M1A1 AIM Abrams * finished *

[Wouter]

Hi fellas, it's been a while since I posted something buildwise of mine. So here's a project which I started a couple of months ago.

It's one of my occasional modern builds. And since I'm a dirty tank lover ;D, I decided to build a muddy variation...with NATO camouflage, as with three tone camo aren't seen that often as the sand colored ones. Base kit was a Dragon kit. I kept it fun so OOB this time

















lots of photos, I know ;D

for a while this building was heading in the 'messed up' build direction, but I think in the end it worked out ok. Still not finished though. Been thinking to add her to a base with a soldier with a bucket and a spongue, ready to clean the tank ;D
One could ask though why I did the effort to first paint the lower hull ey? :

Looking forward to read what you fellas think

Cheers

 

[adampolo13]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

What a great finish dude! Love the idea of a solider having to clean it up!

 

[Big-John]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

Wouts ol buddy, that turned out looking pretty awesome mate!

 

[MxTanker]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

Just a thought as a tanker myself, unless the tank commander was particularly cruel, he most likely wouldn't have one of the crewman out with a bucket and sponge to clean off mud, unless just to get the headlights/taillights. A couple of things we did do while out in the field was take a screwdriver or something of the sort to knock off the big chunks while doing maintenance so we could get to lube points and key areas like the sprocket. We also carried a shop broom in one of the sponson boxes to sweep off the top of the turret and top of the hull to help alleviate tracking it inside the turret. The reason we didn't do the sponge thing is because once we were done with a field problem, we would go through a wash rack with pressure washers/birdbath/etc. I think the kit looks great and the mud is accurately depicted. I will definitely have to get this one.

 

[zappa]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

Wow , wouter that looks really good!!!
Did you layer the mud from light to dark colors?


Zappa

 

[letsgobrowns82]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

That is fantastic!!! You really nailed it

 

[Wouter]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

fellas, thanks for the great replies, great to read that you gents like it!

MXtanker, thanks for the info there mate, makes a lot of sense. I figured out that they wouldn't really clean it with just a spongue and a bucket, but I thought it would make a funny scene ;D. Not sure if I'll go with that idea though or just put it on a piece of muddy soil now ^^

Zappa; I layered it allright but not per se from ligth to dark...it's a bit of a mixture...Indeed I started out with a general wash of AK Nato Rainmarks, after that another one with rainmarks mixed with Europe Earth and Light Dust pigment. After that I added a darker mud mixture to the lower parts. But it looked bad. So I added lots of Europe Earth and Light Dust pigments on top and dragged some of it down using a slightly damp brush. Some oils were used as well.
Turret was more straighforward: first the oil dot method to get a dusty appearance, then some heavily thinned buffed sprayed on and after that Nato Rainmarks and some of the pigments.
Hope that's the answer you were looking for?

Cheers

 

[cargoman5126]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

Luv that dirty tank!!LOL..Looks great..1 question, What did you use for the imaging lenses?? Looks very cool..thanx

 

[Wouter]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

Luv that dirty tank!!LOL..Looks great..1 question, What did you use for the imaging lenses?? Looks very cool..thanx

Hi mate, thanks for that
For the periscopes I used AFV Club reflective lense stickers. Great effect, isn't it?

Cheers

 

[zappa]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

thanks for the explanation wouter! (we leren altijd wat bij he )

zappa

 

[pingvuiini]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

Beautiful weathering! I am trying to get a handle on the heavy buildup on the bottom and getting much lighter on the top like you have done so well here. I wish I had known about the reflective lens stickers so I could have used them on my Leclerc, which I just painted transparent green on the inside and it looks like crap.

 

[Wouter]

Re: M1A1 AIM Abrams

thanks mate

Well, I forgot to post the final shots. Managed to finally get it finished last month










I must say I enjoyed this a lot and it sure won't be my last modern build ^^

Cheers

 

[JohnSimmons]

Love it!

 

[MaschinenKrueger]

That's a really nice dusty finish.

 

[Junkie]

It sure is. Great job Wouter.

 

[Grendels]

Well done!

 

[Ozzman78]

Good Gravy that looks real! Outstanding weathering.

 

[jake]

Sweet mud and weathering! Looks duty and sun faded. Love it!

 

[Leighbo]

I agree with everyone else awesome, job on the weathering

Top quality

 

[Steve Ski]

Man, that is an excellent job!! Very well done, looks pretty real to me.

Cheers, Ski.