WIP: Takom Medium Mk.A "Whippet" (1/35 scale), Part 2

With most of the construction covered in the last post, I'll now move on to the finishing details of the build and the beginning of the painting.

After completing the build of the hull, I added a few photo etch parts on the fighting compartment and I think that they're a nice touch. I super glued the exhaust pipes in place and made a bracket with some thin wire; it is much more realistic looking than the chunky molded on bracket on the kit part. I also ended up having to fill quite a few gaps where the armor panels of the fighting compartment meet. Apparently the pieces weren't lined up perfectly but I think this had more to do with my construction than it did the fit of the parts.

I used Badger Stynylrez for the first time and I like. It self-levels beautifully and dries quickly to a lovely finish (the label says it's ready to go in eight minutes, but I'll wait longer). I haven't done the tracks yet because I was having issues my airbrush so it's taking a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner.

I went around the model with Vallejo Model Air White (71.001) to highlight areas where the paint would naturally fade, leaving it inconsistent to enhance the effect.

 I mixed a dark green using Reaper Faded Olive and VMA Olive Green (71.007) and sprayed it over the dark areas to serve as the base color. I then mixed some VMA Pale Green (71.095) into it and sprayed it over the lighter areas. This didn't constrast enough for my liking so I mixed Pale Green with some VMA US Grey Light (71.045) together and highlighted the panels, which gave me the faded look I was after.

With the base colors down, I working on the markings. I used VMA White and Italian Red (71.085) and MIG Scratches Effects chipping fluid, trying to apply the chipping where it would naturally occur (on handles and edges). It's a little bright now, but that will be toned down with filers and washes. Also, the lines aren't perfect but I'm not too worried about it; this kind of stuff was done in the field so it probably wasn't the nicest looking paint job. There are also similar markings left to paint on the front of the side skirts and on the fuel tank.