Here is a better photo of the paint test. I still have clean up and some details. Having not painted for a couple of years, my brush control is still getting back up to speed. However if you interested in the process use here it is...
Interesting Tools:
Assembly and Prep:
No real notes here. Since this is a table army, the interior is not painted and the doors are all glued shut. I have some Forgeworld doors for the rest of the Rhino, but for the paint test I didn't use them.
I sanded down some of the glue lines. The biggest headache for me with Mark II Rhinos is the places where the model fits together. I always seem to get spots where glue mars the surface. So I sanded those spots down and cleaned up mold lines with my handy flash removal tool.
Once I clean up the model lines, I cleaned the surface and primed the model using the airbrush. To prime, I mixed Vallejo Game Color White Primer 1:1 with Liquitex Airbrush Medium.
Paint:
A base coat of VGC Plague Brown mixed 1:1 with Windex was applied with the airbrush. After letting the base coat dry for 24 hours, I applied a highlight of VGC Sunblast Yellow with the airbrush from the top of the model making sure not to pant anything that would end up in the shadows.
Once the base and highlight color was dry. I painted the 'fenders' VGC Gory Red. I made an arrow mask out of tape to use as a stencil for the troop insignia. (that needs more work). Then I Painted the black details and tracks.
Weathering:
I used APJ's Soft Body Brown Wash Recipe to create oil/rust marks around bolts and drew the wash down the side of the Rhino to simulate water weathering. A dry brush of VGC Beasty Brown was used to add mud effect along the bottom edges of the tank.
Dark brown pigment was used around the areas where dirt would collect and Black (soot) pigment was applied around the exhaust.
Finally, Paint chips were added by painting black and filling in the center with VCG Gun Metal.
Next Steps:
I still need to test varnishing with the airbrush. Before that I need to do some more work on details like the aquila and purity seal. Like I said, still a lot to do but the process is fast. I have only spent a couple of an hour or so on the test model and I would not feel bad putting it on a table.
