Soviet Union, 1944-1945.

T-34 tractor (model 1944) build – Part 1:Introduction
T-34 tractor (model 1944) build – Part 2:Assembly
T-34 tractor (model 1944) build – Part 3:Painting
T-34 tractor (model 1944) build – Part 4:Weathering

• Paint chips were simulated using Vallejo Model Color “German Camouflage Black Brown” (70822), applied with a sponge or fine brush.
• The exhausts were painted with the various colours of the LifeColor rust set.
• 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 excess being cleaned up with a dry brush or cotton bud.
• Further contrast was added using AMMO Oilbrusher “Starship Bay Sludge” and AMMO Panel Line Wash “Dark Green Grey” (AMIG1608).
• The tow cables were washed with a dilute mixture of Abteilung 502 “Light Rust Brown” (Abt060).
• Certain parts of the vehicle were treated with AMMO Oilbrusher “Olive Green”.
• The saw wooden handles were brushed with AMMO Oilbrusher “Dark Brown”.
• To the some of the vertical sides were added dots of AMMO Oilbrusher “Dark Mud” or Winsor & Newton “Burnt Umber”, “Burnt Sienna”. Then, using a flat brush, the oil paint was drawn down the side to simulate streaks of dirt or rust.
• The unditching logs were treated with AMMO Oilbrusher “Dark Mud” or “Dark Brown”.
• AMMO Oilbrusher oil paint “Dusty Earth”, “Dust” and “Medium Soil” dissolved in enamel thinners was painted on the wheels and parts of the hull, to simulate dried mud. The same oil paints were dotted on the vertical sides of the hull and drawn down in vertical streaks using a flat brushed dampened with enamel thinners. This process was repeated multiple times to build up  the layers of streaks.
• A mixture of medium coloured pigments were brushed onto the surfaces and tracks and fixed with neat AMMO “Pigment Fixer” (A.MIG-3000) or a 1:1 mixture of AMMO “Pigment Fixer” (A.MIG-3000) and enamel thinners, applied by brush. Once dry, I added small amounts of lighter coloured pigments and more darker coloured pigments, fixed as before.
• Vallejo “Carbon Black” (73116) pigment was added to the end of the exhausts and the surrounding area.
• The contact points on the tracks, idler and sprocket wheels were brushed with with AK Interactive “Dark Steel” (AK086) pigment.
• The machine gun, tow cables and saw blade were lightly brushed with AK Interactive “Dark Steel” (AK086) pigment.
• Abteilung 502 “Sepia” (ABT002) and “Engine Grease” (ABT160) oil paints, in varying dilutions in enamel thinners and with or without Humbrol “Gloss Cote”, were added to parts of the vehicle, to simulate oil and fuel stains. These were added successively over several days, to allow the oils time to dry.

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)