M3 Stuart Part 2- Painting the Caunter Scheme by Max

M-3 “Honey Light Tank Part II: Caunter Paint Scheme
By Max

After completing the basic assembly and some minor detailing (See Part One) I primered the vehicle. My first coast was a very light coat of Vallejo primer Gray using a brush. I wasn't happy with this so I went ahead and busted out the airbrush. I gave the miniature three very light coats of Vallejo Primer Black. Once that was dry I “misted” the entire vehicle in the Primer Grey. I believe this has a filtering effect on the vehicle but since this is the first tiem I've used it we shall see.

I ordered a D.O.A. Caunter Paint set from Trackpads, the new owners of this fairly new company (http://doapaints.co.uk/). With shipping it cost about 11 UK or $19.00US for the three bottel set. According to a review online, these paints are GTG (good to go) from the bottle for airbrushing or brushing with out thinning.

I started out by giving the miniature three or four very light coats using the Light Stone” color. I use a Paschee airbrush and, honestly, it went on like regular Vallejo paints that had been thinned. At first I was un-impressed. I tried using a low pressure (about 10 PSI) as recommended by a reviewer online but had to resort to using 25-28 PSI to get it to spray well. It could be my airbrush.

After letting that dry I started masking off the lower hull using Tamiya masking tape. I was reccomended this tape by my local hobby shop, Modesto Hobies in Modesto CA. I masked off the areas I wanted to keep in the Light Stone color and went back to the airbrush.

I hit the model with several light coats of Silver Gray and let it dry. So far I wasnt impressed with the DOA paint.

After that dried (and dropping the turret causing the barrel to come unglued and the hatch to break – oh and several choice words) I went back to the workbench (yes I fixed the hatch – by gluing it SHUT!) and masked off the Silver Gray areas.

I let the model sit for about two hours before unmasking. The Tamiya masking tape worked well and the lines were failry straight. The pattern did not come out EXCATLY as Caunter should be but it was close – atleast for the first tank. I was yet to be impressed by DOA paints unfortunately. I painted the track a muddy brown color and painted the rubber on the road wheels, the .30 cals, the antenna, and the ammo box (I forgot the tools – next chapter). I let that dry and brushed on a coat of gloss varnish. Still not impressed with the DOA paints. I gave the model a brushing of gloss varnish (let it dry) and added some decals.

Once the decals set I gave it a coat of 50/50 Black and Sepia. I placed about 10 drops of this mixture in a little mixing cup and then added 3-4 drops of Umber Wash. I then proceeded to give it a good wash. As soon as the wash started spreading though the model HOLY COW! The DOA paint colors REALLY came out! I was surprised how much the wash brought out the colors.

The kit had the shortcomings of a bad casting on the right bogies so I was not happy with that. I snapped these last few pics before I sat down to write this. The wash was still wet and I may hit it with a lighter tone if it dries too dark.

Up next.... Part III: Highlighting, Detail and Weathering.