been following it from the start and the finished looks absolutley fantastic, will be employing some of these methods in my diorama (hope it turns out as well as your flak one did).
you mentioned your next diorama, can't wait for that. seeya

JAGDPANTHER PAINTING STEP-BY-STEP

as requested, here is my attempt at a SBS of the Jagdpanther painting. many of the steps are a "first time" for me as i was trying new techniques and materials to learn how they work and what effects i could produce with them. so saying that, please feel free to comment and/or question anything as i hope that this can be a mutual learning process. i will add paint codes and details where possible.

Note: all text captions are for the photo shown above the words. okay, time to "hunt & peck" the keyboard my friends...


Step 1: Primer (Tamiya Fine Primer Grey Spray Can) was applied to help review build issues before all out painting. left overnight to dry.


Step 2: base colour airbrushed overall (Vallejo 872 Chocolat Brown & V861 Black mixed 70/30). i will just refer to Vallejo colours with a "V" from now on.


Step 3: airbrushed Dunkelgelb tan camo only where needed. i used to spray the whole tank tan but to keep the base dark brown for the next 2 camo colours i stayed in the areas that were going to be Dunkelgelb. lots of discussion over this colour on many forums, i used V914 Green Ochre as it was a good start for what i wanted to do later.


Step 4: airbrushed Olivgrun green camo (V890 Reflective Green) only where needed.


Step 5: airbrushed Rotbraun brown camo (V872 Chocolat Brown) where needed. overlapped the previous two camo colours to "trap" the pattern with the darkest colour.
Step 5-1/2: i gave the top surfaces and the upper sides a light "dusting" of diluted V976 Buff to tone down the camo and blend it a bit better. the above pic shows both the brown camo and the buff overspray done.


Step 6: base colours added by brush to the details such as tools, hatches and accessories. let this dry for a few days and then sprayed the model with Future undiluted through my airbrush. best to keep this as light coats as the Future can dry with drip marks.


Step 7: decals applied and left to dry overnight then sprayed Dullcote Matte Lacquer Varnish from spray can.


Step 8: added washes made from oil paints, one is Raw Umber/Burnt Sienna/Black and the second is Raw Umber/Black. applied it by round brush and the used clean flat brush to blend the oil wash. i find applying oil washes on a matte varnish the best for me to control how it behaves on the surface.


Step 9: added dots of artist oil paints (Titanium White, Yellow Orche, Burnt Sienna) on the camo is random patterns with round brush. this is a new technique and, boy, did this show potential.


Step 10: oil dots are blended (more blending was later done as some areas looked odd) and rain streaks where added with the same technique but tiny dots of Titanium White only.


Step 11: added wash to the tools, etc... and added some more white dots in oil paint for the rainstreaks. also added a bit more dark wash here and there to get some of the details to pop.


Step 12: added black oil paint to the front and back of the Jagd to create "wet spots" in a splatter pattern. also weathered the tools and gear a bit more with oil paints. did a bit of drybrushing on some of the raised edges and details with Vallejo acrylics by mixing white into the camo colours used.


Step 13: tried my hand at doing the undercarriage with Mig pigments for the first time. applied 70% Isopropyl Alcohol first with a round brush and then took the pigments with a clean dry brush and held the brush over the area and tapped it so the pigments sprinkled onto the model. used Mig Light European Earth P415, Dry Mud P232, Russian Earth P034 and Concrete P026. to try something different, i applied a Raw Umber oil wash in the upper undercarriage to simulate wet areas. never heard it people tried this before but it kind of worked.


Step 14: chipping was done with a 0/3 brush using Raw Umber and Buff. i did all the chips and scratches in Buff first then added Raw Umber to some, putting the dark colour always above or to the same side of the Buff to simulate a single light source. this was my first time adding hightlights to chips and it made a big difference. i was wiping away at "dust" that was actually painted chips for hours after this as it was pretty convincing in person.

also added rust steaks to the chipping here and there with Burnt Sienna oil paint.


Step 15: airbrushed Tamiya NATO Brown to the tracks.


Step 16: added oil washes to the tracks.


Step 17: drybrushed acrylic black to the raised areas of the tracks then rubbed a 6B pencil onto the raised treads to get graphite on.


Step 18: applied Mig pigments that matched the diorama over the tracks. since the Jagd has rubber rimmed road wheels, i added a drybrush of Tamiya NATO Black on the insides where the wheels would have rubbed. after this pic was taken i rubbed the tracks with a clean stiff flat brush to blend the pigments better and reapplied graphite randomly to the tread cleats again to make them stand out.


Step 19: i assembled the wheels and tracks before applying the rest of the pigments to the tank to avoid extra handling of the model. here is the bulk of the pigments added. also splattered MIG Dry Mud wet (mixed with Isopropyl Alcohol again) on some of the lower areas by dipping a stiff flat brush and the flicking the bristles with my fingers while holding the brush close the model.


Step 20: final pigments added and blended. i tried two ways for this, one way i applied the pigments wet on a tiny brush that has stubbly bristles due to age and then rubbed that with a clean dry brush after it dried, and second way i placed large dots of alcohol on the area and then dabbed dry pigments into the area with a small brush.

this is how i painted the Jagdpanther. learned some more on how to use oil paints and powdered pigments. getting to understand some new techniques as well. i'm no expert though, just a guy who's trying his best at painting each model a bit better than the last. hope this helps and perhaps opens a discussion as to how you approach model painting so that i can learn from your techniques.

cheers, mh.

The Dio looks great! My only comment is that the Jagd Panther looks like it is siting on top of the rubble a bit rather than in it (only in one of the pics). The dio tells a story and there is plenty to look at which is good.

Thanks for the SBS on painting and weathering of the Jagd- I am currently learnig these techniques myself and your pics helped.

Cheers


Anthony

hellbound,
Thanks for the quick reply. You must have great eye sight. With my glasses I have a hard time with any details on the figures. The step by step on the tank pant job is great, So what's your next project? Keep building you do great work.
Tom

MH: Just dropped by to read over your build log again, and wanted to say thanks for the wealth of written and photographic information you included during your build.

Hellbound,

Absolutely fantastic work! I have enjoyed this thread from the beginning to the end. You certainly do great work.

The jadgedpanther looks awesome. How did you like working with the Vallejo paints? I too prefer to work with humbrol paints and thought about trying Vallejo paints.

I think this dio is awesome. The building, the base, the rubble, the figs, and the vehicle all look great, and I can learn a lot from reading your posts as you went through it step by step.

My only question is in choice of figures.....at least two of them are paratroopers (notice the big baggy pockets on the legs), and I'm having trouble figuring out where two paratroopers would find themselves with a Jagdpanther in France in 1944. Perhaps you just chose the figs b/c you liked the poses and didn't give thought to the fact that they are paras? Artistic license? Just curious.

Overall, a great scene, and you should be proud.

Rob

MH, WOW!!! This really turned out great. The coloring of the whole scene is terrific. This has been fun to follow.

Randy

thanks everyone for taking the time to comment and offer such kind words. again, really means a lot to have the support of my fellow modelers who are having as much fun as i had making this diorama.

To answer some questions:

i wanted the Jagd on a bit of an angle to "look" somewhat abandoned so i placed it half on the sidewalk, which also helped to view the interior. the problem i ran into was the tracks sit on an angle as well and wouldn't have conformed to the sidewalk on the right side on the real vehicle.

i didn't like the gap this created myself and so i added more rubble at the rear right side to "soften" the appearance. would re-think this layout for future projects.

i got to attend a model show here in town and got an opportunity to help judge the Beginner and Intermediate Classes with some top notch guys. wow, did i learn some valuable lessons.

firstly, they really wanted vehicles to rest correctly on groundwork as well they really, really noted when tracks didn't sit tightly on drive sprockets (something many models had problems with).

lots of other things they were looking for ended up being errors in general construction (a bit of seam still showing, glue still showing raised, fit of panels not puttied correctly, etc...) and some were really picky (such as windows being dusty only where wipers ran but too clean in the centers, proper assembly of gunslings, too much or not enough silvering on gun breaches/drive sprocket teeth, hands of figures not holding things as well as they could, etc...).

made me realize the difficult task we have to finish models at a top level and succeed. kind of raised the bar for me to see some great models and dioramas. got to meet Ron Volstad (he lives 3 hrs away from me, go figure) and a friend of his that does a lot of the posing for his artwork (he told me on a new figure set from Dragon he posed for all four figures and one has his face). cool.

now, the mixed figures. in my research i read in Osprey that the 101 Airbourne had hooked up with the 2nd Infantry in France in 1944. thought it would break up the monotony of painting all the US figures the same to have some paratroopers in the scene. i could see some wayward paras joining up with a squad of grunts to battle so i went ahead and mixed up the figures.

for my opinion on my first all Vallejo painting, i liked it. i realized early i need to thin the Vallejo paints just enough to get them through the airbrush so that it had great coverage and didn't "orange peel" (the effect known in airbrushing when paint lands so wet it is uneven and looks like the skin of an orange). also, Vallejo paints needed lots of constant stirring in the large cup of my Iwata HP-C+ gun.

i do still love my Humbrols though. Vallejo paints are a new tool in my toolbox for sure and will use them again and they brush paint so well.

i hope that this helps answer some questions and i look forward to following all of your projects to learn more as my return to the hobby has me blown away by the quality of works you guys produce. cheers, mh.

While members of the 101st may have gotten hooked up with the 2nd division, they certainly would not have run into a Jagdpanther, especially a mid non-zimmed version. Peruse a book like Phil Nordyke's book on the 82nd or Mark Bando's on the 101st, and you'll see vehicles like Marder III Ms, Stug III and IV, etc. The use of the Jagdpanther is a bit anachronistic.

Still a great scene, and light years ahead of anything I'm doing (I'm currently ending a bit of a hiatus from modeling....but the recent arrival of TWINS in my life means that hiatus may continue! Keep up the good work.

Rob

meaty, that is brilliant! really tells a story too.

Hi Meaty,

Thanks so much for doing the step-by-step on the jagdpanther. there is so much that i learned that i can apply to my projects. your jagd is got to be one of the best ive seen along with the whole diorama. i love it! great job.

Gary

Hellhound
Very very nice and creative diorama. Thanks for sharing your experiences (new methods) with us. Did u use Vallejo brush paints with your airbrush? Or did you use Vallejo airbrush paints? Because your Vallejo paint numbers refers to brush paints. If you used brush paints with airbrush what did you use for thinning paints?
Thank you very much.

yes, you are right to note the Vallejo paint numbers are for their regular colours, not AIR line of colours. that's what i buy as i may want to handbrush and airbrush from the same colour. i guess you pay for the convenience of having it prep'd for airbrushing and have never tried the AIR version so can't tell you much about them. heard good things though.

i use distilled demineralized water (i buy it at the hardware store - it's for filling car radiators). i have also used the tap water here at the log cabin but it comes from a great well and has gone through a water softener so i don't know if that makes it much different from city water?

cheers, mh/bd

awesome dio.

Hello!

Splendid!
Nice colours and build.
I'm have to do the same with an early Jagdpanther.
(TAMIYA which isn't available now)
I replaceD the tube by a metallic one, put a zimmerit home made with a green putty and sprayed a primer Vallejo red + black shadows before the yellow base.
http://www.servimg.com/view/18054977/18

http://www.servimg.com/view/18054977/59

http://www.servimg.com/view/18054977/57

I will try to show some pictures.

Great fun reading through this thread. Very nice and realistic diorama. Very well done