SPA Modeler

Another nerve-wracking night last night, freehanding the gray-blue camoflage. The AMMO gray just didn't match the color showing up in reference photos at all, so I went with a mix of Tamiya Light Gray, Light Blue and XF-2 White.











Definitely feels like the hardest part is done now! Though I'm tempted to rip off the back can mounts and re-align them since I'm just not happy with how they sit.

Amazing freehand work! Some day, maybe. Looks sharp.

Your photo setup is awesome. The first picture is beautifully lit; look at the running gear under the hull!

Fantastic work, Matt! This is another great looking build!

Some more little work on the T-80 last night.

First, I went to install the front skirts and realized I'd painted the wrong sides! So I installed them and pulled out the airbrush.





Second, out back, I opted to just run this tank without the fuel drums, since I can't find a picture of a single tank in action actually carrying them. To remove the mounting tabs on the drum mounts, I clipped them off with sprue cutters then used a sanding cylinder on the Dremel. These were painted with the 2:1 Black:NATO Black.

Spare track links, unditching log and rear mud flaps were also installed.

Got a bit further along...Vallejo Gloss varnish and decals. A whopping three of them!

You must have spend all night applying those three decals...
Matt, I wonder how you manage to carefully paint the road wheels and the tracks with all of those already glued fix in place?!?

Put an initial filter of raw umber on a day or two ago:



Last night I moved on to more aggressive things with oils. Dot filtering with transparent white and a selection of blues, blue-grays, greens and green-grays. Targeted pin washes of raw umber darkened with black.

Small update - I'm planning to take a pretty light weathering touch with the T-80, but wanted a bit of muck on it, so I adapted something I used on the Challenger 1.

Vallejo Dark Gray wash, brushed onto some black packing foam (like what comes with Aires or Eduard Brassin stuff), mostly dabbed off, then "dry sponged" onto some lower areas of the hull.





Next will be some very light dusting - probably Tamiya heavily thinned. Then on to the flat coat and pigments.

Just about wrapped up with the (light) weathering. Last night I used some heavily thinned Tamiya paint (Flat Earth + Light Gray + Khaki Drab) to dust up the wheels, side skirts and front and rear. Next up - flat coating, pigments and finishing touches.

And...DONE. After 50 days on the bench (a blink of an eye the way I've been going of late), the T-80BV is ready to head off to the display cabinet.

Last night was Vallejo Matt Varnish, installation of the light lenses, and graphiting the tracks. I'd thought I'd need to break out some pigments, and I did, but only for the exhaust.