Hi all

I am building a Tamiya 1/16 King Tiger at the moment and am at the painting stage. I have done a reasonable job (IMHO) getting the texture, weld seams, etc all sorted and have got her primed with a dark hull-red.

This is the second time I am painting this monster. The first time I was very happy with the paint and the weathering and then I ruined it all by over-weathering it and then added insult by screwign up hand-painting the numbers on the turret. I was gutted, and having spent a lot of time, effort and cash on it, decided it was not good enough, so i stripped it back and am ready to go again. I must be some sort of masochist!

This time though I want to try somehting different. first time out I painted an Ambush scheme... 3 tones with the dots. It looked fantastic but I soon realised that one of the problems with such a complex camo scheme was that many of the little details such as the butterfly bolts,, the texturing etc, got lost in the busy camo. So I have decided that I would like to try to give her a whitewash so that the details etc stand out.

My inspiration is a well known photo of #300 in Hungary I think in the Winter of 44/45.

I would gratefully appreciate your advice on the best way to whitewash. This is my thoughts on the order...

1st - dark primer
2nd - all over dunkelgelb
3rd - green
4th - brown
5th - clear to seal it
6th - light washing to blend
7th - white built in layers to leave traces of the camo coming through on edges and high wear areas 9should this be flat white or tinted with grey or brown maybe?)
8th - chipping (not at all sure this is correct)
9th - light washes
10th - detail weathering with grime / rust etc in the applicable areas
11th - sealed with matt clear

Please tell me what you think. does this order look about right? Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of? Any clever methods I should know about?

The end result should be of a KT that has seen a bit of action, lost a few fenders, fired a few shots, was whitewashed recently enough that most of it is still in place but not too recently so it looks new.

Thank you for any advice you may be able to provide.

Noel

Hi,

What I think would be good to try for a white washed vehicle is the hairspray technique. I have never tried it before but it doesn't look very difficult. Heres a topic on the Mig Productions forums which is all about the technique. You may even be able to find some articles here about painting white washed vehicles but I'm not sure if I've ever found anything. Just look around the features section.

Thread: http://www.migproductionsforums.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3293

Hope this Helps

Evan

Hi Noel,
I assume you're talking about '300' of sPzAbt.509 photo'd in the region Lake Valence, Hungary Jan'45.
I built this same KT a while ago, though in 1/35th. Here:




More pics here: White KT

If this is the sort of look you want? The whitewash method is pretty simple to do.
And much easier and less destructive than the hairspray method.

It also depends on what type of paints you use;enamels or acrylics?

These were also done with the same method (basically) :



In the T34's blog there's a short explanation of the whitewash method (on page12). Here:
T34 blog

Anyway, take a look at the explanation/pics and see what you think.
If you fancy it and need more info or a better explanation, let me know.

Best, Grant.

Grant, that is exactlly the KT I was thinking of doing, but maybe with newer whitewash like the Panzer you have also attached. I read your methods in the link you sent... seems pretty simple to me but very effective. I like simple and effective! Any further tips for the newer look?
Noel

Hi Noel,
With the Pz.IV I was going for a 'depot level' complete whitewash look, which made it easier.
No layering or fading, just a simple allover white job.

Everything was sprayed Lifecolors acrylic 'Panzergrau' :


This was then all sealed with a thinish enamel gloss coat.

Then a complete coat of acrylic white.
To do the worn and chipped areas on this one I actually used soap powder.
Sprinkled or dabbed on and then washed off with a water pistol..


This was before I discovered using acrylic airbrush cleaner and is a lot more risky. With soap powder you're rushed because you have to do for the paint dries too much. And you're never too sure how much is going to come off.
Believe me, with the airbrush cleaner it's a lot more controlable and you can take your time.

For the newer/less worn look; I just tried to go for places that would be walked on or get the most knocks.





Hope this helps some.
Grant.