Looks good with that basecoat on. I think you should do an amazingley hard camo
Just go with the best you think you can do

Richard

In the factory:
Flakturm Karl
Morser Karl (Trumpeter initial and prod. kit)

looking really good now justin, the AM stuff you've added have really made the old kit shine can't wait to see it finished.

Ant and Rich,

Thanks so much for still following along on this build. Its been three months now since I've started this project. Your kind words and encouragement have helped keep me going on this bugger.

Rich, i'm going to go with the soft edged "ambush" pattern, the one with the dark yellow "freckles" in the camo. From the links i've recieved from jjumbo and kross, this would be perfect for a J.P from the Ardennes.

Ant, she certainly does look pretty i just want to get her in some sunlight to show off her real beauty. I haven't got off of work before the sun sets in two weeks. Keep up with the build, as your input is greatly appreciated.

Hey guys!

Some camo pics, I just laid down the flat coat so i have to wait for the dark yellow spots.

lookin good! Like the dark tones of the brown and green, should contrast nicely when you go over with the yellow

Yes, I am quite excited to see how she looks. Its raining here and 8:20 in the morning and I am going to work shortly so it looks like there won't be any parties this friday and that means lots of model work. Most likely I'll also start the next tank hunter I've got stashed away a, a Tamiya JagdPanther.

I am going to finish this Jagd. Panzer tonight.

Hey Justin,
I like the camo on your Jagdpanzer, it looks really good but you've got a bit of splattering and overspray.
My suggestion, if you don't do it already, is to try adjusting the nozzles while practicing on some white card before you actually start putting paint to your build.
I use index cards and post-it notes from a stationary store for making stencils and practice my airbrush techniques on.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the finished product.
Cheers

jjumbo

Yes, i noticed the splattering. I am going to go ahead and touch up the overspray/splattering with the appropriate colors. Then move into the dark yellow spots.

Justin,

I have been following your build and you have done a lot of really good work on this kit. I will be watching to see your final results. Keep up the good work.

Darryl

Ah, finally some paint on the old girl. Justin you've put a lot work into that old model and it's paid off. I've followed your build from the beginning and couldn't wait to see some paint on it. I like the camo scheme you've chosen, other than the over spray, it looks great. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Rob

Thanks so much guys!

Darryl, Thanks for following along bud!

Rob, thanks for keeping up with my build when you've got a few of your own. I'm excitied to see the finished wrecked Pz. IV!

BTW, I found out what the splatter is being caused by......bent needle tip

Soooo, since its the weekend and payday, I'm going to go down to the LHS and get a new airbrush this Tamiya spraywork basic w. the pistol grip was good, but I got it mainly for the price: compressor and airbrush for 100 bucks. Now i just need to pick up an airbrush that is compatible w. my compressor.

Pictures coming soon. I've got the camo done and the home-made mud on, and the oil wash finished, just waiting for the matte coat to dry then the wheels go on and the tracks. Then the OVM and viola! shes ready to go.

Well gentlemen, here are the completed camo pictures. I've put the tracks on and applied the mud to the suspension and roadwheels. The paint is still glossy from the gloss coat from the oil wash. Even after 2 different coats of matte. I am going to use pastels to tone her down. Now all I have left is to paint the OVM and some stowage.

Enjoy.

Hi, I've been following your jagdpanzer iv with interest. Your build and camo are awesome!

Please..., try a Mig pigment or two for the mud - you will love it I swear (I used to do it the way you are).

Adding some mixture of sand, plaster of paris, and artists, "acrylic gloss (or matt) medium & varnish" (or "Mig acrylic resin") will make the mud look more earthy versus blobby. You could do this with the paint if you wanted, but I think added to the pigments give it a dry & more natural look.

The mud will blend even more if the area is lightly pre-dusted with Buff or some color.

No offense, you got a great model - just a hopeful / helpful suggestion.

Mig has a really cool book called "FAQ" for AFV's that really always stays on my desk for trying new stuff.

Congrats almost finishing this one, Sgt. Greg

Greg,

Thanks for the tip on the mud. I noticed it looked really blobby, and considering the ingredients..im glad it didnt look like a cupcake!

Mud:
Elmers (white) glue
Baking Powder
Water
Brown acrylic paint

I just put some of the powder in first, then added the glue, and paint next. then the water. Then the mixture puffed up like mad and I had to stir like crazy. Eventually i added some small rocks i found around the barracks.

I greatly appreciate you following along with this guy and the support and help.


Here she is gentlemen all finished up!


116th Panzer Division


Rear End Picture


Her best side


The 70 calibers long, 75mm BOOM Cannon...






Stowage Pictures:

couple helmets, Panzerfaust, and a Gewehr 43. Foreground: "Hey, Heinz, stop the tank, i forgot my hat!"


The hat is sitting on a 75mm ammo crate, next to it is a fuel can, and next to that is a tent








I used Tamiya Enamel paints. Aftermarket kits where the Tristar Pz. IV wheel set and items from the Dragon 3rd Fallschirmjager division kit. Also, the jerry can and tent were from the academy AFV miniature accessories tank supplies set II.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me out through this build and anyone who was kind enough to leave an encouraging message. I have to give jjumbo a huge thank you for his help greatly aided in the process of building this model.

Great build man! Looks real good. What did you use for your finish flat coat? I'm tossing up whether to start my jagdpanzer IV or sturmgeschutz IV next. Are you going to build your Tamiya Jagdpanther next?

smokey,

For the final coat, I used Mr. Hobby dark brown pigment. I just used a brush I have reserved for just this purpose and "sprinkled" a bit over the entire model. Careful, you dont want too much. And then stabbed the brush into the model and brushed side to side, dulling the gloss coat down and giving the model a very dusty and dirty look.

Yes, my Jagdpanther will be next. I am heading to my LHS tomorrow and might pick up a new model there.

Thanks for dropping by on this build and for the kind words!

edit: after reading your question over again, the final sprayed on matte coat was Mr. Hobby Topcoat Flat-Matte.

Hi Justin !

Some observations:

Think scale whenever you are doing something, ie: mud blobs, think what they would look like on the real thing and scale it done. Same thing with Camo, chipping etc.

I think some of the points raised above on the mud are pretty good. A blob of mud just doesn't stick to an area without dirt around it !

The method I use for mud is as follows:

1. The mixture is usually fine dirt, chalk, Mig Pigment (appropriate color) and Acrylic Polish to make it mushy (I use 'Pledge' in Oz, overseas it's generally 'Future').

2. Use a stiff brush to dab it on, not just blobs, but dirty bits around the place also. Have you ever seen clean areas adjacent to big bolbs of mud on a real AFV ?

3. Before you do the above, dust up the lower hull with Mig Pigments to make it dusty.

4. Let it all dry and if needed adjust the result with more 'mud' or scrape off as required. Also use lighter or darker MiG pigments to get a better result though modulation.

Check out the Mig 'Nightvision' DVD to get some tips on dust and mud, it's a great resource. I swear by the Mig products now - I was a bit sceptical early on, but they are really just awesome !!!

Cheers

Paul

Justin,
I have been following your build for quite a while. That is some nice work you did with your jagdpanzer!

outstanding build Justin, well done mate. Ant

Justin: Loctite makes a specific metal to metal bonding superglue, it's Loctite 430. Their general purpose superglue is Loctite 495. They make a rubber bonder that's Loctite 50H and another vinyl/plastic bonder that's Loctite 414. I have used the 414 to glue the rubberband type tracks together and it works very well. These come in standard sized superglue bottles. I have a pint sized bottle of the 414 I got from work, but I assume it is available in the smaller bottle. You may be able to find a cross reference for these to another brand.

You may already know this, but a tip to prolong the longevity of superglues is to keep them in a refrigerator. I keep mine in our 'fridge inside a plastic tub with a lid to prevent any possibility of a spill mishap. I have a couple bottles that are a couple years old that are still perfect.

A comment on the ambush camo: it may not be a 100% rule and I'm certainly no expert, but I believe that the speckles are all three of the camo colors with an application something like the yellow has green speckles, the the green has brown speckles, and the brown has yellow speckles. That may not be the correct combination, but you get the idea. Again, I can't say with authority that a single color wasn't used for the speckled effect. I think the ambush pattern is one of the coolest looking of the camo schemes.

On the mud, a trick I use with cars is to use a toothbrush. I will dip the bristles into the mud stuff and then point the brush at the area of the model I want to dirty up. I draw my thumnail back across the bristles towards the handle. As the bristles spring back forward they throw little specks of dirt and mud in a very realistic irregular pattern of different size particles onto the surface. Once you get the hang of it you can get the larger stuff to stick along the lower edges of the surface while the smaller and lighter stuff splatters up high. It can be a little messy so appropriate measures to contain the excess should be used.

Regardless, that's one fine piece of work! Thanks for sharing the build!

Jim, I have read about something similar although I have yet to personally see a vehicle with such pattern. To me, the way I've painted it makes the most sense. The dark yellow spots representing the light spots from sun rays passing through the treetops, much like a fawns white spots. I don't see the added advantage of red brown and olive green spots.
Also, I have seen sites with the official orders to apply the red brown and olive green in the factory, making it relatively standard compared to the 1943 dark yellow orders that stated red brown and olive green were to be applied as need and by the crews for local camoflage.
So this paint scheme may not have been factory applied and was added by the crews.

RE: ambush camo- here's one i found that uses 2 of the 3 colors: http://www.vmmv.org/tanktk/hetzer/hetzer.htm

and one here that is similar to what you did: https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/75483&page=1

that is the one thing that drives me nutty with German WWII camo- there are regulations that allowed some things, but those things have never been proven to have been done. there were differences in shades of colors and as you point out, who knew what could come out of a field application. it seems for every hard and fast rule, somebody can show evidence of an exception. some people say wartime shortages of materials existed and caused variations in production; others insist no such shortages ever occurred implying things went on like clockwork until the end. personally, i find the latter hard to accept knowing a little bit of WWII history. the best thing i accepted to maintain my sanity on the subject was accept the terms "always" and "never" do not ever apply to WWII German camo within the normal scope of usage. "usually" and "sometimes" are always more accurate! (pun intended!)

Jim,
Thanks for those links. Although they are museum re-creations, which from what i have seen can be blatantly inaccurate, they are useful tools.

Justin, well she turned out mighty nice, great job!! My only critique on the camo pattern is that technically the yelow 'spots' were created by spraying over a stencil of circles so that the ;spots; were actually the negative space in-between the circles and would have had concave curves (see below). Having said that I think you got the effect pretty good without your airbrush!

@Jim
The scheme dislayed here technically isn't an 'ambush scheme' but a 'disc type' camo sometimes referred to as TII. The difference is that the ambush pattern was applied by either spraying the green and brown on over the yellow in circle shapes by hand or using a cut out circle (the inside, or donut hole part) and then dark yellow dots or triangles were added over top.
The disc type was made by first painting the soft edge three color camo scheme (just as Justin did) and then cutting out a few dozen circles, taping them together so they slightly overlap to make a stencil and then overspraying the dark yellow so that it fills in the spaces between the circles (the negative space from around the outside of the circles) I know its kind of difficult to express in words but if you click on the links I posted on the last page you can get a good idea of what I mean.
It was a pretty rare pattern probably because of the complexity of application but it has been documented on Jagdpanzer IVs from the ardennes and some panthers from the LAH (as seen in te heimdal book)

Anyways, great job Justin...now onto the Jagdpanther??

kross,

thanks for a bit of clarification on that one. Yes, started working on the Jagdpanther just before finishing the Jagdpanzer IV. After this weekend, I am about 80% finished with her, just the road wheels need to be put on after being painted, the tracks on, and ovm tools painted and placed, then final weathering.