Heng Long colors (Challenger2 desert)

[PeterH]

Hi, great forums here. I'm adding a couple of 3D printed parts to my Challenger2 (front and rear IFF panels). I plan using flat hard tacrylic paint. Has anyone matched these colors, as it's o do this mail order?

[Prowler901]

Welcome to the Squawk!

I wasn't able to find a matching color for mine anywhere. And, it's not the right color for a desert Challenger anyway. So, I am repainting mine with the correct color. I'm using Model Masters acrylic British Gulf Armor Light Stone.

[Alpha]

PeterH Welcome! Like Prowler said, I couldn't find an exact color, either, so I custom mixed water based acrylics until it got close, then I dusted the rest of the tank in that color. The very slight color variation adds visual depth to the model. Tamiya and Ammo-by-Mig paints are my favorites for this sort of thing.

[PeterH]

I'm hesitating on repainting right now as my attempt on a Tiger1 isn't that successful. I have, however, had some success in painting the Ch2 plastic tracks with rust, leaving the surfaces that contact the ground or wheels untouched. It emulates the rubber pads quite well :)

If I was to repaint, would you put a clearcoat on top to protect? If so, what do you recommend?

[Alpha]

The advantage of a clear coat depends on where you plan to run your tank. I've found that for indoor use, a standard clear coat is fine and well worth the few minutes it takes to spray it on. However, if you plan on running the tank over riverbeds and gravel, even a hard enamel clear coat will wear off quickly on the drive train and moving parts. Lacquer is better, but it will still be abraded off of the sprocket teeth, idler wheel teeth, suspension arms, etc.

I consider it natural wear. One way I use this to my advantage is by painting multiple layers of paint around the drive train. Surface prep, primer, red primer, clear lacquer, gray primer, black basecoat, then top coat colors and weathering followed by another clear coat. It's a lot of coats, but it wears nicely in layers, revealing different colors depending on how deeply those moving parts get scratched. I also find it fun to touch up the paint from time to time, which only adds to the "layered" effect.

I covered this in greater depth in my King Tiger thread.

[UltraVargen]

Alpha What do you do to prep the metal before even the first coat of primer is applied? I think you mentioned etching, but could you explain in more detail?

[Beeg]

Rustoleum and a few others from your autoparts store make very good "self-etching" primer paints specifically for metal. Like your plastic, clean the metal parts well and coat with the "etching" primer then give it a couple days to cure before color coat.


Here's a couple of examples...

https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-self-etch-primer-gray.html?SRCCODE=PLA00020&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9a6axoPI6wIVUvDACh1OdgjFEAQYAyABEgLjK_D_BwE

https://www.duplicolor.com/product/self-etching-primer/

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/auto/primers/self-etching-primer

[UltraVargen]

Thanks Beeg. I'll have a look for it over here. Many recommended brands aren't widely available here in the Netherlands. But I think the Duplicolor might be available. Else I'll just look for any automotive etching primer.