Hi all,
I’ve been asked by a few people to give a “How To” guide to converting miniatures for use in “Alternative WW2” war games.
The following is a very simple guide for turning AT43 miniatures by Rackham into WW2 Russian walkers. It requires no modelling skills as such (it’s just a re-paint) and is easy to do.
For this guide I’ve chosen a “Nakovalny” Red Blok walker, although the same technique can be used on any of the Red Blok range.
First of all I stripped down the walker by removing the canopy, weapons and body from the legs.
(I personally don’t keep the internal Roll-Cage as it’s harder to fit a pilot properly).
I sanded down any obvious mold lines and washed all the parts in soapy water and allowed them to dry.
At this point I textured the base using sand and cat-litter, as well as some 1:48 scale Tamiya bricks to make a ruined wall.
I painted the legs, chassis, canopy and weapons ( not the base and interior) with Vallejo US DARK GREEN and allowed it to dry. Once dry I covered the model with a brown ink wash ( Windsor and Newton PEAT BROWN)
Note: It is really important that the ink is allowed to dry properly before the next stage!
Next I applied the base-coat for the white wash effect. MAKE SURE YOU MASK OFF THE LIGHTS!!! I used GW SPACE WOLF GREY and applied it with a sponge. The secret is not to have too much paint on the sponge and “dab” the model. It doesn’t matter that you cannot get into all the recesses (it actually looks better if you don’t!!).
Once it is dry, repeat the process using WHITE paint. Again DO NOT over load the sponge, concentrating on the raised areas. Work from the top of the model downwards. Don’t be overly concerned with the coverage as the effect is better if the GREY shows through slightly.
At this point I picked out the details, painting the metal-work of the legs black, the hydraulic pistons DARK FLESH and SILVER etc.
I also painted the base using earthy colours.
I highlighted the metalwork and base and used some BROWN ink on the hydraulic pistons.
The model looks very “Clean” and not at all like it would after months of fighting on the battle field. This is where I start the weathering process.
First of all, “Real Life” white wash is applied with a brush and isn’t particularly waterproof. To replicate this I mixed up some watered down white paint and using a thin brush I applied fine lines, working from top to bottom ( always use downward strokes) to represent the white wash running. It especially looks effective where the original white coat isn’t quite covering the grey base-coat.
At this point I applied some home-made dry decals with a suitable Russian slogan (most Russian tank kits come with different variants which would be suitable).
Finally I applied some more weathering in the form of scrapes and rust. I used some cheap Raw Umber artist’s acrylics.
I started with any raised areas ( corners or edges) applying a thin line of paint to denote where the white wash had been scraped off. I then thinned down some Raw Umber and applied some downward strokes from these “Scraped” areas to represent rust lines.
I also applied Raw Umber to “working parts” of the model ( joints etc) where metal may wear.
Be careful not to over do it, as the model can start to look messy.
As some final touches I used a converted GW Sentinel pilot as a plot ( the arms need to be sanded down a little at the sides to fit into the cockpit) and some Scenic Snow form Antenociti’s Workshop. The Model was then varnished using Humbrol Matt Cote.
The above process can be used for any of the Red-Blok walkers and here are some example of what I have done so far.
I Hope that was helpful. I will be doing another “How To” for German Walkers shortly.
Regards
PM
21 February 2014, 07:22:05 PM
