SPA Modeler

After some time, I managed to bring some models over the finish line. These are my three latest for this month.


First my British Army has taken delivery of this 1/72 scale Roden Rolls Royce Pattern 20 Armored Car:












Next, my Russian army has taken delivery of these two tanks:


First, this 1/72 scale ACE IT-1 Drakon Anti-Tank Missile tank. This is based on a T-55 chassis:











This next one is the 1/72 scale ACE T-62B main battle tank:











With those last two Russian tanks completed, I have finally gotten that entire stack of eleven Russian tank kits out of the way. That stack of boxes is gone. I love it!


These aren't the best I've done, not even close. I'm still practicing with Tamiya's weathering powders too. I'm not too happy, as I don't want my tanks looking so crazy dusty. It could also be that Tamiya's weathering powders are formulated more for 1/35th scale armor, which might be why it looks so heavy here. Hopefully someday I'll improve enough to satisfy my sense of aesthetics, or find another system that works better with 1/72 scale armor.


Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.

They look pretty good Mark! I’m happy to hear that you’ve completed a stack of kits!

All three are looking good!

Good stuff,the line keeps moving !!!

Mark, that's three more than I've finished and they look good from here. I know it feels good to see the stash "going down", but it just makes way for more kits, right?

Those are all looking good Mark, especially the Rolls Royce!

Are those those little powders in what look like make-up compacts? Personally I could never get on with those, I find them far too thick and I don't find they drybrush very well, I prefer the Humbrol powders I have - but like you I'm right at the beginning of my weathering journey.

Very nice work Mark!

Stikpusher wrote:They look pretty good Mark! I’m happy to hear that you’ve completed a stack of kits!

Thank you Carlos! Yeah, I eliminated 11 boxes after finishing all those Russians. Made a good sized hole in my stash! Now I have about six or seven very large trucks (8 wheels or more) that I might try to focus on once I clear more space on my workbench. Those boxes are BIG!

Thank you Clint!

Thank you Tony! I sure try to keep things moving.

Gary Brantley wrote:Mark, that's three more than I've finished and they look good from here. I know it feels good to see the stash "going down", but it just makes way for more kits, right?

Thank you Gary! I might even finish one more this month, but that depends on time. Yes it does feel great seeing the stash reduced and empty boxes removed. As for filling that extra space; I'm actually reducing the stash much faster than I'm adding to it. The only thing that will allow me to increase the stash are raffle prizes (should I have the cash to buy enough) Christmas and birthday money, and the rare incident where someone sends me a box of 1/72 scale aircraft, 1/72 scale armor and/or 1/700 scale ships for free.

Yes. That has happened..... twice.

Stuart wrote:Those are all looking good Mark, especially the Rolls Royce!

Are those those little powders in what look like make-up compacts? Personally I could never get on with those, I find them far too thick and I don't find they drybrush very well, I prefer the Humbrol powders I have - but like you I'm right at the beginning of my weathering journey.

Thank you Stuart! I am pretty happy with the way the Rolls turned out. I wanted a dusty, well used vehicle. Yes, the weathering powders I use are the Tamiya ones that come in those little compacts. I don't dry brush with them; I try another tack: I mix them in water to get a thin slurry, then 'paint' then all over the model. Then I'll take a brush or paper towel and wipe off the excess on the flat surfaces, leaving the dust in the crevises when it dries. If it goes on too thick; I will reduce it using Q-tips (cotton buds) dipped in water to remove extra that I don't want in certain crevices; and/or later shoot a dullcoat over the model to absorb even more. I'm still practicing to get the results I see in my head. And yes, you may be right about Tamiya powders being too thick; I believe they are formulated for 1/35th scale armor; that seems to be why it always looks so heavy on my small models.

Thank you Mike! Glad to see you stop in!

Those finished out very nicely, good sir! Great work.

Thank you Lyle! Always a pleasure to see your compliments!