nice work so far tskross i too like Jeff have a lot of tamiya's old kits but instead of throwing them away i intend to build them, updating them if i can and scratching parts if necessary, just to improve my skills, the way i see it if i'm going to fudge it up i might aswell do it on an old cheap kit rather than an expensive state of the art dragon kit. keep up the good work mate it's nice to see these old kits making an appearence once again. Ant

Thanks Ant, Jeff and Mark!
It has been fun trying to get the most out of this kit, even if only in the painting stage. I like working within certain limitations (even though the kit was already built when I decided to start this project I told myself that I wouldn't do anything to the kit that I could not achieve with an xacto, pin vise, sand paper, file and putty) I enjoy the creative problem solving that this invites.I think if I had approached the initial build in this way I could have done a bit more but still I've enjoyed it thus far. Having said that I am looking forward to getting one of the latest dragon panther kits next and seeing what I can do with it!! I already have a few ideas floating around in my head...

OK I have completed the first step of the whitewash...It looks a little rough at this point but overall I'm happy with it.
I plan on doing a couple very light white filters over this to tone it down a bit and unify the whitewash layer as well



I used oil paints for the whitewash, titanium white with just a touch of raw umber mixed in. I first brushed on clean odorless mineral spirits (oms) and then gently worked in the un-thinned white mixture. I believe this is what people are talking about when they speak of mapping, letting the paint bleed into a thinner layer, and manipulating the way it flows with the brush.



I am going for the look of a tank that has a hand applied 'paste' whitewash that has been worn and washed off by melting snow. This is an abandoned vehicle so I want to give it a kind of dis-used look.



After the mapping technique, I then went back over in some areas with a small brush with the un-thinned oil paint and roughly painted on marks to represent the 'brushiness' of a hand applied whitewash.



I also worked with a clean fine flat brush to pull down some streaks in some areas for the effect of the water streaming down the sides of the vehicle.



on the flat surfaces I after the mapping and brushing on I then pooled some OMS in areas where water may have puddled up. I then took a clean paper towel twisted to a point and dabbed off the white paint in areas where I thought the crew would have worn off the paint.


So as I said above I'm planning on doing some white filters to tie everything together. I debated about airbrushing on a very thin coat of white, which I actually think would be preferable, but I don't quite trust my airbrush skills enough at this point!

Although it was quite shocking at first to cover up all that work, I'm quite happy with how it has all accumulated thus far, even if there is still some fine tuning to do to the finish. After that it will be on to the final weathering stages, streaking, smoke stains, and then the mud ice and snow!!

It is definitely getting there!

thanks for watching

Just a quick update...
I decided to go the airbrush route...I figured that this is a learning experience after all so why not...

An I think it came out pretty well



It looks better in person, I think my lighting is a bit too harsh to pick up the subtle transparency of the airbrushed layer.



I really need to get a proper lighting setup for night shots, since that is when I usually take these photos!



The next step will be going back and doing some mapping and chipping with the original camo colors, not too much, just to revive a little bit of the original contrast.



Then it will be on to the final weathering stages, streaks, stains, dust, mud and then finally the snow and ice...

Till next time

SORRY i'VE BEEN AWAY, YES I CAN SEE THE WEAR ON THE ROD HOLDER IM INTREAGED Cheers geraint

Looking Good, well worn, how about trying some oil dots of Ice Blue? to try and take some of the flat looking White away. Just a comment but the white looks to flat,not enough depth. almost like it all washed off at the same time. When the Geramans White washed they're tanks the white wash was of different thinkness's, quite rough paint jobs. So when it washed off it was more streeky. Your White wash all seems to be a bit even. Difficult to explain Hope you know what i'm trying to say. try a little some where that you can cover with mud/ dirtif it vdoes'nt work LOL Geraint

yeah geraint, I think you're right...whats another step at this point?!
So oil dot modulation part 2...coming up! At least I can use what I learned from the first steps!

cheers

This is untrue. The "oil dot method' is a filter. It's best explained here: www.missing-lynx.com/rareworld.html

The color modulation is a separate technique used to achieve a totally different effect. The a filter is applied to the entire model where the color modulation gradually lightens the paint as you reach the top of the AFV. Anyway, i've jacked enough time from this thread.

kross, this is an excellent model and I have to say, you are better at making the old Tamiya models look better than I. Great job! I look forward to seeing more of your work!

Justin: your www.missing-lynx.com/rareworld.html results in a 404 page not found error. i got my book marks mislabeled, for oil dot this is what i intended to post because Mig explained it so well.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/133529&page=1

Jusitn, thanks for the kind words, much appreciated, I hope to get some more work done on her this afternnon after work.

As far as the oil dot method being more filter or modulation, well I guess I could see it going either way. As described by adam wilder it seems to me to be a combination of both, a filter that you can apply in a way (through the different colors and tonal values of the oil dots) that allows you to emphasize the lights and darks (going along with the modulation of the airbrush phase of the basecoat) while at the same time adding variation to the hues of the basecolor

But what do I know, I'm just a noob!

OK, just a quickie today,

Well I've managed to fit in some bench time. I focused on mapping with the base camo colors and some payne's grey in some areas. I think it has functioned well to give the white wash a more varied appearance...









After this stage I started to do an oil dot filter as recommended by Geraint above. I finished up the turret, but I didn't have a chance to take any pics yet.

Thanks for watching!
any and all comments welcome as usual

whew, I can't believe its been almost 4 months since I worked on this project!! It has been a very busy summer, new job, long trip overseas and now in the middle of a move! But I just wanted to let you fellas know I am still excited about finishing this project.
I went at the whitewash with 2200 (yes thousand) wet dry sandpaper with mineral spirits and I am much happier with the way it looks. As soon as I get settled in the new place I'll take some pics and get back to work.
thanks so much to everyone who has followed and commented on this thread, I won't let you down!

That old Tamiya Panther marked my return to modelling too, after a 20+ year hiatus. Your efforts overshadow my own, and not by just a little bit. I anxiously await the finished product.

I don't have much to contribute, but I just wanted to say that I learned a lot from your return to modeling. Great job! Very, very realistic!

JB

OK I promised some photos here they are:









To get to this point I wet sanded the model (mostly the large open areas) with a very fine 2200 grit sandpaper moistened with odorless mineral spirits.
Next I plan on going back with a slightly different shade of white and adding some selective areas of mapping and drips of paint. Hopefully I won't have to go back and wet sand again!!
It has really been a great experiment, using all kinds of different techniques, just kind of figuring it out as I go along and I look forward to getting some more bench time in soon!

Unfortunately I'm still in the process of unpacking...almost there but I expect it will be awhile before I can get any new work done on this one. But I will keep going little by little!


Oh yeah and don't mind the peeling paint on the barrel, this is from getting a little overzealous with the sanding!! I'll clean it up before the next stage!

looks really good! although i dont understand your method for sanding it all the time?

wow.. this is my first AFV kit ever.... i still remember how costly it was those days. In fact this is my first tamiya kit and i still remember when i first opened the box, it was a priceless experience touching the "all new" plastic and i love the details i i said to mom "no wonder it's so expensive, see the quality..........."

you have done marvelous job and effort finishing this and far more better than my DML Panther.
so despite all the bad things they said about the kit, u took a very good care of it..

nice man

@james,
yes I maybe took the sanding too far, but for me it is a good way to backtrack the process without totally starting over. I wasn't happy with the way the whitewash worked and really liked what other people had achieved with the hairspray or salt technique, but obviously it was too late for that so instead I decided I could use the sanding to achieve a similar effect. Obviously I don't think it would work in all situations but for this project I am quite happy with the results (as part of the overall process)

I grew up on the old tamiya kits and I loved them then, I built everything I could get my hands on! Although they have serious issues by today's standards, they are definitely still fun to build, more so even than some of today's offerings IMO. And it has been the perfect canvas to practice my painting skills on

TSKRoss,

May I congratulate you on a bully job with that Panther! This is most excellent! I hope it wins an award at a show soon! It should!

It's nice to see a master modeler take a kit such as an older Tamiya kit and turn it into a nice model. Although this forum is very supportive of its members, I do see quite a few references to new DML kits far better than the old Tamiya kits, and why bother with the older kits, etc. I hope this demonstrates what a great modeler can do with ANY kit.

I personally have a stash of DML and other later kits, but still continue to purchase the older Tamiya's when the price is right. I build them as best as I can and then use them for airbrush practice. I am presently working on a Stug III and a T-34/76 1943. But they'll be nowhere as nice as this!

Keep up the good work, I am going to bookmark this for future use!

Bill B.

OK this update has been a long time coming!!

first off where I am now:


the whitewash is finished!!
Well I think so anyways...after doing this process I now understand why some modellers really dread it!



After I sanded down the previous layer (see me post above) I prepared a mixture of 1/2 powdered mica (basically white pigment) 1/4 mineral spirits and 1/4 white oil paint. I used a small 000 brush and gradually built up the mixture, trying to get the washed off whitewash effect.



I tried to keep varying the effect by mapping (using the brush and clean mineral spirits to push the pigments around) using a stiff bristled brush to pull the pigments down the surfaces of the vehicle and stippling to build up areas of thick pigments.



Overall I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, and I'm ready to move onto the next step, weathering...
I think I'm getting closer to getting the look of an abandoned, cold piece of steel that I originally wanted!

Looking forward to your comments and critiques!

I think it's shaping up splendidly! Before these last steps it did appear as another person commented, and I paraphrase here, the whitewash appeared a bit flat and too even looking. I think probably the best way to describe it was it looked like a car when it sits in a garage for a long time and gets a layer of dust on it. The dust will lay fairly evenly on the surfaces. I see whitewash as being more three dimensional in appearance accentuated by the wear and erosion which would show the different thicknesses that occurred when it was pasted on. I am seeing that more clearly now.

@William, I'd hardly call myself a master! But thank you for the kind words. I am also constantly inspired by the work I see on this site and it is one of the things that keeps me going!

@Jim, thanks for keeping up with the thread. The finish is much more varied now. One problem I have is my setup for taking pictures, it is usually too dark so I have to manipulate the brightness and contrast in PS to make the images readable and in the process the white always looks a little flat...when I'm done I'll be sure to get some decent shots.

Well I had the day off today, and I'm looking forward to a killer 7 days of work so I decided to treat myself to some bench time...I'm so sick of this thing sitting there unfinished!!

So I went to work on the running gear, adding dirt and mud. Below you can see an in-progress shot. Since for me this is a hobby in every sense of the word I try to save money by using what I have available (but I guess being an artist I have some pretty decent stuff laying around... ) So instead of using pigments I use pastels (chalk not oil) and grind them myself. The advantage of this is that I can mix my own blends of colors and make subtle changes as I go...



So since eventually this panther will be depicting a cold and lonely beast I didn't want to overdo the mud, since most of the ground is frozen in winter, but at the same time I wanted it to show some dirt and wear. Thinking in this direction I mixed up a medium dark blend of pigment and mixed it with oderless mineral spirits, some cold wax medium and a gel medium (oil mediums available at at supply stores) I tried to keep the first layer thin.



I then mixed a very dark mixture with alot of medium to make a thick, almost dry, paste to build up the areas f caked on dirt around the running gear and fenders, being careful not to overdo it.



I then continued on in the progress changing the hues and tones of the mud mixture and blending them together with a stiff brush, gradually fading out to a light grey tone to represent the driest mud.



The next step was to put oil stains in the areas that were likely to show them the most, soaked through the mud. I will say that having good reference photos was especially helpful for this part.
And to finish of this stage I then went back with a short stiff bristle brush and sprayed the lower half of the vehicle and undercarriage, I did 3 passes, starting with a med-dark mixture, then a ligh warm toned brown, and finishing with the light grey again.



Overall I'm fairly pleased, I don't think it is too much, but it is enough to get across the feeling of a vehicle that has been in the field in the winter.
I also gave the tracks the same pigment treatment, but they are still drying so no picks. The only thing I have to do before I put it all together are the metal effects on the sproket teeth and the tracks.
I should say that Antonio Martín Tello's article in EiC2 "Frozen Hell" proved invaluable to me in this process.

As always, comments and criticisms are welcome!!

well I got off work an hour earlier than I expected today so I went ahead and put the tracks on and metalized things with a graphite stick.
I still have to get the track sag right (any tips on how to do this best????) and then just do a once over and clean up any detail areas that need it. So its pretty much done for now...until I put the snow on. I want to give it a windblown, dry snow look, so I was thinking I would pick a wind direction and then use an acrylic modelling paste to create mini drifts over some of the raised portions of the tank and then add snow to that to give it the right look. Any tips would be much appreciated.
Does anyone have a favorite snow product? I hear that baking powder yellows over time. I picked up some woodland scenics snow and it looks ok but maybe not quite fine enough for what I had in mind...

anyways on with the pics....







you can see I managed to break off the travel lock in the process of putting on the tracks...d'oh!! but it should be an easy fix...








Sorry for the load of pics, but I always like to see other people's detail shots so I thought I'd include some
I hope that the pics are better this time (but fear they aren't!)

looking forward to hearing any comments or crtiques guys

and...just for fun....

Great piece you built there! It's very cool how it all came together at the end like that regarding the finish.

I'll be interested to see what you come up with for snow. I hadn't heard that about baking soda yellowing before, but considering that it has absorbant properties I can imagine it taking things out of the air and discoloring. I wonder if baking powder is usable? I know it's finer than baking soda and cheap, but I don't know if it has any problems with discoloration over time. I have been pleased with the Woodlands Scenics products I used, but have never used snow or made anything with a winter theme.

There's a guy on YouTube who goes by the name of the Kamloopian who has a lot of instructional videos on diorama type items. He builds lots of sceneries from houses to roads and bridges. He's real good with terrain, vegetation and water effects. He may have a video on making snow. He's a bit spacey which may be a tad off-putting to some people, but I find him entertaining. His materials are easy to find, cheap for the most part, and his methods are easy to follow and well filmed.