15mm Sherman Painting Tutorial

Posted: January 24, 2015 in 15mm, Battlefront, British, Flames Of War, Painting, Plastic Soldier, Tutorial, WW2
Tags: , , , , , ,

I have been wanting to do a tutorial on painting

for ages and I finally remembered to take photos of

my work as I went along. This tutorial is aimed at

getting a basic to good standard on a 15mm Sherman or

any allied vehicle without using an airbrush. I use

a combination of Vallejo and GW paints.

Step 1: I assembled more or less entire the tank.Some

people leave the tracks off for painting.

Click on any picture in the tutorial to enlarge.

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I sprayed the

entire tank with Chaos Black primer. Leave for 24hrs.

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Step 2: Using a brush touch up any areas that the spray

can missed with Chaos Black GW paint. Just brush it on.

Step 3 : With a flat brush gently brush on Vallejo 924

Russian uniform over the whole tank. Please note at this

stage its not going to look great but bare with it. Also ensure

you brush strokes are in one direction down the length of the tank.

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Step 4: Another coat of Vallejo 924 exactly the same

as before. It should now start to look better.

Step 5: Finally another coat of 924 and the colour should

be perfect.

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Step 6: GW Agrax wash(basically a black wash). Gently put

it in all the small gaps and places shadow will sit. Do

not wash it all over the tank ! Don’t forget to do the tracks and

areas in-between and behind.

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Step 7: Drybrush 886 Vallejo Green Grey using a flat brush

over all the raised parts. This will give you a good

highlight against the 924.

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Step 8:
Decals time. Carefully cut out to size and put on

your decals. I put mine on with Micro Set and leave them to

dry over night.

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Step 9:
Next up is the tracks. Some people as mentioned add

the tracks later making it easier to get your paint brush into

the area under the mud guards. Its up to you but I find it

possible with a small brush. Paint the tracks black.

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Step 10 : First I use a HB pencil to literally

draw on the tracks leaving a silver shiny track look. Don’t go mad.

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Step 11: Vallejo 818 Red leather dry brushed(small amount) onto the

tracks.

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Step 12 : I then stuck on the wooden stowage and painted it Vallejo

Flat Brown. You can paint the tool handles at the same time. Later

highlight with GW Tallarn sand or Vallejo New Wood.

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Step 13 : Tool heads and clasps are painted GW Leadbelcher and later

highlighted with GW Chainmail. Finally add an agrax wash.

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Step 14: Optional weathering. Light dry brush of Flat earth on tracks

and lower running gear and bottom areas of the tank.

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Step 15: Optional adding crew. The commander was added and I used GW

green stuff to back fill the large gap in the commander’s cupola and help

stick the twin opening hatches on. The commander was painted with English Uniform

followed by an agrax wash. I used GW Tallarn sand for highlights.

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Step 16 : Testors Dullcote varnish spray to make sure your paintwork is

protected.

………………………………………………………..
I hope this tutorial was helpful and will make it easier for some

people to get started in the hobby without having to become master

painters. The picture below is what the finished product looks like

with a nice backdrop behind it and in the correct lighting conditions.

I think my tutorial pictures had a bit too much light in them giving

the tank an incorrect shiny look.

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Happy painting .

Comments
  1. arkiegamer says:

    Thanks for the tutorial, sir. Your vehicles always look great. I have some 15mm armor painting to do in the relatively near future, and I think I’ll give your method a try, rather than trying to transfer 1/72 airbrush techniques to the smaller scale.

    • 40kterminatus says:

      Should work a treat on 1/72 and you can add as much detail as you want so your vehicle can step up from the basic standard to fantastic😀

  2. sho3box says:

    That’s a good tutorial, thanks.

    • 40kterminatus says:

      Glad you like it but I did`nt think tanks were up your street ? I will do one on something Sci-fi and let you mark it for me.

      • sho3box says:

        Regardless of the subject, it is always worth taking a look at how people approach painting different subjects. I may not be planning to paint any Shermans any time soon, but how you have approached getting that convincing flatness to the bodywork may well be an influence 🙂

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