Here's my first model since 1982. The old Tamiya Panzer IV straight out of the box (except for filling the various holes and voids to make the hull light proof).

Except for a flat coat that went very wrong, it's mostly done.







This was my first try at a lot of techniques I found on the internet. I'm not too happy with the result. Too much contrast between light and dark to look real. The wash I used was alternately too thick or too thin, and I couldn't control it properly. I'm completely unhappy with the way the tracks look. Too much rust. Not enough...what color should be showing?

Eventually I'll put it on a simple base with these figures (only primered so far).







They're from the kit, but have some simple body part surgery to make them look a bit more dynamic.

Anyway, as this model is being done soley for practice and to learn new skills, please tell me everything I screwed up and what I could do better. Both regarding the vehicle and the figures. Thanks!

I like the weathered paint job. A monochromatic paint scheme Can be a hard one to pull off (at least for myself). One thing that does jump out at me is the rust on the tracks, especially on the inner portion that the road wheels roll on. A very high wear area that would not leave a lot of time for rust to build up if at all. Otherwise a nicely done job. Looking forward to seeing how the figures turn out.

Cheers.
Dave

Nice return to modeling!
The variation in tones on the paint job looks great.

Frank

I started out by priming the tracks with black and then dry brushed them with rust and silver. In hindsight, it's clear that I could have avoided the problem by having a much lighter hand with the rust in the first place.

Since the tracks are clearly the most awful bit on the model, I made an attempt at fixing them. I jjust got done brushing the inner surfaces (that I could reach--I'm not taking those rubber bands off again) with gunmetal and then liberally and randomly dry brushing them with bright silver. It's an improvement, but fine art it ain't. Not worth posting new pics for, that's for sure.

Thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming!

I like the effect you have here. Nice shading. What technique did you use?
thanks
DJ

Wow! You make me feel like I might have actually gotten some of it right.

Well, as I said I did this one for painting practice, so I threw every technique I could find on the internet at it. Let see if I can remember...

-primed with light grey
-pre-shaded anything that might be in shadow
-sprayed a light coat of panzer gray
-post shaded the upper surfaces with lightened panzer gray
-post shaded (filtered?) the wheels and lower hull with darkened the panzer gray with some greenish beige added to make it look oily
-detail painted using random colors for the wood grain
-dry brushed the muffler and exhaust, first with black, then with rust
-futured and decaled

At this point, if I had stopped, I would have been pretty happy. From here I started screwing things up.

-washed heavily with burnt umber/ivory black oils

In some spots this turned out great...in others, well, all you have to do is look I was going for a rain streaked look. It worked best on the front fenders and the rear deck. I think improving is just a matter of practice. I should have used much less black and done several light coats rather than the two heavy coats I used.

-dry brushed with panzer gray

The wash had darkened the model enough that the original base color was light enough for dry brushing. This should have turned out fine, but my technique needs much work. I need a lighter touch, and have to stop sooner.

-flat coated with an old can of Floquil figure flat

This pretty much destroyed the model. I'm hoping that a fresh can might fix it. Any brand recommendations folks?

Yes I agree very nice job,I like the grime buildup and weathering job.Just to offer some advice,my untrained eye says the upper run of track is a little too tight for a Mark III or Mark IV in most models and pictures I remember the upper track run having more sag.but certainly a good return to modelling,enjoy.

Things have changed a great deal. The biggest change has been the rise of pigments in the weathering process, people use pigments (I like MIG the best) to simulate various weather effects. Next is the difference between a filter and a wash. A filter is a VERY subtle process of using highly thined colours to slowly change the base colour and build up a more realistic finish. Next is the wash most people use this to make "Shadows" thus highlighting details that might get lost. Next valuable thing is Testors Dull-Cote this stuff knocks the shine off anything! You say you lost control of your wash, that usually means you used too much I've been there and done that. I don't think your too far off track, just try to control your effects better it's a bit too saturated right now. Lastly the tracks, rusty tracks generally mean they are new. The tracks are more likely to be dirty than rusty, also as others mentioned the rust in in the wrong places it would be on the outsides of the track not on the travel areas.

I think your on the right track but just try to use a more subtle approach and build up your effects. Stop using Flo-quil and get a nice bottle of Dull-Cote, it's a FAR superior product. I'm in the process of revamping my techniques so I can relate to what your going thru.

Looks good. Maybe the fading is a bit overdone and some pastels could "spice" it up a little as already mentioned. But that is basically a matter of taste as AFVs do not need to be heavily weathered.

Good job - it does not look like a "practice" panzer

Don't sweat it too much for your first few builds coming back. For as long a hiatus as you took, it looks damn fine. I think the tracks look ok, flash on a photo is just going to make it much more obvious then it actually is in natural lighting. You could just go over it with a grimy-black wash to tone it down a smidge if you want. It's always good to get people back into this 'real' hobby rather then playing video games