WIP pics from the Kangaroo Tank project. The hull and tracks are finished. I chose a Commonwealth Armored Car crew for the diorama to represent the use of these tanks as reconnaissance vehicles. I think is the best possible arrangement:
I was able to recover from the two-tone paint job on display in those first two photos (Pro Tip: don't wait too long between painting sessions if you are painting the upper and lower hulls separately--even if you take good notes). A coating of dry pigment fixed with a straight alcohol wash on the front slope and underside of the tank brought the two colors together without having to repaint the whole hull.
I'm pretty pleased with the dust effects on the roadwheels--concentrated near the rear of the track where the most dirt gets kicked up into the suspension and churned around. The rear roadwheels and the idler wheels are normally where most of the dirt ends up, especially in dry, dusty conditions. The downside is all the careful work I did to make the track tension adjuster on the idler wheel look like a track tension adjuster (I even made greasy streaks) is completely obliterated by dirt. Oh well. I'll have to show off that detail in a motor pool or maintenance diorama.
Next up: The crew. Very daunting prospect as I have not painted 35mm figures since the 4th grade. For those of you who don't know me, that was more than a long while ago.
