Russian armour: my Soviet tank forces

Hi there,

in order to play a game properly I was fortunately forced to finish some tanks which were standing around for some time. I took the chance to make some pictures, so you can have a look!

All models are fast assembly kits. The decals are not included, and so bought separately (only very few fast assembly kits contain decals). I painted them all in the same way: black primer, GW catachan green, a black wash, drybrushing with catachan green and camo green. The dirt is a brown (I used a scenery colour).

1. BA - 6

These fast assembly models are made by Pegasus, one of the best manufacturer of plastic tanks. They are detailed, easy to build and very robust, which makes them perfect for wargaming purposes

2. BT - 7

Also made by Pegasus.

3. T - 34/76

Made by Armourfast. Though cheap and easy to build, they are not very detailed and can't keep up with Italeri or Pegasus.

4. KV - 1

Also Pegasus models. The box contains 4 turrets, which makes it very versatile

5. KV - 2

The same models as in 4., but with KV - 2 turrets.

 

Results of a weekend

I had high ambitions and I soon realized that they were too high to reach them. Let's have a look:

• finish all my wip Wehrmacht vehicles (3 tanks, 2 trucks + 4 tanks and 2 halftracks with minor workload) - only the 4 tanks and 2 halftracks are finished, but the rest is on the way
• finish my Italian Autoblinda 41 (a recon vehicle) - not finished, but almost

A workbench filled with work...

• finish the bases of my trees (that means drybrushing and flocking) - only the flock is missing now, but for a reason: I want to test oregano as leaves on the ground

• start my Ukrainian village - nothing here
• at least prime my Italian infantry - also not yet done
• base the rest of my Wehrmacht infantry - nope
• finish the boxes for my tanks - done! Only some foam is missing, good, that doesn't count as I still have to buy it

Raw material...

...only glue to come...

...some pressure...

...done!

 

Time for a  review. I'm of course a bit disappointed because I only achieved one goal on my list, but there is also something positive. I could push many things on the list much further so it is foreseaable that I can complete them this week. The aims were always in my head while working which motivated me to continue, although I was sometimes halfhearted. As a result, I'm convinced that I accomplished more than I would have without the pressure of my public plan. So, my personal conclusion is that my blog motivated me, but I have to lower my expectations then it comes to plans.

Love and hate - often closely connected

Yesterday, after I wrote my second post here, I returned to my work station to finish my Panzer III (I showed it in my first post). I wanted to try matt varnish on it, so it would be protected from sticky fingers and other things which rub off paint. A friend of mine also used it on his tanks and was satisfied. So I was optimistic and started to apply the varnish. It looked a bit wet even after drying, so I waited a little more. But the wet effect stayed. Now I'm disappointed, because the tank looks darker than before and the dirt I painted lost it's nice dusty look. It's not really a big deal, but if you paint such nice models and they are just the way you wanted them - and than something changes, it can daunt you. In my case it did. 

Before

After

Compared to a similar tank. Note the shiny, wet looking dirt and the slighty darker grey on the left tank

.

So, I decided not to varnish my tanks. Only the decals will get some, so they loose their gloss. My poor Panzer will get some new dirt but not more

But that wasn't all I did. I also finished some markers for Disposables Heroes. Just small stones on a one €-cent coin, painted and varnished. Not much, but necessary for a game and they look good on the table.

Last but not least my trees, or, to be specific, their bases:

I was told to make the bases brighter then I normally do and so i did. I like the result (thanks again Björn!). But that lead me to another decision: I have to pimp my table. 

I built it three years ago and I made a mistake, because I painted it very dark by using a black primer and a dark brown as base colour. I liked it in the beginning and so painted all my scenery bases in the same scheme. Today, I regret my decision, but I was too lazy to change all my stuff. However, I will tackle that in the following months, as I am very optimistic at the moment. I will of course show that project to you!