03/16/2026
WIP! Week 9 of the RFM M1128 Stryker build with Glue, Sprue, and BBQ. I managed to wrap up all the major and detail paint work today this week, and I'm ready for a couple days of breather as I let things rest for a day or two.
The week started with the NATO green going down and some modulation tones along the way. Mid tone is straight AK Interactive 3rd Gen NATO green. Shadow tone is NATO green and black in a ratio of 10 to 1. First highlight is NATO green and Sunny Skin Tone again in a ratio of 10 to 1. With the final highlight being the same mixture in a 5 to 1 ratio. That last highlight went on the very top surfaces of the turret only and sparingly, focusing mostly on the top of the barrel.
Parts of the lower hull, particularly towards the front received some very light hairspray chipping. This was different from my normal process because I'm normally chipping back to a red primer or rust tone. In this case the armor plate is aluminum, so naturally there is no rust. I actually laid down a layer of AK aluminum, followed by a quick shot of hairspray and then my main color. Chipping was controlled and again kept very light. My references showed some chipping to the edges of the plates, but not a lot and nothing really extreme.
Details were all hand painted with AK 3rd Gen acrylics on a wet palette and my trusty Winsor and Newton #1 Series 7. Metallic colors were handled with Vallejo Premium Synthetic detail brushes, if you haven't seen these and are looking for a really good synthetic brush that holds it's shape these are hard to beat!
Decals all went down very well. I'm a heathen, I decal over a matte finish, and in this case I did spray some matte varnish down over the areas receiving decals to prevent the previous hairspray layers from reactivating. I did miss a couple spots so ended up with some unintentional chipping, that actually looks pretty good and will be staying. A little silvering on some of the smaller ones but I can correct that as I go. They were super thin and responded will the Micro Set and Sol. I got out the Solvaset the next day because on or two of the larger decals had air bubbles. The Solvaset fixed those straight away. Decals were sealed in with AK Matte Varnish.
I also discovered something very cool, and I feel like I missed the boat on this one a while ago. There are little sensors along the sides, front and back that relate to the MILES system modeled on this vehicle. Those sensors have a tiny, shiny screen on them, there are also a couple of cameras on the Stryker. One could recreate that with a drop of gloss varnish in each of them, but I didn't want to wait for it set so I could move on to the next one. Then I remembered I had traded Jake Ford some contraband Mr. Surfacer for some UV resin, something I had never used before. Apparently I've been living under a rock. That stuff made that process a lot faster and the result is worlds better than using gloss varnish!
Overall I'm well pleased with what I have. I'll revisit in a day or two after the stoke of finishing the paint work has subsided a bit and I can be a bit more critical. I'm open to critique or suggestions, now is the time to get comments in before I start weathering and fixing a few of the flaws I already know are there.
Most of this week will be spent remaking the tool rack that the garbage disposal ate. Making the antennas and sundry stowage bits. Then there's the question of the base. I have not built and finished a base before. I mean I started on for MAK kit but it's not done yet, so this will be an adventure!
Happy modeling and stay tuned for more from my bench!
