I have been painting minis for ages, and modern military stuff for probably 6 years. After finishing my Afghanistan project (mostly finishing, I should say, I still have a few bits and bobs to take care of...) I didn't need to paint any game-related models for upcoming games I had planned, so I decided to try my hand at a plastic scale-model kit. I visit scale model websites from time to time for inspiration on my miniatures, but I haven't built a model model since I was a kid. I've been working on a 3D early Tiger in Maya, and I wanted more reference, so I decided to get this 1/35 Tamiya kit a while ago. I've been working on it a bit here and a bit there for maybe 8 months or so, with long hiatuses to do different miniatures projects (like my Saga / Dux Picts).
I'm overall really happy with it. I went a bit crazy with the weathering and wear, but part of the point of this thing was to learn some new techniques and try them out on a bigger model than I'm used to. I learned some new tricks, got some valuable practice in with my airbrush, and used quite a few materials and media I haven't touched before, like photoetch detailing, hairspray chipping, mud splatters, oil washes (awesome, but the fumes!), and others. There are some problem areas, but I'm done. Time for a new project (and I have lots to look forward to).
Here's the result:
