Buildings and AFVs

This is an SDV T72 tank based armored recovery vehicle in HO scale.

I showed the kit being built a while ago, but it's finished now.

 I think it turned out well, despite some rather vague instructions.

The figure is an Orion Modern Russian Federal soldier circa 2001.

A few more SDV models with two identical dollar store houses, painted differently, Marx toys trees.

Painting Dollar Store Buildings

I used the Ludus Bellum Luxury Acrylic Paint Starter Set to paint up a couple dollar store buildings.

They come partially painted, but mostly the roof shingles are all that is left of the original colors.

Much of the buildings are unpainted, particularly the sides.  I usually paint the windows gloss black, as seen here.

The color coverage is excellent, big flat open spaces show up poorly if the paint is not good.  Any errors are mine as I am not a great painter.

I did do some dry brushing over the original dark wood, and shingles and did some touch up as well.  I think this is a good set of paint.
 

WWII Buildings and Vehicles

Roco Kubelwagen in front of a dollar store home.

Resin HO scale Panzer IV parked on the road out front.

The company commander visits the tanks in his company.

Hiding in the hedges.
 

Dollar Store Buildings

I like the cheap dollar store buildings and I think they can be easily improved with a little extra paint job.

The yellow building on the left was the starting place for the building on the right.  I painted it up and changed the building color.  Note the windows, once the wooden framing and the windows are painted they are much improved.

This is another building that got a similar painting upgrade.

These buildings are generic enough that I think they can be used for a long period of time and in many parts of the world.

I use the cheap acrylic paints from places like WalMart, Hobby Lobby, and Michaels that are sometimes as inexpensive as fifty cents for a large bottle.

These can be rural, but for older times they could work as town buildings too.

The door sizes can vary a lot on these buildings but I try and get ones that are about an inch tall.  But real buildings have doors that vary a lot, particularly in the days before building codes.