Body color ready. 1st phase: Lightish Grey with sand shade (Medium Grey, Buff, Black, and Khakhi). 2nd phase: Very light layers with highly thinned Khaki until desired color is achieved. IDF Grey is not that easy to nail!
All primed now, I used Tamiya LP-34 Sky Grey. I realized it functions nicely as primer because it dries flat and gritty, it's also lighter than normal Tamiya acrylics this won't bury the details. I made sure to sane majority of the surfaces to give primer lkayer a grip.
The kit is very good for its age, the details are impressive on the turret and the rear part of the hull. I used Eduard PE set which added more eye-catching details like the fire extinguishers holders, and better ammo cases. I sued all the PE parts in the set and it was OK for the most part.
Fit over all all is also very good, I kept the suspension system unglued to easily add weathering below fenders, I did spray dust color first then added weathering paste from Vallejo then thinned oil wash here and there.
Over the hull itself I first added black panel lining, then dust oil wash over the panels, then stapled Vallejo Earth Mud weathering paste using thick brush. Some oil streaking added using dot-weathering method with white, dust, and earth colors.
For the tracks I sprayed Nato black over the rubber tracks after washing them with water and soup, then sealed the paint with Tamiya Flat Clear, then applied earth mud wash I made by mixing VMS pigments with mineral spirit and kept applying and wiping until I got the build up I wanted. Then painted the tracks edges with Testors Silver enamel paint.
Cortex
