Osprey Publishing

Armour Modelling

by  John Prignet

Reviewed By  Marc Brzezicki, IPMS# 33242

MSRP: $35.00 ISBN: 9781841769745 Osprey continues in its series of model building guides. This new book is hard cover, 192 pages, with a spiral bound format that will allow the book to lay flat on your modeling table. The book is broken down into 12 chapters with an introduction and index. Chapter 1 (pages 6 -13) gives a description of basic tools to have when you start building models. The author describes a number of different kinds of hobby knives that one can purchase along with recommendations for their safe use. The next item recommended is a cutting mat along with an inexpensive tray or drawing board to use as a work surface. Glues and model fillers are discussed next with their pluses and minuses along with warnings for their safe use. Paints are discussed next describing the differences between acrylics and enamels. Not many more tools are mentioned in this chapter, just enough to assemble the kit in chapter 2. As the manual goes on and the projects become more complex the tools used to finish those kits get more specialized. Chapter 2 (pages 14 - 31) John Prignet starts the first model built in this book, Dragon's Initial Tiger I. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. Usually in model building guides such as this the first model built is something simple, but to start with a complex kit like Dragon's Tiger I is impressive. The first recommendation is to study the instructions! This kit can be built three different ways and studying the instructions is a must so no mistakes are made. Pictures show techniques described in the text for removing parts from the parts trees, filling ejector pin marks and gluing the parts together. The text skips forward to techniques used in painting the various sub-assemblies that include the interior, periscopes and road wheels. The individual link tracks are assembled next and mounted on the tank. External details are added and mention is made now to decide whether to use plastic part or their metal equivalents that are provided in the kit. A separate colored panel describes a way to paint and detail the exhausts to replicate a heat rusted exhaust. Not much is covered with painting the entire vehicle, just description of painting more of the smaller details. Next we go to applying decals on this vehicle and applying some light washes to weather the tank. Chapter 3 (pages 32 - 47) gives descriptions of other finishing techniques that include using stencils, dry transfers, chipped paint, scale color, base coats and undercoats. Also included in this chapter are adding figures to your model. Denis Allaire describes altering the position of a head on a figure. Mark Bannerman demonstrates painting a Hornet Italian tanker figure using enamel and oil paints. Mark Bannerman also paints a 1/35 scale Hornet head. Finally Brian Wildfong demonstrates adding highlights and shadows to a 1/35 Tamiya figure. Chapter 4 (pages 48 - 59) gives you the "basics of bases". A simple countryside base is detailed first. The author doesn't say who the manufacturer is but it's expanded polystyrene with a hard skin. Various earth-toned colors are used to paint it along with Woodland Scenics materials to detail it. A Verlinden resin townscape base is up next. Besides painting the base, matchsticks are used for replicating interior woodwork visible in a wrecked building. Chapter 5 (pages 60 - 73) describes working with etched metal. Actually other updates are described such as MV Lens, Model Kasten individual link tracks, Mission Models Grab Handler and stretching sprue. As I wrote earlier specialized tools for shaping etch parts with either an Etch-Mate or Brass-Assist. Chapter 6 (pages 74 - 91) deals with resin and white metal parts. Details on how to clean them, remove them from casting blocks and repairing air bubbles/broken parts. The kit built is Formations excellent M3A1 Stuart upper and lower hull, Eduard photo-etch and the Academy M3A1 kit. All these items are used to build a very nice looking USMC M3A1 Stuart. Also in this chapter an Accurate Armour Deacon is built. This is a multimedia kit made up of resin, etched brass and white metal. Two-part epoxy is recommended for joining the white metal parts especially since they make up the chassis of the Deacon kit. Chapter 7 (pages 92 - 103) has John Prignet give us an example of a simple scratch-build. He takes Tamiya's US M3A2 Half-track along with various etch metal, resin and polystyrene to create a M2 half-track. 1/35 scale drawings of a M2 are included. Many of the tools described earlier are used including the Grab Handler. Chapter 8 (pages 104 - 125) has Steve Zaloga take Trumpeter's German 39(H) 10.5cm Hotchkiss Geschutzwagen. I've built the 75mm PAK version and found it to be a tough kit to build. What Steve does with this kit is amazing. As I wrote in my review of the 75mm German Hotchkiss, with some TLC an amazing kit can be made. Steve adds details, super-details and scratch builds new parts for this kit. Steve uses the salt mask technique to simulate a paint chipped floor. He also builds a base and adds a British paratrooper to recreate an incident that happened on D-Day. This chapter is 21 pages and is the second longest chapter of the book. Chapter 9 (pages 126 - 151) has Gary Edmundson in the longest chapter in the book construct a German Sturmgeschutz IV by combining Tamiya's Panzer IV Ausf J kit with parts from Tamiya's Sturmgeschutz III G kit. I found this the most interesting chapter in the book. Dragon has a Stug IV and Tamiya has an old Stug IV but neither compare with the newer tool Tamiya kits used to build this kit. Besides combining these two kits Gary casts replacement parts in resin, adds zimmerit, adds photo-etch fenders and makes scale thickness side skirt brackets from Evergreen plastic. He demonstrates how to apply the late war disc camouflage on the skirts. He uses MIG Productions acrylic modeling paste, pastel powders and static grass to add a muddy look to the lower hull. If that's not enough a very nice looking base along with three figures round out this fine chapter. Chapter 10 (pages 152 - 173) In the final construction chapter of the book Nick Cortese builds an IDF Tiran 5 MBT using Tamiya's T-55A and Blast Models IDF Tiran 5 upgrade set. This is another fine chapter with another interesting and well-built model. A Verlinden engine pack is also installed. Painting techniques demonstrated include pre-shade coating and sponging on paint chips. I've seen a sponge used to apply mediums such as rubber cement to replicate chipped paint but in this article black ink is used instead then lightly over sprayed with the base color to give a representation of worn paint. A number of washes are used to give the vehicle a dusty look starting with Windsor & Newton Naples Yellow with a touch of Raw Sienna. Other washes are applied until the final result is achieved. Chapter 11 (pages 174 - 179) is all about references and research. Examples of magazines, books, Internet site and museums are highlighted. Chapter 12 (180 - 187) gives a very complete listing of sources. This is another valuable part of this book. The list of sources is broken down into kit and accessory makers, mail-order hobby shops, bookshops and publishers. A description of the product manufactured, snail mail address, web address, phone numbers and email addresses are given. Pages 188 to 192 comprise an index. I found this modeling manual to be highly informative and with the spiral binding very easy to use while working on a modeling project. I've already found a place for it on my workbench. I would like to thank Heather Feinstein of Osprey Publishing and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this latest addition to their model building manuals. The whole Osprey line of books can be acquired from Osprey Publishing (www.ospreypublishing.com) or any good hobby store.

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