Gazza's Stuff

[Gazza]

Some of the revamped US vehicles. The M4A3 Company is on hold until I get some more Allied Star decals.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned the old versus new paint schemes, so here goes.

The original paint job was Humbrol 66 overall with the tracks picked out in gunmetal (or steel etc.). The revamp consists of giving the original vehicles a wash with Nuln Oil, followed by a heavy drybrush of Humbrol 155. A lighter drybrush of Humbrol 72 is then applied before the details (tools, tracks, tow ropes etc.) are picked out in the appropriate colours/ For example, I used Vallejo Deck Tan (986) and Natural Steel (864) for the tools. Decals are then applied (with the additional use of Johnsons Klear or Micro Set and Micro Sol. With a final coat of Humbrol 49 to matt it all down.

D-7 Armoured Dozers




Sherman Dozers




Sherman Crocodiles




Aunt Jemimas

[redleg]

Those look great Gazza! What's your secret for getting the decals on without showing the decal edge when you are done?

[Gazza]

Those look great Gazza! What's your secret for getting the decals on without showing the decal edge when you are done?

Thanks. The 'secret' is a coat of gloss varnish/Johnson's Klear before the decals go on. After the decals are applied I then use Micro Sol to get them to conform to surface details. followed by another gloss/Klear coat before a final coat of matt varnish.

Johnson's Klear was an acrylic floor polish that was discontinued some time ago. I expect that there are modern equivalents.

<edit>Added image and final comment.

[BurtWolf]

So no primer, just use the wash as your base coat? I always used a primer but curious if this method works well (and easy)? Pieces look pretty cool, nice work!

[Gazza]

So no primer, just use the wash as your base coat?

Not quite. As these are a revamp they were already painted Olive Drab (Humbrol 66). The wash went on top of that. So you could say that the old paint job was the primer.

If was painting them from the bare metal, I would do something similar. First put the base coat on (OD in this case) and then the wash etc. I find that the enamel based paints are tough enough and opaque enough to not need an actual primer. If I'm using acrylics (AK, Ammo, Vallejo) I'll use an enamel based primer. Like wise if I'm applying a paint that rather translucent - yellow for example - I'll use a primer.

Hope that helps/clarifies things.

[Gazza]

First of all the first Sherman company of the second battalion. These have been revamped. I have the other two companies, but they are still at the bare metal stage. Unlike the first battalion, I've glued the turrets down - so the second battalion will be limited to just 75s (and the occasional 105) unlike the first battalion. For the first battalion, I went a bit overboard. I can replace any 75mm turret with a 76mm or any M4A3 with a M4A3E8.

Sherman Company

[Gazza]

As I mentioned when I revamped my tank destroyers, I used the spare M10/M36 hulls as M35 prime movers. Here they are.

M35 Prime Movers #1







M35 Prime Movers #2

[redleg]

Good lookin tanks and prime movers, Gazza! Do you organize your vehicles into complete units?

[pmskaar]

Very nice painting and decal work on those models, Gazza!

[Gazza]

Thanks for the kind comments guys.

Do you organize your vehicles into complete units?

Indeed I do - based on the army lists at the start of this topic. Full Regiments/Brigades/Battalions - whatever is applicable for the given unit. For example my Germans have a full Panzer Regiment, Panzer Grenadier Regiment, Recce Battalion etc. As my WW2 US Forces are closer to hand here's an example - the first M4A3 battalion along with a few photos of my marking system and, just because I got the companies out for that, more photos of my Armored Infantry along with some photos of 'un-revamped' motorized infantry company.

The bases/models are marked up underneath with a base colour (Company A-Yellow, B-Orange, C-Red, D-Light Blue, Bttn Supports Lt Grey) followed by a number of coloured (Black, Grey, White etc.) dots or dashes to represent the platoons (dots) and CHQ (dashes). The number of dots/dashes marks the elements position in the platoon. 1 dot = PHQ, 2 dots = second section etc.

Here's my first M4A3 Battalion.

First M4A3 Battalion (Black)


BHQ & Supports


Company A (Yellow)


Company B (Orange) - with the third platoon over turned to show off the dots


Company C (Red) - out of focus - doh!


Company D (Light Blue)


The next two photos show a comparison between the new marking system (dots/dashes etc) and the old system (hand written bases).

Old System


New System


Whilst I've got the two infantry companies out, I thought I'd post a few photos of each. The new system is on the revamped Armored Infantry Company, whilst the old system is on a motorised infantry company that has yet to be revamped.

Armored Infantry







Motorized Infantry







Bonus Image
Partially completed US Armored Infantry by Adler.

[redleg]

Awesome work, Gazza! I love the level of detail that you are putting into your units...all the way down to individual vehicle and section! I'm very impressed

[BurtWolf]

That spreadsheet is a really good idea. Someone had a website a few years back comparing and contrasting the different manufacturers models, it was pretty cool …

[BurtWolf]

Great infantry just to add… always impressed with that level of detail!

[Gazza]

Bridge Weight Plates applied to a squadron of Churchills.

[Mortis57]

I recently ordered five tanks (and a couple of extra turrets) to complete a Centurion Mk.I squadron. These were H&Rs older Centurion Mk.I (B21) rather than their newer version (BM099). The newer version is much nicer but I had a few of the older model and wanted to complete the unit. Over time a couple of the turrets had gone missing - hence the extras. I've yet to apply a coat (or two) of matt varnish as I still have to get the 11th Armoured Division markings from Dan. The tanks were painted in Humbrol 159 with some disruptive black camo on top. A wash of GW Agrax Earthshade was applied before a drybrush of Humbrol 159 again. Followed by a dry brush of Humbrol 72 with the tracks and 20mm picked out in Humbrol 53. Markings are GHQ red squares for the squadron markings on the turret sides; I-94 Allied stars for the national markings; and Flight Deck Decal's Bridge Weight markings. To be perfectly honest, the Centurion weighs more than the 40 tonnes that the markings would imply. However, that was the highest number plate I have, I've not seen a Centurion Mk.I with a Bridge Weight plate on, and they never saw service in WWII anyway.

If I was painting them from scratch these days, I would have done the Humbrol 159 drybrush before painting the disruptive black camo.

They also make that my second full Centurion Mk.I squadron (one of the older model, one of the new model). Not bad for a tank that didn't see service during the war - although 6 were on their way to the front for trials when the war in Europe ended.