M4A3E8 Hull and Treads

It's taken me 3 months to get to this.  The treads alone took about 2 months.  As I'm not normally an armor builder, I have a lot of respect for my DA compadres that build armor a lot - you guys rock !

There are a lot of tiny parts that often seem to come off.  Also, the springs in the HVSS are not all facing the same way (aghhh!).  However, I'm happy with how the wheels and treads came out.

For the hull, I first airbrushed it with Tamiya Nato Black.  I then airbrushed a Tamiya gray in a number of spots to offer (hopefully) light and dark contrast in the finished.  Then I airbrushed a base color of Tamiya Olive Drab with Tamiya Nato Black added to make the OD a bit darker.  I then airbrushed some of the top parts with Tamiya OD lightened with Tamiya Desert Yellow.  You can't really see the contrasting colors here, but they are there.

For the treads, I first airbrushed them with Testors Rust enamel.  Next, I airbrushed Tamiya rubber black.  Then I used Tamiya Dark Gull Gray to drybrush the treads, and for the center and side parts, I painted Testors Magnesium for the metallic color.  You can't see the otherside, but I'm using a mud product to dirty up the tracks, suspension and underside (you can see a little of it in the lower front/underside of the hull - I dipped an old brush in the mud and flicked it at the underside of the hull.  It makes a nice splatter effect).

I have a number of little bits to put on the hull, including shovels, etc., and then of course a lot of aftermarket stowage.