East German Tractor Finished (1/35)

My kit of a Soviet built DT-74 tractor belonging to the East German company 'Baustoffe und Klinker Kombinat VEB Klinker- und Ziegelwerke "Ernst Wollweber" Betrieb Grobzka' is finished. In the last post on the tractor I had more or less finished construction and had begun painting. I kept the tractor in 5-6 main parts to make painting and weathering easier. Had I assembled the model completly before painting it would have been close to impossible for me to achieve a believable weathering.

Cab test fitted. Engine painted and weathered. Tracks and chassis have weathering in progress.

Rear view with the cab removed. The dials are Archer Transfers with a layer of gloss varnish

Dozer blade glued in place. Cab and sliding doors ready for installing.

The DT-74 isn't a large tractor. Here seen with a 1:35 figure for size comparison.Weathering is a multi-layer thing consisting of a base of acrylic colours, oil and acrylic paint washes, mud made from plastic putty, several passes with thin acrylic paint through the air brush for dust. Worn metal is made with a soft pencil rubbed against the selected surface.

A rather battered workhorse from the brick works' clay depot.

Decals are custom designed by my usual supplier 'Skilteskoven'. They supply decals in any language!

Perhaps some day my little foray into DDR-modelling will result in another model from the other side of the iron curtain. But for now it's back to Denmark in the early 1950's. Two new projects are on their way. One on four wheels of two different sizes and the other with four flanged steel wheels of equal size.