Hi guys
So time for the final update
As you may have seen already thid build is finished and has a thread in the reveal section
So for this update i will show what i have done for the weathering and then this build is officially finished

After the chipping of the interior and exterior with a sponge i focussed on the engine
I started out with Mig prod. dark wash

After that i used AK engine grime to make it look dirty

To finish them i used AK engine oil
I made some spots with the oil and then used thinner to make them bigger and more transparent
After that i applied a second set of spots
The thinner ones look like older spills while the thicker and darker ones look like newer spills

And once the engine was dirty i placed the exhaust manifolds
They where painted the same way as i did for the exterior and then dusted with some Mig prod. old and standard rust pigments

I then used the engine grime again but now to make the entire engine bay look dirty

As you can see here it worked very nice on the white bulkhead but the red and green parts hardly show it
So i will get back to that once i start with the oil paints

To give the exterior a wash i used AK track wash wich is a pretty dark brown color

After the wash i applied some streaking effects
I used the AK streaking for dark yellow vehicles for this
This again is a fairly dark brown so it will show on the green

Here you can see the result after i made them finer by stretching them with a flat brush and thinner
Keep in mind to only use a moist brush and not soaked or you will remove them in a single stroke with the brush

After the wash and streaking i gave the entite model a coat of AK ultra matte varnish
This protects the previous work and gives a good surface for the oilpaint
To get more colorvariation i used a pale yellow on the sponsons and the rest of the interior

Near the running gear i used a dark olive green and a light green

And for the upper hull and turret i used 2 shades of yellow

With a moist brush i started to spread the oils

It will take a few times but after a while the layer becomes very thin and changes the color that is underneath it

On the interior it worked pretty good

On the exterior the result was less to my liking

So i decided to add a second layer of green

It didn't look that pale anymore but i still think it is too light

So i applied a 3rd layer of oilpaints
This time i only used the fairly dark olive green
I didn't cover everything so i still have some faded areas but after this color i am happy with the result

Then it was time for the final assembly
All the big and small subassemblies can be glued now with the exception of the upper and lower hull and the upper and lower turret parts

The gunners seat and scope where glued in

Some ammo for the coaxial mg and some rounds for the main gun where installed

The 12 round storage was filled and the protection plate behing them was placed
If you build this kit i would advise you to cut the locating pins from the ammo storage before you assemble it
They don't fit and i had to cut them off at the last minute wich wasn't easy

The crew compartment was put together

And the engine compartment was put together
The bulkhead with the airfilters is not glued in place yet as i still need to add the pigments to the exhausts that are mounted on there
But everything else is glued down

After the final assembly i repainted the slogans and unit markings
Because of all the oilpaints they turned green so that had to be fixed
Just so i didn't get a bright white i mixed up some Vallejo ivory and white and used that

I then added the rust pigments to the exhausts
The hull and turret are now ready for the pigments and final steps as all the work that is left will be on the exterior

Then it was time for the tracks
I sprayed them with Tamiya flat black and then drybrushed them with Vallejo gunmetal grey

To finish the tracks i applied some pigments
I used mig productions rubble dust
I picked this one because i want to make a base for this later and my idea is a urban setting so a destroyed building and things of that nature
So this color will suit that

I then started with the oil spills and other weathering on the exterior
I first placed some spots with AK engine oil
I add this around the turret ring aswell
In the turretring you would find oil or grease aswell
Just the weight of the turret is enough to force any excess grease or oil out of the bearing and it would spill on to the flat surface of the upper hull

To add some depth to the oilspills i thinned down the first layer
Then i added some drops of the oil on it and i left them as they where

The same was done with the fuel spills from the shot up fueltanks
I didn't add a realistic amount because that would mean i need a sea of fuel on the fender and i doubt that would look nice

To finish the spare tracks i usdd a sponge and some vallejo black to make a chipped finish on them
It was common that spare tracks where painted in a thick black paint
But this would chip once the crew started to use them as steps to get on the vehicle

With a big graphite pencil i added some bare metal effects on the edges of some panels and hatches

To add some color to the dust i decided to use diffent colors on the hull
The colors i used are by Mig prod. and i used european dust and dry mud
The first layer is the darkest one
So i made some random spots with the european dust

With the help of a big soft brush i blended the dust to make it look softer

This was repeated with the dry mud pigments

The wheels where given some brick dust pigments just like the tracks

The same pigments where used on the tank
I used a bit more on the flat surfaces and a bit less on the vertical
The towcables where painted with gunmetal grey and then covered with mig prod. Standard rust wash
This will settle in the details and give you a rusty look

To finish it up i added some rust pigments on the exhausts and some soot stains on the hull

And all that was left to do was take the reveal pictures and call it done
And that concludes this build
I hope ypu like it
Thanks for stopping by and having a look
Untill next time
Cheers,Mark