Leman Russ battle tank SBS

[Jay Biga]

Hi peoples,

I'd like to share with you some shots that show you a Step By Step (SBS) of a Leman Russ battle tank I built and painted. Perhaps somebody will find it handy to see how another person paints his tanks, after all we all learn from eachother.

Step one: Model built and primered. Because the model looks grey, it still looks like bare plastic, but I used a grey car primer, as I find this to be one of the best primer coats available.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0014.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0007-3.jpg

Step two: Basecoat. The model was airbrushed with a coat of Dark Yellow acrylics. Dark Yellow, despite the name, is a sandy colour that was used by the Germans during the second World War.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0020-1.jpg

Step three: Camouflage. Using an Olive Green acrylic, a camouflage pattern was airbrushed freehand over the model. Once dry, both the basecoat and camo colour were highlighted, by spraying a slightly lighter version of the colour inside the "splotches" in a cloudy pattern. To highlight the Dark Yellow, a drop of White was added to the mix, while the Olive Green was made lighter by adding a drop of Dark Yellow.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0139-1.jpg

[Jay Biga]

Once the camo job was dry, I painted the details, such as the periscopes, tools and stowage. Once this was dry, the real fun could begin: Weathering.

Step four: Pin washes. Pin washed are just like any wash. But rather than applying them to large surfaces, I prefer a more controlled way of applying them. This is called a pin wash. You take a detail brush, dip it in the wash (in this case a very dark brown) and gently touch the brush to the corners, nooks and crannies where you want the darkening effect of the wash to go. This results in a nice shadow effect, sometimes referred to as lining.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0148-1.jpg

Step five: Filtering. Once the pin wash had dried, I applied a filter, also known as a glaze. This is basically similar to an old school was, in that it is applied to the entire surface of the model. But unlike a wash, which changes the colour of the layer underneath, a filter is far more subtle. You could equal it to a VERY thin wash. Take a wide brush, dip it in the filter (in this case a greyish brown), touch the brush to the sides of the container, so most of the liquid runs off the brush. Then simply paint the filter over the entire model. This won't change the colours underneath, but rather give them a more subtle appearance, as it draws all the colours together.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0084.jpg

Step six: Final weathering. I don't like my tanks clean. They trundle about in all kinds of dirt and particularly in the 40K universe, some tanks are ancient warmachines. So I like them to look like they've been around the block a few times.
In order to achieve this, I mixed up some sandy paste (used to repair walls) with some pigment powders. This was then applied all over the tracks, and also over the lower edge of the dozer blade.
Once dry, I made a wash by mixing the pigment powders with pure alcohol, and applying this as a pin wash on the areas covered by the paste and where dust would build up.
Once this was dry, I "detailed" this a bit by adding some wet spots and grease/oil stains.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0080-1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0128.jpg

[Jay Biga]

There you have it. Now some overall shots of the model as it looks finished.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0076-2.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0074-1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0092.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0069.jpg

[Jay Biga]

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0090.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0088.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0086-1.jpg

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/solidjay/PICT0121-2.jpg

I hope you guys enjoyed this thread. I enjoyed building and painting this tank, though I have to admit, it's not my first Leman Russ.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, feel free!

[fuzzbuket]

Bravo
can we have more on other units?
10/10
brilliant
:D:D:D:D

fuzzbuket

[Raichek]

I love the weathering on that tank. I do have a question though, what was the stand you used to support the tank?

[person person]

Nice LR, sounds like it took a while with airbrushing and mixing up pigments etc.

[oni]

Wow! That is spectacular.

[Jay Biga]

Thanks guys!

@Fuzzbuket.
Sure, I'd be happy to do some more stuff like that. I'll see what stuff I run into when building a Guard army that'll be worthwhile.

@Raichek.
That stand is a special airbrushing stand. It basically has two springloaded clamps, which can be set to clamp from the outside in and from the inside out. It's a great tool to have round and is actually relatively cheap. It costs around the $20 mark and you get two: The one you see and one that is basically a turntable on which you can place a model. It also comes with a number of smaller clamps to keep small parts in place while you spray them.

@Person Person.
The pigments only take a few minutes to prepare. I have a few small metal cups in which I just mix them up, drop in some alcohol or sandy paste and you're good to go.
The airbrushing is most of the work. Mixing the paints and thinners is timeconsuming, as is the airbrushing itself, but setting up and cleaning is the biggest chore. :D

@Oni.
Thanks! Much appreciated.

[ForeverHero]

Nice work, the tank looks great and can't wait to see more of your work. BTW, did you use oil paints as your filter and washes or somehting else?

[Selorian]

I really like the mud effect on the dozer blade. Adds a lot of character to your model.

[Jay Biga]

Yep, I mostly use oil paints and odourless white spirits to make washes with.
Sorry I left that out.

Thanks guys!

[Raichek]

@Raichek.
That stand is a special airbrushing stand. It basically has two springloaded clamps, which can be set to clamp from the outside in and from the inside out. It's a great tool to have round and is actually relatively cheap. It costs around the $20 mark and you get two: The one you see and one that is basically a turntable on which you can place a model. It also comes with a number of smaller clamps to keep small parts in place while you spray them.



Cool, any suggestions what brand to get? I've been looking for something like that.

[Jay Biga]

Mine is from Tamiya.