| Building
Tamiya's M3 Lee |
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Painting and DecalsThe interior walls were painted gloss white, as with the real tanks. This was toned down a bit by washes, but I wanted a bit of a sheen for both realism and to help distribute the light more in the interior. The exterior upper and lower hull assemblies and turret were sprayed Model Master Olive Drab. I used the nice, thin blue drab registration numbers from Fingerprint Designs, and the original U.S. flag decal that comes with the kit. The stars and turret band on the North African Lees were painted yellow, so I sprayed Model Master Insignia Yellow through the Eduard stencils. I did not notice until after the tank was painted and weathered that the stars, identical in size to the white Tamiya decals, are small than the ones in my reference photos! Even after hours of staring and studying these photos, things slip by. Had I noticed it, I might have opted for the some yellow stars from Archer Fine Transfers. The markings on the front corners of the hull are those of the third tank in F Company of the 13th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division. I sparingly daubed some Mr. Surfacer on the lower hull to suggest caked on dirt. The tank was given a wash in a black and sienna wash. When that dried, it was given a good over spray of PollyScale dirt. Another thin wash was applied and a final spray of Dullcoat was given to seal everything before the final weathering. Introduction
and Research Notes
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