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Building a Leichter Panzertriebwagen!

Painting/Finish
The instructions I was given were unequivocal: Base German sand, no markings, but “dents and streaks.”

Dents and streaks are very modern amongst modelers these days, but in my opinion they depend on the duration of the vehicles battleground deployment. Until I saw the picture of the draisine with the chipped paint I was not very comfortable in making a worn and torn looking machine.

I airbrushed the whole model with Tamiya acrylic black and after drying and correcting some errors I then added a layer of Tamiya hull red. It was sprayed in a clouded manner taking care that edges and recessed areas are not covered completely to let the black base shine through. Next layer was a mix of Tamiya desert yellow and deck tan which was added crosswise, allowing the base to shine through as well in certain areas. This technique already prepares the weathering phase for a good part. To prevent me from surprises I added a layer of Gunze matt 20 varnish and then washed the model with a mixture of black, burnt and ochre oils. Certain areas were immediately dabbed with a cloth to break up the even film from the oils. After this general wash the cumbersome part starts and each bolt, each weld seam, each recess had to be washed individually with a small brush. Next step was a very gentle dry brushing. With a pencil No.2 I drew the dents, streaks were added with a mixture of black and red brown pastels. Finally some high raised details were touched up with a crème coloured pencil.

A railway part has been supplied as well. In my case it was a Dragon part, I do not know what will be supplied in the regular kits. To my disgust I had to discover, that Dragon’s railway tracks are missing all the nuts and bolts which are necessary to tie down the clamps which are fixing the rails. I therefore I had to activate my Historex Hexagonal Punch and Die Set to overcome this inaccuracy. Afterwards the part was airbrushed, washed and slightly dry brushed. To simulate the blank parts on rails and wheels of the draisine I used a silver marker from Tamiya.

After four weeks the draisine was finished and transferred to Mrs. Hannelore Zajic who did the photos.