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Panzer IV D

painting, decals & weathering

There are four marking options for the tropical version offered by the kit. I chose the last one offered, 4 Kompanie, Panzer Regiment 8, 15th Panzer Division in Libya during 1941. This tank would have been supplied in a dark grey basecoat, which on arrival in Africa would have been repainted a sand colour. Firstly I applied a dark grey basecoat, and then successively lighter tones of grey. When this had had time to dry, I again applied masking fluid with a small piece of scotchbrite, trying to apply it more heavily in areas of high wear such as the glacis plate where the crew would have dismounted, etc. When this has been given a short while to dry, I misted a very light coat of sand over the entire vehicle, before applying a heavier coat around detail, and in the centre of panels etc. After a short while it was time to remove the masking fluid. I had previously dipped several cotton buds in the masking fluid and allowed them to dry. Now they could be used to rub over the surface of the vehicle, and the masking fluid easily comes away. You should still take care using this method as small details can become dislodged, but it’s a lot quicker, and less tedious than picking off with a pair of tweezers! Next, the detail colours were applied, such as the tyres of the road wheels, in very dark grey, the rear reflectors and convoy light, the machine gun, and all the tools, again in dark grey. The wooden tool handles were hand-painted in a flesh tone, and later some raw burnt umber oil paint would be dragged along their length, and the engine and traverse motor exhaust were painted in a custom reddish-brown mix. When all the detail had been given time to dry, the entire vehicle was given a coat of gloss acrylic in preparation for the decals. For these I dabbed some Micro Sol on each of them after applying. The wooden tool handles were then treated to the burnt umber oil paint. It was now time to apply a pin wash. For this I use an ‘O’ brush, and a strong solution of burnt umber oil in white spirit. This does not attack the acrylic gloss coat, and also doesn’t ‘spread’ by capillary action the way it tends to on a matt surface. I always keep a small dish of clean white spirit by the side, and a clean brush, just to remove the wash in areas where I’ve applied a little too much. It was applied around all detail, and brushed over the pattern on the side fenders. After allowing the wash to dry for about 30 minutes, I then used a matt black enamel to dry brush the vehicle, again paying particular attention to areas of high wear. The application of a dry brush using an enamel meant leaving the vehicle to dry overnight before ‘scrubbing’ the entire vehicle with a sand-coloured pigment powder. This leaves deposits around the smaller details and acts as a filter during the next step. I then prepared a small container of clean white spirit, and using a clean flat brush, dampened only with the white spirit, I ‘brushed’ the vehicle, starting at the top and working my way downwards. The tracks were treated to a similar treatment as that outlined above, but using a slightly ‘redder’ pigment powder. In addition they then had some graphite powder applied with the tip of a finger to the edges of the tracks to mimic bare metal caused by ground contact. The final step was to mix up a paste of the sand coloured pigment using white spirit and apply it to the surface of the upturned front mudguards and bottom of the hull. When dry it can be lightly brushed off to achieve the effect you desire. There you have it! My Panzer IV Ausf.D, finished.

References: Panzer IV, the PanzerKampfwagen IV Medium Tank 1939-1945 by Kevin Hjermstad, Squadron/Signal publications, 2000.

My thanks to Dragon for the review sample.