Guards Tanks

I picked up some more tanks for my British Late War Flames of War army recently -- I got an old BBX08 Armoured Platoon (that link is to the new one).  This is a very old box set, but a good one!

I am especially excited to get some AT 15 assets on the table with the release of the new Market Garden books.

This box is from the days before magnets and the times of dismounted crew!  Metal tracks, oh, how I love thee!  I did these guys up as Irish  (Editor: Some kind of) Guards to go along with my XXX Corps guys.  

I started off with British Armour Spray and then drybrushed a bit with a Russian Uniform and Khaki mix.  I wanted to do these guys up with some wear and tear, so I sponged on some Black Grey and some Yellowish Rust -- don't go crazy with this, as the tank will look like a piece of barnacled metal if you do.

I added a .50cal to the Firefly -- I think is a good option, since the 17 pdr gun has no HE.  I went a little crazy here with the sponge, but I don't think it is too bad.

For painting the tracks, I sprayed them Flat Black before gluing them to the tank.  I very much recommend doing this, as it cuts the painting time dramatically.  I find it much easier to fill in the gaps with Russian Green and drybrushing the wheels instead of going back and painting the black wheel rubber and tracks.  I showed this to Luke recently, and I think it changed his life!  Editor's note- this is the one thing I've ever helped Jon with on his painting!  -Steven

To figure out the decals, I consulted a great post on the WWPD forums here, and a wonderful article from Battlefront, here.  I ordered some weight decals from Dom's Decals and will apply them soon.  I will also add antenna and some track mud to complete the look.

So, I think I like this worn look.  I have not really done much with the Brits in this style, and frankly, I was not sure I could pull it off.  A little goes a long way, I think.  It seems to be really easy to over do it.  What do you think?  Sound off on the forums!