T-34-76 mod.1943 Uralmash (UZTM) 1/35

[Vladyslav]

Hello everyone!
Today I want to talk about the method of applying primer. When I paint or prime, I choose a certain part of the model, which is a separate element, and paint and prime only it. If there is another element structurally next to this element, and pollen falls on it, then I prime it too. I start with the most difficult-to-reach areas and then finish painting the easy areas. According to the principle “paint over the difficult, the rest will be painted over on its own.” This approach allows you to apply paint and varnish material relatively evenly, without flooding small parts and without making puddles.
I usually prime and paint “fat and wet.” That is, quite a lot of primer over the entire surface of the part (element or part of the model). And I apply several layers. Sometimes a lot of layers. Not just “pouring” it on once, but evenly layer by layer. I do it so that the surface becomes wet over its entire area. The effect of this is obvious. The paint material dries evenly, and the surface tension film becomes uniform and smooth after drying. I work quickly. If the paint has already dried in some place on the part, and I have not finished the work yet, then I return to this place and apply an additional layer, “connecting” the dry place with the wet one. That is, I try to make the entire surface wet throughout the entire area.
Here are a few photos as an example.
“Fat and wet”. The surface is uniformly smooth.

“Thin and dry”. It is clearly visible that due to the low density of the primer mixture, the primer particles do not merge with each other and have time to dry before a uniform film is formed. “Sand” appeared, the surface became rough.

“Fat and wet”. The entire tank turret was painted as one element at a time. Many layers, high air consumption, high consumption of primer material.

“Fat and wet”.

The conclusion here is obvious. The most optimal method of application is “Fat and Wet”. And it is absolutely necessary to use a drying retarder.

[Vladyslav]

A blunder that I made for the first time in my life!
I blew the remains of the primer that remained in the airbrush tank onto the model! I blew it all out until the tank was completely empty!
Undissolved particles of primer, which in one way or another for various reasons may be present in the tank, “safely” flew onto the model!

As they say - no comments.

[Vladyslav]

Hello everyone!
A small update.
This time I want to once again emphasize the IMPORTANCE OF PRIMING.
Primer, like nothing else, simply perfectly reveals all the inaccuracies in the work, all the casting defects, defects in the processing of parts, and the assembly of the model itself. What I missed or what I did not pay attention to during the assembly process, immediately becomes visible after priming. And some shortcomings simply scream - “Fix me!”
At first glance, everything seems to be normal. I see that from the front side, the perforation holes look quite normal. The tread cutting also looks good.

But upon closer inspection, I see that I very poorly eliminated the casting defects of the road wheels. There are too deep scratches from the knife. And it is difficult to fill them with primer so that it levels the surface. There are also small defects left after drilling the perforation holes on the inside of the road wheels. The hub caps are not completely primed.

And there are many such defects in all the details of the entire model.
For example, on some tracks, sink marks are still visible.

On other parts of the model, there are casting defects and processing defects, some places are poorly puttied.

[Vladyslav]

Colleagues! Greetings everyone!
Finally, I’m back in action!
I apologize in advance for such a long break. But there were objective and subjective reasons for that.
I’ll continue.
I’ve corrected all the imperfections.

The next step is to apply a second coat of primer and a base coat. And here’s where the difficulty arises. Since the tank should ideally be clean, fresh off the assembly line, how can I paint it so that it looks like a scale replica with minimal weathering? Although this model is very far from being a copy , the question of appearance remains open.

[Vladyslav]

Gray remains a difficult color for me to photograph. I would like the color in the photo to match the color of the primer, and the background to be pure white. I can’t achieve this yet.

[Dioramartin]

Great to see you back here again. I think that tanks were being rushed through production so fast nobody cared if they were covered in stains, dust etc. - particularly in Russian factories. I doubt the standard green was sprayed very carefully on T34s, so you needn’t either No doubt you also know some tanks were funded by individual groups and their slogan was roughly painted on the turret sides, maybe that’s an option?

[Vladyslav]

Greetings, Tim! Thank you!

Yes, you’re absolutely right. That’s exactly how it was. No one was particularly concerned about the cleanliness of either the production facilities or areas themselves, or the tanks being manufactured. Back then, there was no time for that. And photographs of factory workshops and sites from that time are clear evidence of this. There’s a lot of trash, production waste, and so on everywhere. Everything is covered in dust and various stains. I’ve also seen photos of tanks that are completely clean. That happened, too. Although, to be honest, it is not always possible to understand from black and white photographs what the surface of a tank that has just come off the assembly line actually looks like. I once wondered how tanks were painted in factories, what tools were used (brush, roller, spray gun)? But I never found the information I needed. However, I did come across materials describing the process of preparing a finished tank for acceptance by the troops. It happens as follows. The finished tank was painted with a primer. The same 4BO paint was used as a primer. Then, the tank, accompanied by factory workers and an acceptance representative, was sent out for testing. There were a number of requirements that had to be met. If, after testing, the tank was accepted by the acceptance representative, it was then washed and painted again with the same 4BO paint. Moreover, I read the memoirs of one factory worker who, during the war years, as a teenage girl, worked at the factory in the tank painting section, and she said that she had to paint tanks while they were moving. The tank was moving, and she was finishing up the painting. It’s hard to imagine such a thing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened in those days. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they painted right over the dirt that hadn’t been washed off after testing. So, yes, there was little neatness there.

Regarding the issue of tank cleanliness, I have the following purely subjective thoughts. The tank was supposed to be part of a ceremonial meeting near the school, where students and teachers were raising money to build a tank. I doubt it was any special tank. It was simply a tank that had already been delivered to the troops, the crew accepted it, and drove it from the factory workshop to the school grounds. Knowing how such events and meetings were treated in the Soviet Union, I can say with certainty that everyone there was dressed in clean clothes, their Pioneer ties pressed, and the surroundings were clean and tidy. Therefore, the tank should have been, in theory, also clean, with minimal dirt.

So, I need to think about how to reproduce all of this at scale. These are my thoughts for now. I’ll do a very, very careful preshading in black. Although, I admit, I don’t really like this technique, as it can distort the appearance of the model. Then cover with a base layer so that the horizontal sections are in the color of the base layer, and on the vertical sections a barely noticeable dark base color is visible. All the internal parts of the model (all sorts of cavities, hard-to-see parts and compartments) should also be slightly darker than the base coat. The entire hull, turret, the outer side of the road wheel tires, and the tracks should be satin. The tracks are also not too worn. I don’t yet know what color to paint them initially, so that they look like freshly stamped Gatfield steel. The wash should also be minimal. I’d say a microwash. Anyway, these are my thoughts so far. I’d be very happy if anyone has any ideas on this matter.

Regarding the lettering, I’ll be using photographs of the actual tank as a reference. The manufacturer provides decals with a similar inscription, but everything there is far from reality. I’ll be paying particular attention to this aspect during the construction process.

[Vladyslav]

Hello everyone!
Continuing.
I applied primer to all the areas that had been corrected. This time, I used Mr. Hobby 1500 Gray primer, drained from an aerosol can. I further thinned the drained primer with Mr. Color thinner and drying retarder until it was very thin. Applied “thinly and wetly”. Some places were literally flooded. This mainly concerned the road wheels. Not everything was corrected with primer. There are still some areas that need some work. Overall, it’s more or less OK.

I’ve given myself a quick reminder when working with any primer:

1. When working for very long periods with frequent breaks to change parts, it’s essential to clean the airbrush needle frequently. Even short breaks can cause the primer, especially thinly diluted primer, to dry quickly at the tip of the needle, significantly degrading the spray quality and potentially creating a “sandy” (grainy) surface.
2. And don’t blow out every last drop of airbrush fluid from the airbrush cup, to avoid blowing small debris and undissolved particles remaining at the bottom of the cup onto the model.

I also took a few photos on a green mat. I don’t know what’s better - a white background or a green one. But as I continue to learn photography, I understand more and more that it’s not just about the background, and not so much about the background, but about light and shadow, about the quality and quantity of light.

I also want to somehow structure all the work. Instead of writing down random thoughts, I want to clearly and structure everything in a clear, organized manner, like tables or diagrams. Don’t know.

“Sand”:

Failed to fill with primer:

Some of the road wheels still need some work. It’s not visible in the photo, but there are still some defects:

The next step: fixing any remaining imperfections and micropreshading. I’ll also be working on the tracks.

[smolensk]

Very professional approach . have a fun!

[Armor_Buff]

Vlad! It’s good to see your update! Thank you for sharing!

[Vladyslav]

Wade! Thank you!
I now have the conditions to continue what I started. I don’t know how long this will go on. For now, I’m trying to move forward. I hope to finish. Time will show.

[Vladyslav]

A small update today.
Started working with road wheels.

[Vladyslav]

A small update.
Continuing work on road wheels.

[Vladyslav]

A small update.

Continuing work on road wheels

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[Vladyslav]

[Vladyslav]

A small update.

I’ll add a small note. I won’t be using cheap masking tape for such an important job again. The fibrous structure of this tape prevents the edges of the mask from sticking tightly to the surface. The edges of the mask were peeling off slightly and paint was getting under the mask. This could only be seen after removing the mask.
In the process of re-gluing damaged masks, I used masking sticker sheets from Tamiya.