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Building a Panzer IVJ - Part 1

The next level of drybrush is the artsy level. It’s sole purpose is to give depth to the model by artificially lightening the higher spots to contrast the shadowy wash. You may simply add some white to your basecoat or use a lighter shade of a different color-it’s a matter of choice. I used interior buff. This drybrush should be about half the pressure used in the first session. Trying to get just the highest spots to pick up the pigment .
The final level of drybrushing is once again a realistic level. It will cover some of the previous “artsy” level but that’s O.K. It just doesn’t look right if you don’t have that “artsy” level underneath, one of those...”I can’t put my finger on it but it don’t look quite right” things. Get a 1/4” soft brush and your bottle of Model Master buffing exhaust metalizer paint. This drybrush will hit the areas of highest wear. Fender edges, turret top edges, tow hooks lower hull edges.....basically anywhere the paint has been totally worn off. Model Master exhaust is very dark-almost black, and I think the perfect color for bare metal on armored vehicles. I never want to see silver drybrushed on a tank! (Note: The only exception is drive-sprocket teeth.) Once you have the corners and edges drybrushed get your brush to a point where you can drybrush a pattern of scratches and hit the hull front, the front of the gun barrel turret and hull sides, anywhere that the paint may be scratched and scraped off. Don’t paint the tip of your gum barrel black to simulate a sooty build up. Unless the tip of the barrel of the tank your building was painted black it should not be given a sooty look. Tank ammo did not blacken the end of the barrel. Maybe after thousands of rounds and no cleaning...This is another artsy thing some modelers do. Maybe you think I’m wrong? Maybe I am? Show us some wartime photos... Next take that thin brush and the exhaust paint and just randomly put some specks here and there for chipped paint.