MXpression

Nº 5 - 2017

Director’s Cut

CENTURION
Chema Cabrero takes the AVF
Club Kit on a Korean Patrol

THE HUNT FOR RED

“Lucky Guys” ARMY WHIPPET
Turning plastic into metal
Part IV by Mario Eens

MXpression’s Free Online Modelling Magazine

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 CONTENTS EDITORIAL

A new issue, and yet

again a new modeller
A class not to miss…

we would like to present to

you. This time we proud- I n the post WW I era we
continue with the Red
03 Editorial ly introduce to you our Star Whippet. After we fin-
first Spanish contributor ished the ‘basic weather-
04 “Lucky Guys”, Part V to MXpression-Director’s ing’ last time, we now grad-
Taking care of the hardware Cut: ‘Chema Cabrero’. ually start adding the more
His name will undoubted- spectacular stuff. This is
24 “Red Army Whippet, Part IV” ly sound familiar to you where the real fun begins.
We move into the real fun part of the painting & weather- as Chema has been pub- Also Do keep an eye out
ing of the model. lishing internationally for for issue 6 when we can no
50 “Centurion” many years, meaning you longer put off adding the
Chema assembles and paints AFV Club’s Centurion tank will have seen his work decals and we take it all the
and adds Korean War markings. in several different publi- way and finish the model.
4 cations. As a successful Let the fun begin!
93 Impressum modeller he will add that
touch of ‘Mediterranean
“Class of ‘44”
flavour’ to your favourite
digital modelling maga-
zine.

I T
n his first contribution hanks for sharing &
subject matter moves see you next time!
into yet another era, the
Korean War theatre.

C ontinuing the WW II
theme, Robert Doepp
changes focus and starts
painting the figure bases
and shows us how to make
plastic look like steel. As
24 50 before with the painting
of the figures his minute
painting style will draw
“Rust and Dust” “Korea Patrol’”
you in closer and closer
and will change your look
at detail painting for ever.

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 “Lucky Guys”
Building two 1/16 scale vignettes from scratch -
This time the figure painting continues with the uniforms
Painting the
“Panther”-sections
I t is a widespread com-
mon sense among mod-
ellers that figures need
to be shaded to create a
convincing appearance,
even though the degree of
the chosen contrasts may
extremely vary.
T he “Color Modulation”
technique by Adam
Wilder and Miguel “Mig”
Jimenez is one of the ef-
forts to adapt shading to
painting vehicles as well.
It has been criticised as
being not realistic and I
agree that there are exam-
ples pushing colour varia-
tions to a limit, which does
no longer appear as a nat-
ural shading effect. But on
the other hand I am pretty
sure that the approach to
support the effect of light
and shadow on a scale
vehicle, which represents
a by far larger original, is
not less realistic than do-
ing the same with a scale
figure. An original piece
of clothing is coloured as
unique as an original tank
of course.
T hus in particular when
working on the vi-
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gnettes with the tank sec-
tions serving as a back-
ground for the figures it
did not make sense to me
to only shade the figures
and keep the surround-
ing parts unique coloured.
While painting the figures I
have tried to limit the con-
trasts in order to create
the impression of looking
at the effect of light and
shadow instead of a paint-
ed surface. Thus I have
followed the same line
with painting the tank sec-
tions as well. My aim was
to create a light and shad-
ow effect that would not
be apparent at first sight
as “Modulation Style”.
U ntil I have started
spraying the tank
sections I was not sure if
I should make both rep-
resent parts of the same
tank. As it had been nec-
essary to show the turret
sections in slightly differ-
ing positions the scenes
could not take place at the
same moment. It could
also have been interest-
ing to choose different
camouflage patterns, dif-
ferent coloured tactical
numbers..., but as both
by Robert Doepp
vignettes had kind of grew
up together I finally de-
cided to paint them in the
same way and make them
show the same tank - at
different moments. That is
why in the following I will
show all the parts of both
sections which were treat-
ed in a particular step at
the same time.
A) Spraying
L ike many others I
have started to thin
the Tamiya acrylics
with lacquer thinner in-
stead of the usual al-
cohol based one ever
since I have employed
the “Color Modulation”
technique. The lacquer
thinner will enhance the
spraying characteristics
of the Tamiya acrylics,
which is in particular
necessary for the ap-
plication of many paint
layers and doing so in
a misty way. Only for
spraying the semi-satin
acrylic varnish (Tam-
iya X-21/X-22) I still
use alcohol for dilution
because it makes the
colouration completely
insensitive to any lat-
Tamiya tape. After I had of “negative” masking the areas which would plied on a red primed
Part V
sprayed the area for the will limit the overspray not show camouflage or raw metal surface. To
tactical numbers with and any possible paint colours (Pic.3). This create a “modulation”
Tamiya XF-7 (Flat Red) damage from masking was mixed from Tami- effect I started to spray
I applied the stencils to the numbers instead ya XF-9 Hull Red, XF-7 these areas with a mix
(Pic.1) and sprayed the of the surrounding area Flat Red and XF-59 De- from Tamiya XF-2 Flat
white (Tamiya XF-2) for and so will significantly sert Yellow. White and XF-59 Sand
the outlines, which was
again masked with sten-
simplify any later cor-
rections. T he interior of Ger-
man tanks was
Yellow before I enlight-
ened them with straight
er treatment with white
cils cut from the slight-
ly translucent Tamiya
tape (Pic.2). This way
O nce all the mask-
ing had been done
I applied Primer Red to
mainly painted with an
ivory tone, which was
most likely brush ap-
XF-2 (Pic.4). Of course
an extremely light tone
like this leaves little
spirit.
T he spraying start-
ed with priming the
very few metal parts
with Humbrol Matt 01.
To keep the paint layer
as thin as possible I did Pic.1: Notice the grey primed
not prime all the rest. areas and the overspray
Afterwards I sprayed all from colouring the outer
the cut outer surfaces
with Tamiya XF-1 (Flat
Black) and sealed them
surfaces.
with acrylic varnish.
After drying I masked
them with Tamiya tape.
This is the easiest way
to get exactly sharp
transitions to the cam-
ouflaged areas.
A fterwards I proceed-
ed with making the
tactical numbers. I made
Pic.2: The result of the
a photo copy of a decal
sheet from the spare masking is stunningly good
box and fixed a piece of even though the uneven
thin transparent plastic surface of the “Zimmerit”
card, which once had has complicated it.
stiffened some packed
shirt, to it with Tamiya
tape. This made it rather
easy to cut stencils from
the transparent material.
These were afterwards
used to make a second
version of stencils from
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Pic.3: As far as I can see
the main components of
the original tanks were
usually delivered to the
manufacturers red primed.
While production some
parts were brush painted
before the entire tank
received a rough overspray
of “Sandgelb” (Sand Yellow)
after final assembly.
Pic.4: More and more
masking was needed to
seal all formerly coloured
areas from overspray.
Pic.5: I could not find clear
evidence of how the painting
in the factory was exactly terwards everything was
done. But the hull was
most likely not completely
painted in “Sandgelb”
before the turret was fixed
and I guess the turret was
not traversed while painting.
That is why I have made
stencils to mask the turrets
silhouette in 12´o´clock was the copula to the
position.
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room for variations. Af-
masked for the applica-
tion of the “Sandgelb”
base colour. Before the
differing shades were
sprayed the cooling air
outlet guard and the air
intake covers were pro-
visionally fixed to the
engine deck section as
turret to reach a realistic
masking effect (Pic.5).
Pic.6: The photo shows the
parts prepared for applying
the camouflage pattern.
Therefore the decal is fixed
to the fire extinguisher,
the turret escape hatch is
provisionally added and
the external stowage of
the second vignette is put
into place as well. Usually
the field application of a
camouflage pattern was
done rather rough and the
extra equipment was not
removed for that purpose.
Pic.7: The spare track
links are only provisionally
connected with plastic rod
sections.
I
n preparation of the more XF-57 Buff and acteristics if used with
“Color Modulation” I XF-2 Flat White. I was the original dilution and
mixed a medium base after a light and creamy in addition corrections
tone from approximate- appearance as I al- can be done using white
ly the same amount of ready had in mind the spirit, which hardly af-
Tamiya XF-57 Buff, XF- later toning down by the fects the lacquer thin-
59 Desert Yellow and “washing” with a dark ner diluted base colour.
XF-60 Dark Yellow. To and dirty looking colour Unfortunately I can not
create a darker shade I mix (Pic.6). remember the exact mix
F
added XF-52 Flat Earth or the application I have used for the cam-
and even some XF-1 of the camouflage ouflage patterns. But I
Flat Black. For the three pattern I used Humbrol am pretty sure that it is
lighter shades I added enamels. These provide not of high importance,
increasing amounts of great spraying char- because the colours
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 that were used for the
original field application,
were only provided as
pastes and their final
appearance depended
on the differing dilutions
that were employed
(water, fuel, turpentine).
In addition the German
troops made use of cap-
tured paints as well and
maybe even mixed them
with their owns. I chose
a sparingly applied pat-
tern in order to preserve
the “modulation” effect.
I used Revell enamels
(Matt 05, Matt 38) for
both which just perfectly
match the Tamiya col-
our shades (Pic.7). To
create a few markings
of interior details I could
rely on some PE-sten-
cils my friend Torben
Sanders had done.
They were sprayed with
heavily diluted Hum-
brol Matt 33 with very
low pressure (Pic.8).
A few retouches of
overspray, painting
varnish (Pic.9).
B) Weathering
Starting from a light ver-
sion of colours with only
the areas of chipped
“Zimmerit” keeping
the model from look-
ing brand new (Pic.11),
a “washing”- and
“dry-brushing”-treat-
ment was the first step
to overcome the new
appearance (Pic.12).
For the “washing” I
mixed several Revell
tion and afterwards with
tipped brushes of good
condition and decreas-
ing size (Pic.13). The
following “dry-brushing”
with lighter variations
of each colour part-
ly corrected the heavy
darkening effect, creat-
ed more variation and
brought out every raised
detail. At the same time
it provided the opportu-
nity to restore the “Color
Modulation”-effect,
which had been partly
hidden by the “wash-

O nce the camouflage

was finished the
masking was removed
and I made some nec-
essary corrections on
the tactical numbers
with a tipped brush.
The numbers on the
spare track links were
completely brush-ap-
plied - just like often the
case with the original.
the areas of chipped
“Zimmerit” with Revell
Matt 37 and the towing
cables with black (Rev-
ell Matt 08) finished
this first small phase of
brush painting before
everything was disas-
sembled and all parts
again fixed to their han-
dles to prepare them for
a final layer of acrylic
enamels to a dirty look-
ing grey-brown colour
tone. Diluted with about
75% of white spirit I ap-
plied it liberally over only
a limited area at once.
After a short drying pe-
riod I began to partly
remove the darkening
layer again. At first with
the same rough brush
I had used for applica-
ing”. I used exclusively
red-sable flat brushes
of varying size for that
purpose, because they Pic.9: The number of parts is not minimized yet. Everything that has been fitted throughout the
are soft enough to keep spraying is disassembled again. The easier the handling the better the results will be.
them from immediate-
ly removing the very
Pic.10: I use three different airbrushes for spraying. The double action Harder & Steenbeck
thin paint layers again
“Evolution” (top right) with a 0.2 mm nozzle I use in most of the times, because it works well and is
(Pic.14). To employ an
overall “washing” in the easy to clean. The Harder & Steenbeck “Grafo T2” (left) has the same needle/nozzle equipment
way I did will leave dark but it has an advanced single action air flow system and sucks the paint from a can. As a total
colour recesses in every of four cans is provided colour shades can quickly be changed, which makes it useful for “Color
Modulation” in particular. For all the fine spray jobs I use the hard to beat Iwata “Custom Micron B”.

Pic.8: I have carefully bent

the stencils to fit them to
the surface as closely as
possible. I slightly overdid
on the air hoses, which
unfortunately was not
visible with the stencils in
place.

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Pic.11: The copula fits tightly
to the prepared ring at the
turret roof. It could simply Modulation”
be wedged and removed
again, which I did several
times during the painting- colour and the “Sandgelb”
and weathering-process.
Pic.12: The differing
structures are now visible at
first sight.
Pic.13: The resulting tone
was rather close to Matt
84 Dark Leather but the
different tones create subtle
colour shifts when they are
heavily diluted and partly model, which can not
removed.
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small deepening and it” coated area I have
so on the one hand will chosen for the docu-
nicely bring out all the mentation is of course
structures added while an extreme example. So
construction. On the this technique may not
other hand it will signif- be to everybodys taste.
icantly darken the entire But still I think it is help-
ful to add the necessary
be completely corrected depth to a scale model
by the later “dry-brush- and it for sure helps out
ing”. This is of course the light and shadow ef-
the more the case the fect I was after with us-
rougher these struc- ing the “Color Modula-
tures are. The “Zimmer- tion” technique as well.
Pic.14: The lines of enamel
cans show the tones I
have used for the different
colours. Due to the “Color
effect the
greatest amount of shades
was used for the ivory interior
base tone. A first shade of
the ivory tone was mixed by
adding a bit of Matt 16 to a
white paint can followed
by straight white.
Pic.15: The linseed oil and
the natural turpentine come
from an art supply shop
whereas the white spirit is a
simple craftsmen shop item.
While the first weath- they include. A cheaper
ering steps had been paint will show a higher
exclusively done with percentage of the paint
enamels, I did the fol- medium, which is usu-
lowing “micro-painting” ally linseed oil. Thus a
just exclusively with more expensive brand
oil paints of different will usually show better
brands. So let me say covering characteristics
a few additional words if used straight from the
about working with oils. tube due to the higher
As far as I can see the density of pigments. But
price of oil paints de- if oils are used with ad-
pends mostly on the ditional dilution this as-
amount of pigments pect is rather marginal.
MXpression - Director’s Cut | -11-
 I have used oils for
weathering purposes
in three different ways.
Firstly only very slightly
diluted with linseed oil to
enhance their painting
characteristics and mini-
mize the paint build ups.
The oils will stay glossy
even after complete dry-
ing. Secondly I used oils
diluted with natural tur-
pentine, which will leave
a semi-satin shine de-
pending on the degree
of dilution. And thirdly
I have used white spir-
it as dilution, that will
make the oils dry com-
pletely matt (Pic.15).
B efore I started the
chipping on the out-
er surface I mimicked
remains of the chipped
“Zimmerit” on the small
section I had brush
painted with Primer Red.
I at first applied “502
Abteilung” Light Dust
slightly thinned with lin-
seed oil and afterwards
carefully feathered the
edges with another
tipped brush dapped
into white spirit (Pic.16).
The following chipping
was completely based
on linseed oil diluted
oil paint. It started with
a lighter version of the
“Sandgelb” base tone to
represent minimal paint
damage, which did not
remove the complete
paint layer. Due to the
varying shades of the
base I used differing
mixtures from Yellow
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Raw Ochre, Burnt Sien- “502 Abteilung” Wash “Sandgelb” parts provid- add stains of grease bodies consisted of ba- amounts of Burnt Si- down the glass surfac-
na, Naples Yellow Light Brown is just perfect for ed a better contrast for and oil, which were very kelite, which usually enna and Yellow Raw es were treated with a
and Titanium White to that purpose. Only very dark streaking (Pic.24- common on combat shows a slightly irregu- Ochre on the again still gloss coat of Revell 01
adapt the contrast of the few areas were treated Pic.26). tanks. For that purpose lar colouration. There- wet base coat of Mars (Pic.31&32).
chips (Pic.17). A second with rust colours I mixed If my suggestion is true I made varying mixes fore I dapped varying Black. After matting
layer of chips to mimic from Burnt Sienna and that the tank received its of Mars Black and Raw
heavier impact, which Chrome Orange. For all “Sandgelb” basecoat af- Umber and diluted them
would have let the Prim- differing colour shades I ter the turret had already with natural turpentine
er Red shine through, applied oils mixed with been added, the area to create a slight shine.
was at first added to linseed oil and feath- underneath the turrets In some cases I added a
the inside of the turret ered them with a tipped overhang might have bit of linseed oil as well
section and after its dry- brush moistened with been left untouched. to increase the shine ef-
ing to the outside, too white spirit into the di- Thus it may still have fect (Pic.29&30).
(Pic.18&19). The Primer rection of the runnin wa- shown the Primer Red
Red was adapted with
Burnt Sienna, Cadmium
Red Middle and Floren-
ter.
T he running streaks
finally melted to-
with which the hull once
had been delivered to
the assembly lines in-
A special feature while
painting the tank
sections were the per-
tine Red. Only on the gether the hard edged cluding chalk marks iscopes. I have tried to
areas, which had been chipping and added to applied while assembly create the impression
sprayed in Primer Red the realistic impression. and signs of abusement of looking into massive
before, I added some Adding dark streaks will while production. I used glass blocks by once
Chrome Orange and
even some “502 Abtei-
lung” Luftwaffe Yellow
further darken the mod-
els appearance. Thus
it was helpful to at the
Karismacolor 1059 Cool
Grey to add some chalk
marks in “Sütterlin” be-
more “wet-in-wet” while
I took care for the angle
in which a later observer
or Naples Yellow Light same time add light fore chipping (Pic.27) would look at the peri- Pic.16: In fact I am not sure if areas of chipped “Zimmerit” showed this
to this mixture in order remains of dust and and applied heavy dust- scopes. The periscopes kind of delicate remains but the effect for sure adds refinement.
to create the necessary dirt with the same ba- ing and a bit of rust to
contrast and variation. sic technique. I mixed the area, which would
Finally the complete the necessary shades have been impossible
damage of all paint lay- from “502 Abteilung” to reach for any main-
ers down to the bare Buff and Brown Ochre tenance or cleaning
metal was represented and used them to add with the turret in place
with a simple dark mix some highlights along (Pic.28).
from Mars Black and with the dark running
Titanium White - again
starting with the inside
(Pic.20&21).
streaks (Pic.23). The
effect depended very
much on the surface
A fter complete drying
all parts received a
finishing layer of Dal-
Metal parts which are and colour I had applied er Rowney´s Soluble
no longer sealed with to it. The “Zimmerit” Varnish Matt. The matt
paint will immediate- hardly allowed to show varnish removed the
ly start to show signs any running streaks. slight shine of the oil
of weathering, when On the tanks inside run- based chipping, hid the
they get wet and soon ning water was at least minimal paint build ups
start to rust if they are a rare effect of course. and therefore turned the
not frequently touched. But on the outer armour impression of brush ap-
Therefore I proceed- plates the camouflage plied paint into a natu-
ed by adding running stripes were ideal for ral appearance of paint
streaks to just all chips adding highlights with damages. The last step
showing bare metal. light dust tone, while the of weathering was to
MXpression - Director’s Cut | -13-
 Pic.17: I suppose that the field applied camouflage stripes would have completely chipped rather
easily. That is why I did not use lighter shades of green and brown to mimic very delicate paint
damage in these areas.
Pic.18: I have added white chips to the interior as well, but the effect was hardly
apparent as I had already used straight white for spraying and “dry-brushing”.
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Pic.19: The reddish chips do not perfectly match with the colour of the areas showing through the
chipped “Zimmerit”. But this effect will not be too apparent after the final dark chips will have been
added.
Pic.20: A lighter shade of grey was used for the interior parts to limit the contrast.
MXpression - Director’s Cut | -15-
 Pic.21: I have tried hard to concentrate the chipping on areas of frequent touch and not to overdo
it due to the optical effect.
Pic.22: All the differing shades used for chipping. The light variants of Primer Red on the palette at
the bottom were only used on areas, which had been already sprayed with Primer Red.
-16- | MXpression - Director’s Cut
Pic.23: To provide the necessary contrast light rusty mixes were used on dark coloured a r e a s
while the dark mix was used on the “Sandgelb”. The Primer Red coloured surfaces are treated
with very dark running streaks but a very light rust tone.
Pic.24: The streaking is kept very subtle. This is no “Panther” wreck!
MXpression - Director’s Cut | -17-

Pic.25: On the inside
running streaks will be
very rare. The area which
would be frequently climbed
while entering the tank
through the escape hatch
received some dusting
with straight Brown Ochre
to achieve the necessary
contrast to the ivory colour.
Pic.26: The turret section
after assembly. Much of
it will be hidden by the
commander figure.
Pic.27: The gearing for the
turret was sprayed with
Tamiya XF-63 German
Grey and “dry-brushed” with
Humbrol 27002 Metal Cote.
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Pic.28: Notice how light
dust colour is used to bring
out the edges of the engine
hatch. The dark water marks
add realism but at the same
time the chipping will
appear less refined.
Pic.29: Heavy staining
around the turret gearing
may have been caused
while production or have
come out while later combat
action. The cooling air
outlet
guard section and
the air intake covers are
added after matting down
but before grease and oil
stains are done.
Pic.30: Different amounts of
the colours are mixed with
differing amounts of dilution
while application to achieve
a maximum of variations.
MXpression - Director’s Cut | -19-
 Pic.31: The drivers
periscope was based on
a hollowed ABER part.
Therefore I painted t h e
same deepening effect
on a piece of plastic card,
glued it to a piece of clear
plastic card and both into
the periscope body.

Pic.32: The subtle effect

is hardly visible due to
the gloss varnish and the
shadowed position of the
periscopes.“Sandgelb”
before the turret was fixed
and I guess the turret was not
traversed while painting.
That is why I have made
stencils to mask the turrets
silhouette in 12´o´clock
position.

Next time it’s

“Assembly Time”
in Part VI of “Lucky
Guys”

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 MXpression
And just when you thought
you knew everything about
PANZER PUT T Y

No more tipped over Glue

or Paint Bottles!
-22- | MXpression - Director’s Cut MXpression - Director’s Cut | -23-
 Mk.A WHIPPET PART IV

Red Army Service, 1920

More
Weathering

by Mario Eens
a t h e r i n g c o n t ’d
We
W e’ve come a long way so far and the model looks very different from where we started. But it still needs
the more spectacular stuff like dust, dirt, mud, oil and grease spills, some wet effects and of course the
rusty exhausts. Let’s start with the lower hull.

02 With a small brush I then added more of the mixture in downward strokes. This was then left to
dry.

03 Subsequently I used a wide sturdy brush moist

with odourless white spirit to remove part of the
dry, caked paint.

01 A mixture of Raw Umber and Buff oil paint was slightly thinned with odourless white spirit. With a
brush and the aid of a wooden stick the paint was then flicked onto the lower hull simulating thrown
up dirt. To protect the upper hull it was taped off with post-its and masking tape.

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 22 Working in a downward mo-
tion reinforces the idea of mud 25
giving in to gravity.

23
P ictures 23, 24, 25, & 26: Overall views of the model at this stage. Note that on the right side I already
went ahead with a little more weathering.

26

24

-26- | MXpression - Director’s Cut MXpression - Director’s Cut | -27-

 27 With the same oil paint mixture I
started adding thrown up dust on
the lower sections of the upper hull. Here
30
…While on sloped areas it is again
added in a downward motion.

the dust was painted on in a very con-

trolled way.

28 Other horizontal and sloped areas

of the model also received some
dusting. Areas most prone to receiving
31
see Pic.30

dust are where crewmembers drag up dirt

when they enter the vehicle and areas with
oil and grease as dust tends to stick there.
On horizontal areas the dust is added in a
cloudy pattern…

29 see Pic.28
32
Wet and greasy areas hold dust
very well.

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 33 To create wet spots I added a little
Vandyke Brown oil paint to Mig
Productions Wet Effects & Damp Earth
36 see Pic.35

mixture (P409). Of course depending

on the amount of oil paint mixed in you
can vary the colour and get a more or less
dirty stain.

34 see Pic.33
37 Overhead view of the crew com-
partment. Note how certain are-
as have received dust and how details in
those areas are lifted out by giving them
a darker colour.

35 After the dusting small details

like bolts, edges etc. are lifted out
by colouring them with Raw Umber oil
38 To add more variation and colour
some details received rust washes
with Burnt Umber oil paint.
paint. Here I’m using oil paint, but I eas-
ily switch to acrylic paint if I feel like it.
By painting these details in a darker col-
our the model gets a sharper definition.

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 39 Rear view showing the crew com-
partment with the various steps so
far. Dusting, along with wet and rusty are-
as, creates diversity and interest. Some ef-
fects, like the dust, will be reinforced even
more later.
42 So far the exhausts were painted
in the overall green colour. To
give them a little character and show
some wear and age they were chipped
using a fine pointed brush and Lifecolor
Rust Dark Shadow (UA 701). Saving
some of the original green paint adds
realism.

40 see Pic.39
43 In case you are over eager with the
chipping, or make a mistake, you
can always go back and add the original
colour again.

41 see Pic.39
44 Have you ever noticed that the
rust on exhausts sometimes has
a pinkish tone? With a mixture of Li-
fecolor Rust Dark Shadow (UA 701) and
Vallejo Model Color Brown Rose (803) I
chipped the exhaust where it is attached
to the vehicle.

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 45 On the other end I used a mixture
of Lifecolor Rust Base Color (UA
702) and Rust Light Shadow 1 (UA 703),
48 See Pic.47

and even a little Rust Light Shadow 2 (UA

704).

46 Soot was simulated with Lifecolor

Tensocrom Smoke (TSC 208). A
49
(950).
The guns were all base coated
with Vallejo Model Color Black
little matt varnish can be used to get a
good flat finish.

47 Views of the right exhaust. Al-

though both exhausts were given
the same treatment care was taken to give
50 They were given a subtle dry
brushing with Panzer Aces High-
light Germ. (Black) (337).
them a different appearance.

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 51 A pin wash with ‘Model Wash for
dark vehicles Black’ (518) brought
out the details and added depth.

52 Metal highlights were then added

with a propelling pencil.

54
See Pic.53

W ith most of the upper hull now

55
completely finished the lower
Overall views of the model so far. Note that on the left side the area where the red star decal
hull still needs more attention.
is to go is still kept clean of any dusting.

53 As before on the upper hull all

bolts and raised details are picked
out in a darker colour to make them
stand out. This time I’m using Vallejo
Model Color Germ. Cam. Black Brown
(822).

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 56
see Pic.55

59
Overall view of the model at this stage.

57 With a lighter ver-

sion of the dust
mixture – using more
Buff – I started adding
accents around details
and such to create more
variation.

60
see Pic.59

58 see Pic.57

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 61 With a single col-
our various effects
can be achieved. Here I’m
64
see Pic.61

using Vandyke Brown oil

paint to add oil and grease
stains in different inten-
sity. It all depends on the
amount of white spirit
used to thin the paint.

62 see Pic.61
65
see Pic.61

63 see Pic.61
66
see Pic.61

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 69 In selected areas I
used straight Buff oil
paint to add yet again more
variation to the dusting.
The paint was thinned, but
not too much, so it could
be worked in a stippling
motion.

70 As before the paint

was worked mostly
around details rather than
67 Overall view showing the various stains and streaking on the lower hull.
in plain open spaces.

68 The lower hull is slowly getting there. But it can still do with some extra attention.

71 The whole side was

worked.

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 74
Also for variation some streaking was
done with Raw Umber oil paint.
72 Overall view showing much more varia-
tion and depth as before.

73 Also for variation some streaking was done with Raw Umber oil paint.

Next time we finish

the Red Star Wip-
pet by putting on
the decals, heavy
mud and the tracks.
Of course we will
provide you with an
extensive list of the
materials used.
Until then…

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-46- | MXpression - Director’s Cut MXpression - Director’s Cut | -47-
 Alpine Miniatures
27 West Shore Avenue
Bogota, NJ 07603 U.S.A.

Established in 2004
All products are made in the U.S.A.
For more info, please visit us at:
www.alpineminiatures.com

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 CENTURION Middle-East and India.

The Model
A ll parts - of which there
are a bit too many from
my point of view, almost
400 of them - are perfectly
because it will be bet-
ter to fix this in position
if you want to adapt the
model over an irregular
Painting Process

Chema Cabrero takes the AVF Club Kit on a Korean Patrol

moulded in a dark Green surface, like the irregu-
W ho says a single

T he Centurion AFV club plastic, a bit soft in some lar ground of fire posi- green coat of paint is
kit has a lot of nice parts, but without any tions of the 8th King’s boring??? On this model
features for a modeller. sink marks. Furthermore Royal Irish Hussars… you can see several green
shades using the Vallejo
A bit of history frontal, glacis plate ar- hard fought on the ground destroy them. Despite This includes workable there is a clean sprue for

T
mour to deflect shot, a across unforgiving terrain being pounded by ar- suspension with metal the episcopes and a com- his is not a kit for be- AFV Painting System ‘UK
partially cast turret and and environments. Three mour-piercing shots from coil springs, turned alu- plete PE fret with a lot of ginners, with all these Bronze Green’ set, which

I
n 1943, after a succes-
sion of unfortunate tank
Horstmann suspension.
Centurion squadrons ar-
rived at Pusan on 14 No-
minium 20-Pdr Gun Bar- details. The storage boxes parts and precise fit (the allows us to depict shad-
a range of 50 m neither
rel (A type) with rifling, around the turret are time main hull has no less than ows and light on a kit un-
tank caught fire and both
der several light consider-

designs the British War
Office commissioned a
new specification calling
for a tank with durabili-
ty, reliability, a weight of
40 tons and the ability to
H
owever, modifications
to the original design
were quickly made and the
changes resulted in the
adoption of a 20 pounder
fully stabilised main gun
vember 1950 and were
forced to operate in the
Korean temperature ex-
tremes - particularly the
cold, frozen winters that
created havoc on most any
iment were also involved
road wheels with rubber
were subsequently re-
rims as separate parts,
covered and repaired.
PE metal parts for super
detailing, a new tooling
I
n 1953, Centurions of
the 1st Royal Tank Reg-
bulldozer blade and clas-
sic rubber tracks detailed
consuming to assemble,
but despite that, the as-
sembling process is very
straightforward, and de-
tails like the inner rifling of
the main gun are details
7 parts), but it offers real
ations, as the zenith light,
value for a reasonable
the panelling concept or
price. The kit can be built
as a Korean or Vietnam the modulation approach.
war version.

on both sides which you very much appreciated.

withstand a direct hit from and the replacement of mechanical device. Oper- in the second Battle of the can secure by melting the The running gear is a little
the German 88mm gun. the 20 mm cannon by a ating in sub-zero temper- Hook where they played pins with a hot blade or tricky with the coil springs

Six prototypes were de-
veloped before the end
of World War 2, but ar-
rived too late to take part
in the war on German soil.
It was soon recognised
that the weight restrictions
had to be lifted as the orig-
inal specification could not
be achieved within the
40 ton weight limitation.
The Centurion was Brit-
ain’s first attempt to pro-
duce a universal tank and
do away with divisions
between Infantry Tanks
(e.g. Matilda) and Cruiser
Tanks (e.g. Covenanter).
Besa mg (thus allowing
the turret to be fully cast).
NB: It was reputed that
the performance of the
20 pounder gun (when fir-
ing APDS) was twice that
of the 88mm gun of the
German King Tiger Tank.
A fter North Korea in-
vaded South Korea in
1950, beginning the three-
year long Korean War on
the Korean Peninsula, the
Centurion was called into
play with the 8th King’s
Royal Irish Hussars of the
British Army fighting un-
der a coalition UN force.
01
atures, the 8th Hussars a significant role in repel- the tip of a soldering iron. and workable suspension
learnt the rigours of winter ling Chinese attacks. In
warfare: their tanks had to a tribute to the 8th Hus-
be parked on straw to pre- sars, General John O’
vent the steel tracks from Daniel, commanding the
freezing to the ground. US 1st Corps, stated: “In
Engines had to be started their Centurions, the 8th
every half hour, with each Hussars have evolved
gear being engaged in a new type of tank war-
turn to prevent them from fare. They taught us that
being frozen into place. anywhere a tank can
go, is tank country: even
I n April 1951, during the the tops of mountains.”
Battle of the Imjin River,
Centurions won lasting
fame when they covered C onstant modifica-
tions and upgrading
the withdrawal of the 29th enabled the Centurion to
Brigade, with the loss of remain at the fore-front
five tanks, most later re- of tank technology. The
covered and repaired. design of the vehicle was

T he early vehicles were

equipped with a 17
pounder main gun and
a 20 mm Polsten can-
non. They also featured
While the air war was of
particular historical note -
it featured the first aerial
combat between jet fight-
ers - the war would still be
- Two Centurions had to such that it could easily
be hastily abandoned be up-gunned and re-en-
and to prevent them from gined and it was to later
falling into enemy hands prove itself in numerous
it became necessary to tank engagements in the

Photographs & Text by Chema Cabrero

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 01
02 From construction to
base colour 04
With the assembly process
finished we can appreciate how
accurate the kit is, again I must
say not an easy kit, but it cap-
tures the shape and details of
the real one very well, includ-
ing all details concerning this
version.
Painting a kit that includes an
aluminium turned metal gun
barrel, rubber tracks, PE de-
tails, plastic and other details,
the best option for me is to use
Vallejo Grey Primer, a water
based primer with a high cov-
ering power and a resin polyu- 05
rethane formula giving a strong
finish.
It is better to use several thin
layers instead of trying to cover
the model with one thick coat
burying all details. I use a pres-
sure of 20 psi with a 0.2 tip in
my old Evolution airbrush.
With the drying process com-
pleted (24 hours, but you can
see how fast it dries because just
in two hours the surface looks
dry and not sticky at all…) I
want to work with the modu-
lation concept of light, showing
several green shades as a base.
For this purpose I’m using the 06
Vallejo AFV Painting System
‘UK Bronze Green’, which of-
fers the tonal process from dark
to light in a scale of greens, with
a useful step by step.
Don’t forget this is my personal
approach to a base colour, oth-
ers may fall in love with the old
Verlinden school of panelling
light idea, or the zenith light-
ing concept. Just choose the
03 one you feel more comfortable
with.

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 Personally I love to show the 07 09
model like a 3D object, because
with the following weathering
stages all the volumes can be
hidden and softened, and the
high contrast from the begin-
ning will become more subtle.
It is very important to work with
reasonable contrast and keep
the light and shadow distribu-
tion over the model in a logical
manner. Sometimes I see true
sci-fi concepts, even with hori-
zontal changes over objects that
should be under vertical light,
or the shadow turned upside
down, with very odd results on
the finished model.

10

08

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 11 13

12 14

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 15 17

16 18

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 19 Chipped paint and first
washes 21
I want to show a veteran tank
with a reasonable faded look.
Also I want to try new Vallejo
washes for subtle tonal chang-
es. For this reason I will work
in several layers where each
layer can add a new effect, at
the same time avoiding hiding
the previous one and giving the
model a very realistic finish.
In this case I love to start with
the chipped paint effects using
a dark green tone, sponge and
brush. I work details separate-
ly like the exhaust pipe covers, 22
the polished metal around the
cable drum on the turret rear,
the access areas that may suffer
more faded effects, as well as
the logical subtle changes over
a BIG AFV as this.

20 I love to use the Vallejo wash-

es like filters applying sever-
al layers diluted with Vallejo
Airbrush Thinner and water,
removing the excess, blending
it over the model surface and 07
painting some details sepa-
rately. Alex Vallejo asked me

23
to even use the Vallejo wash-
es with airbrush! And here we
go… all the subtle soot and
blackened parts over the engine
bay and exhaust pipes were
painted using washes and an
airbrush with a pressure of 15
psi, working close to the model.
Vallejo Dark Steel pigment is
perfect to depict the polished
metal parts faded from being
constantly handled. You just
need to rub it with the finger-
tip over the chosen area, Vallejo
does the rest!

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 24 26

25 27
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 28 30

29 31
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 32 34

33 35
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 36 38

37 39

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 40 More Washes
42
We can continue using the
washes as modus operandi for
the faded look of the model,
while it is also time to make the
first rust, dust and dirt effects,
again using the layer concept
working with Vallejo pigments
mixed with Airbrush Thinner.
In a ratio of 1 part of pigment
for 3 parts of thinner you can
depict light splashes over the
rear of the vehicle and some
areas on horizontal surfaces.
Again, the tip of using the
Vallejo washes by airbrush
proved to be very useful, work-
ing with the dust, dirt and rust
transparent layers over the ex-
haust covers. The polished tow
cable and some edges can be
depicted using the Dark Steel
reference from the Vallejo pig-
ments range. You can literally
paint a surface by just rubbing
the very fine dust and grain of
the pigments.

41 43
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 44 46

45 47
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 48 50
49 Pigments an illogical weathering, a de-
tail out of place or overworked,
hard stiff brush, projecting the
mix over the model in a con-
Time to add generous layers of can ruin all the previous work. trolled way.
dirt and the characteristic mud Splashes are depicted using a
and earth tones of this theatre
of war. The Vallejo pigments
are applied over a surface mois- 51
tened with Vallejo Airbrush
Thinner which in this way
works as a pigment fixer and
allows us to easily make tonal
changes, as well as avoiding a
flat surface.
Again, the concept of layers is
a work process with a (at least
for me) convincing finish of the
model and logical weathering
process.
Keep in mind the real effects of
dust, mud and natural environ-
ment. You can use photos for
reference. A good model with

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 52 54

53 55
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 56 58

57 59
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 60
PRODUCTS USED
• AFV Club No. AF35106

• Vallejo Airbrush Thinner - No. 71.161

• Vallejo Grey Primer - No. 601
• Vallejo AFV Painting System UK Bronze Green - No.
78.407
• Vallejo Model Wash Light Rust - No. 76.505
• Vallejo Model Wash Dark Grey - No. 76.517
• Vallejo Model Wash Dark Khaki Green - No. 76.520
• Vallejo Model Wash Desert Dust - No. 76.522
• Vallejo Pigments Light Yellow Ochre - No. 73.102
• Vallejo Pigments Light Sienna - No. 73.104
• Vallejo Pigments Natural Sienna - No. 73.105
• Vallejo Pigments Burnt Umber - No. 73.110
• Vallejo Pigments Green Earth - No. 73.111
• Vallejo Pigments Dark Steel - No. 73.123

61
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 The finished Model ...

62 64

63 65
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 68

66

67 69
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 70 72

71 73
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-88- | MXpression - Director’s Cut MXpression - Director’s Cut | -89-
 Discover the Art of Figure Painting.
Visit the MXpression Video Channel.

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 IMPRESSUM
Editor: Mario Eens

Next Issue
Publisher: Harald Steinmüller
Design: MXpression Studio

1st. Oct. ‘17

Contributing Authors: Robert Doepp, Chema
Cabrero & Mario Eens

MXpression Director’s Cut is published

bi-monthly
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While due care is being taken to ensure the

contents of MXpression Director’s Cut is accu-
rate, the publisher can not accept responsibility Jagdpanzer IV L/48
for errors and omissions
The Hunter comes
back in Technicolor

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