Berlin, 1945.

GAZ-AAA build – Part 1:Introduction

GAZ-AAA build – Part 2:Assembly

GAZ-AAA build – Part 3:Painting

GAZ-AAA build – Part 4:Weathering

• Paint chips on the metal were simulated using Vallejo Model Color “German Camouflage Black Brown” (70822), applied with a sponge or fine brush. Paint chips or damage on the wooden parts were simulated using Vallejo Panzer Aces “Old Wood” (310).
• The exhaust was painted with the various colours of the LifeColor rust set.
• The engine was drybrushed with Citadel “Leadbelcher”.
• Before further weathering, a 1:2 mixture of Mr.Color “Clear Gloss” (46) and Mr.Color Leveling Thinner was sprayed over the entire model.
• The entire model was washed with a dilute mixture of Winsor & Newton “Raw Umber” and “Lamp Black” oil paints (ratio about 5:1) in enamel thinners.
• The engine and panel lines of the truck were brushed with AMMO Oilbrusher “Starship Filth” or “Starship Bay Sludge” and the excess removed with cotton bud.
• Vertical streaks on the cab were added with AMMO Oilbrusher “Starship Bay Sludge” and “Rust”.
• Some rust was added to parts of the chassis using a wash of AMMO Oilbrusher “Rust” in enamel thinners.
• The headlights were painted with Abteilung 502 “Silver” oil paint.
• The tilt was dotted with the following oil paints: Winsor & Newton “Raw Umber”, “Payne’s Grey”, “Permanent Magenta”, “Transparent White” and AMMO Oilbrusher “Medium Grey”, “Olive Green”,  “Yellow”, “Black”. The dots were blended using a flat brush dampened with enamel thinners.
• The entire model was sprayed with a 1:2 mixture of Mr.Color “Flat Clear” (182) and Mr.Color Leveling Thinner.
• The wheels and chassis were sprayed with a 10% mixture of Mr.Color “Tan” (44) in Mr.Color Leveling Thinner to give an initial impression of dirt.
• AMMO “Europe Earth”, “Dark Earth”, “Rubble” and “Brick Dust” pigments were brushed onto the vehicle and wheels, to varying degrees, and fixed with AMMO “Pigment Fixer” (A.MIG-3000), added by brush.
• Abteilung 502 “Bitumen” (ABT004) and “Engine Grease” (ABT160) oil paints, in varying dilutions in enamel thinners, were added to parts of the vehicle, to simulate stains.
• There is a photo on page 8 of the book Soviet Trucks of World War 2 (Kinnear, Jim and Vollert, Jochen, Tankograd Publishing, 2009) of a GAZ-AA (the four wheel version) which had been converted into a “propaganda vehicle”, with the tilt covered in posters and a picture of Stalin. As I happened to have a bunch of such items by a company called Duplicata, I thought it would be a decent thing to recreate. As this model is going to be included in my Berlin diorama, you could imagine such a vehicle being used, both for the attention of Soviet soldiers and the locals.
• As part of this diorama, I plan to surround this truck with figures and have in mind one to be sitting on the bonnet, but they will have to come later.

Primer: Tamiya “Fine Surface Primer” (light grey) spray can.

Basecoat: Mr.Hobby “Mr.Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black”, as a 1:2 mixture in Mr.Color leveling thinner, followed by MRP “4BO Russian AFV Green” (MRP-26).

Details:

• Tyres: LifeColor “Tire Black” (UA733)
• Tilt: Mr.Hobby “Khaki” (55), drybrushed with LifeColor “4BO Var.” (UA239)
• Headlights: Citadel “Runefang Steel”
• Tarpaulin and stowage items: LifeColor “Russian Uniform Helmet” (UA446), “Red” (LC06) or “4BO Var.” (UA239)
• Windscreen wiper and steering wheel: LifeColor “Black” (LC02)
• Seat: Mr.Hobby “Mr.Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black, drybrushed with Vallejo Model Color “Black Grey” (70862)

No one is going to say that this is a sophisticated kit! It no doubt contains inaccuracies and simplifications, but it suits my purpose – as part of my Berlin diorama. I added some tarpaulin, rolled up stowage and tilt repair section – using sculpted green putty – which I hope will make more sense when the model is finished.

The vehicle

“The three-axle GAZ-AAA was developed concurrently with the mechanically identical GAZ-AA … The GAZ-AAA was used by the Red Army throughout the war years as a general service truck and as a base vehicle for a multitude of specialised variants.” [1]

The kit

Zvezda 1/35 kit [2].

References

1. Kinnear, Jim and Vollert, Jochen, Soviet Trucks of World War 2 (Tankograd Publishing, 2009) p.24
2. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/zvezda-3547-gaz-aaa–121148