Activity

1/72 Challenger I – First Armor / Test of Acrylic Only Painting

Hey Hey! I’ve been building snap together, non-painted (Gundam) models for a while and I have recently started branching out. I just got an airbrush and have started to add armor, aircraft and a few other interesting Sci-Fi models to the stash, all of which will require full painting.

So I picked up this British Challenger Mk 1 kit as a test for some painting/weathering techniques using only acrylic paints. All my previous detailing/weathering was done with enamels and lacquers. Although this was a cheap kit for testing, it turned into quite an enjoyable build!

The kit is the 1/72 scale from Trumpeter. Went together pretty well, only issue is the stowage basket hanging low and rubbing against the top of the hull.

This was a test of the techniques in the Vallejo modeling video that’s floating around. It was nice to use only acrylics and avoid using the organic solvent fumes. The weathering went easier than I thought, and the real trick is just to keep everything damn while you are blending and mixing.

This time around I did all the weathering on top of a satin coat, as suggested in the videos. I’m working on a JGSDF Type 10 right now as a test of the same basic techniques, but with the weathering on top of a coat of future. I actually think it will work better, but I’ll find out soon.

Critiques/comments very welcome. Cheers!