Pete Davis's 1/35th AFV Club M1126 8x8 infantry combat vehicle
My 1/35 scale AFV Club Stryker M1126 8X8 infantry combat vehicle is done! Much to my surprise, this kit went together with only a couple minimal fit issues, self induced! I had expected it to be a bit on the iffy side as the kit has been in my stash for many years now, and older kits tend to be less engineered than recent ones, but it turned out to be an enjoyable build.
I decided to to it as a vehicle that has been in the field for a while during the summer, perhaps on maneuvers in a training facility, so the weathering is not that heavy. I did use burnt sienna oils with mineral spirits (my first use of this thinner with oils as I usually use the less odorous Turpenol) to do some of the filtering and dirtying but the majority of the modulation is done using the usual black undercoat with white accent under main color coat method.
I also used a very light coat of Tamiya buff thinned way down and sprayed on at a foot or so from the model to create a light dusty look as well. That especially worked well on the tires, which are vinyl mounted to plastic hubs (really nicely detailed tires I might add). I did do some panel accenting with Tamiya Black Panel Liner around the raised hull elements. I sanded the tire treads to make them look worn which really brought out that detail, in my opinion.
The decals went on quite easily and released from their carrier sheet with little to no time needed, not like the previous couple of kits i have worked on…a very delightful development! I did use the Micro Set and Sol method to embed them, but the vehicle numbers all silvered on me (think I should have used more gloss under them to relieve this issue). I am still ok with that as you can always weather to compensate after the fact. Prior to weathering, everything was clear coated with Testor’s Dull Coat…still my favorite flat coat.
For once I have few criticisms of the kit and am delighted to add it to my ever growing shelf of diverse armor builds. Definitely a fun build!
Pete Davis's 1/35th AFV Club M1126 8x8 infantry combat vehicle
My 1/35 scale AFV Club Stryker M1126 8X8 infantry combat vehicle is done! Much to my surprise, this kit went together with only a couple minimal fit issues, self induced! I had expected it to be a bit on the iffy side as the kit has been in my stash for many years now, and older kits tend to be less engineered than recent ones, but it turned out to be an enjoyable build.
I decided to to it as a vehicle that has been in the field for a while during the summer, perhaps on maneuvers in a training facility, so the weathering is not that heavy. I did use burnt sienna oils with mineral spirits (my first use of this thinner with oils as I usually use the less odorous Turpenol) to do some of the filtering and dirtying but the majority of the modulation is done using the usual black undercoat with white accent under main color coat method.
I also used a very light coat of Tamiya buff thinned way down and sprayed on at a foot or so from the model to create a light dusty look as well. That especially worked well on the tires, which are vinyl mounted to plastic hubs (really nicely detailed tires I might add). I did do some panel accenting with Tamiya Black Panel Liner around the raised hull elements. I sanded the tire treads to make them look worn which really brought out that detail, in my opinion.
The decals went on quite easily and released from their carrier sheet with little to no time needed, not like the previous couple of kits i have worked on…a very delightful development! I did use the Micro Set and Sol method to embed them, but the vehicle numbers all silvered on me (think I should have used more gloss under them to relieve this issue). I am still ok with that as you can always weather to compensate after the fact. Prior to weathering, everything was clear coated with Testor’s Dull Coat…still my favorite flat coat.
For once I have few criticisms of the kit and am delighted to add it to my ever growing shelf of diverse armor builds. Definitely a fun build!