Plastic Soldier M3 Stuart Honey Build in 1/72 Scale Part II

The models were primed with Mr. Surfacer 1000 to check for flaws.

I just had to finish one in the Caunter scheme. It appears the light blue color has fallen out of favor, replaced with a very pale green. I had intended to mask and airbrush the camo, but it soon became obvious that masking over all the corners and protuberances was just not going to work so this is brush painted. There are some guys who are wizards at this but I still need some practice.

This Tan over Olive drab scheme was also brush painted. I had trouble with the camo colors blending with the Tan base coat, so I sealed the base coat with Testors Glosscote and then built up the Olive Drab in two thin layers.

The Plastic Soldier kits do not include any decals at all, the modeler is left to their own devices. I used Star Decals sheet 72-A 1065 which has markings for several ANZAC subjects. I had trouble getting the decals to lay down over anything but a perfectly flat surface, even with repeated applications of Solveset. Finally, I applied a single brushful of MEK, which dissolves decal film. If you try this you want to do it quickly and only once, if you try to brush on a second coat you will brush your decal away.

The figure looks a little on the big side for an Inch High Guy, but he looks the part in the turret. I checked the dimensions of the models, they are spot on in width but a little long in length.

Here are all three builds together. The replacement machine guns are a prominent feature. Antennas are Nitenol. The canvas stowage is made from masking tape. I like building these even if they wouldn’t quite fit in on the contest table, and they will look good in the case.

More completed photographs here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2022/12/01/plastic-soldier-m3-stuart-honey-build-in-1-72-scale/