Planning For Fall-In: Part 3

Planning For Fall-In: Part 3 - Oil War

Planning For Fall-In: Part 3 -  Painting Iranian Chieftains
with Dave Danner

The core of the Iranian armor in the list are Chieftains, so I decided to start with them. Page 101 in the Oil War book has a simple painting guide for Iranian vehicles using Green Grey is 886. So, let’s get painting!

Check out Planning for Fall-in Part 1 here...
Check out Planning for Fall-in Part 2 here...

 

Below is a list of all the paints used on my Chieftains:

Brand Colour name

Krylon Camouflage Spray Paint

Khaki (4291)

Citadel Wash Gryphonne Sepia
Vallejo Model Color Green Grey (886)
Vallejo Model Color Deck Tan (986)
Vallejo Model Color Khaki Grey (880)
Vallejo Model Color Black Grey (862)
Vallejo Model Color London Grey (836)
Vallejo Model Color Iraqi Sand (819)
Vallejo Game Color Imperial Blue (020)

Step 1: Assemble the Chieftain model following the Battlefront Assembly Guide. The only thing I did different was to leave the side skirt armor off the model. These will be painted separately and attached at the end. I did this to allow easier access to the wheels for painting.

Step 2: Prime the vehicle with Khaki spray paint. It was the best color I could find at the local hardware store and is made to adhere to plastic and provides a nice matte finish. (In hindsight, I would probably try to find Vallejo IDF primer and use that instead.)

Planning For Fall-In: Part 3 - Oil War

Step 3: Wash the model with the Sepia wash. Try to keep it confined to the cracks and crevices. (Some people prefer to save the wash step for later and use a pin wash over a gloss coat.) The Iranian armor was not kept in the nicest shape historically, so I want it to look a little more grungy.

Planning For Fall-In: Part 3 - Oil War

Step 4: Apply the base coat of Green Grey to the model using a medium brush. Be careful not to cover the wash in the cracks and crevices. Use a larger drybrush to do the wheels. This will allow you to paint them quickly without obscuring detail.

Step 5: Apply a second coat to the model hitting all of the large flat panels using a 2:1 mix of Green Grey and Deck Tan. Be sure to thin the paint also. Use this to simulate fading and streaking on the vehicle. You will really see this streaking on the armor skirts.

Step 6: Apply an edge highlight to all of the raised surfaces using a 1:1 mix of Green Grey and Deck Tan. This will help make the details “pop” on the vehicle

Step 7: Paint the rubber edges of the wheels, the tank treads, front track guards, and the commander’s machine gun using Black Grey. These items are all highlighted using London Grey. The tank treads and wheels are then given a light drybrush of Iraqi Sand to simulate dust.

Step 8: Paint the barrel sleeve Khaki Grey, leaving some of the wash showing through in the recesses.

Planning For Fall-In: Part 3 - Oil War
Planning For Fall-In: Part 3 - Oil War

Step 9: Paint all of the viewing blocks Imperial Blue and add a highlight of a lighter blue. (You can use any blue color that seems right to you.)

Step 10: Attach the armor skirts using super glue and tidy up the highlighting along the top edge.

Step 11: Battlefront offers an Iranian Decal Set TIR950 if you want to decorate your vehicles. The majority of the pictures that I found show minimal use of insignia on Chieftains. Small rondels on the sides of the tank and rondels or IRIA insignia on the turret rear. 

Step 12: Clear coat your model using whichever sealer you like. This will protect you model from wear and tear.
Planning For Fall-In: Part 3 - Oil War
You can use this painting approach to do all of the IRIA vehicles. For the IRGC, I would use more of a khaki color with a grey camouflage pattern. Well… I have a lot of vehicles to paint before Fall-In, so I better get busy!
~Dave