The biggest challenge about Merkavas are the anti slip type of material. I found it very effective to hand paint the new diorama pastes from Vallejo.
The errors can be washed and corrected and the material is quite easy to control. Just take a little with the tip of the brush, and dab on gently.
The rear basket is covered with Epoxy Putty, so are the rear and side signal flags. Manlet cover is a little gappy, so, liquid cement and Tamiya Putty mix is used and melted with blending strokes and massaged into the gaps.
Once the primer has set, The model has its lines preshaded with Vallejo Black with Matt Varnish added with Dilutant. Then the whole mode is over sprayed with Panzer Dark Mud to give it the greenish Khaki Colour. The upper surfaces are shaded with a highlight with Iraqi Sand added into the Dark Mud to get the light tones. this is dusted over small areas over the top and near top surfaces to modulate the tones of exposure to light.
Another view of the whole tank that has the final highlight dusted in broader areas. There are quite a few damaged parts due to melting in my Academy kit, so, I had to kit bash 2 sets to get this one model going. However, the wheel trailing arms of both sides of the tank are different. Once set is clearly molded without the slot link between the spring and the cantilever.
Cantilvers with slots.
Cantilevers with missing slots on the whole of the other side of the tank.
But since its will not be obvious after the side skirts are added, I let the sleeping dogs lie low for now. But I do have an issue with melted parts on several trees. Its like a disgruntled worker sabotaging trees with a hot soldering iron.
The whole tank is glazed over with Panzer Grey to unify the harsh contrast. Unlike the usual enamel based variety, I want this model to be all based on Vallejo Acrylics. So, we have 20% Panzer Grey, 20% Acrylic resin, 60% water with a drop of Matt Medium. This is dotted onto the surface and then glazed over with a No 4 Brush wet with distilled water. Then I just watch the colour spread all over the pace and collecting on the recesses. Care is taken not to force ventilate the model. Allowing the pigments to settle down and dry slowly over 2 hours. Making sure the wet surface is always on the horizontal position.
Teh whole tank then recieved a Burnt Umber and Black wash to accentuate the details on the complex surface designs as well as the anti slip material that we painted on earlier.
The surface is then highlighted with Buff on the pins and points with a zero brush. The anti slip is dry brushed with a mix of Panzer Dark Mud added with Iraqi Sand, leaving the most highlighted ones being the reverts and pins. The Canvas cover is also painted and darkened with shadows on the folds.
The handles are all painted red in colour and the VHF Whip plus the UHF antennae are all painted white. The Mantlet area recieved its shadows and highlights.
Break for now. Chow. New Year counting down soon!