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Book Review
Painting Civil Vehicles
Painting and Weathering with Vallejo Acrylic Colors Civil Vehicles
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by: Carlos Martin [ VARANUSK ]

Intro

The first question, undoubtedly, is whether a civil vehicles painting guide fits here and might be useful for military modellers. After reading the book, I am completely sure it will be interesting to all modellers, first of all because every technique can be adapted to any field of modelling, and Mr. Tur is a more than competent modeller so there is a lot here to learn.
But also because often there is not much difference between how a civil or military vehicles gets dirty and old, just civil ones tend to be less well maintained and last longer so the effects are somehow exaggerated in them.
And we have to note as well the recent releases of vehicles that, despite being military, are in a kind of nobody's land because of their nature, like bulldozers, tractors, trucks, etc.
For all these reasons, this volume will come handy to any modeller interested in giving an old and used appearance to their kits.

Review

The book is softcover of A4 size, portrait, and has 118 pages. It is printed on satin paper, obviously in colour. The structure of the book is the usual step by step with plenty of photos.
Each article starts with a brief introduction and the rest is photos and detailed captions, which explain in order what has been done to achieve each effect.

The photos are large and clear, the general views of the model often occupy half a page and the details are split in four or five per page, enough to see it clearly. They also show also the product used -this is quite helpful for a quicker reference, or to know how does it look and what could replace it.

At the end of each section, there are four large photos of the finished vehicle.

The book contains seven models, all of them at 1/35 scale, profusely explained with photos.

Most of the article focus on painting and weathering, as you may expect, with little reference to building -but it is not really missed.

The vehicles chosen represent a good range of industrial equipment. Although there are no military vehicles, all are heavy machines, no cars here:
There are three trucks, one tractor, one tracked tractor, one excavator and one road roller.

All the models show vehicles with signs of use and age in various degrees. In one end, one of the trucks looks used but still in good shape, while the excavator is heavily rusted but still in use.

As the title points, almost all the products used are from Vallejo. The author makes good use of paints, washes, pigments and ready-to-use mud, all of them acrylic.

In general, the explanations are clear and pertinent, and allow to follow the painting and weathering processes.

Conclusion

This is a very interesting volume, that despite being devoted to civil vehicles, uses the traditional military modelling scale of 1/35 and applies similar weathering techniques of this area.
The models presented look very realistically, and the processes Using a variety of Vallejo's acrylic products are well explained.
SUMMARY
Highs: Interesting approach to civil, dirty vehicles using only acrylics.
Lows: None noticed.
Verdict: A good reference on weathering vehicles that, despite focused on civil machines, can be applied to other fields as well.
  Scale: N/A
  PUBLISHED: Feb 24, 2019
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 90.73%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 89.25%

Our Thanks to Vallejo Acrylics!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Carlos Martin (varanusk)
FROM: SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, SPAIN / ESPAñA

My main interest is German vehicles and guns, and I like spending time researching the vehicle and the options for the camo once I have chosen a subject. Sometimes I go for specific and rare vehicles, of which only two or three photos are known so it takes me a lot of time to figure how everything w...

Copyright ©2021 text by Carlos Martin [ VARANUSK ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

I hate to be a grammar Nazi, but can't these companies hire a native English speaker? "Civil" in most cases means "polite," not "civilian." The exception is for a GENERAL civilian or national sense as in "civil defense" or "civil war." Reminds me of the old Italeri PAK 40 kit that bore the designation "anti-tank gun with servants."
FEB 25, 2019 - 05:02 AM
Hi Bill, Not being native speaker I may be wrong, and in fact my English skills have been put in doubt here several times but I found that in this case, according to the Cambridge Dictionary the definitionof Civil is: [before noun] not military or religious, or relating to the ordinary people of a country. Examples of use from the same dictionary: Helicopters are mainly used for military rather than civil use. After ten years of military dictatorship, the country now has a civil government. We weren't married in church, but we had a civil ceremony in a registry office. Also the Merriam-Webster: 1a : of or relating to citizens civil duties b : of or relating to the state or its citizenry civil strife They refer to polite on the second (MW) and third (Cambridge) meaning
FEB 25, 2019 - 08:43 PM
Bill I get what your saying but those vehicles look to be governmental of some type and probably as they intended civil servant vehicles. If any of the equipment is privately owned then you are correct civilian would probably be a better choice.
FEB 26, 2019 - 03:02 AM
You both make good points, though I think the use of "civil" to mean "governmental" is a bit specific for this sort of general guide. I haven't read the book, and don't know if the examples are government vehicles or commercial ones.
FEB 26, 2019 - 05:53 AM
The cover sheet and preview pages show what looks to be an Eastern European Dept of Transportation type truck. The numbering of the roller seems like a very governmental way of tracking things. Maybe Carlos can enlighten us on the equipment. I will probably get the book at some point.
FEB 26, 2019 - 08:50 AM
   
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