Dodge WC54

[ij001]

Quite a lot done since the last updates.

Starting with the white fields for the crosses, which was sprayed using two coats of Tamiya primer straight from the rattle can. Once it dried I applied a couple of cats of Johnsons Klear/Future to seal it in.

I then measured the decals from the kit and masked it all off:



Later in the afternoon, I put it all together:





And with that it all seemed ok, so it was left overnight for the glue to set, and I went to look at some on-line photos of the real thing…

Ian

 

[ij001]

…so the following session, after I’d had a look at the photos, I’d found the answer to the BIG question… Is there a gap between the generic ‘cab’ and the rear deck ?? – No, there isn’t, so it needs to be filled.





I’ll be first to admit it wasn’t pretty, but it worked and after another ‘overnight stop’ I was ready to take a sharp knife to it !!







After these pics were taken, I blended the ‘stuffed’ gaps with green stuff and later rubbed it back with various grades of wet’n dry and lots of water. Once agin it was put aside overnight in preparation for the first paint.

Ian

 

[ij001]

Years and years ago I tried my hand at diorama building and it’s something I may take a run at again, but not with this build, however I may try to make the soft, chunky snow effect in the tyres… maybe !!

So next job was to mask the ‘glass’ then attach doors and assault the poor wee thing with Tamiya primer again, this time the ‘grey one’ !!





And that is where I stopped yesterday evening.

Ian

 

[ij001]

First job this morning…. Pre-shading:





The ‘chromate yellow’ was a bit of an experiment, not sure that it worked, but you can judge that y’selves in a few minutes. I left this in the sunshine to dry for a couple of hours, then applied two lightened coats of Tamiya OD. Here’s a couple of ‘general’ views.





And close-in:







And that’s it for this week. Will let it all ‘calm down’ over the weekend, then apply a coat or two of Klear/Future ready for decaling.

Stay tuned.

Ian

 

[ErnieS]

Nice job! I think your paint experiment worked well and will provide a good base for further weathering
Ernie

 

[lupanzer]

Great!

Luiz

 

[moon puppy]

 

[ij001]

Brief update, after a couple of days 'time-out'. Masked the crosses for the roof and door this morning:





Then sprayed them Tamiya flat red:



As you can see it was still drying when I snapped this pic. There's a wee bit of 'touching-up' needed on the left side border, but There's no problem there :hmmm . More soon.

Ian

 

[moon puppy]

Looks good

 

[SA Dave]

looking JUMMY

 

[Gator]

Very nice work. I would like to get my hands on one of these and paint it up in Navy gray.

 

[Sherman 18]

 

[ij001]

...and now ready for decals:







...really enjoying this build B)

Ian

 

[RichB]

Looking good .

The biggest "oops" by Italeri is the missing external handles on the cab doors.

Cheers,
Rich

 

[SA Dave]

That looks so nicer Ian

 

[ij001]

Decals are a mixture of kit and leftover Tamiya, all went-on without a struggle and settled-down very well on (another) coat of Klear/Future, then sealed-in wit yet another coat. On Tuesday I started the weathering with a simple 'dirty black' oil wash into all the recesses, then followed-up with an 'oil-dot' wash:



Then carefully blended the dots in with a brush slightly moist with thinner and a cotton-bud. Lighter yellow, white and buff at the top, darker olive green and raw umber at the bottom:







Next I started with pastels. MIG's 'Industrial dust first, then 'European dust' bothe applied quite heavily then scrubbed in using a stiff brush. I sealed them in with a coat of well-thinned Humbrol matt varnish, but most of the toning didn't 'come-back' after it dried, so I left it overnight and went back yesterday and re-applied just the 'European dust'. It means I have to limit handling it but the effect is what I was aiming for from the outset - not muddy, but dusty and tired.











So close to finishing now, just the 'ickle bits' to add and the masking to remove. I'll probably need to re-apply a little more pastel after that, but on the whole I'm quite pleased with what I've got so far.

Thanks for taking the time to look and/or comment. More soon.

Ian

 

[moon puppy]

Wooo!!!! Great job Ian.

 

[SA Dave]

DAMN she be Dirty I like em dirty

 

[Sherman 18]

That is really looking SHARP!

 

[Gator]

That is beautiful!