Visiting an Old Friend

 Almost four and a half years ago, I completed my first 1/35 scale AFV model, Takom's fantastic Medium Mark A Whippet. As explained in my first WIP post on this kit, I'm a huge fan of First World War armor and after being inspired by Andy Moore's build of this kit on The Modelling News, I had to build it. Considering where I was in my modeling journey, I think it was a pretty solid effort. Prior to this, all of my modeling experience had been limited to Warhammer miniatures and Fine Molds and Bandai Star Wars models. I even took it to my IMPS chapter's annual model show where I believe it placed second in the 1/35 armor (WWII and earlier) category, for what that's worth.

Now having let the model sit in my display case these last four years, I decided to take back down to the bench and apply what I've learned these last few years to up the finish on this otherwise perfectly serviceable model.

The steps taken were pretty simple and involved a couple techniques that I have learned in the last few years. First up, I enhanced the mud texture in the mud chutes under the track by both building up the volume and adding a couple of more tones using a few of Ammo of Mig enamels. To increase visual interest on the modulated surfaces, I mixed a light green and highlighted all of the rivets and then went over the all of the hull with an olive green enamel filter. Using the same enamel mud effects that I used in the mud chutes, I added more textures on the track sponsons, both streaking it down from where it would collect on the top and speckling it on across the bottom. I also refined some of the pin washes on the fighting compartment and finally, I rubbed some gunmetal pigment on corners and any edge that I thought would receive wear and tear.

In all, it was pretty fun to go back and revisit the first tank that I ever built. I also discovered that the idea of revisiting builds was quite contentious in a lot of modeling circles; I asked for feedback on what to do in the Scale Modeler's Critique Group on Facebook and most responses were some variation of not doing what I wanted to do for a number of reasons. The most common response was a variation on the idea that it was important to keep older work the way it was when you finished it to serve as some kind of "bookmark" on where you were in your modeling journey. Frankly, I find that to be bullshit, to put it bluntly. I most definitely subscribe to the theory that art is never finished, just abandoned and I don't need a physical reminder of where I was in the past. Most importantly, having the success I had on this Whippet has me wanting to do this on some of my other old builds!