September 2016

Takom AMX-13
AMX 13
Overpowered

ICM provides the

ubiquitous KamAZ
truck 1/35 scale

CAT D7 Armoured Bulldozer

Vickers Medium Mk.I

Two new
gifts inside

Let’s tackle the new

Rye Field Model . AMX-13 galleries
M1A2 SEP TUSK II . Tips & tricks & techniques, the dragged veil
Is published by Coronel Caramel S.l.
CIF B54483052
Editorial office & administration
Club de fútbol Hercules 6
03008 Alicante
Spain
Te: 965112833
Email: fcmodeltips@gmail.com

Director: Federico Collada

Editor: Federico Collada
Design: Federico Collada
Graphics: Federico Collada
Models and photographs: Federico Collada
Contributors;
Abilio Piñeiro

Editorial
The times they’re a changin

The Blitzscales magazine has born as a challenge; will I be able to do a magazine interesting enough
to get the aid of the producer companies and thus keeping it free for the modellers?
Since I started writing the FCModeltips blog a couple of years ago I always have shared all kind of arti-
cles, walkaround galleries, tips and downloadable designs for free; so the decision to make Blitzscales
free could be seen as a continuation of this work.
The main problem about this project wasn’t the challenge of making the whole magazine by myself, I
did that job before. The real matter was how could I fill more than 60 pages with things that modellers
could find interesting.
I took a look at the articles that caught more attention in my blog and realized that these were; the free
downloadable designs, the tips and tricks tutorials and the recent models building articles. This was the
key: this was the stuff I should recreate in Blitzscales.
So here it is; a free emagazine where you will find printables that you can use with your models, the
newest kits being built and useful tips, tricks and techniques tutorial that may teach you some things
you still don’t know.
I hope Blitzscales will be of help for you and get your attention every 2 months; you will be able to
download it always at www.blitzscales.com

Federico Collada

3
Index
Page 6.
Print this 1/35 scale street base to use it
with your next modern vehicle model.
Page 8.
Next target; the reviews zone

Page 12.
Rye Field Model presents us
their new kit, the M1A1 Abrams
SEP with the TUSK kit

Page 24.
The Vickers medium 1 wasn’t
available as a plastic kit presviously.
Now at last we can get it.

Page 31.
Another previously
unreleased vehicle; the
Russian KamAZ 4310

4
Page 37.
A decent substitute for the
ancient Heller kit, the new
Takom AMX-13 is being
released in a wide versions
range.
Page 46.
Some AMX-13 pictures that
will be helpful if you decide to
build it.

Page 52.
Another welcome substitute.
The new Hobbyboss T-18

Page 58.
Miniart last version of the Cat
D7, the armoured bulldozer.

Page 65.
A really easy tip to paint wood
planks in seconds.
Page 66.
1/72 printable base

5
Cut & paste

7
Soviet Zis-30 – Hobbyboss
The ZiS-30 was a light self-propelled anti-tank gun
built for the Soviet Red Army after the German
invasion in 1941. It was based on the Komsomolets
armoured artillery tractor mounting a 57mm Zis-2 gun
onto the chassis. There were built 101 units due the
lack of tractors.
This tiny kit, no longer than some quarter scale
kits, consists of over 370 parts, including a multi-
slide moulded lower hull with crisp details, a small
photoetched set mainly for the rear grill, individual
track links and a metal gun barrel.
The quality of the kit is very nice, with almost no flash
35518 ZIL-131 emergency truck
The Zil-131 truck has been produced since the
last 60s until the 90s; it has equipped the armies
of many countries of the Warsaw pact and other
associated and is the truck that has been produ-
ced in larger numbers with more than 1 million
units.
ICM new model use the base of their former
model to introduce one of the most interesting
versions, the emergency rescue. Many of these
trucks were produced as a command post pro-
8
or ejection marks. The main lower hull and structure
are superb and the kit is so much better than the old
Maquette model. The gun and gun shield are nicely
done with sharp details in the gun breech. There is
a nice weekend kit except for the tiny tracks that will
need some serious cutting and sanding.
There are some nice tri-tonal camo schemes available
during Summer 1941 or you can chose a plain green
basecoat or even a white wash camo in Moscow
during December 1941
Abilio Piñeiro
vided with a back protected room equipped with
all the necessary to develop its function. With the
passing of time some of these trucks have been
given to many countries rescue and emergency
units, one of the most recognizable ones being
the Ucranian state emergency service that is the
decoration selected by the producer providing the
necessary decals too.
The kit has 276 parts provided in 10 beige plas-
tic panels and another two transparent ones, the
detail is very nice and they don’t present flaws
or damage. The instructions are very easy to
follow and they tell us when we have to choose
between optional parts and occasional painting
details.
As is usual with ICM, the model includes the
engine and full interior of both cabin and shelter
box that is equipped with all sort of furniture and
tools.
Undoubtedly this is a very original model that can
be eye-catching enough by itself or as a part of
any “humanitarian” scene.
Hungarian 39M CSABA Armoured Car –
Hobbyboss
The 39M Csaba was an armoured scout car produced
for the Royal Hungarian Army during World War II.
There were ordered 100 units, 20 of them were used
as fighting vehicles and the rest as command and
patrolling armoured cars. The Csaba had a 20 mm
cannon and an 8 mm machine gun fixed on the turret.
This interesting kit for WWII lovers includes 5 sprues
with more than 130 parts in tan plastic, a multi-slide
lower hull and turret, a small photoetched set and two
set of rubber tires with two different patterns.
This lower and upper hull is made of a single piece
making the building a joy with perfect fitting. The
turret is made of 15 pieces including the main gun
and machine gun with almost no flash and very nice
details of the bolts. There are 8 rubber tyres included
in the kit so you have to choose between two thread
patterns depending on the version you want to build or
you can buy a resin ones. SbS models have a set of
resin mantlet and a metal gun barrel.
Hobbyboss includes decals for 5 options including
a nice tri-tonal hard camo scheme as seen in most
Hungarian vehicles.
Abilio Piñeiro
9
 The model is basically the same as the previous
ones and the box includes one extra plastic parts
panel with the necessary antennas and one op-
tional driver hatch.
The decals sheet has markings for 4 different
vehicles, all of them used by the French army in
1940.

35375 Panhard 178 AMD-35 command

Third model form ICM dedicated to this elegant

French armoured car. Some months before they
have released the standard version and then the
German captured one, now it’s the turn for the
command vehicle, equipped with two big anten-
nas at both front and back parts of the vehicle.

36341 ZSU-23-4-Shilka. New photoetched set designed for the Meng kit; includes tools clamps, grilles, light
fences and all those details that the plastic model doesn’t reproduce with enough finesse.
36342 C15 No 13 cab. The IBG new range of C15 and derivates models have their own detailing sets, Eduard
provides lots of elements to improve the general detail level with ant skid surfaces, clamps, belts, baskets, etc.
36343 SU-76. Tamiya is well known for their easy building kits, but they always lack of subtle details so photoet-
ched parts are always welcome to improve them; mostly when is an open vehicle like the new SU-76.
36344 SU-76 fenders. To complement the previous set, here is another photoetched fret that contains all the
necessary parts to recreate the SU-76 fenders, far better and adjusted to scale than the plastic ones.
36345 T-14 Armata side skirts. Another new kit that will benefit with some fine photoetched side skirts is the
Takom T-14 Armata. Made in sections so we can use them separately they include the rails and hinges too.
36346 AMX-13. Another Tamiya kit that has its own photoetched set is the recent AMX-13 where you will be
able to substitute the tools clamps, grilles, side boxes, etc.

10
ICM 35363 Pz.Kpfw. VI Ausf.B Königstiger
with Henschel turret (late production)
It is surprising that a company decides to release a
model like this one when the market is saturated with
versions of this famous German WWII tank.
In the box we can find 7 panels of grey, good quality
plastic that contains all the necessary parts to build
the model. The pieces don’t have any kind of flaws
and they are big enough to easily manipulate them.
Although in some areas the detail level is very good, in
others like the tools clamps have been a bit simplified.
There are some aspects about the parts design that
are a bit less than shocking; the first one is the side
skirts, moulded in one piece with the hull, altogether
so you can do without them unless you cut and
sand all of the sections, the second is the main gun,
moulded in two symmetrical halves together with the
saukopf, making the putty and sanding unavoidable.
The periscopes parts are moulded in grey plastic too
instead of using the usual transparent one, and the
tracks are provided as soft rubber bands that has
some little burr that doesn’t look quite nice.
On the other hand, building the model looks really
easy and the working suspension, along with the soft
rubber tracks, allow you to represent them in any
position.
A few parts inside the hull make me think that there
will be another version of the tank with full interior.
The building manual is easy to follow and the last
pages show 4 different painting schemes for which
the kit provides the necessary decals. They belong to
2 vehicles deployed at the Ardennes in 1944, and the
other 2 in Danzig and Austria in 1945.
Surely the best advantages of this model are its price,
maybe the cheapest around, and the easy building
that makes it ideal for amateurs. On the other hand,
the fancy design of the side skirts, main gun, tracks
and some minor details will surely make the most
advanced modellers start thinking in some necessary
after markets.
11
 1/35 scale

The M1 Abrams is undoubtedly the most famous can choose to build your kit
tank of the last decades; since it started its opera- ( same as the Meng one )
tional career back in the eighties it has been up- inside you will find 25 plastic
graded constantly to match the modern battlefield parts panels including some
requirements. If you search at the web for the M1 optional ones both transpa-
Abrams you will find millions of imputs so there rent and translucent green, 2
is no use in making a long technical and historical photoetched frets, 156 track
introduction here. pins and a decals sheet.
Talking about models, there has been a lot of kits The building manual can be a
covering the many Abrams versions since we saw bit complicated so taking care
it for the first time being Tamiya the first one and studying it before start will
followed by ESCI, 30 years after we got a plethora be a good advice.
of models where to choose. The last ones to pro-
duce a version of this iconic tank have been Meng
Models and the a new company called Rye Field
Model that, up to this moment has only 6 kits in
their catalogue, all of them very high quality.
Both Meng and Rye Field have selected the SEP
TUSK II models to produce and both kits are
very similar in every aspect, quality,
price, pieces amount, ver-
sions included in the
box, etc. Once you have decided which version
you want to build you may wish to mark
the steps you will have to follow.
I decided to tackle the Rye Field Model kit to give Although it has quite a lot of parts, buil-
a try to the new company and I got pleasantly ding the kit is not complicated and the
surprised with the quality level of the model, stowage parts and the functional tracks are
it’s obvious that the company that produced the a great plus that, along with the great overall
mould is a skilled professional and I’m sure that quality of the kit, makes almost unnecessary
they’re producing kits for other brands already the use of further after market detailing sets.
as many details look familiar with other models I
built recently.
The box is levelled as “U.S. main battle tank,
M1A1 TUSK, M1A2 SEP TUSK I/M1A2 SEP
TUSK II” as these are the three options that you

12
13
 1 – The kit is easy to
build and has some nice
features like a functional
suspension that allows us
to deploy the tank over
any terrain; the workable
links will be of help in this
case.

2 – Some parts of the

model are made of many
pieces, some of them very
delicate; this provides a
high level of detail that
makes almost unnecessary
any further detailing.

14
 3 – As the work
advances, the hull takes
shape giving you a first
idea of the size of the
model, prepare a space at
the shelf!

4 – According to the
instructions, the turret
assembling doesn’t start
until you finish the hull
but I started it before that
anyway; just to see the
overall shape of the tank.

15
 5 - Aligning and fixing the many parts
of the kit is easy and trouble free; although
is no as simple as a Tamiya kit, it’s still
affordable for non experienced modellers,
although they must be warned that the
building will take a long time.

6 – As soon as I built the main parts

of the tank I stopped to check if there were
some of them I should paint before going
on; many subassemblies were painted
separately for a better coverage.
7 – The side armour, wheels, tracks,
turret extra armour, cupola, machine guns
and TUSK kit were not fixed until the end.
8 – Vallejo produces
the right US sand colour
as a primer so the first
paint layer was an easy
task, just diluted it with a
little thinner of the same
brand and airbrushed all
over the kit. As this colour
is light enough It was not
necessary to highlight it;
neither to create any “scale
effect” nor to emphasize the
volumes of the kit. A plain
sand colour base was all
I needed to start with the
weathering process.

16
 9 – The new metal
range 77711 Magnesium
colour is a nice base for the
machine guns. This and a
later black wash is enough
to replicate the real guns
look.
10 – Tracks were also
painted with this colour,
the new metal paints
coverage is very good; you
don’t need to make any
previous priming.

11 – Later on I made
a wash with the new
Vallejo rust effect paint
and painted the rubber
pads with black. To create a
dusty look I applied a layer
of the new 73804 Splash
mud diluted with water,
this new paint has a texture
charge added so it really
looks like a mud or dust
accumulation once dry.

17
 12 – The stains effect was made by the old technique of the
dry brush. I used many acrylic paints of different brown shades
to replicate all kind of dirt and humidity marks aver the hull and
turret. I exaggerated this part of the painting as I decided not to
paint rust, scratches, etc. I needed and dirty vehicle, not an old one,
so to compensate the lack of stains diversity I tried to use as many
tones as possible at this stage.

13 – Once I painted the subassemblies the same way I

fixed them to the model. The look of the TUSK kit on the
Abrams is impressive.

18
 14 – Looking at many pictures of the
real vehicle deployed in Irak I have seen
that many times they are fixed with spare
parts that are still painted in the original
dark green colour. I decided to use this
peculiarity to add some tonal variety to
the model; taking some artistic license on
the main gun.

19
 16 – For the infrared scopes I used a red
15 – The stowage is composed by many
plated tin foil behind the transparent parts
of the own kit parts and some other from
of the kit, this gave it that characteristic dark
my own collection, the tarpaulin is made
red shine.
from a latex glove painted with acrylics.

17 – The kit provides both transparent

and translucent green plastic parts for the
windows of the TUSK kit; I decided to use 18 – The spare wheel at the turret
the first ones as I found the green ones too roof was also covered with a piece of
exaggerated. latex glove.

20
21
23
The natural
painting
method

The kit builds into a nice model of the Vickers

Medium Mk I before the modifications of the
second series.

With the Great War finished the English

army kept Only 5 of their armoured
battalions equipped with the Mark V and
Medium Mark C. A generous budget was
approved for a new tank design but the new
Mark D was not up to the expectations so
the bureau was closed. Anyway, a private
company named Vickers-Armstrong built
two prototypes by their own means in 1921.
Development of these prototypes ended
in the Medium Mk.I which was put into
production in 1924. The new tank was very

24
Vickers medium Mk.1
different form its predecessors having a low
suspension with 5 boogies and a 3 men turret that
allowed the commander to concentrate in his task
without interfering with the loader and gunner;
this particular characteristic became a must in
further tank designs everywhere.
The Medium Mk.I was armed with a 3in gun and
4 ball mounts for Hotchkiss machine guns that
could be used to deploy them switching from one
place to another.
In general terms the tank was not efficient as it
lacked from several mechanical issues, a poor
protection, it was too tall and the fuel deposits
inside the fighting compartment where a very bad
idea. Lucky enough, the Mk I never saw action so
it’s innovations with the design advantages can
only be speculated.
Hobbyboss 1/35
Vickers produced 200 tanks of this model and
the developed versions equipping the Royal Tan
Regiment until 1938 when it was replaced by
more modern vehicles.
Along came Hobby Boss
I started building models back in the eighties; that
means I have built dozens on Tigers, Shermans,
T34,s Panther, etc. and with the years I have beco-
me a bit bored of “always the same” and learned to
appreciate the originality in the military kits even
when sometimes they had not quality enough.
Offering a not very well known vehicle kit is a
high risk for producers as it can turn in a low sale
product or even worse, if it’s a bit under qualified
it can be a stain in their catalogue. This explains
why during the 80s, 90s and first part of the 2000s
we have seen so little different models to choo-
se from and why we have so, so many Tigers to
choose if we want one. But in recent years it seems
that modern engineering, design programs and
the possibility of short production batches have
reduced the risk of these “unusual” subjects and
almost every month we are surprised with new
models of vehicles that, many times, we haven’t
even heard about them, it’s very exiting!
25
Vickers medium Mk.1 Hobbyboss 1/35

26
Vickers medium Mk.1
Easy modelling
The kit is not complicated at all; the parts are pro-
vided in 12 panels of tan and brown plastic, nice
quality and no flash or defects. A photoetched fret
and the decals complete the model. The painting
guide sheet shows two different vehicles uniden-
tified and wrongly coloured in Olive drab, the
right colour for the English pre war vehicles was
the Deep Bronze green. This peculiarity made me
think of working using this bright colour as a base
to see how it looked with just a subtle layer of dust
Hobbyboss 1/35
and dirt, just as if the tank was going on some non
stressing manoeuvres; for this I would avoid using
any artificial painting illumination in order not to
spoil the characteristic Deep Bronze green.
I built the model in a few hours, straightforward
and with no complications of any kind. Once I
finished with both hull and turret I built the tracks
making some groups for each side that covered
both Idler wheel and sprocket and some straight
tranches to paint them easily.
Then I airbrushed the whole model with Vallejo
27
Vickers medium Mk.1 Hobbyboss 1/35

primer 73607 Bronze green and to give it a

warmer shade I applied a filter with acrylic wash
76503 Dark yellow. Next step was to apply a layer
of varnish mixing both satin and gloss to give the
colour its original shine.
The tracks were painted with a black primer and
later covered with the new Enviroment special
paint 73821 that imitates the rust texture and
colour very well. This paint has an added texture
agent so I didn’t use the airbrush, just an old
brush.

With the tracks already painted I placed them

onto the tank and started the weathering process,
see that I didn’t applied any kind of lightening
to the green base, I wanted to see how the bright
dark green colour looked with just the dirt over it.
The first part of the weathering was to replicate
some little and blurred stained by speckling some
acrylic filters over the, already wetted with thin-
ner, surface of the model. This first multicolour
filters softened the brightness of the base colour.
I let the model rest for a couple of days and then

28
Vickers medium Mk.1 Hobbyboss 1/35

I airbrushed a filter made with 71133 dirt paint
diluted at 25% with thinner. Immediately after, I
blurred down this filter using a brush and thinner
to replicate the typical dripped stains that cause the
rain when it washes away the dirt. This second filter
turned off the green brightness almost completely.
then used to spill some stains here and there.
I enjoyed this kit very much, not only because I
love the inter-war military vehicles, but also be-
cause I found very exciting working with a natural
painting method, avoiding most of the artistic
licensed effects we usually use in all our modelling.

At this stage I painted the details like machine

guns, exhaust, lights, etc.
Finally I applied dry pigments here and there to
imitate the deposited dust and earth over the ho-
rizontal surfaces, concentrating on the lower part
of the hull. Then I painted the rubbed parts of the
tracks and wheels with the new Metal Color paint
77712 Steel using a small brush. Other paints of
the new weathering range like 73817 Petrol were

29
Model; ICM
Scale; 1/35

Print this page so you can

use these 1/35 scale plates
at the front of your model
as I did

The
Kamskiy
Avtomobilny Zavod
is a Russian truck
manufacturer located
in Naberezhnye Chelny,
Tatarstan, The KAMAZ factory
started working in 1976 and since
then they have been producing heavy
duty models that are exported to many seat.
countries all over the world. The trucks The
have won the Dakar Rally a record thirteen cargo
times. Today KAMAZ is the largest truck area can be
producer in Russia and the factory produces covered with
43,000 trucks a year removable canvas and it can load 6 ton.
The military version of the general utility The KamAZ-4310 is powered by a YaMZ-740
truck is called 4310 and is produced since 10.85-liter V8 diesel engine, developing 210
1980, nowadays is the main military truck hp. The truck can run at a maximum speed
of the Russian Federation army. It has a of 85km/h with full 6 ton load.
conventional layout with a front mounted The KamAZ 4310 is also produced with
engine and a metal cab where three man can a variety of body styles to fulfil other
necessities.

31
ICM, experts in softskins
The Ucranian firm ICM has a catalogue full
of softskins of all countries and eras, all of
these models have some things in common;
very good details and complete engine and
interiors. In the beginning the ICM kits were
a bit complicated to build due to the delica-
teness of some of their parts and the short
instructions that implicated a lot of pieces in
each step; but this has changed from a cou-
ple of years to now; their kits are now sim-
pler ( but not lacking detail ) and the instruc-
ICM includes
the engine, as
always.
32
tions show the building with many steps so
they are very easy to understand and follow.
They are now close to a Tamiya model but
with better detail.
This new kit is a good sample of this new po-
litic; it can be built straightforward in a couple
of hours leaving some built groups parts for
an easy painting as the instructions shows
clearly how to do it. You start with the frame
and engine, build and paint the cabin interior
so you can close it and glue the rest of the
parts, then you build the cargo structure and
you can start painting it all.
The kit has many parts but all of them fix
very well and have no defects so the
building advances straightforward
easily. In a couple of hours you
can have the model ready
for painting
 Although the frame Detailing in this part of the
has many pieces, all of kit is very complete. The
them fix nicely so you good design of the many
can finish it in a while. parts makes them easy to
handle.

The cabin interior is spacy, you can add some

details on the seats and there will be clearly seen
through the big front screen.

The under side of the cargo bay also fix perfectly,

just study the parts before starting some of them
are a bit different.

33
 The cabin lines are well reproduced and the kit
offer separated doors so you can leave them open
to see the interior.

The spare wheel

rack builds
easily with a few
parts and you
can just slide
the extra wheel
there, no glue is
required.

Looking for pictures of the real vehicle I
realized a couple of things; first, ICM didn’t
include the brand plate at the front of the
cabin, surely due to license matters, second;
the trucks green colour looked different at
the cabin (glossy) and the cargo bay (almost
matt) This gave me an idea of what kind of
finish I wanted for my model.
I painted the frame and lower part of the
body with a satin black primer and used
Vallejo 71096 Panzer green for the upper
parts, then I added lights with a filter made
with 71093 Field green diluted at 75% and
The underside of the
truck is finished in a satin
black colour, to imitate it
I used the Vallejo primer
73602, provided in that
same tone.
applied with the airbrush in a cenithal way.
I applied some acrylic washes and pigments
to create a dust and dirt layer at the frame
and lower parts and applied gloss varnish
to the cabin; then I painted the lights bases
with silver and tinted the signal lights with
translucent paints. I glued all together
and completed the weathering with some
pigments applied dry, mostly at the rear part.
To end the job I Painted some oil and grease
stains here and there using the new Vallejo
special paints.

I didn’t use any kind of lightening here, I wanted

the black parts to contrast as much as possible
with the rest of the truck to keep it visible through
the further weathering.

34

I used 71093 Field green as a base for the
green tone of the cabin and cargo bay. I
used then gloss varnish to enhance the
shine of the cabin to make it look as new.
I used a lot of pigments with this model; at the
down side of the truck and the cargo bay too. I
applied them as a wash with a sprayer and dry
with a brush. The pigments layer is perfect to ab-
sorb further stains and make them look perfectly
integrated.

Several washes with special

Vallejo acrylic paints for this
task created a dirt filter very
convincing

One of the main advantages of the acrylic

washes is that the pigment is ultra fine and
perfectly diluted so you can use these paints
with your airbrush with no risk of stucking it

Vallejo produces a wide range of acrylic washes

colours, for me they are something essential in the
everyday work at the atellier; they act very well as
filters too so I sometimes use them to correct the
general (or just some parts) look of the model if I
alter the desired look with the weathering too much.

35
Takom
1/35 Scale
The AMX-13 is a French light tank produced
by the Atelier de Construction Roanne since
1952 and is still in service in many countries.
Designed by the Atelier de Construction d’Issy-
les-Moulineaux it is a compact and agile tank
equipped with an oscillating turret produced by
GIAT that moved the upper part of it where the
main gun is fixed. Along the years the AMX-
13 has been upgraded many times changing
the main gun and other components until the
production ceased in 1987. Today the spare parts
and upgrades are still available trough the Nexter
Company.
Along the many versions produced of the AMX-
13; there is on equipped with the SS-11 anti tank
guided missiles; this was a gap fill to overpower
37
a part o the existing tanks equipped with the
75mm gun that was no longer effective in the 60s
battlefield until the new AMX-30 was available.
38
This solution allowed the AMX-13 chasing hea-
vier tanks at a distance of 500 to 800m while the
main gun was to be used against lighter vehicles.
The AMX-13 and its derivates
are still in service in counties
like Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico,
Cambodia, Peru and Venezuela
among others.
The Takom kit
After having built three AMX-13
for the Blue Steel 5 book cove-
ring this tank in the Lebanese
army, this is the fourth time that I
use it to make a building article,
you can say that I could build it
with my eyes closed.
Until last year the only plastic
kit available in 1/35 scale was the Heller one,
dated from the 70s it was a simple kit and lacked
both finesse and quality if compared to nowa-
days standard. The new Takom kit, although it
has a better detail, is not the definitive kit as it
lacks form some defects too. The most important
is that some parts are designed to be fixed with
large pins so if you want to do without them you
will have to fill and sand big hollows, the main
gun is made of two symmetrical halves, more
putty and sanding, the tracks provided are the full
metal ones while the more common version used
in all models is the rubber pads ones, and althou-
gh a photoetched metal fret is provided it doesn’t
include the tools clams, instead these are roughly
moulded together with the tools. Aside of these
disadvantages, the Takom kit is fine and has
many good details like
the wheels rims provi-
ded as a separate part
moulded with the rub-
ber band, transparent
lenses and periscopes,
separate track links,
photoetched lights fen-
ders and grills, etc.

I built the whole kit

39
straightforward as the instructions suggest replacing only the
jerrycan holder for another made with brass plate. Then I
began with the painting process.

Painting and weathering

The instructions suggest you paint the AMX-13 Olive drab but
the French Army didn’t use this colour in those years, the one you
should use is a greyish green tone similar to the one used in Ger-
many that same era.
I started priming with a closer tone, Vallejo 73612 NATO green and

40
later covered with 71012 Dark green that is very
similar to the colour I looked for.
Later I used 71094 green zinc colour as a filter
airbrushing it diluted at 75% at the centre of the
bigger surfaces and from a cenithal approach.
Then I airbrushed a second filter made with

71095 Pale green diluted at 85%, this time form

a bigger distance and homogeneously so it could
enhance the details.
For the brown camouflage I choose 71118 Ca-
mouflage brown as it looked very similar to the
reference pictures I had.
For the SS-11 missiles I used a combination of

41
 black primer and 71089 light blue mixed 50/50.
As soon as the priming was dry I airbrushed a
filter made with a combination of that same blue
colour and light grey from a cenithal position to
enlighten the upper part of them.
With the enlightening part finished I airbrushed
gloss varnish to prepare the model to place the
decals. For this task I used the Vallejo decal
medium and fix products that ensure a perfect
adherence.
Once the decals were fixed and dry I airbrushed
again, this time with satin varnish and let the
model rest for a day.
42
 that makes it look like old rust, very
convincing.
As the tracks would be fixed almost
in the end I polished the running
path beneath the teeth with my
graphite pencil and left them aside
waiting for the last touches.
Back to the tank I started painting
the details like tools, etc. For the
lights I used a silver paint to cover
the interior; then I prepared a trans-
lucent mix for the red taillights using
gloss varnish and a couple of dots

At this stage I used the old drybrush technique

with a very dark brown colour to imitate some
rusted chipping at the edges of some panels
and light earth tones to make some drained dirt
stains.
After waiting for some hours I moistened the mo-
del with windex and used many acrylic washes
to sprinkle little dots all over the vehicle, these
dots blurred over the moistened surface creating
a multicolour layer of subtle dirt. I let this effect
rest and settle, meanwhile I primed the tracks
sections I made with black and as soon as it was
dry I painted them with the new Vallejo rust effect
paint. This new product is great, it has a very nice
dark rust tone and some very fine rough texture

of red paint. As soon as

the silver paint was dry I
added a generous amount
of this mix over them.
To enhance the lines of
the tank I used a mix of
dark brown, green and
black oils using them as
a wash diluting at 90%,
once dry I cleaned the
excesses with a cloth and
turpentine.
The last step was to
dust the tank, for this I
used the pigments rain
technique, pouring water
with some pigments all
over the model with a
mechanical sprayer and
let dry. Once dry I used
a brush to sweep away

43
 and a brown acrylic wash, I depo-
sited it on the model while it was
still fresh to adapt it to the surfa-
ce and let it dry there.
Last touches where to dirt the
stowage and use the pencil to let
the metal show at some edges
and constant rubbing parts.
And with this I called the model
finished, not a long time project
but a couple of weekends one,
mostly focused in testing some
new products and materials like
the latex for further technique
articles.

any excess. In those areas where this

dirt was not enough I insisted with dry
pigments applied directly with a brush.
I made some stowage with a latex
glove and a piece of gauze
tinting it with a mix of
white glue,
water

44
Exclusive decals at www.fcmodeltrend.com

45
AMX-13 in detail

46
AMX-13 in detail

47
AMX-13 in detail

48
AMX-13 in detail

49
Model; Hobbyboss
Scale; 1/35

A Russian version f the French FT-17

The T-18 was the first tank designed in the USSR,
based on the French FT-17 proved unsuccessful but
provided the Russian designers their first experience
for further developments.
The T-18, also called MS-1 derived from a
first prototype, the T-16 which was
designed in 1924 and lacked
all kind of problems. The T-18
corrected many of
them altering the
suspension,
engine, armour,
main gun, etc.
The new tank
had a 37mm gun,
2 rifles

mounted on a spherical support, an armour of
6 to 18mm and weighted 6 ton. The MS Engine
provided 35hp for the tank to run 17km/h over
its vertical sprung suspension. In May 1927
made a demonstration and at the beginning of
next year production began at the Leningrad
Obukhov Factory, but some problems with the
first 30 vehicles led to cease production until
they were fixed and included another factory, the
Motovilikhinsky Machine-Building Plant to provide
the first 96 units in 1929. Three years later it
was removed form service before seeing any
important action but part of the elements proven
in the tank were adopted in some later designs
like the T-24. At the beginning of the WWII there
were some units that they were still operative,
they were urgently fitted with a 45mm gun to be
used against the invading German forces.
After years of waiting
Until now the only kit available of this tiny tank
was the AER Moldova one, very old and pretty
mediocre, I got it decades ago by chance and as
soon as I opened the box I started to rebuild it
in scratch, finally I got bored and never finished
it, but every time I saw the box in my stash I felt
that I should give it a change again…..for years…
until some weeks ago Hobbyboss showed up
with their own version of it. I immediately bough
it at my local store, didn’t give a damn about the
old unfinished one I had at home, I wanted a new
and modern kit of that little “steampunk” beast.
Tiny tank, little work
Like I did the time before, as soon as I got home I
started building it, I felt anxious to have, at last, a
finished T-18 in my collection.
The kit is very nice, well detailed, separated links
tracks, and some fine details like the fenders, so
thin they almost look like a metal plate.
Construction didn’t offer any trouble and went
straightforward following the instructions. I just
replaced the rifles cannons for a couple of metal
tubes and emptied the front lamp to later add a
transparent piece of my spares box.
I made some lengths with the tracks links and
left them aside to start painting.
Innovating tank, conservative
painting
As the T-18 didn’t see any important action
53
I couldn’t show it under extreme weathering
unless I wanted to depict a scrap of it. I opted to
represent a vehicle on manoeuvres with some
mud, dust and little else.
I begun by priming with Vallejo 73609 4BO
With the tracks in place I covered them with the
new Vallejo rust effect paint, very convincing
as it has both the right colour and subtle rough
texture.
Another layer of a olive green acrylic wash to

Russian green to later apply a filter with 71137
US light green diluted at 75% and airbrushed
at the centre of the bigger surfaces and from a
zenithal direction. Another filter with 71095 Pale
green diluted at 90% and airbrushed form all
angles allowed me to enhance the volumes and
details in a subtle way.
With the second filter I lighted the general tone
too much
so I
darkened
it again
enhance the details, once dry I eliminated part
of it using a cotton bud and the Vallejo thinner
leaving a subtle shadow around the details to
remark them.
To add some variety to the base I moistened the
surface with windex and speckled lots of tiny
dots of many acrylic wash colours of the yellow
and brown range. The dots tend to blur so this
created a multi colour filter that
brought some life to the green
base.
I let the model rest for a
day and then applied
another filter mixing
white acrylic
wash with some
dots of 71143
light stone

using airbrushing the

a dark upper parts of
green the vehicle and then blurring
acrylic the filter down with the Vallejo thinner and a
wash. brush to create some dripped stains. This system
Then I is a bit tricky, you got to act immediately and
primed don’t let the filter settle or else it will be difficult to
the tracks remove and if you rub too much with the brush
with black you can take away part of the previous paint
and fixed layers.
them to With this part of the painting finished I started
the tank. painting a subtle chipping at some areas, for this
I used dark brown and black colours
mixed and the classic techniques of
the dry brush and the sponge.
Time now for the details, not too
many indeed, just the front lamp
interior and the two rifle cannons,
after this I painted the outer wheels
rim with steel colour to test the new
Vallejo metallic paints, the coverage
and homogeneity is great; they are
tint like consistent and the pigment
doesn’t deposit immediately so they natural look and colour.
are perfect to use with both brush and airbrush. A last layer of a lighter tone pigment was then
Next phase was to apply some dry mud, for applied by simply rubbing with a soft brush.
this I used pigments and fixer, first depositing In the inner side of the wheels I applied
the pigments dry over the surface and then some wet mud of the recent Vallejo
dropping some dots of the fixer to moisten brand with a small brush. The new
it. Once the fixer is dry the
pigments recover
their

55
mud is very nice, doesn’t alter its look at all when
dry, you get what you see.
The last detail was rubbing some parts with a
graphite pencil to imitate the polished metal.
I added a rolled tarpaulin at the tail made from a
56
glove latex and painted the same way as the rest
of the model.
I always had some kind of preference for the
small tanks, the smallest the more I like them and
now I got my T-18 at last!
57
 1. The engine fixed to the
frame, many parts are so
delicate that need very
carefull handling
Miniart, 1/35 scale
Caterpillar is a company based in Peoria, Illinois;
they are the main construction, mining and diesel
machinery producers in the world. Caterpillar
started producing their well know tractors back in
1904 when Benjamin Holt decided to use a set of
wooden tracks bolted to chains to improve trac-
tion of a steam tractor over the soggy soil of the
Delta land of Roberts Island. In 1925 the merger
2. Although it has a lot of parts, the engine block is
one of the most eye catching parts of the vehicle
so the work is worth the effort.
3. Overall fixing of the parts is quite good but
the many little and delicate ones guarantee a
slow assembling
of his company Holt Manufacturing Company;
and his competitor C.L. Best Tractor Company
created a new one, the Caterpillar Inc.
During the WWII, Caterpillar provided the U.S.
army with the D7 dozer as the main resource
for earthmoving and some other roles; and they
were used in all war theatres.
4. The many control levers are one of the most
delicate pieces in the kit and they are all hidden
under the floor.
59
 7. More or less at this stage is advisable to make a
stand and start painting or else you may find it more
difficult later on.

5. Little by little the

building process
advance showing the
shape and details of
this Cat.

6. Once you fix the seat in place you really start 8. Building the tracks is a tedious job, each link is
realizing the size of the engine. made of four parts and they must be perfectly alig-
ned and connected to the next link.

Of all the D7 versions in the

Miniart catalogue this one is
my favourite; and is the third I
build this year.

60
 The D7 over one of the FCmodeltrend
printed self adhesive bases. A quick
way to present the model.

The D7 is the kind of model that cries

for a heavy weathering painting. It is
certainly a perfect subject to practise rust
effects, dust, mud and all kind of stains.

9. I used Vallejo primer 73608 Olive drab to paint

the assembled parts before start adding the cabin
plates.

11. Having built all the kit in pieces groups I primed

with Olive drab and then made the first highlights
with 71137 US light green heavily diluted

10. All the cabin 12. A second highlight with 71143

slots can be light stone and diluted at 90% en-
fixed in open or hanced the edges and details in a
closed positions. subtle way.
I choose to leave
then closed to
maintain the
vehicle line.

61
13. For the chipping I used a mix of dark brown 15. Some more speckling
and black colours applied with both the drybrush with a lighter rust wash .
and sponge techniques. This one was later faded
down with a brush and
thinner.

14. Some speckling with a dark

rust wash created a nice variety
of tones.

16. The lower part of the D7 was the most heavily

weathered< rust, dust, oil stains, dirt, etc. All of it
made with acrylic paints of many colours speckling
and blurring< sometimes even mixing the paints with
turpentine to deposit them over the surface in a very
uneven way. Knowing that you can always clean
the result with a bit of alcohol and water, this should
encourage us to test new things every time.

62
It is important to use the same pigment tones at both
the model and the base ground. This one was made
mixing little stones, sand, plaster, pigments and dry glue.
I made a rim taller than the wood base with adhesive
tape and filled the space with this soil mixture. Then I
placed the model in it pressing a little so it would look
really integrated in the scene. Then I poured water
over the scene to flood the soil and make
the dry glue react. Once dry
I retired the tape and painted
the borders of the scene
with black primer.

19. I made the pigments wash all over

the model mixing it with water and
pouring with a mechanical sprayer.

17. I used the new Vallejo acrylic mud at the lower

parts of the bulldozer, they don’t change the colour
when dry and they don’t reduce.

20. I fixed all the parts

and substituted part of the
tubbing for tin thread.

18. Some pigments added

over the still wet mud created
a convincent mud crust.

63
64
T T ips,
The Blitzscale team
ricks & T echniques
Wood planks with a dragged veil

1 - Cover the surface with a light wood co- 4 - Blur the dots using a brush moistened in
lour little thinner.

2- Speckle little dots of a brown acrylic wash. 5 - Repeat with more acrylic washes tones,
do it while the former wash is still fresh.

3 - Cover all the surface trying not to exceed. 6 - The more colours you use, the better the
wood grain will look.

65