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Sdkfz 10/5 Flak 38

Painting and Detailing

The entire vehicle was given a primer coat of Model Master enamel Italian dark brown applied by air brush. This allowed me to check the previous putty work and correct any problems before applying the basecoat. The basecoat is my own custom mix of 50-50 MM enamel light gray/panzer dunkelgelb and was applied by airbrush in multiple thin passes to slowly build it up over the primer coat and avoid losing detail in the process. Using a reference photo as well as the kit box art, I applied the three-tone camouflage scheme next. First I applied the olivegrun portion of the pattern using MM enamel khaki and then the rotbraun portion using a custom mix of 50-50 MM enamel military brown/leather. Minor overspray was corrected here and there and then a light mist coat of the basecoat color applied from a distance of roughly 12 inches to tie everything together.

The road wheels, sprockets, and steering wheels were also painted at this point. The parts were mounted on toothpicks with small amounts of poster blue tack putty to make it easier to handle them and were primered the same as the vehicle. The rubber portions were painted using MM enamel gunmetal by airbrush and then a draftsman’s circle template used to mask them off and spray the basecoat mix for their hubs.

All of the paint work sat and was allowed to fully cure for 1 week since I only build on the weekends before I started in on the detailing. Returning to the driver’s cab area, I detailed the seats that had been left uninstalled until now. The seats were base coated with MM enamel leather, then dry-brushed with a tan “wood” mix I keep on hand, followed by dry-brushed enamel gunmetal, leather, and one more pass of the tan mix to create a layered and worn look to the cushions. All of the gear shifts and levers were painted and detailed using MM non-buffing metalizer gunmetal for their metal portions and enamel gunmetal for their knobs. The same was applied to the driver’s steering wheel and the instrument panel faces were picked out and detailed as well before the wheel was permanently installed in position. I also applied a wash of enamel burnt umber to create some wear and grime in this area and lightly stippled some burnt umber on the sides of the armored cab to show scuffs and wear.

The six crew Kar98 personal weapons were also detailed and installed at this point. The rifles needed to be heavily modified to fit properly in terms of having the trigger guards removed and their butts trimmed down significantly but none of that is visible after installation. Each of the rifles was painted and then carefully installed with liquid glue one at a time in their holders on both fenders.

I also touched up the details on the drive sprockets and installed them along with the road wheels and front steering wheels in their permanent positions on both sides. The lower hull sides were “pre-weathered” by stippling some enamel burnt umber to simulate various scuffs and scrapes from thrown dirt, rocks, etc. and an overall wash of raw umber also applied. The rear deck was also weathered at this point prior to installing the Flak 38 by applying a layered approach. The first layer was stippled enamel burnt umber followed by an overall wash of enamel raw umber. Once the wash had dried, I heavily dry-brushed the original basecoat color and then stippled some enamel raw sienna in the areas that the gun crew would stand/walk to simulate dirt and mud accumulation.