You are right on the life span issue, and there are a couple of things I'd like to bring up: First as you said, the life span wasn't very long for tanks at that time - they were built, shipped out to the units and then quite soon thereafter destroyed, either by the enemy or - which was quite likely - either abandoned or destroyed by it's crew. That means that there wouldn't be that much chipped paint to begin with, especially since: Point 2: The paint used back then was a lead-based paint which was applied THICK - I mean, if you chip the paint of an armored vehicle from that time, the layers are almost a third of a mm thick. The paint job was meant to protect the metal as much as possible, and that kind of paint in those layers did the job pretty well. That is not to say paint didn't wore off - it just seldom had the time to do it in the amount we all too often see on models. Where paint wore off from crews climbing in and out of the tank, the metal was bare and almost polished, especially around the hatches where the clothing rubbed the paint. Battle damage was more common, especially on heavier tanks that could take some punishment, but that left craters, holes and other hard damage to the tank - not scratched paint. All that said, it's a nice job, but quite overdone. The one thing you can't overdo on a model tank (but where the mantra is, 'don't overdo it!') is weathering - tanks attract dirt like small children, but if they are covered in mud and dust and shit - how could we ever see all those nice chips?

shut yo smart ass up

Mottys Military Models Hey, thanks for the offer, I think I will be in telford and surly we can have a beer together or sth.

It's ok dude i answered my own question ja! The effect in reality was a putty like material to protect from magnetic mines etc, etc.Only tip i may be able to give is for " Das " an imitation clay like stuff.You can get a large block for a reasonable amount and suits the technique you used. Do that let it dry then glue it back on ja ja ja.

is it bad if its more work if you like what you do ?

sorry buddy, I'd like to own one first..