Imperial Fists Primaris Space Marine

After packing away my brushes for years, I finally got around to painting a few minis. I've always struggled with yellow, so I thought I'd try painting an Imperial Fist. Main colors (all airbrushed) are Vallejo Game Color Orange Fire for shadow, followed by Gold Yellow for base coat, then white ink for highlights and covered with a light coat of Moon Yellow. After sealing with Tamiya X22 clear gloss, I black lined the joints using Dark Brown panel line accent color (also from Tamiya). From there, I simply painted all the other details using a range of Vallejo Game Colors.

It's been a long time since I last painted and weathered vinyl tank tracks. Here are the in progress pictures from my current model, an old Tamiya 1/35 1A2 Marder.

They're ok. Not sure the final drybrush of Stone Grey was necessary but they just looked so monochromatic before that application. I think I'll add more pigments once the tracks are mounted to the chassis. Next time I may try Vallejo's Panzer Ace Track Primer instead of the combo of Tamiya's Flat Aluminum + Flat Earth. I avoided using Vallejo since I wasn't sure it could stand up to the abuse of weathering.

Revell U-Wing, Part 2: Primer and Engines

I made a small amount of progress.

I've now primed all of the parts using an automotive lacquer from Duplicolor. After the paint cured overnight, I gently sanded the surfaces with my new favorite model tool: 3M's Ultra Fine Sanding Sponge (Item 02601). To get into the tight corners, I followed-up the sanding by scrubbing the parts with a mix of water and baking soda via a toothbrush. The end result is a super smooth finish ready for paint!

I also started weathering the engines. I airbrushed a basecoat of Tamiya's Nato Black (XF-69) followed by light coats of assorted Tamiya greys (mixes of 10% paint, 40% X-22 Clear, and 50% X-20 Thinner). I also included a bit of Hull Red (XF-9) to suggest some modest rust. After sealing under a clear coat, I applied an enamel pin wash to better define the details. I'll likely do some more weathering to the engines after assembling more of the kit.

Next up: Wings.