Another beauty, Bill, thanks for all the SBS. I definately like the weathering you've been doing lately. Even though I wouldn't think it's possible, each build gets better and better. Looking forward to the next one.

Your model is amazing!(extreme understatement) What are you going to do next. Diorama? Vignette? Or just leave it the way it is, perfect!

A treat for the eyes

Richard

"Building is easy. Painting is hard. Weathering is harder. Not going crazy doing the above is hardest."

Great work bill. Most panzers leave me cold but the SPGs and Jagdpanzers interest me and I really like the shape of this one so I'll be bookmarking this thread.

Great looking work, I've got a question for you. Is that the Testors Enamel colors you're using for the dot/fading on the camo? If so, how did you get it to blend so well? I just tried it on a Panther (basic Model Master Sandgelb finish) and it made a bit of a mess of the base paint job (darkened it, streaks of different colors). Thanks for any input or tips you can provide.

Quoted Text

---

Great looking work, I've got a question for you. Is that the Testors Enamel colors you're using for the dot/fading on the camo? If so, how did you get it to blend so well? I just tried it on a Panther (basic Model Master Sandgelb finish) and it made a bit of a mess of the base paint job (darkened it, streaks of different colors). Thanks for any input or tips you can provide.

---

Sean,

Yes, I used either Testors regular or Model Master enamel colors for the dot filters and fading. The key to getting it to blend is selection of colors and working in small sections at a time. If the dots are allowed to sit too long, they will start to "harden" and become very difficult to blend properly. To blend them, you have to use repeated strokes of a thinner dampened brush, continuing to work with them until they virtually disappear. The goal here is to produce a very subtle shade variation, so if you're seeing vivid streaks you've either used too much paint in your dots and/or didn't repeat the strokes enough. The dots need to be fairly small as well, some of the colors such as white, yellow, red, etc. are very powerful in small quantities so a little goes a very long way. Here's an example of what I mean by the strokes required:



As far as the issue of paint darkening goes, this may be driven by your choice of colors for the filters/washes and also whether or not you lightened your base coat to compensate. I will typically lighten the base coat for a Dunkelgelb or similar color by adding anywhere from 20% to 50% Light Gray (I prefer that vs. White) as a means to compensate for what I know will happen during the weathering process. HTH!

Thanks for the reply. It looks like maybe I used too much paint with the dots (I noticed the red REALLY over powered everything else). how much thinner should be on the brush. I dip it & give it a quick wipe, maybe there's too much thinner & it spreads it too much? Also, do you allow the brush strokes to encompass a large area or do you focus on a small area at a time to prevent to much cross color contamination ( I noticed all the light colors dissapeared & only the red & raw umber showed up). would you suggest doing the darker & lighter shades in seperate applications to prevent that? and.... I don't have an airbrush, so I use the rattlecans for the base coat and brush paint the rest. Would a wash using a lightened shade of the base coat help/work for lightening the whole thing done in anticipation of the weathering darkening it? while not having as much finesse as the color pre-lightened with the airbrush I'd imagine it would at least come reasonably close to accomplishing the same thing (what shade of light grey do you use by the way?) . Thanks again & sorry for all the questions, i'd just rather not have a repeat of last nights dibacle & ruin all the work done up till now.

Testors Dullcote doesn't usually respond well to enamel thinner. It generally will cause the dulling agent (a fine talcum-like powder) to come out of suspension since it's lacquer based and the enamel thinner can eat through that. Compound that with the fact that a flat coat will have more "tooth" to grab onto the paint pigment and you'll get more pronounced streaking as a result. I prefer to do mine over a sealed coat of Future since it's 1) acrylic and provides a barrier between the enamel base coats and the enamel thinner and 2) it is very durable and can tolerate the repeated brush action necessary. Since it's also a gloss instead of a flat, it provides more flexibility IMHO. Don't be afraid to ask questions and good luck on your next attempt!

Ollie,
Thankfully I was able to rescue the Panther with nail polish remover. The acetone just stripped off the afflicted areas & I was able to just re-paint those areas instead of starting from scratch.

One last thing, more of a perception question, the Tam/Polly-S/Model Master Dark Yellow looks more "Greenish" to me than yellow. It even looks more "greenish" with the way you lightened it. DO you notice the same thing? I've asked a few people & I've gotten mixed answers, some swear it's yellow, while others thing it's a lighter shade of green. Your Thoughts?