. & Pzgr. Patr. Kw.K.40 (Stu.K.40) SHELLS WITH AMMO BOXES. 

A deep hole is drilled into the cartridge and plugged into a cocktail stick for easy handling. 

AK Interactive RCM032 Gun Metal is applied as an undercoat. 

A 2:1 mixture of Tamiya Clear Orange and Clear Blue is prepared and thinned with AK Perfect Clearer and airbrushed over the Gun Metal undercoat. Working in such a manner allows subtle variations of tones to be developed, creating a more random and natural appearance of brass. 

The finshed result placed alongside an actual brass rod.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya 1/35 German Infantry Set (MID-WWII) - 35371

The completed figure is presented on a scenic groundwork made up of elements found in my scrap box. Some final additions included auxiliary Y-straps and a helmet elastic band, both fashioned from epoxy putty. After reconsidering the timeline, I decided to repaint the trousers in field grey to better fit a late-1942 setting. This was definitely a fun project, and I look forward to painting the next few figures from this set in the near future.

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya 1/35 German Infantry Set (MID-WWII) - 35371

I was only midway through painting when I realized I’d forgotten to separate the fingers, but it wasn't a big problem.

As you can see, one of the limitations of the injection molding process is that fine details—like fingers—tend to appear fused together.

The spaces between the fingers are separated with a fine modelling saw from ManWah.

The sides of the fingers are bevelled with a scalpel blade

A modicum of Tamiya extra-thin cement as applied to soften the effects.

This is allowed to fully set before undercoating with AK Interactive Flat Varnish RC801.

The fingers are repainted with colours from AK17526 Painting Skin Tone set by yours truely. 

Cheers,

Calvin

Tamiya 1/35 German Infantry Set (MID-WWII) - 35371

Here is a quick rundown on the painting of the equipment. 

The breadbag was painted in Field Drab (AK11435). For the canteen, the cup was painted Black (AK11029) while the felt cover was base-coated in Mud Brown (AK11120); Light Earth (AK11115) was then thinned with Ultra Matt Varnish and stippled over the base to simulate the fabric's natural texture. Finally, both the gas mask canister and mess tin were base-coated in Black Green (AK11160) and highlighted with a 3:1 mix of Black Green and Light Green (AK11411).

Next, the mess tin and gas mask canister were shaded with Quick Gen Field Grey (AK17072). Surface wear and chafing were simulated by dabbing on Basalt Grey (AK11021) and White Grey (AK11003), both thinned with Ultra Matt Varnish. Finally, the wooden handle of the entrenching tool was undercoated with Light Earth (AK11115).

Cheers,

Calvin

Compatibility Test between AK Interactive and Tamiya Acrylics - A "Highball" Experiment

In early May, I ran an experiment to test the compatibility of Tamiya acrylics with AK Interactive’s 3Gen and Quick Gen paints. It led to some interesting discoveries, which I'd like to share with you.

Tamiya acrylics have been a market staple since the 1980s, yet they’ve always been notoriously difficult to brush paint—mainly because a second coat usually strips the first. Using AK Interactive 3rd Gen Thinner (AK11500) completely solves this. It thins the paint beautifully while subduing its corrosive properties, enabling seamless layering over previous coats.

Pair that with using AK’s Ultra Matt Varnish as a medium to boost translucency and eliminate watermarks, and the workflow transforms entirely. This discovery has allowed me to yield better results in a fraction of the time.

The test subject is a 1/35 scale figure from Tamiya's German Infantry Set (Mid-WWII, item 35371). The figure was primed using AK Interactive’s Real Colors lacquer-based Flat Varnish (RC801) to create a porous tooth without adding unnecessary paint thickness.

• Tunic: Undercoated with Tamiya XF-65 Field Grey. Shading was done with Quick Gen Field Grey (AK17072) thinned with 3rd Gen Thinner. Highlights were applied using a mix of XF-65 Field Grey and Lilac (AK11071), thinned with Ultra Matt Varnish (AK11252). Additional highlights are made by adding Luminous Flesh (AK11051) to the initial highlight mixture.

• Trousers: Undercoated with Tamiya XF-63 German Grey. Shaded with Quick Gen (AK17071), and highlighted with a mixture of XF-63 and Lilac (AK11071) thinned with Ultra Matt Varnish (AK11252). 

• Helmet: Undercoated with a 3:2 mix of XF-63 German Grey and XF-65 Field Grey.

• Collar: Undercoated with XF-61 Dark Green and shaded with Quick Gen Space Dark Green (AK17019).

• Webbing & Ammo Pouches: Undercoated with Tenebrous Grey (AK11026) and shaded using Quick Gen Black (AK17047).

I will elaborate on the painting of the web equipment on the next update, so stay tuned.

Cheers,

Calvin