While I am waiting on the archive material to hopefully help with finishing up the Skink thought I would break this out. This is a legacy build that was started by a good friend of mine, Greg Banks, who passed away a few years ago. Greg’s widow understandably help on to his builds, kits, tools, and references until just recently. Long story short I ended up with the Tamiya BT-7 that Greg had started back in 2017/18. Any mistakes here can be laid at my feet, not Greg’s.
Cheers,
Rick
At the primer stage, already primed the bottom of the kit, will get the remainder primed later today.
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A little further down the road; first layer of paint laid down. AKRC #73 for the first coat and then lightened with a bit of AKRC #14 Buff for the highlights and upper surfaces. Shot a layer of Tamiya X-22 to give that hard shell and prepare for some washes and filters tomorrow. Any suggestions or tips greatly appreciated!
Cheers,
Rick
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Nope, just enjoying the show. 
Looks very nice, he would be proud of it.
Feel like I’ve pretty much finished up the legacy build from the late Greg Banks, good friend and modeler extraordinaire. Happy with the way it turned out. Next step will be putting onto some kind of base. Any suggestions for additions or subtractions?
Cheers,
Rick
8 Likes
Looks great. It appears the tail lights could use some color.
I think it would look good on a dirt road going through a village.
Good catch Ryan,
Thanks for being kind, ANY color would be an improvement! I’ll add it for sure.
I think I’m going for something small. Probably around 15 x 18cm and using the two Tamiya figures that came in the box. Of course, that is providing I can get a good result with the figures; they don’t appear near as nice as the more recent Tamiya offerings that I think find their beginnings in 3D scans.
I’ll post some photos when I get started on them.
Cheers,
Rick
1 Like
I think it needs a splash of something Rick. I don’t know jack about Soviet armour, but those slogans that get chalked/painted on the sides always look interesting to me. Or maybe a big ol’ Red Banner on the back?
I guess it’ll really depend on what your base ends up being though. A well placed tree or telegraph pole might serve the same purpose.
I wasn’t thinking a big base either but more along the lines of a village dirt road vs open county dirt road/field. Something simple not a lot of grass anyway that’s what I saw when looking at the model. I am sure you will make the figures shine with whatever base you choose.
I agree, I painted the padlock on the rear stowage bin red but it gets lost in translation. I like the slogan idea.
Rick
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Tried to find a photo of a BT-7 with a slogan on the side to no avail. Decided to go with something a bit different; a old rag on one side and a funnel on the other just to give a splash of color and add a bit of visual interest.
Is it enough or do I need to add more?
Cheers,
Rick
2 Likes
That’ll do nicely Rick! Can’t wait to see it on the road (track? Path?) as it were.
Now I need to go cut a piece of wood for the base!!
Rick
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Cut the base from an old marbles board (reuse, reduce, recycle!) 20mm x 17mm (~8" x 6.5") glued some Styrofoam on top for the rough terrain, and covered with some spackle for the basic base. Used some thinned down Vallejo Thick Mud for the terrain, dropped some static grass and a few tufts of longer grasses and made some trees. The photos are the basic layout of the base with the trees and bushes added.
Next step will be to remove the trees and spray it all black following the Night Shift method. If nothing else, it will tone down the garish grass!
Cheers,
Rick
5 Likes
Production was slowed down over the last week or so with a few personal issues. Anyway, here is where I am with the base currently. I may add some more underbrush below the trees, trying to get that overgrown look. Groundwork has been yellowed out trying to achieve that dusty look. Grass has been dulled down a good bit and figures are eager to find a permanent home!
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The base, figure, and model look great to my eyes. You are performing a really wonderful gesture and I hope the finished diorama becomes a cherished heirloom.
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Think I’m at the finish line with this one. Added the second figure, harmonized the groundwork and the BT-7, and filled in quite a bit more underbrush and secondary growth under the trees to give it a look something closer to a thicket. I’ll still need to order a name plate and attach it but that’s it. Hope you like it!
Cheers,
Rick
6 Likes
