nightshiftmodeller

Paints are ON

My friends, I started the painting stage, and I wanted to start working on the scene instead of the mech suit. It's a more traditional way for me to first paint and finish the main subject and then paint the diorama because it's easier to match up the color of the groundwork to the earth tones on the model, as these have to sometimes be adjusted for optimal contrast with its paint job. 

But here I just wanted to start working on the scenery right off the bat! Everything is so far p...

Trench is ready!

My friends, last night I finished the trench. Pretty much every detail is inspired by 1917, as the first segment of the movie is filled with inspiration. The filmmakers did a great job creating intricate trenches that look lived-in! 

The sandbags were a huge challenge for me. I don't have much experience with sculpting, and sandbags usually don't have too many visual details as they tend to be full of dirt and thus, lack any folds. The basic shape is very easy to make, and I'll sho...

Trip to Spain and AK-Interactive!

My friends, here are some photos from the Spain trip. It's been an adventurous journey, and it took me a couple of days to recover from everything! 

First of all, I went there to film a short interview segment for AK. I don't exactly know when and where this will come out, but it will at some point! Second, I discussed a few things and exchanged some ideas with Fernando. I don't have things signed on paper yet, so I don't want to jinx anything, but long story short, we discussed so...

Trench in progress!

My friends, I've been working on the WW1-style trench for the MaK suit. Working on this scene, one thing keeps popping into my mind - it's bigger than what I'm used to! Working on 1/35 models (primarily) for most of my life, I'm not used to everything being so... big! :D For example, I had to make new, bigger bending jigs for the corrugated metal sheets. When it comes to details, luckily, freely available 3D models come to the rescue. For starters, I printed some WW1 trench boots to make the ...

Chubby boi is ready

My friends, our main protagonist is finished and ready for painting. But first, I'll have to construct the trench diorama around him. My idea is that he'll be peeking around the corner, scanning the trench with the camera in his left arm - the one with the gun. 

Building this kit was really straightforward, and the parts are cleverly designed. The only downside are the hard rubber joints with their seam lines - these are simply impossible to remove :( On the other hand, the entire ...

New project!

My friends! It's time for yet another fresh project, and something we haven't done on this channel. I wanted to build the Lend-Lease Valentine as my next model, but this cool little kit arrived in the meantime and it was hard to resist. This is actually a nice gift from the Plastic Posse Podcast (thank you, Scott!) and it's kinda their "fault" as they got me stoked about this idea :) 

Now, I wanted to build and paint this suit the traditional way, following the in-universe rules of...

Early video

Enjoy!!! :))))) 

HD photos... in black!

My friends, here are the final pictures of this little vignette, and for the first time in black! I thought the black background (the painted wall in my studio) seemed like a better option than the traditional white as it enhances the shadowed look of this collapsed basement hallway. What do you think?

Also, the video is already being uploaded (50%) and it'll be ready in a few hours! It's gonna be almost 38 minutes long! :))) 

Finished!

My friends, the Dud In Adria vignette is done! I finished it yesterday and spent the majority of today writing a script for the video, and oh boy, it's going to be massive. Almost 40 minutes long with detailed explanation of every bit of the process, and an unusual, unscripted introduction to the whole project. It's gonna be a ton of work as it usually takes an hour to edit 5 minutes of video, so I won't guarantee that it'll be ready tomorrow, but oh, it's gonna be so worth it. I have a hunch...

Vignette ready

My friends, this ruined landscape was a nice challenge not only because of its composition, but also painting. Because most of the scene is build from styrofoam, this meant I couldn't use any enamels besides the dud shell. Painting everything with acrylics has its own ups and downs, and sometimes the process feels very counter-intuitive compared to enamels or oils. Especially when you're painting the groundwork! 

It certainly gave me some confidence for any future projects, and unl...

First paints

My friends, I managed to paint the first two components of the vignette. After giving everything an opaque layer of black primer, I airbrushed the mortar shell as the first important detail. 

After some searching I learned that high-explosive shells were painted in Olive Green or Field Grey, so I went with green. A few photos show some labels and markings on these shells, but I didn't find anything appropriate in my spares... but at the same time, I wanted to add some small visual ...

Ready for paints!

My friends, here's the vignette in its raw state. Laminating the sides wasn't a pleasant job at all! But as always, it's a very important part of the scene. 

Another tricky part was the "roof" or the collapsed upper floor. I was, again, trying to avoid making a shadow box vignette, and this layout seemed like a sweet spot for me. The floor is actually made from styrofoam, just as the rest of the base. Cork would've made my life easier when it comes to painting as I could use enamel...

New (mini) project!

My friends, this idea has been sitting in my mind since I started googling reference photos of the Karl Mortar. Two historical photos popped up, taken in Warsaw 1944, showing unexploded shells that crashed down into the basements of the large city buildings. One of the photos is named "Dud in Adria"  and that sounded like a perfect name for a vignette! 

The other reason behind this project was the fact I didn't need the hefty metal shells that came with the Karl Mortar kit fro...

Early video

My friends, at last! 

This vignette is very simple, so I took it as an opportunity to explain and summarize the entire process in detail. Painting the earth on this one was really fun! 

Theatrical shots!

My friends, here are the final pictures of the Karl Mortar sitting cozily on a piece of arid Soviet steppe. The crew is taking a break in the hot weather, waiting for the Munitionschlepper to return with another 2-ton concrete-piercing shell. 

The 25-minute long video is being uploaded at the moment. I wanted to have it ready for you this morning as promised, but a sudden family emergency collided with my plans. My grandmother wasn't feeling well yesterday, and it was better to tak...

At last... finish line!

My friends, my memory is rather weak when it comes to modelling projects, but I've got a feeling that this might be the longest project so far, and it's finally done! 

There are a couple of final thoughts I realized as I was finishing it. First of all, the figures. I might've accidentally learned a pretty good way to paint white cloth (winter uniforms for example!), although it wasn't my intention. The soldier on the left has his shirt painted with Light Mud from Vallejo. The highl...

Base done, time for figures

My friends, I finished the base yesterday. Compared to  my previous post, it has some painted stones, and a dry-brush. I tried painting the large stones in the front in more greyish and lighter tones, as this is the supposed "dig site". The remaining rocks on the meadow are rather small and randomly spaced. Once they were all blocked in, I drybrushed the ground with Rainmarks Effect - the same light dust paint I used on the model. This method is so effective, because it doesn't just ligh...

Real Earth from My Garden (TM) is running out!

My friends, I tried to make something interesting out of this simple scene, but when you have a limited space and the setting is quite sterile (landscaped firing range) there's not that much left to your imagination! 

So I tried to crank up the ground textures - lots of loose earth around the "dig site" and lots of track marks. Maybe tanks played a role in the firing range construction process, or maybe it's from the Munitionschlepper driving around :) 

Also, I added gra...

Also, a little teaser :)

... and here's a little sneak peek at the next project. I don't want to go into too many technicalities here, but it'll be a Valentine... either Mk IX or IV... in both cases, extremely beaten-up! And yes, it'll have a bridge as well. Probably not the same as in the photo, but the spirit of that scene will be there :) It's gonna feel great to work on a TINY model (well, everything feels tiny after the Karl).

Base in the works

My friends, thanks again for all of your positive and supportive comments! I started working on a scenic base for the Karl, and it's gonna be a simple one. But that doesn't mean it's not going to be absolutely MASSIVE! :D 

One picture of the real mortar caught my eye, and it seems like a small hill was built in order to provide a stable firing position for it. I found a completely unrelated photo of that modern AMX thing sitting on similar terrain, and you can see there how soft gr...

Early video (again)

My friends, I reuploaded the latest video to my usual, secondary channel. I changed the URL in the previous post, but it seems that it might've caused a few issues, so just to be safe, here's a brand new post with the updated link. 

As a bonus, this one has better footage at the end of the video :) 

Early video

Here we go, my friends, 32 minutes of high-octane weathering! 

Edit: here's a reupload on my secondary channel with better footage of the finished model :) 

HD photos

My friends, here are the final shots of the mortar... before it's put on a scenic base! :) 

The 31-minute long video is being uploaded as we speak! I'm uploading it to my main channel so it'll be processed quicker, and I'll post it here for you in 4K as soon as it's ready today. 

Dirtied up and finished!

My friends, it's been an exhausting week, but the rewarding part is here - the finished Karl! 

One of my objectives was to finish the model before the weekend, so I could then focus on the video editing part. Speaking of which, I'll do my best to make it ready for you sometime tomorrow! 

As for the weathering bit, as usual, I started with the lower hull and running gear. Standard techniques were used here - stippling with AK acrylic paste, pre-dusting with Tamiya Buff, a...

Ready for earth effects!

My friends, I spent the majority of Friday and today painting all the small surface details on this model, and although it's mostly a grey monster, there are lots of small things in different colors! 

First of all, the tools at the back were painted the usual way as on all my other models. Then there were the exhaust pipes... a grey base coat, some light grey mottling, some dark chipping, and a generous enamel rust wash. 

Continuing with some additional wood effects, I c...

Rust effects done... and the fruits of my new hobby!

My friends, here's the entire mortar with some subtle (and not so subtle in other areas) rust tones. We all know how tricky it is to apply them over Panzer Grey because rust+grey=base for raw steel finishes. But at the very least it's the first effect that starts to add a splash of a different color to the model. Again, I know that rust doesn't go very well with such a precious weapon system as this, but it adds so much to that heavy metal look! 

Now it's gonna be about painting de...

Subtle rust tones

My friends, I finished chipping the mortar and the cradle, but there's not much to show there - just more of what you saw the other day on the hull :D 

However, here's a glimpse at the upcoming rust effects. I know that "rust" and "highly valuable siege mortar" don't go together very well, but as it's always the case with rust tones, they give the model that heavy metal look we all love! 

So I'll keep working on those until the entire mortar looks heavy, and then add som...

Chipping!

My friends, the scariest part of this paint job is turning out to be not scary at all! It's natural to expect that chipping a model like this would be an inhuman task... but if you break a large problem into many smaller ones, things won't be as daunting. 

So my thinking was that I don't wanna spend a week chipping this thing. It was also one of the most expensive and valuable devices in the German army, operating far away from the front lines. As such, it wouldn't be as beaten as ...

Washes done... phew!

My friends, the pin wash is ON, and instead of complaining on how long it took and how much my back hurts from sitting in funny positions because of the hull's complex shape, let's talk about something pretty common for all of us: TIDE MARKS. 

Yes, these happen all the time, and they're extra noticeable on this model. They can happen for a lot of reasons. In this case, I suspect it boils down to paint (although it's a new bottle of Ammo dark wash, but I noticed how it likes to sepa...

Pin washing has begun

My friends, the most satisfying and time-consuming technique on this model is in full force! I can't think of any additional poetry to say here, so let's get down to business. 

I chose a dark wash for green vehicles for this paint job, because it perfectly complements the warm tones. I have a bottle of wash for Pz. Grey, but I find it quite useless as it is very much a dark blue paint. 

Pin washing the cradle took a lot of time because of all the details crammed into suc...