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Building DML's Sdkfz 234/3

Painting and weathering

I began by first by giving the model a primer coat with rattlecan automotive "Red Oxide", the same used for the interior. For the paint scheme, I decided to go with the box-art because it was just too cool to pass up. For this I used Tamiya acrylics with the base coat XF-59 Desert Yellow, the green XF-51 Khaki Drab, and the brown XF-9 Hull Red. The camouflage was applied free hand then, using silly putty, I masked the green and brown and redid the yellow to tighten up the edges a bit. I used the Desert Yellow heavily thinned and did an all over misting to blend the three colors together. After the base coat had dried, I used a Van Dyke Brown filter/wash to further blend the camouflage together. Once I was happy with the blending, I gave the model a coat of Future in preparation for the decals. While this was drying, I took the wheels which had already received the Desert Yellow base-coat and Van Dyke Brown wash and painted the tires black using generic acrylic craft paint. After the decals were applied, they were sealed in with another coat of Future to protect them from the up coming weathering.

The weathering began by adding some wear and tear along the edges using Van Dyke Brown oil paint applied with a scrap of the green scouring pad that comes attached to a kitchen sponge. After leaving this a day or so to dry, I gave the model a coat of Testors rattlecan Dullcote. Next I decided to add some streaking by placing small dots of white oil paint on the model with a tooth pick then cleaning them off with thinner and a brush using downward brush strokes. Once dry, I did some selective dry brushing with Reaper MasterSeries Shadowed Steel and painted the tools and other small details. Moving on to the undercarriage, I wanted to depict a vehicle that was quite dirty so I began by mixing up a batch of mud. For this I used water, white glue, fine sand, and Bragdon's Dustbowl Brown pigments and mixed them together. I proceeded to stipple the mix on the entire undercarriage and, while it was damp, added more pigments here and there as needed. Once dried, it received a couple of oil washes and a dry brushing. Finally, using a mix of Tamiya Buff and Red Brown, I misted a dust coat around the entire lower hull. Getting ready for the final stages of weathering, I once again gave the entire model a coat of Testors Dullcote before applying multiple washes using combinations of Van Dyke Brown, Burnt Umber, and White oil paints. Dust Bowl Brown pigments were added as a final touch to tie all the weathering together and I was ready to call this one finished.

Conclusion

All in all, a beautiful kit of a very interesting subject. The fit was good throughout and the detail is excellent. I definitely recommend this one to anybody interested in WWII AFVs, especially if you are looking for something just a little bit different.