RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build

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HERMAN BIX
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by HERMAN BIX »

Sticking my neck out here, but the concept almost is in line with the 'Lizard Pattern' French camo that soldiers wore modified for use on an armoured vehicle.
It certainly would be a familiar pattern and colour range to the men charged with painting it on !
Just a thought................
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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lmcq11
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by lmcq11 »

Hi Herman
HERMAN BIX wrote:Sticking my neck out here, but the concept almost is in line with the 'Lizard Pattern' French camo that soldiers wore modified for use on an armoured vehicle.
It certainly would be a familiar pattern and colour range to the men charged with painting it on !
Just a thought................
It is certainly related to the French uniform "TAP 47/52 Para Lizard Camo" used in Indochina that i also need to give to the paratroopers.
French TAP 47/52 Para Lizard Camo
French TAP 47/52 Para Lizard Camo
Capture33.JPG (39.74 KiB) Viewed 1404 times
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by HERMAN BIX »

Thats the one.
I had a set of that years ago in New Zealand during my collecting phase!
I still have a poncho.
Just thought that maybe the familiarity of the pattern & colours would have made it a plausible option for what is essentially and 'Airbourne' tank ?
Its a certainty that whichever paint scheme you go with will be perfect.
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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lmcq11
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by lmcq11 »

Hello,

Here is a Work in Progress report on the painting and weathering.

The model is given a primer coat of Tamiya Olive Drab No2 enamel with a spray can. This coat seals all the brass, resin, plastic, putty and superglue under it, allowing the application of acrylics without anything coming out through. But whatever scratch building imperfections that were not visible before due to the whiteness of the model suddenly come out screaming in pain. Corrections and finetuning are done at this point.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
Then given a base coat of Mig Ammo US Post WW2 Olive Drab acrylics with the airbrush.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
It seems to me the lizard camo on the real tanks was hand painted with a brush, not applied with a compressor and the pattern is not consistent between tanks. The hand painted colored lines need to be sharper than if a air compressor had been used in the field. I therefore took the best looking representation of the camo and tried to do something similar. This risky lizard camo, which can be real ugly and totally ruin the model if not done carefully, was initiated with masking tape cut into core shapes with a scalpel. They are then applied on the model in sections. The plan was to spay paint most of the shapes, then finetune the edges with a small brush. Use of the airbrush makes the paint applied more evenly on the model at this scale, while still able to simulate the hand painting on the edges or to correct what the airbrush could not do right.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
All the masking tape is in place. This method also allows for the camo pattern to be reviewed and re-arranged as required before painting. Scary process.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
I did not want my tank to look like a circus. I therefore took the conservative approach of making the colors probably closer to standard darker camo than they should have been. A light green color was creating by mixing sand and dark green color. The brown is is done with sand and red brown. The paint is applied thinly with the airbrush with extreme care not to create any accumulation or running, alternating green and brown between lizard shapes. It was a mystery as to how it would turn out. I was getting myself ready to sand everything and make it standard Olive drab.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
At first, after removing the masking tape, i was really concerned. But after giving the camo a chance by doing some corrections and finetuning the edges as planned with a hand brush, it does not look too bad at all. A tank at Dien Bien Phu cannot be in a beauty contest.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
Before weathering, i needed to put on markings. Forget about finding 1/16 scale decals for Conti on the market. I had to design my own 1/16 Conti decals using Powerpoint first. I did download some military fonts that allow more custom letters font than an office presentation would have required with this simple software. The decals themselves are easy to recreate because they are simple boxes with letters and colored fills. I put at least two sizes of what i needed, to select the best size. Lots of extras are needed with these home made decals because some would not be cut correctly, or could break or lose some colours if not manipulated with extreme carefulness. One decal took 4 attempts. The decal sheet is then printed with the inkjet printer on a virgin white decal sheet that can be purchased on Amazon, a tip from Snipermadrid for which i am very grateful. After letting the ink dry for a couple of hours, a Tamiya semi gross varnish enamel coat is then sprayed over the decals paper sheet, and let to dry overnight. The decals are cut and applied on the tank the following day. Take note that this process can only create white letters if they are surrounded by a colored background. My printer does not print white so it is the white virgin sheet that shows for all the white. For pure white letters decals, these need to be purchased unless you buy an expensive inkjet printer that can print white.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
The weathering process has started, involving the application of African sand and Vietnam red dust pigments in layers, that are then sealed with Tamiya flat varnish application between layers, until the desired effect has been reached. I need to show the tank after at least one month of intensive combat. I usually like my tanks to be pretty clean but this one needs to be real dirty.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
I took pictures of the work in progress mainly for myself to identify the hundreds of little issues that need fixing on such scratch built model. Its through close up pictures that i can see what the model really looks like for the first time as if i was walking around it in 1/16 scale version of myself. I do not hesitate to fill some gaps, or scratch some residue that does not belong there, etc. Then re-apply paint and weathering as needed.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
Following are some of the pictures used for the weathering analysis. You can see where this is going. I am not fully happy with the results yet but it is actually better than anticipated. The camo will stay, no need to repaint olive drab. The tank will be good looking and should be quite authentic.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
More pics on following post.
Last edited by lmcq11 on Thu Feb 03, 2022 2:15 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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lmcq11
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by lmcq11 »

More Work in Progress pictures.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
The model as it stands today.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
Regards, Louis
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by BarryC »

:clap: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Looking good Louis.

Barry
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by EAO »

Louis,

You are a magician in my book and boy do you work quickly! That is fabulous! Bravo!

Cheers,
Eric.
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by tankme »

I think it looks good. The camo looks much better weathered. I probably would've been a little freaked out before the weathering stage.
Derek
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lmcq11
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by lmcq11 »

Thanks Barry, Eric
tankme wrote:I think it looks good. The camo looks much better weathered. I probably would've been a little freaked out before the weathering stage.
Thanks, I think so. Its an unusual and difficult hand painted field camo to reproduce in 1/16. Very risky to ruin the model. The pigments are smoothing the camo lines and making it look worn out, a must for this tank. Leaving it Olive drab would have been inaccurate and a bit boring too. So far, its a go.
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Build
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: RC 1/16 M-24 Chaffee light tank- Dien Bien Phu 1954 - Bu

Post by HERMAN BIX »

That has to be one of if not THE most complex camo scheme Ive seen in ages.
Masking out areas that will leave base shade and calculating the amount of exposed area to take the camo paint is not easy.
Pulled it off perfectly.
Interesting formula you used for the shades too, that might be handy advice for other paint jobs I reckon.
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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