M109A2 UPDATE ( 6/23 ( Calling this finished)

[armorguy]

Impressive finish Leon ! Congrats !

Best regards ! AG.

[Leon]

Thanks Guy.Going to do a little weathering.Hope to have it done soon so i can enter it in the MOM contest.

[tonylee-Rest In Peace]

Now that's worth lookin at even if its not finished Leon

Nice work buddy
Tony lee

[Leon]

Tony,thanks for looking in .Your comment is very much appreciated.Hope to give it a nice finish.

[wbill76]

Leon,

One of the things you might do in order to experiment/proof your approach before committing to the actual model is to take a sheet of styrene and paint it up and seal it just like the actual model surface. Then use it as test bed/template to fine tune the levels as you go. That way you can feel confident with the technique without endangering your model the first time around. Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

[Leon]

Bill,i was thinking about that when i was at work today.That would be a good test bed.

[Leon]

Hey guys,while i am waiting for my weathering products to arrive,i would like to get a driver and commander for this.Any suggestions to point me to some good ones.


CHEERS

[Leon]

Dicky,thanks.That is what i am looking for .Will defo look into Trumpeter.Like what you did with yours.

[Leon]

Hi guys,got the 109 clear coated this morning,so shes ready for decs and weathering.I made up a test piece as per Bills suggestion.Painted it the same as the 109 and cleared it.I will fine tune my filters on this before i do the 109.Weathering paints should be here tues.

[Leon]

Question!! Can i apply the decs before i start the filters and pin wash?

CHEERS

[TRM]

Hi Leon!! Sorry I missed the question on the last page about the filters and washes...the fellas hooked you up I see...Good news there. I actually use a brush and/or use the AB to apply some washes like the dust effects. Brush will do just fine with any of them, especially the filter. Build it up in layers a little at a time. If you half-a$$ shake the bottle...not too much, you have a thinner mix of the filter. Apply a nice even coat and let dry for about 5-10 minutes. Then you can work the area with white spirits or thinner...Humid brush, not too much. Clean often on a dry paper towel. You can slowly adjust color in certain areas at will by adding and subtracting the filters and washes!!

To answer the question about decs...YES. Put the decs on, then seal again. If you weather over them they will blend nicely with your paint and weathering!!

[Leon]

Thank you T.Everyone has been a great help and i appreciate it very much.May have some more questions once i start,so i'll ask away.

[wbill76]

Glad to be of assistance Leon! If you don't seal your decals and use anything that's thinner or lacquer based, you run the serious risk of having your decals dissolve or disintegrate on you, so definitely seal well before weathering. Use a good setting solution like Solvaset on the decals so they snug down tight to your first seal layer and don't silver, then once thoroughly dry, seal again and let that cure for at least 24 hours before you do any weathering over the top of it and you should be fine.

[Leon]

Thanks Bill,going to but a second seal coat on in the morning.

[elco]

Reminds me of Kosovo 1999 



Keep up the good work!

[Leon]

Thanks for looking in Elco,very much appreciated. Thanks for sharing the photo.I like it.

[dupes]

Whoah, I haven't checked in for a few days...NICE!

[Leon]

Thanks dupes,this weathering stuff scares the crap out of me .This is my test,as i don't want to have a disaster on this build when i'm ready to start on it.

[bbd468]

Hey Leon, Your doin the right thing practicing like you are to get familiar with the mediums your working with. Be sure to seal your base color and camo before you weather.

I can see subtle weather on your practice card and its a good thing to go light first and build upon your weathering slowly and in layers. IMO you can go a bit farther with your weathering on the practice card and see what happens. Dont be too scared bro! If ya can pull it off on the card you can do it on the M109.

You got this Leon!

[Leon]

Gary,thanks for feed back.Getting ready to do another filter coat.Will post more pics later.

[TRM]

You will do fine!! You have the perfect test piece!! Take advantage of the whole thing. I would section the entire test specimen off with a grid of the tape used, but 1/2 the width to give you more working space. Then wright down what you use in each quadrant. Use a filter in one, wash another and so on. Mix and match an play!! When done, you can seal and add different dusting and dirt/mud effects.

I do this all the time. Taking old parts and test cards to try things out.









These are great for those "in between" time when you just need to sniff the fumes...take some paint and just make up some cards for painting and weathering practice!!You can see in the first pic in the bottom row, I have applied a wash to the left side of each section.  The 3rd pic was for a different practice/sbs sitting...I just chopped it off the original card and had at it with some new products I got!

Looking forward to seeing how you make out along the way here!!   Keep it coming!!!

[Leon]

Thanks T,Going to try this before my next go round.

[eastrock]

Looks great, Leon

[Leon]

Thank you ER.Going to do a little more practice test before i do the 109.Everyone's been a really great help with this and is appreciated very much.

[eastrock]

Looking forward too Leon

[Leon]

Thanks you Dicky.The 109 is decaled up and sealed,it's just waiting for on me.

[Teabone]

Jun 2, 2013 9:45:03 GMT -5 Leon said:

Thanks T,Going to try this before my next go round.

Leon

I can tell you, being one to not use caution, that I have really ruined more builds than have come out good by being way to lazy to test the painting method before using it.  The cautious way is the best way without question.

Bones

[Leon]

Thanks Bones.I'm new to this,so PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE it will be.

[Teabone]

Jun 2, 2013 14:09:23 GMT -5 Leon said:

Thanks Bones.I'm new to this,so PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE it will be.

I think, at least from the problems I have, its to avoid laziness and take the extra step.

Bones

[wbill76]

The practice looks to be paying off Leon, go 'heavy' on your practice sections and then dial it back...that way you can get a good feel for where the goldilocks position is for your 109.