Oil Tank

Okay. First off, this could *really* be any scale,
only the ladder would change.

Here's the basic stuff:

Not everything is really needed.
Here is a list of the most important items:
1. Center tube from institutional sized Scotch TP
2. White Glue
3. Plaster
4. Paint (whatever colors you want)
5. Styrofoam (extruded or not)
6. Split peas
7. Hot Wire Cutter

First, sit the tube on top of whatever Styrofoam you're using.
Trace around the outside of the tube & cut the foam on the line.
Push the foam into tube to seal one end. You'll probably have
to kind of squeeze it in, but that's okay. Just make sure the
foam is level with the top of the tube.

Second, cover the tube with mixture of glue, plaster & water.
Make sure it's fairly thick & fills the diagonal seam. Also,
make sure the foam is completely covered, otherwise the spray
paint will melt it.

Third, once dry, sand this down a bit. I don't sand until it's smooth.
I like the sort of rough look and the ridges help grab during
dry brushing. You should have something like this:

(These are for a larger 4 tank piece I'm working on).

Make the base from whatever foam you have. I won't go heavily to this
as other sites cover this. I just cut it to basic shape & paint the
top with the water/plaster/glue/sand mixture. I then spray it with
grey primer. This melts the edges in cool ways. This I paint black
& drybrush grey & white. I then glue the open end of the tube onto
the foam base.

Next, prime & paint. I use Krylon Grey primer and a can of
Aluminum colored spray paint I bought for $.89 in clearance.
Since I think the aluminum is too shiny, I think put a light
coat of white glue/Ral Parth Aged Metal. This dulls a bit &
helps to match with the rivets, which I'll go into next.

Take a *bunch* of fairly well shaped split peas & put them flat
side down onto a piece of masking tape. Odd shaped piece are
okay, I think, as it gives character & that 'dark' look.
I paint these with a combo of R.P. Aged Metal & watered down
GW's Tin Bitz.

Once these are dry, glue them around the edges of the tube.
This can be seen in the finished picture.

To make the option ladder, cut from metal fencing mesh. Every
other *step*, leave the outer wire & bend at a 90 degee angle.

Curve one end to go over the top, measure to length, cut & glue to side of the tank.

Flock the base, if you wish, and give the tank, ladder & rivets
a wash of brown/rust. Drybrush with a rusty looking paint before
the wash if you want that look.

That's it. It takes patience to wait for stuff to dry, but it's worth it.

Sorry about lack of pictures. More should be forthcoming.