I have gone as far as I intend to on this one for the time being. I’ve had a terrible time with the painting. I purchased several AK acrylic French WWI gen II paints to try out. I should have researched these paints a little better. They absolutely do not spray well! I resorted to brush painting the cammo pattern. The paint then would rub off with very little handling. I ended up covering it with a generous layer of Future to protect the paint. I do like the colors though and they do brush well. Much better than Tamiya acrylics.
Anyhow, here’s my St. Chamond. This is the early version introduced in mid 1917. Mainly identified by the raised cupolas and the flat upper decking. This tank was notoriously poor design. Powered by a 90 hp engine combined with narrow gauge track plates, it would not negotiate the uneven and disrupted terrain in no man’s land. The nose heavy front end would often gouge into the ground and risk damage to the 75mm cannon. In training the French tank crews were vocal about not wanting to be assigned to this type. However it did serve notably on flat terrain as an assault weapon later in the war.
My unit markings are fictional as I had no decals and don’t know of any produced in 1/72.
Pre-shading became moot after brush painting
Washed with Flory dark clay
Hotchkiss guns are Aeroclub metal
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All upper surface and raised details are scratch built.
I have not added any mud or heavy weathering because my skills are not there yet. I do plan to build a small vignette at some time though.
Thanks for following along and all the support and reference material.
Tim
