More tanks! Always need more tanks. The Iron Hands are known for having a lot of vehicles, and I tried to brink that into the army list as well. There's even more to come after this!
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This one turned out okay - sort of like the rusty effect on the lower hull.
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Might need to push the mud spatter up a little higher on the sides though.
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I like big exhausts and I cannot lie...
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And now the short bus. From the side it's okay, think the chipping around the access ramps turned out okay but the tracks are pretty wonky - this is the tank where I learned you should start and the top and work down to allow for gaps and possible track removal, rather than follow the directions provided by FW which suggests you start at the bottom and work up. By the time I got to the top, there wasn't quite enough room to fit the top track section and it ended up being a bit raised off the roller on the upper rear. Disappointing.
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...And then to compound the disappointment, something happened with the sealant on the front and the finish totally crackled up. Must have had some moisture on it or something. I'm REALLY disappointed about this tank - from the ham-fisted assembly to the wonky sealant level, it just didn't turn out the way I'd hoped. Figure I have three ways to go - either I figure out a way to work that texture in as some sort of weathering (melta scarring, maybe? give it a metal drybrush pass?), use some fine sandpaper to try and remove the crinkly layer and hope I don't jack up the underlying paint too much, or dump the whole damn tank into Simple Green and start again... Argh.
God that must be heart breaking! It's bad enough when I spend hours painting a minature only to have the varnish cloud on me at the end! I really wouldn't know myself what to do in this situation. Perhaps start again with the simple green. That way your unlikely to make the same mistakes
ReplyDeleteI've built one of these as well, and I know your pain. Those tracks do not line up correctly. I had to shave almost half a track off of the bottom to get them to fit. And that was after several hot water baths to get them to straighten out. Seriously, I would set it aside for a week or so, then come back to it. If you still feel bad about the way it looks, dunk it in simple green and start over. It sounds bad, but in the end YOU should be happy with the model. Love seeing this army come together, and at least I wasn't the only one who had problems with this tank!
ReplyDeleteStart over. It might take more time, but will be more rewarding in the end.
ReplyDeleteThat is a bummer man, I'm looking at getting one down the road when the funds become available so good to know. But it looks good otherwise, I agree and would add a little more mud to the bottom section. Looks a little lite at the very bottom. I've had the same issue happen with my spray cans before and it sucks. Nothing like putting in the table time and then the clear screws you. I used ultra fine sand paper and sanded it down. You could also use some acrylic thinner on a rag and lightly wipe it down. If you are really careful your might be able to pull off the top layer of clear and not damage the paint. I tried a couple of painting techs to try to bring it back but I was never happy with the out come. Now I use nothing but my Airbrush to Clear my models and it works great! Hope it work out for you!
ReplyDelete@Musings of a Smurf: Aye - I was so bummed out I ended up pulling it out of the army list for January. Going to try the sandpaper first, then into the dip if that doesn't work out.
ReplyDelete@Asmodai: Indeed - on the tank that turned out okay, I ended up shaving down almost half a track as well. Having it on the bottom though it's hard to notice!
@Fiend Without A Face: Aye, that's likely how it's going to end up, I'm afraid. Sort of hoping that the simple green will loosen up the tracks as well so I can take a whack at re-tracking it as well.
@Todd Sherman: Indeed, think another weathering pass for some more robust mud spatter wouldn't hurt the overall look. Wish I knew what happened, I'd sprayed both land raiders and both sicarans at the exact same time and only the front of this one tank crinkled up (and thank goodness for that!). The acrylic thinner is an interesting idea as well, maybe a combo of that and the fine sandpaper will help rescue it!
Bummer. You could just sponge weather the crackly parts. It you are planning on stripping it anyway. Maybe you'll get luck.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the clear coating woes. There are worse fates though, at least you have the option to strip and start over.
ReplyDeleteI just shot some (Future) clear coat through my airbrush earlier this week. It went on so well I'm wondering whey I never got off my rear and did it before. My Testors Dulcote maybe going extinct...
Last time I had a similar issue I turned the whole tank into a wreck marker which looks cool - but that was a Chimera and I suspect is not an option for a snazzy-looking FW vehicle such as that.
ReplyDeleteBefore you strip it all, just give it one more try with the sealant. I've had cases before where the sealant has fogged the paint job (thanks to humidity). Another pass with the sealant a few days later and it cleared up the problem. Make sure it's warm and dry when you try it again.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if that doesn't work, starting from scratch is the way to go.
Start over - I did that with 2 of my Death GuArd Rhinos that I wasn't happy with, and I'm so glad I did.
ReplyDeleteChalk it up to experience and crack on!
I love the melta damage idea. Would set it apart from the other LR and really give it some character.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it caught the edge of a titan megameltacannonthingie shot or something else equally burny?
I'm curious what varnish you used. Some varnishes can actually eat the acrylic paint underneath.... or if the acrylic paint wasn't fully dried (Like less than 24hrs) the moisture can get sealed under the varnish and when it tries to escape it cracks.
ReplyDeleteEither that or it was sprayed heavy on the front. You could just gently sand those areas flat and touch up paint without doing the rest of the model over.
Also, yes Proteus Land Raider tank tracks are a pain in the ass...
@Zab: Aye - gonna try to sponge weather the area and see how it looks before trying anything more drastic.
ReplyDelete@The Inner Geek: Definitely, just a setback rather than a full-on catastrophe.
@Colonel Scipio: There was a brief moment where I considered taking a hammer to it... Hah!
@Dave Taylor: Indeed - I've had good luck with the reapply method over clouded sealant as well. This actually turned out almost like crackle paint for some reason, it's actually physically ridged. Never seen that happen before!
@The GunGrave: Very likely going to end up stripping the whole thing, ah well, at least the paint scheme is quick and easy!
@Dai: I'll snap a couple pics of the melta damage/sponged on method before doing anything drastic, and get people's opinion. Would definitely be a time-saver if it works!
@The Eye of Error: I'm using the Krylon 1311 matte finish. Pretty sure it was operator error rather than the sealant itself (as the three other tanks I batch sealed at the same time show no crackling), I think you're probably bang on that I sprayed too heavy on the front. My buddy Dave gave me several fine grade sandpapers that I'm going to take to it first, hopefully I can just do some doctoring and not have to re-do the whole thing...
Thanks for the ideas and commiserations, folks! I appreciate it!
I don't suppose the track sits badly enough to be easily removed and shave down a bit so it fits properly? Tracks are always a pain....
ReplyDeleteWhile the track issue is... unfortunate, I kind of like the extra weathering that the cracked varnish adds to the armor. Between the mud/rust around the tracks and the weathering around the side door ramps, it's not parade-ground perfect anyway, so that extra bit of texture adds to the beaten, used look.
Too bad the fogged vehicle wasn't dedicated to Nurgle; it would have added to the effect! Hope you get it fixed bro.
ReplyDeleteThat looks bloody awesome, I love the tracks, really make it pop as it were.
ReplyDelete@#2501: Indeed - I'm hoping not to have to break the whole thing apart, though that may be required...
ReplyDelete@Juger: Hah! The crackle effect is kind of neat, would be interesting to be able to apply it purposefully on Nurgle-y vehicles!
@Frothing Muppet: Aye, I was gutted. Going to try to save it first, but have a sneaky suspicion that it's going into the dip!
@Headologist: Thanks mate!
They're great looking models, but I had a similar track problem with mine.
ReplyDeleteOn the subject of the sealant, thats bad luck and no solution is ideal. What did you decide on?
@Rob: Aye - now I know the trick to 'em (build from the top down, need to trim a track), I'm pretty sure future proteusesses will be relatively painless. I ended up going for a sponge weathered battle damage look which works out all right for the short term. Might still strip it and start anew at some point in the future.
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