There is a technique that we use in the dental lab for creating texture on the outer pink surfaces of a denture. This technique is called stippling. I discovered that it works very nicely to simulate a type of texture as seen on some cast armor.  It is extremely simple to do. The key to the process is the “stippling bur.” In order to make a stippling bur, you start with an ordinary round steel bur. I’m using a dental bur, Fig. 1, but any small round bur will do. I then put a slight bend in the shank of the bur, Fig. 2. After the bur is bent, I run the bur over a sharpening stone just to dull it a little, Fig. 3.

Using the bur is a snap, Fig.4.  All you need to do is keep it moving. With a little practice you will be able to adjust the pattern by how fast you run the bur, how much pressure you apply, and the diameter and bend of the bur.  The rear of the low bustle turret on the Dragon PTO kit doesn’t line up particularly well, but after sanding it down and going over the surface with the stippling bur, you can’t even see the seam, Fig. 5.  After filling in the flare port, I redid the texture with a fine stipple effect as compared to Dragon’s heavier texture which I simulated on the filled loaders hatch just visible in the lower left, Fig. 6.  It seems to blend pretty well with the kit version of cast armor.

The fit between the upper and lower halves of the 75mm turrets is not that good, Fig. 7.  Dragon makes an attempt to incorporate the mold parting line in the lower half, but because of the poor fit between the two halves, the area needs to be filled and reshaped, Fig. 8.

I then re-texture the area using the technique described here.  I use a thin piece of masking tape to lay out the cast parting line, Fig 9. Several coats of Mr. Surfacer 500 are brushed against the tape, Fig 10.

After allowing the Mr. Surfacer to dry for about an hour, I use a paper towel moistened with 90% isopropyl alcohol to blend the Mr. Surfacer and level it with the tape, Fig 11.  Rub the towel perpendicular to the tape rather than parallel. The result is shown in Fig. 12.

After the tape was removed, the portions of the turret that do not have cast texture are masked off and then the turret is sprayed with a lacquer primer, Fig. 13.  The final coat should go on relatively dry. The texture of the lacquer primer can be seen in Fig. 13.  After the primer is dry, I knock down a bit of the texture with a scuff pad.  The finished line is shown in Fig. 14.