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Building the Panzer 1

weathering

Weathering began by giving the model an all-over coat of Tamiya X-22 Gloss. This only needed to be a very thin coat so that the decals could be applied properly, but more importantly, a pin-wash could be applied around the details.

The beauty of using an acrylic clear coat is that the decals and wash can be applied almost immediately with no drying time required. If you use an oil wash that is! I applied 3 decals consisting of the Balkenkreuz and two tactical signs. After this I immediately began to apply a pin wash around all the details. I did this by putting a dollop of burnt umber oil paint in an old cleaned out Tamiya bottle and adding a couple of millilitres of white spirit. After a really good shaking it was ready. Using a very fine brush I applied this thin mixture around all details, in between panels etc. This is a tedious process, it takes a long time, but the appearance makes it worth it! I always keep a clean brush by me and some clean white spirit so any mistakes or over-application can be rectified straight away.

When all details were done, I used neat burnt umber straight from the tube and placed tiny drops under various fittings to be ‘dragged’ down with a clean brush to simulate rust runs down the armour. When I was happy with the appearance I gave the model an all over coat of Hannants Xtracrylix Flat Varnish, and then a light misting around the running gear and hull bottom of Tamiya XF-52 Flat Earth.

Next, I applied Mig pigments P028 European Dust to the tracks, grinding it in with an old brush making sure it had reached all the nooks and crannies between the links. This pigment was the scrubbed into the bottom of the hull around equipment and fittings and into the running gear.

The very last thing I did was to rub some powdered graphite onto the tools, machine gun and outside edges of the track links.

conclusion

I enjoyed building this model, considering that at times it presented difficulties. The track links proved very fragile. The instructions needed to be followed very carefully. Yet as I say, I enjoyed it. I think it builds into a beautiful representation of the vehicle, and is by all accounts, accurate too. What else could you want? I intend getting another two at some stage to build the other two variants. I can recommend this kit to anybody interested in early German armour.

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