I wanted to finish the Somua today, but... (Patreon)

... all that remains are some stains here and there and polished metal edges, and that means only one thing: PROCRASTINATION! 

And what's the best way to procrastinate for me? Play with styrofoam, of course! 

Well, I'm going to finish the tank tomorrow, I applied some extra earth tones on the upper hull today and all I'm left with are some grease effects on the engine deck and the most soul draining technique ever - pencil around the edges and chips. But let's talk about foam.

Because I want to put a small rock fence into the vignette,  I wanted to do a few practice runs, because natural rocks are not the same as bricks. Turns out it's a lot of fun and you can easily scribe them into a thin strip of foam from all sides. The result in the first photo is a disaster struck moment, because this grey foam can be partially melted with white spirit, which comes in super handy if you want to soften the edges and overall give it a more "natural" look, but I clearly overdid it! But I think if it's applied with an airbrush in a more controlled manner, it can lead to some nice results. The remaining photos show the wall before the thinner had time to eat through it. 

The vignette will have a theme - "Calm before the storm, Belgium 1940". I initially bought a French NCO figure from The Bodi, but the dude looks kinda funny and doesn't fit the theme, so I ordered two tankers from Alpine who look more concerned. However, they'll arrive around Wednesday, so in the meantime I'm gonna have some spare time to work on the diorama layout and the wall. In fact, I want to treat the wall in the same manner as that T29 barn, do a full video about carving, texturing, painting and weathering. 

I'm so, so looking forward to this scenery!