Marmon-Herrington in Caunter Camouflage

So, in theory I'm supposed to be working on Konflikt '47 troops, but I got distracted and instead there's another small piece completed for my NZ 2nd Division North Africa force: a Marmon-Herrington Mk III armoured car from Perry Miniatures in Caunter camouflage. (I think the Kiwis had Mk IIs, but the MkIII has the same turret as the late IIs and is just a bit shorter.)

The resin kit was very cleanly cast and the the metal guns easy enough to attach. The wheels (which come in pairs with integral axles) have cast marks at one point on each tire, but it's easy enough to clean these off leaving a slightly flattened area and then use this as the bottom of the tire once attached. The top hatch covers weren't the easiest to attach though, as there are just thin flat edges to glue to the turret - enough to get a bond, but they're a little fragile, and I've had one detach twice now.

The driver is quite a nicely animated figure in FS cap and KD shirt and shorts, but the face is a bit disappointing for a Perry sculpt. He seems to have very heavy eyelids and a slightly oddly formed nose - it may just be this casting, though it looks fully formed. I tried painting in eyes, but it just looked weird, so in the end I left the face very plain.

The Marmon-Herrington was painted in a similar fashion to the M3 Stuart, with the same VMA Portland Stone and VMC Pale Green Blue (for the Caunter "silver grey"), but with  VMA Khaki Green No. 3 instead of  "slate". The amount of time I spent fussing around with masking tape has left me wondering whether I want to ever paint Caunter again.

After painting and sealing with varnish it got an AMMO of Mig Jimenez Ochre for Light Sand filter coat, AK Interactive Africa Dust brushed on most places, and then AK North Africa dust pigment added to create dust build up. I went a bit heavier on dust this time on the grounds this is a recce vehicle and likely to have done some hard traveling.

I'm still trying to get the right balance of too little effect and overdoing it. I have confidence I'll get it right sometime.

So, back to those Konflikt '47 troops.  What's that you say... an X-Wing?!

Finished - M3 Stuart tank in Caunter camouflage

The finished M3 Stuart "Honey" tank.

So, despite some trepidation around my first use of weathering enamels they performed marvellously with much better results than the acrylics I've used to date. After base coating and decals the model was varnished as I've seen recommended before using enamels.

The AMMO of Mig Jimenez Ochre for Light Sand filter was used first and applied over all surfaces. I watched a couple of videos first and tried to follow the advice of not letting it puddle or settle. This seemed easier than with previous attempts using Acrylics and didn't leave any patchy water-stains.

Once this was dry the AK Interactive Africa Dust was brushed on wherever I though dust and grime would settle: in panel lines, around running gear, at ridges in the armour, and so on. I used a little on the commander as well to add dust to his KD uniform shirt.

Finally the AK North Africa dust pigment was added in places that looked like they should have the most dust build up, and sealed in place with varnish.  A little Tamiya soot was added to the gun, and everything given a coat of AK Ultra Matte varnish. Perhaps a bit more dust could have been used, but I'd rather go lighter this time than overwhelm the small model.

Pictures from a couple of other angles to try and show the grime build up on the frontal armour...

and around the right side.

When I was looking for reference shots I found a rather nice original photo of soldiers of the New Zealand Divisional Cavalry on a Stuart tank in the National Alexander Turnbull library (FA-02569-F) - though this tank isn't in Caunter. It was interesting however to see how closely the pose of the Perry Miniatures commander mirrors that of driver Harry Spencer.

Now, back to the Cadians, or further distractions? Hmmm... I think I hear a Konflict '47 Grizzly calling me.

Diversions and distractions

While I have been putting off blogging, I haven't actually been putting off painting, it's just that some diversions have distracted me from the Cadian 287th.

A viewer might wonder, for example, why giant chickens (technically "roosters") got into my painting queue... to which the answer might be: matrimonial harmony.

 

Those are indeed quite big roosters (the bases are 25x50 cavalry bases) and are expected to have Imperial Halfling riders in the not too distant future. Undercoating these was interesting as she wanted some of them two-tone, where they're going to have pale bodies and dark tails for instance.

They're part of my wife's "oldhammer" Imperial army which has managed to morph and spawn complete landsknecht styled halfling and dwarf armies.  These figures are the result of a Kickstarter by TAG (The Assault Group) who are now producing fantasy miniatures originally sculpted for White Knight's Miniature Imperium.  Anyone looking for classic-GW-style halflings and dwarves should have a look at TAG (who I might add are very nice to deal with).

An additional distraction arose in the form of building and prepping a Konflict '47 model that I've been wanting to make up since I bought it. Early days yet, but it's now built and has had the first pass of Vallejo Olive Drab primer.

The biggest diversion from the Cadians however has been an M3 Stuart "Honey" tank from Warlord Games, painted up in Caunter camouflage, and intended for my embryonic NZ 2nd Division desert war Bolt Action army.

The kit went together fairly well, there were a couple of places I ended up with gaps, but I have an idea that this was at least as much my fault as a the kit's.  I'd decided to be sneaky and prime the wheels and tracks on their sprues before assembly.  Bad idea.  It just made assembly harder, and I had to then mask those areas while trying to base coat the rest; just wasn't worth it. It also didn't help that this is a tiny tank - assembly reminded me of the 1/72 scale Matchbox models I built as a kid.

Size comparison: Warlord 1/56th Panther on the left, Plastic Soldier Company 15mm Panther on the right.

It finally all went together, though there remained an odd gap under the rear - almost as if an instruction and part was missed.  I patched it with a bit of unused panel from the M3A1 variant, but it was completely invisible when the model isn't upside down, so may well be intended.

Also had a few issues with priming, but I think this is because I've changed airbrushes (Badger Patriot) and set the pressure lower in line with the instructions. The recommended 15psi seems to work well for VMA, but Badger's own Stynylrez primer appears to need 25-30.  Oh well, all a learning experience.

Eventually got the model primed, and then base coated in VMA Portland Stone, VMC Pale Green Blue (for the Caunter "silver grey"), and VMA BS Dark Green (for "slate").

The tent/tarpaulin could use some further lightening, but otherwise the base-coating is done, along with some so-so chipping.  Decals were stolen from a Bren Carrier kit for the silver fern and blue-green number (which I believe should be "81" not "41", but...)

Finally, the rather nice box art for the kit inspired me to swap out the included commander for a Perry Miniatures one with bandana and googles.  The photo hasn't come out too well - the phone camera wasn't keen to focus this close - but I'm pretty pleased with how the painting worked out.

I'm planning to try weathering the M3 Stuart model with enamels, so it's getting varnished first.  I expect the next post will detail whatever horrible fate befalls this little tank as I experiment with enamel filters and dust effects.