Here are some in-progress pics of my Bradley build, based on the old Academy kit I picked up at the local shop. This is going to be a 1980s vehicle in overall forest green.
Starting with the hull, I added sprockets, idlers, and shocks from SAAMMODELS and Hobby Boss tracks to replace the mis-molded kit parts:
Appreciate the comments, fellas! @Seanmcandrews I grew up in PA but have not lived there for a long time…
I did some initial painting with a blend of Tamiya Field Grey/Dark Green and then brushed the swim barrier and spare track links. I may darken the green a little bit before weathering…
It’s easier to lighten a color with weathering than it is to darken it. FWIW I went with straight Tamiya Field Gray, that can be lightened easily enough.
I like it. A block of styrene on the underside will finish it off.
They are plentiful, inexpensive, and even back in the day were among the best kits with an interior. Now with all the aftermarket items available for it there’s never been a better time.
I like washes to a certain extent. If they’re meant as you say to bring out shadows. Definitely not to make details “pop.” I find it way overdone, especially on sand colored vehicles around the lug nuts on wheels.
And I’ve seen washes go horribly wrong on certain builds on this site - if it doesn’t flow evenly it leaves some pretty ugly (and unrealistic) staining.’
I’m not going to show the whole build because I have no desire to embarass anyone, but ths is what can happen when you apply washes incorrectly:
Sadly, these are not images magnified tenfold by an unforgiving camera. To me, washes work best when you don’t even realize they’ve been used. I would call it more of a “filter” than a wash to subtly alter the saturation of a color,.
My oil washes are so thin it takes 5 - 7 applications to make it look right. That way I don’t get tide marks and I can closely regulate the effect. I let them dry naturally, one at a time. It is an exercise in patience.
The tide marks in your photos are so bad, I would have stripped that model back to raw plastic and started over. Absolutely no sense in ruining a kit in one step.
To get a wash right there are so many factors involved - intensity of the wash, the medium, the color used, the thickness, the finish of the base color… But yes, impatience will yield poor results every time.
I look forward to more of this Bradley. It’s certainly not been a weekend project.
Thanks for all of the constructive feedback fellas! I did overspray with a slightly darker mix of Field Gray/Dark Green, and sealed everything with semi-gloss to prep for weathering. Some of the anti-skid texture shows around the vision blocks above the firing ports (Tamiya liquid filler that I stippled on).
I 100% agree that fast-drying acrylics (especially over a matte finish) are a recipe for unsightly tide marks. I typically use Windsor & Newton water-soluble oils for washes and streaking. They provide plenty of working time to blend and fix any weird looking issues.
