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Brummbär

ruining that beautiful paint job

I started with an initial wash of a light tan oil mix. I use Windsor and Newton oil paints, and mixed Raw Umber and White, with a tiny dab of Yellow, to an appropriate shade. This was liberally applied over the whole model with a wide soft brush, and the excess dabbed off with a paper towel. At this point, I added some simple markings to the hull; two German crosses on the hull sides, and one on the front driver’s hatch. I may be unique in the way that I apply my decals—I never opt for the coat of “Future” so favoured by many modellers. I simply apply the decals to the painted model, and, using a wide, soft brush dipped in Solvaset decal setting solution, I “roll’ the brush onto the decal from front to back, applying gentle pressure with my fingers, to help the decal snuggle down. The hundreds of bristles seem to act as a kind of contour gauge, helping to press the softened decal into all irregularities that may be present—even on zimmerit. I have never had a problem with silvering with 99% of decals when using this method. I brushed a light coat of acrylic “flat” over the decals to dull their sheen.

I then went about painting some details before proceeding. I painted some of the chipped zimmerit areas in red primer, using, and outlining them with, POLLY SCALE Model Railroad Colors #414293 Zinc Chromate Primer, and painting the edges of the zimmerit in light grey. I painted the muffler by first laying down a base of dark brown, and when that was dried, stippling various rust colors all together for variety. Finally, I applied some pastels in various rust colors, working from dark brown to bright orange. The spare tracks were finished in the same manner.

I then applied a wash of Raw Umber. At this point I had a dirty, faded patina to the model. I wanted to try to simulate the kind of scuffing you might see in a dusty coat, so I used thinned tinctures of the camo colors and stabbed and stippled them onto the areas where I wanted to show wear. I painted the wheel rims in dark metallic steel enamel--I custom mix this from Testor’s Steel and Black oil paint—and then highlighted the edges with bright silver.

I then turned my attention to painting the tracks. I started with a base coat of Tamiya Dark Earth. I then added successive washes of Raw Umber, Black, and Rust. I then drybrushed a dark metallic steel over both sides, and then further highlighted the high points on the outside with bright silver enamel. The interior track faces were also given special attention, with dark metallic gray scrubbed onto the insides where the wheels would have worn down the metal, and the track guides also receiving bright silver to add depth. The tracks were then added, first slipping them into the sprocket teeth, and the idler grooves, and then sliding the whole assembly onto the lower hull. The outside return rollers were added later when I remembered them!