Leman Russ Tank Step By Step Full Build

So this is a nice fun little build that’s going to take me back to my childhood. A lovely little Games Workshop Leman Russ Battle Tank. I haven’t made one of these for 20 years.

So first off there are only two sprues of parts, of course, the tracks are solid plastic as this piece is designed for tabletop gaming. The really cool thing about the Games Workshop stuff is it is quite customizable with lots of parts than can be switched out.

The Sprues For The Leman Russ Tank From Games Workshop — The Parts Of The Leman Russ Laid Out. Only Two Sprues But Good Castings With Lots Of Details.

To start with the sides of the tank. I’m not going to fit the tracks at this time but I will add them once it is painted.

The Sides Of The Leman Russ Tank Glued Together. — The First Parts Are Nice And Easy. The Two Sides Of The Hull Are Now Stuck Together.

Joining The Top And Bottom Of The Leman Russ Hull — Sticking Together The Hull On The Leman Russ Battle Tank.

Next onto the main body and some of the components, again I’m going to attach the exhausts after painting. The storage box I have removed the logo from and am mounting it horizontally as an engine cover.

The Storage box for the Leman Russ Tank — The Storage Box Completed And The Emblem Has Been Sanded Off. I’m Going To Use This As An Engine Cover.

The Exhaust Pipes For The Leman Russ Tank — The Two Exhausts, I Will Paint These Separately Before Attaching Them.

Next, onto the turret,.I have chosen to go with the largest gun configuration. I have also decided not to use the side gun ports, because of this I am going to fit the smoke grenade launchers to the rear of the turret.

Joined together the first part of the leman russ turret — Joined Together The First Parts Of The Turret And Removed The Crest.

The Leman Russ Turret With The Smoked Grenade Launcher Fitted — Added The Smoke Grenade Launchers To The Rear Of The Turret.

Joining togther teh parts of the gun barrel on the leman russ. — Setting The Parts Of The Gun Barrel In Place And Holing Them With Clips While They Dry.

The Leman Russ Turret And Main Gun — The Turret And Gun Have Been Completed And Are Ready For Painting.

I am going to be using the flamethrower as the weapon on the front of the hull. Again I will paint this up separately and fit it after the rest is painted.

Leman Russ Flamethrower Cannon Ready For Painting — The Flamethrower Cannon For The Leman Russ Tank.

Leman Russ Tank With Front Weapon Port — The Front Weapon Port Has Been Added And The Emblem Removed From The Rear.

Rear View Of The Games Workshop Leman Russ Battle Tank Before Painting — The Rear Of The Leman Russ With The Engine Cover And Tow Hook

Photograph of the leman russ tank before painting — Front View Of The Tank Before Painting, The Gaps Around The Weapon Port Have Been Filled And Sanded.

Side View Of The Leman Russ Tank Before Painting — The Leman Russ Tank Complete Hull Ready For Painting.

That’s about all the work I want to do to the hull, So now it time to get everything together and give it a quick undercoat.

The Parts Of The Unpainted Games Workshop Leman Russ Ready For Undercoating — Everything Ready For An Undercoat.

Games Workshop Leman Russ Tank Built And Ready For Painting — The Full Leman Russ Tank Minus The The Tracks. Ready For Some Paint Now.

Matilda 2 Tank With A Sand And Blue Paint Job — This Is The Matilda 2 Tank And The Paint Job That I want To Recreate On The Leman Russ. (image used under a creative commons licence)

So now I can get to the paint job. There was an old British tank, I think it was a Matilda that had desert sand and sky blue camo that I really want to try and recreate.

Leman Russ Tank Undercoated In Tamiya German Grey — Undercoated With AK Primer And Then Base Coated With German Grey.

Using Hairspray On The Leman Russ Tank To Create Chipping Effect. — A Quick Coat Of Hairspray To Help With Chipping.

Paint Colours For The Leman Russ Battle Tank — The Paints I’m Using For The Camouflage And Tank Tracks.

First of all, I am giving the tank a coat of Tamiya xf-59 Desert Yellow, this will be the base for the tank.

The Leman Russ Has Been Base Coasted With Desert Sand — Given The Model A Nice Coat Of Desert Sand As A Base Coat.

Now it’s time to mask off and start painting the red and white stripes at the front of the tank.

Masking Off The Front Of The Games Workshop Leman Russ Tank For Painting — Masking Off For The First Bit Of Airbrushing.

Sprayed The Front Of The Leman Russ Tank Hull White — White Paint Sprayed On The Front Of The Hull.

The white base is done now more masking and spray on the red. For this, I’m using Humbrol 238 Arrow Red.

Airbrushing Red Lines On The Front Of The Leman Russ — Spraying The Red Hazard Lines On The Front Of The Tank.

Masked Off The Leman Russ For Airbrushing — Masking Off The Rest Of The Tank So The Light Blue Camouflage Can Be Painted.

With the stripes completed it’s now time to mask off the rest of the tank and lay down the blue camouflage pattern. For this, I’m using Tamiya xf-18 Medium Blue.

The Top Coat Of Blue Has Been Sprayed On The Leman Russ — The Tank Has Now Been Sprayed With Blue Paint, Just Needs To Dry And Be Un-masked.

The Camo Pattern On The Leman Russ Battle Tank — Masking Tape Off And The Camouflage Pattern Is Looking Quite Cool.

Now the painting is completed I can get on with the weathering. The first job to remove some of the paint with a wet brush. This lifts off the hairspray and the paint on top of it.

Paint Chipping On The Games Workshop Model Tank — The Paint Chipping Has Now Been Done Using The Hairspray Technique.

Started The Chipping On The Leman Russ Model Tank — The Tank Is Painted Up And Some Weathering Has Been Started, Mainly Chipping So Far.

Leman russ Model, Track Fitted And First Coat Of Varnish — Fitted The Tracks And Given The Model A Coat Of Clear Varnish.

Using Enamels To Do A Pin Wash On The Leman Russ Tank — Using AK interactive OIF Wash To Highlight The Panel Lines.

After a coat of varnish, time to start on the weathering. First bringing out the panels lines, then on to some rust streaks and then to highlight the nuts and bolts.