Building the Proxie Models Trencher Mk II: Painting Step-by-Step

With assembly finished on my three Trenchers, the next step was painting. I envision these tanks as a sort of sci-fi T-34, so I will be painting them in a Soviet armor green scheme.
I use flat headed nails superglued to the parts as handles.
You may also see in the pictures that I added various bundles and tarps to the models for interest. These are metal add-ons from SHQ Miniatures.  They are intended for 1/72scale(20mm) models, but work fine for 15mm (circa 1/100 scale) models, too.

I primed the models with Painter's Touch Black spray primer. This is my standard primer for metal and plastic gaming models. It comes in black, white and gray, is affordable, and I've never had any problems with it.

I let the primer dry several days.

A few recessed spots here and there didn't get hit with primer, so I airbrushed them with some Vallejo Model Air Black to make sure coverage was 100%.  I did not want any of the red plastic showing up on the completed models!

Next was an airbrushed coat of Vallejo Model Air 71.018 "Camouflage Black Green:"

This is a dark, cool green that will serve as a shade color underlying the main Russian green color. I sprayed this thoroughly over the entire models, getting good complete coverage everywhere.

After the Black Green had dried completely, I sprayed Model Air 71.017 "Russian Green,"concentrating on the upper surfaces of the tanks, leaving some of the Black Green showing in recesses, and in areas that would be in shadow:

From there, I lightened the Russian Green with Model Air White, and sprayed another highlight, sticking to the centers of panels and upper horizontal surfaces.

I thinned the Model Air paint with a mix of Vallejo airbrush thinner and distilled water during the highlighting process. The idea is that the paint should be a bit translucent, making the color transitions subtle, and avoiding a spattery appearance.

The highlighted models were then sprayed with a coat of Model Master Semi-Gloss Clear and allowed to dry overnight. These two pictures were taken with better lighting, and give a better idea of the models' actual appearance:

The next day, I outlined panels, rivet details, etc with Reaper Master Series Brown Liner and a #0 brush. I thinned the paint with a "magic wash" formula of 3 parts distilled water and 1 part Future.

You can see some of the shadow effect created by the Black Green, especially on the turret

I pinwashed rivet heads and raised detail, and worked the wash into recesses and inside corners. I prefer a controlled wash approach rather than covering the entire model. This helps avoid the water ring effect when the wash dries.

I drybrushed the entire tank with Vallejo Model Color 70924 "Russian Uniform WWII," concentrating on raised detail,and edges. After drybrushing, I added stronger edge highlights and some rough chipping effects with the same paint and a #1 brush:

I also did some subtle streak effects on the side armor skirts, which you can just barely see in this picture:

The drybrushing serves to take most of the rough edges off the wash. In spots where the wash was too dark, or where there were watermarks, I blended it in with some slightly thinned Model Air Russian Green and a small brush.

In preparation the final detail painting and weathering, I applied a coat of Micro Flat and let it dry overnight. I will cover the final stages in my next post.