Karl, Si, Jim, Rick - you will be pleased to know that I decided to go with the red
this is the current state of play
it got a wash with starship grime, most of which was then wiped off using foam make up sponge sticks to leave it in recesses
there is a definite reaction though between the mig enamel and
Tamiya acrylic - had it before but thought I had not left the paint long enough, however it happened again
normally the enamel wash can be removed for ages after application if over mig/ak/vallejo acrylic
over
Tamiya you only get a few minutes before it gets to the point where it is impossible to remove
the numbers are the old verlinden ones that I got for the T34/76 and SU-122 - they have 'gone off' somewhat but I managed to get three 3's into place
distressed them slightly with a brass toothpick then varnished the entire thing in
Tamiya matt clear
it takes the gloss shine off and makes it look anodised - in fact it matches my RP Toolz guillotine quite well
it will need more work on panel lines and then I can start on the details and weathering