A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: A MUCH BETTER DAY!

This is another very quick build, so finding ways to speed up the process without compromising the finish has been, if not fun, then an interesting exercise.

19th August 2025

After the shenanigans of yesterday, today has been a far more successful day at the bench.

You may recall that I had all sorts of bother yesterday as paintwork on the Jackson went from good to bad to worse. Thankfully, the reworked areas last night, coupled with a full day of painting today, has resulted in a model that I’m now pretty happy with.

This model differs from previous builds in that it has been painted exclusively with water-based acrylics, in particular, AK’s 3G paints. As I mostly use lacquers these days (or Tamiya paints thinned with their lacquer thinners) this was something of a trial, but I have to say that with the right thinners and the airbrush set-up correctly, the results were very pleasing and the control that I had over the various colours and their application over the surface of the model and its stowage, reassuringly precise.

I also broke with tradition by painting everything on the model before applying any kind of weathering. Normally, I would block out the camouflage, weather the model and then touch in all of the details. Today, I finished everything as though not planning to weather the results, sealed it in with VMS Flat, and left it all alone to dry. I figure it will be easier to blend it all in with weathering in the morning in one elongated session, there then being no additional parts to paint and weather separately.

This is another very quick build, so finding ways to speed up the process without compromising the finish has been, if not fun, then an interesting exercise. I rather like the model as it stands all freshly painted, so may go for a more tradition, shall we say legacy finish that keeps all of the sharpness in place. Then again, I might cover the whole lot in mud and crud, befitting of a vehicle in the fields of Europe during the latter stages of the Second World War. Choices, choices…

See you tomorrow.