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Sd.Kfz. 250/1 Neu

Markings and Weathering

In preparation for the decals, the entire vehicle was given a protective coat of Future and allowed to dry for about 1-2 hours before the decals were applied. The markings were simple with just a balkenkreuz and the vehicle number on either side. These were given a careful coat of Walther’s Solvaset to get them to snug down uniformly to the hull and, once settled, another coat of Future was applied to protect them during the weathering process.

The weathering began with an overall wash of Raw Umber applied to the whole exterior with the exception of the running gear. The wash was adjusted where needed using a clean brush and thinner, then dot filters of Raw Sienna and the lightened Dunkelgelb applied for some variation. A pin wash of Burnt Umber was then applied to all the raised details and the running gear to bring out the details. Everything was then sealed with a coat of Testor’s Lusterless Flat in the spray-can. Once that had set up overnight I dry-brushed some additional lightened Dunkelgelb over the hull surfaces and the decals in various places.

For the suspension, I mixed up a combination of Mig Dark Mud, African Earth, and Europe Dust as dry powder in the top of an old prescription bottle. Once the pigments were mixed together, I added ordinary tap water and applied the wet mixture by brush all over the running gear, fenders, lower hull, and rear hull where desired. The mixture air-dried over the space of about an hour and once dry, the excess was removed using several different stiff-bristled brushes. On the hull areas, the pigment was further blended in using a combination of wet and dry q-tips to carefully work it into the finish. The tracks received a light dry-brushing of Steel and some small touch-ups to various places were all that was required to wrap things up.