¹⁄35

Pz.kpfw. IV Ausf. E

This is the Dragon kit, the first and most famous of the 3 in 1s with nothing added because everything came in the box.....extensive photoetch, turned metal barrel, other metal parts, magic tracks, the whole nine yards. I'd be hard pressed to think of anything one could add!

This kit was in my stash for several years because it intimindated the crap out of me. I finally screwed up the courage one night and grabbed the box and started in. The construction was long and arduous especially with the many metal parts. I used all the photoetched tool clasps which look great.

After preliminary assembly, leaving the top unattached so I could do the tracks, I coated everything with Tamiya primer, and then preshaded using Tamiya XF1. Then I painted two very light coats of Humbrol enamel leaving much of the preshading to show through. This was followed with a clear gloss coat and the decals for a DAK machine. The kit decals were wonderful, I might add; look at how well they laid down over the hatches using pretty much just heat to settle them in.

Then the weathering started, starting with umber & sienna oil pinwashes. I followed with an overall dark wash which was removed from some surfaces with a thinner filled brush. Paint chips were added using Vallejo black/grey; only two drops of paint did all the chips on the model with paint to spare. Some rust stains were added using both MIG pigments and Humbrol matt leather paint. The muffler was painted XF1 then drybrushed with a blend of XF10 and XF56 followed by old and standard rust pigments. The fuel stains are X19 and X26.

The tracks were added late in the process; I use Testor's normal liquid cement to make two long runs, taped in place to dry after the sag is added; the cement stays flexible for up to an hour to do this. The tracks were painted a mix of brown and steel, with MIG old rust in the recesses and silver Rub n Buff drybrushed on the tread to show the tank has been used on paved roads.

My figures aren't great but I'm learning; they are from Tristar's figure set which I should say was excellent, especially the poor fellow with the poked out eye. I must say I took a slight macabre pleasure in adding the blood stains on his bandage!