Darek Wyrozebski – who has painted countless Bolt Action vehicles for our box art and webstore features sat down to take us through his method of getting the M4 Sherman from Box to Battlefield in double-quick time, sharing a few tricks and tips along the way…
Step-by-step
To begin, I primed the tracks in Black, and primed the body and turret with Vallejo’s ‘U.S Olive Drab’ (VAL70608) as a base.
Next, I used ‘Flat Earth’ (VAL983) to add some dirt to the bodywork between the running gear, and on the bodywork that overhangs the tracks. At this stage I also painted the wheel surrounds in ‘Dark Rubber’ (VAL306.) At this stage I also applied the decals.
I then lightly drybrushed the hull and turret with ‘Panzer Grey’ (VAL73603) to pick-out the edges, and define the features.
To muddy the tracks, I washed them with a mixture of 60% water and 40% ‘Flat Earth’ (VAL983.) Once they had dried, I lightly drybrushed them with ‘Oily Steel’ (VAL865) to pick-out some edges where the metal was exposed.
At this stage, we’re nearly done – a few details remained. I now painted some of the extra details such as the tools, headlights, and machine gun. I then made a wash using 70% water and 30% ‘Buff’ (VAL976) to apply some dust effects.
A quick coat of Matt Varnish, and we’re done! This particular tank took me two evening’s light work to complete, and if you ask me – it looks pretty darn good! Ready to liberate Europe one scuffle at a time!
Outro
This quick and effective paintscheme is the basis for a US Armour Paint Set which we will be making available soon, and can be used for all American tanks – also bear in mind that painting your vehicles en mass or in batches will also reduce the amount of time that the task takes.
Head over to the webstore now to pick-up one of Detroit’s finest!
In addition to all the great new content in the Tank War book you receive an exclusive miniature for free of this superb panzer commander. Unhorsed and letting loose with his trusty MP40 ‘Schmeisser’ SMG, he can represent dismounted tank crew or even be fielded in your Last Levy army as a panzer crewman with no tank left to ride in!
Dan Hewitson
Tom Mecredy
Craig Nixon