East German T-72 Company - DONE!

My NVA (East German) T-72 company is finally painted, weathered, and the lot. I even worked out getting some decent photos taken of them, though I still need to work with the light levels a bit to get all of the details to pop. Going back over the photos, I likely have one or two details to add back in (haven't hollowed out all of my gun tubes yet), but that's minor compared to what it's taken to get here from where the started out.

Red tanks on the prowl

Even so getting good photos has been non-trivial. I'm using my Nikon D90 with a Macro lens and the aperture setting just as small as it will go on a tripod with a remote control to get the photos, but the photos are worth it. You can actually see some of the shading and weathering in the actual images... FINALLY, though honestly I'm reminded a bit of a recent Dork Tower comic...

Formation commander just has empty fuel tank racks to make him visually unique

The paints used are Ammo of Mig, from the camouflage to the tracks and guns. I did use an AK interactive filter on some of them after I realized doing oil washes on every one of them would be virtually impossible. I also made my own unditching beams from toothpicks. I stained them to get the color right and then chopped the ends.

Details make the difference!!!

The photo-etching and other work on the front, along with going the extra mile on the smoke dischargers and relocating the machine gun really makes these miniatures pop. All that being said, I needed a LOT of these guys, so as I went along I looked for ways to speed up the painting process... which I was only marginally successful at.

One platoon / company

At max points, I generally run a unit of four and two units of five with a commander - giving me fifteen total T-72 tanks for the force. They'll be backed up with T-55 tanks, and a host of other support (watch this space!).

Two units of five

I've actually moved on to working on my BMP infantry fighting vehicles for the infantry - which is also pretty much done and mostly based at this point. I need to add some more vegetation to about half of the infantry bases, but now that I have the camera going properly, watch this space for more regular write-ups!

Group shot - yeah, they barely fit in the light box!!!

I'm really quite happy with how these ended up. They're some of the nicest miniatures I've done, but unfortunately the throughput time has been way too long. I'm not sure I can sustain this level for everything going forward, and will be looking for ways to take some of the time investment out of process while maintaining a high quality level.