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Adilcan Topgül
15 articles

M26 recovery vehicle

June 10, 2018 · in Armor · · 19 · 3K

This is a model I made in 2015 and won a silver medal at a contest with it but as I learn more about modeling I begin to see how bad and poorly made it looks bad painting and bad weathering so I decided to repaint and weather it so here is the result you can see the before on the last pic. Markings were sprayed with stencils and Marie-jo was painted free hand.

Still needs some final touches and little bits to add.

Painted with gunze acrylics weathered with artists oils washes and pigments by ak interactive

Reader reactions:
8  Awesome

13 additional images. Click to enlarge.


19 responses

  1. Adilcan, it may feel like I'm stalking you, but I just really, really like your work. Honestly.

  2. Wow...big difference. But the one before the "make-over" still looks good to ME. 🙂

  3. Don't sell yourself short on the "before," that's not as bad as you think. The re-do really is a huge improvement in realism of finish and a demonstration of your skills and ability, but like I say, you were well on the way back with the original.

    • Thank you Tom.

      There were some problems on the before stage poor painting: ive painted the model at the balcony on a windy day (amateur mistake no:1 :p) becaouse of that paint has a rough almost like sandpaper surface.

      No gloss coat under the decals so a lot of silvering no chipping washes etc only weathering ive done was to airbrush some earth sahades on the lower sides. Also the matt coate turnd out fogy and white ish i assume it was becaouse of the rough surface all in all ive tried to fix this issues and thats all i can do about it but it looks good enough for me

  4. Looking really good so far, a great improvement.

    I used to work on earthmoving equipment, and seen lots of wear and weathering. I guess that is why I don't like weathering, and you will hardly ever see it on my models. But that is a personal choice of mine.

    Hope you don't mind me saying. If you want to go one step further with the model. Ask yourself which direction does the vehicle travel. Where, on the vehicle (not just the metal bodywork), gets worn and exposed to weathering and dirt. What wears more easily (softer than steal bits). What parts are more likely to encounter attack of foreign objects (rain, flak, stones, tree branches, etc). If you keep these questions in mind, the weathering realism will improve. Also, don't fall for 'too much' weathering, it makes the vehicle look as if it had been unserviceable for many years (unless that is what you want).

  5. The problem with the camera... is that everything you describe in the last photo is hard to pick out. The second at bat, of the M26 is more subtle and the removal of the chains on the roof was good idea. There over scale and don't really represent chains. Closing the side hatches also, helps focus the eye on the out line of the vehicle and you get more of a sense of the weight and "the metal" of the subject.

    Adilcan, the word "amateur" is pretty harsh. The majority of modelers are unpaid amateurs who enjoy the hobby. I've seen amateur modelers make kits that are better than what a professional can do because, they don't have the time constraints,deadlines and money hanging over their head. The important thing about moving a head is learning and improving your skill sets and you've done what you've set out to do.

    I like to think of modeling like baseball ...you always have another chance at bat or maybe like soccer you can have a chance to kick the ball into the goal. Its more about the process.
    Two thumbs up on a superb M26 and yet another candidate for the judges to pull out their hair at the end of the month.

  6. Beautifully done, Adilcan!

  7. Thanks for the kind words guys, and Stephen amateur may not be the right word to use on q second tought in English amateur used for somebody does something withouth getting paid but in Turkish its a bit different it usually means poorly made so there is a slight meaning differance.

  8. Top Notch job on this. Really appreciate the unique subject matter. Prize Winner.

  9. A fantastic revision to what was already a nice-looking build! I sometimes look at my early builds and wonder why I still hang on to them! But it does remind me that the more I "hang out" with folks like the iModeler community, and watch, learn and experiment, the better my models end up looking. Who doesn't like that?!

    • Thanks all i can say is being a modeller who is active on social platforms etc. Really helps to learn and get better but between these two builds i mean before and after the revision i read thousands of magazines and materials and tried hundreds of techniques now i see that they begin to pay off

  10. Nice work, before and after.

  11. This is spot on!
    It's a kit I have seen a lot in varying degrees of weathering, but I think you have nailed it here! Subtle, but well used at the same time.

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