Wednesday, August 1, 2012

BRDM-2



Every so often I like to throw a kit together really quickly and just finish it without concerning myself with historical accuracy and contest-worthiness. The 1/35 BRDM-2 (Early Version) from Trumpeter was the perfect opprotunity to do just that. I replaced the barrel with one from RB Model, and replaced the windows with acetate, later adding photo-etched windshield wipers. Aside from that, the kit was not modified.


Trumpeter includes a nice fighting compartment, but almost all of it is invisible when the hull is glued together. I was surprised to learn that the BRDM-2 series, as well as the similar turrets on BTR-60 vehicles, didn't have a hatch! The turret has plenty of detail and photo-etch for the 14.5mm gun, but it's totally hidden. Even an "IPMS Death Ray" (pen light) won't be able to reach most of it through the two small hatches. Therefore, I overlooked most of the ejector-pin marks and gaps on the inside and focused my attention on the radios and instrument panels that line each side of the interior.


I kept paint chipping to an absolute minimum on this vehicle, instead focusing on mud and other streaking effects. I primarily used artist's oils for the fading and streaking of the green paint, and AK Interactive earth-colored enamels and Mig pigment washes for the dust and mud.


I made one of the wheels to have whitewalls, representing a spare tire from a parade vehicle. I applied the kit's decals over a cocktail of various Tamiya acrylic paints.

Almost none of the interior is visible once covered, so I didn't sweat the details. The lower half of the fighting compartment was painted with the same green as the exterior, while the top half and roof were painted in a white or ivory color.  I was unable to track down any photos of the real radio station, so I sorta "winged it" and imitated other Soviet-era electronics. I placed some spare information placards from Archer in the most visible areas for some extra visual interest.

I have posted a step-by-step article on how I used oil paints to weather this model, which can be viewed here.

Thanks for looking!


5 comments:

  1. Good stuff. I just finished the trumpeter kit and usually look online for some weathering tips. Im looking forward to giving this a shot.

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    1. Thank you, I'm glad you like the results. I posted a step-by-step write-up on how I used oil paints for this model, if you want to see some more:
      http://www.knminis.com/2012/11/weathering-with-oil-paints.html

      Thanks for the feedback!
      -Kyle

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  2. Great looking tank, and fantastic wheatering skills !
    I'm currently building this one myself, but could you share what you used to paint the basecolor on this one?
    Just asking, since this looks very realistic to me...

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for the feedback!
      I used Tamiya Nato Green for the base color, and then sprayed some highlights using Vallejo Model Air Camouflage Light Green. On the underside, I airbrushed some shadows with Tamiya Dark Green. Finally, I sprayed a very, very small amount of Tamiya Cockpit Green on the most extreme highlights, just for an added "pop". Once you apply some weathering, the stark contrast between all these shadows and highlights decreases significantly, so don't worry if it looks garish at first.
      Hope this helps!
      -Kyle

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  3. The BRDM hatches were green (the interior side)ased to the usual white ...the interior scheme was green up to the sloped sides then white side and ceiling. Regards,Commander of recon squad

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[insert fiery hate rhetoric here]