Tamiya 35257 - Russian Medium Tank T-55A [Unboxing and Pre-Assembly Review]

I guess it was just a matter of time before I caught the AFV (armoured fighting vehicle) bug. And the T-55A medium tank is as good a starting point as any, with it being a part of a series of tanks (the T-54/55) that is the most-produced in military history. They are said to be in use by up to over 50 armies worldwide which gives the tank a lot of potential in terms of colour scheme variations. However, I’ll be keeping it simple for this build by putting together a Czechoslovakian Army T-55A medium tank which has a monotone colour sans any complicated camouflage schemes.

Tamiya 35257 - Russian Medium Tank T-55A

Tamiya Russian Medium Tank T-55A side box art

Tamiya's accompanying manual is multi-lingual with fairly detailed instructions. One thing is for sure,  this build will be far more complex than Bandai's beginner friendly snap-fit parts found in their Star Wars line. That being said, Tamiya scale model kits are generally well known for their well-engineered parts that not only have excellent fit but are also easy to put together.

A brief history of the ubiquitous T-55A medium tank

Instructions are multi-lingual and easy to follow

Tamiya's design philosophy is seemingly to have a lower part count without sacrificing details. For example, this model kit has nearly 300 parts versus the 1000+ parts found in some other brands.

Sprue A (x2): Wheels, hooks fuel drums, etc.

Sprue B:Main turret and accessories

Closeup of the turret showing off its cast metal surface texture

Details on the T-55A parts are reasonably good especially on the turret which has a subtle surface texture resembling cast iron as well as weld lines/seams. Another notable textured part is the wooden grains of the T-55A's rear log beam. While the other parts do not have much texture, they do still possess fine details moulded on them. Even the tank commander figurine included in the model kit has impressive details ranging from the folds on his uniform to discernible facial features.

Sprue C: Ammo boxes, gun barrel, rear log beam, machine gun, snorkel, etc.

Sprue D: Fender fuel tanks, tank commander, rear inner grilles, etc.

Upper and lower hull - main sections

While the T-55A's vinyl tracks look fairly detailed, they could provide some challenge when trying to make them sag on the wheels for a more realistic look. Included in this kit are also a fine mesh and a string to simulate metal grilles and tow cables respectively. Decal options are minimal but enough for my purpose to build a Czechoslovakian Army T-55A medium tank, designated turret number 421.

Vinyl tracks are detailed enough but may prove to be a challenge when going for a realistic sag-on-wheels look

Decals, mesh to simulate grille texture, strings as a substitute for tow cables and polycaps for the wheels

As promised, I'm alternating between two main projects for the coming weeks on a more consistent basis. So it'll be a the Star Wars Snowspeeder on one post and the T-55A medium tank on the next for the foreseeable future until either one or the other is finished. The only thing that could break up this double act is perhaps the final completed photos of Bronn the sellsword but that's only if I can sort out the skin contrast on his forehead. As such I certainly won't be abandoning my miniature figurines as I work on the AFVs (which have mini figures of their own). So let's get started already!

Star Wars Snowspeeder - Bandai 1/48 Scale Model Kit [Unboxing and Pre-Assembly Review]

To date, Bandai has produced two versions of the Star Wars Snowspeeder at 1/48 scale, namely the Luke Skywalker/Dak Ralter and Wedge Antilles/Wes Janson versions - both with their own hull and pilot decals. I had actually gotten two sets of the former way before the latter was released with the intention of freehand painting one of the sets to mimic Wedge's snowspeeder. That is, in essence,  what my Star Wars project will be all about. Having to proceed without the proper decals, I'll have to brush paint hull colours as well as pilot suit/helmet markings using freehand.   

Bandai Star Wars 1/48 scale Snowspeeder (Modified Incom T-47 Airspeeder)

Side boxart of the Bandai Star Wars Snowspeeder scale model kit

Bandai's diagram-based instructions have a reputation of being straightforward and easy to follow. Being of the snap-fit variety, assembly of the snowspeeder should be hassle-free and user friendly especially to beginners. Based on past experience and a cursory glance of the snowspeeder instructions, I expect this to be the case again and look forward to an easy build. 

Snowspeeder instructions was a combination of colour depicting decal markings and ...

... black and white diagrammatic pictures for the assembly instructions

Sprues contain parts which are highly detailed. As a Star Wars fan, I'm delighted at the near- to spot on- movie accurateness of the various parts making up the whole. From the cockpit interior to the outer hull, this model kit has the potential to be a fantastic build thus providing a solid base for paint. To name just a few examples: the cockpit interior on Sprue A, the hull grooves and lining on Sprue B, the repulsor innards on Sprue C1, the pilots on Sprue C2, etc. all have fantastic details at this scale. 

Sprue A: Cockpit canopy (clear) and interior, power generator, cooling fins, tow cable, etc.

Sprue B: Upper and lower hull, landing gear, etc.

Sprue C1: Repulsors, cockpit canopy, etc.

Sprue C2: Base, pilots, etc.

Sprue SWB1: Laser shots in transparent plastic

Decals provided with this set are meant for a Luke Skywalker/Dak Ralter snowspeeder build. For this particular project I'm undertaking they are almost completely useless to me. Except for a few decal markings such as the small ZZ symbols and a few others, the rest won't be used. Instead I'll be freehand painting the cockpit interior, hull markings and pilots. It'll be good to flex those small scale painting muscles again as it has been some time since I really used them.

Bandai water decals for a Luke Skywalker version of the Snowspeeder

Sticker equivalents for a Luke Skywalker version of the Snowspeeder

So another Star Wars project looks set to take off, pun unintended. In addition to allowing me the pleasure of painting miniature figures again (specifically 1/48 scale Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson), this sci-fi vehicle undertaking will also allow me to practice yet more weathering effects albeit a few steps back in terms of level of decay. For the modified Incom T-47 Airspeeder, the weathering effects will be more of the operational wear-and-tear variety. Much to do I have, and I can't wait to get going.

Nurgle Rhino APC [Completed]

During this long and fairly arduous weathering project, what essentially kept me going was that it afforded me the chance to expand my painting/modelling skill set. Sadly, it has been a while since I felt any enthusiasm painting W40K stuff. On the bright side what I've left in my collection are Orks and Chaos armies so that means plenty of weathering practice opportunities. So here's the completed Nurgle Rhino transport or armoured personnel carrier (APC) in all its weathered glory. 

Nurgle Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier [Completed]

While the Nurgle Rhino might not be a masterpiece, I've learned a lot from completing it. Sometimes it's necessary to call a project done before you can start analyzing how things could've been done better. Parts of the APC definitely has an unfinished look to it. For example the open hatch on the upper hull (the searchlight wasn't a good fit ... more on that later), the two tiny headlights on the upper left/right corners of the front hull, and the general lack of Nurgle pus and gore all over the vehicle. All of which had good reasons, chief among them is that it was time to move on and let go.  

Weathering effects on the Nurgle Rhino include chipped paint ...

... rust stains, streaks and pools; rusted metal parts as well as some dirt/dust deposits

Weathering on this project was more of a traditional military armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) wear-and-tear style rather than the W40K sci-fi blood-and-gore. That explains the lack of pus and gore usually associated with Nurgle vehicles. On a personal note, I felt that if I were to include pus and gore into the weathering process the whole thing might've been a bit much akin to adding sugar to a regular Coke drink. Not your regular hobby-related analogy but I'm sure you catch my drift.

Weathering style was a more traditional AFV wear-and-tear rather than W40K Sci-Fi blood-and-gore

My favourite weathering effect was the rust streaks-chipped paint combo

The umber-like rusted tracks and metal parts provided a welcome contrast to the greyish-green hull

In addition, there are two small headlights on the upper left and right corners of the front hull which remain in greyish-green tones except for the rusted metal-wire-cage encasing them. I had left them in similar hues to the hull as is the case for some real-life tanks with a monochromatic colour palette i.e. the headlights/searchlight painted in similar hues to the hull. A real world example of this would be the Russian T-90A Main Battle Tank (please click here for a scale model representation).  

In the end, I never bothered with any blood-and-gore effects around Lucy's head

Could the Nurgle Rhino have used more weathering? Debatable but I was happy with the results as is

If you've been following my past posts you might be wondering what happened to the searchlight. Well, as you can see from the photos below, the searchlight had two strikes against it which caused me to leave it out in the final completed shots above. One, the searchlight was just too big and felt wrong in terms of scale size. And two, the bright yellow lights I painted in seemed out of sorts with the rest of the colour scheme. Both are sore points and enough to tip the scale against including it.

Nurgle Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier with a searchlight added to its upper hull

Personally I found the searchlight to be too big in terms of scale ...

...  and its bright yellow hue makes the Rhino look goofy which is why I prefer to leave it out in a display

Going forward, I'll be working on two scale model kit projects at the same time while hopefully finishing a long neglected Game of Thrones proxy miniature painting project. The former involves Bandai Star Wars Snowspeeder (painted up as a Wedge Antilles/Wes Janson version) alternating with an old Tamiya AFV model kit i.e. a Russian T-55A Medium Tank. Meanwhile, the latter will involve finishing a proxy for Bronn the sellsword using a Nocturna Models miniature. But for now though, I'll just wallow in the satisfaction of being able to finish the Nurgle Rhino. Just for this week anyway.

Nurgle Rhino [WIP - Weathering 'Metal' Tracks & Adding Dust/Dirt Effects]

Work on the Nurgle Rhino is now enteringn the home stretch with weathering of its 'metal' tracks completed and the addition of dust/dirt stains on the lower sections of its hull. It's about 99% complete with a few loose ends to tie up in terms of unifying the entire piece's colour scheme courtesy of a few minor touches here and there. Here's a step-by-step documentation of the final significant weathering process that the Nurgle Rhino will undergo before she is revealed in full.

Nurgle Rhino work-in-progress: Rusted track with metallic shine for parts facing wear-and-tear

As I hadn't put much thought into the tracks initially, there was bound to be some overlap in its weathering process. For example, I had already primed the tracks with an oxide red hue using a combination of Tamiya Fine Surfacer and Mr Surfacer 1000 primers. But when starting work on the tracks, I realised this hue looked a tad too bright hence the application of yet another primer coat i.e. AK Interactive Tracks Primer which sported a darker umber-like hue. Based on past experience, acrylic primers act more like a sturdier basecoats rather than a proper primer per se so essentially there isn't any primer coat overkill. Well, technically two primer coats is overkill enough.

A primer mixture of two oxide red hues (left track) was followed by a umber-like hue (right)

For some modellers, polyurethane acrylic primer is just a glorified acrylic paint basecoat

An application of track wash brought the rust hues to a darker tone

At this stage, both set of tracks have had a fairly generous application of the enamel wash

Rust hues for the tracks using a combination of pigments and enamel washes

Following the rust pigments and washes, a dark steel pigment as well as a pigment fixture was applied 

Most modern tank tracks comprise a combination of rubber and metal parts. However, for the purpose of the Nurgle Rhino I had assumed an all-metal track and weathered it as such. This meant a fully rusted track with metallic shine showing through in places where the track experiences frictional contact with surfaces. For a closeup view of each step of the 'all-metal' track weathering process as well as a description of the work involved, please check out the photos (including captions) below.

Step 1: A coating of AK Interactive Track Primer, light enough that some of the oxide red shows through

Step 2: A liberal application of AK Interactive Enamel Track Wash

Step 3: Application of AK Interactive's Track, Light Rust, Medium Rust pigments as well as Light Rust Enamel Wash

Step 4: Application of AK Interactive Dark Steel pigment, followed by its Pigment Fixer then another layer of Dark Steel

As a final touch of significant weathering, dust/dirt effects was applied on the lower sections of the Nurgle Rhino's hull. The intention was to add more colour variation to the monotone hull, yet not too much as to confuse the eye to what is already a heavily weathered hull. To add dust/dirt effects, I used a combination of AK Interactive Africa Dust Effects enamel wash and some white spirit. The latter served to either dilute the wash or clean off excess dust/dirt effects for a more stain-like look.

AK Interactive Africa Dust Effects and White Spirit used together to create dust/dirt stains on lower hull 

A light yellowish or beige-like dust/dirt stain was chosen to complement the greyish green hull

Closeup of the lower sections of the Nurgle Rhino's hull, after being weathered with dust/dirt stains

Blogging this entire project week after week has at times stretched my patience (not to mention that of my dear readers). It sometimes can be hard to maintain enthusiasm in a project when week after week sees only at times are small incremental steps towards a greater whole. To inject some variety into future posts, I plan to alternative blog postings between two completely different projects each week. This can only work if the two projects are sufficiently different or confusion may reign. Before that though will be the final reveal of the Nurgle Rhino project so please bear with me until then.