Folks:

I am seeking some advice on the paint scheme of my WIP Pz 1A (Tristar kit 003) intended to represent a ca - 1937 "training umpire's vehicle" with the then-current "Bundfarbenanstrich" scheme.

I used a "hard-edge" pattern (most photos seem to show patterns that were hard-edged, although sprayed / feathered patterns and black-line delineation were also used). I applied the primary scheme using mixes of Tamiya acryls to represent my interpretations of the RAL "erdgelb", "braun" and "grun" colours. (Yeah, there is now apparently a paint set out there for these colours, but I neither have it nor the patience to wait for it to ever come, so...!)

I sprayed the 3 colours, followed by some brush touch-ups to sharpen-up blotch edges.

I think this "raw state" is a slightly too-colour-contrasty scheme which needs some toning-down...

I plan to road-dust and add some light washes and, of course, detail. As it was a newish tank at the time, and it was still "peace", I do not plan on much wear n tear, chipping and the like.

So: please advise! All comments are of course welcome! How would I best fade it to achieve an overall softening of the colours?

Note: some parts are loose and the pics are quick snaps, so...!







Thanks for looking and THANKS in advance for any criticisms and / or advice you may wish to offer!

you can try airbrushing thinned Buff over the top panel surfaces and some on the upper areas of the side panels. i had a thread a while back on doing the same thing to a three tone camo... here's the link. just scroll down a bit and there's a SBS on some methods.

cheers, bd.

Meaty;

Thanks! I was sort of thinking spraying or maybe brushing on a thin coat of something pale - I had been looking towards "deck tan" or maybe an interior "elfenbein" type...

Now, as the base job is acryl- should this brush-on or spray-on be an enamel, to avoid possible damage to the acryl coats?

in theory, acrylics go over enamels better than enamels over acrylics but if the base coat has dried for a day or more you can pretty much spray anything over any type of paint (but it is best to keep to one family of paint types if you have the option).

the best would be to airbrush rather than hand brush because you want to be subtle and to fade/blend this overspray with the base colours. try using a piece of cardboard to block mask areas so you don't spray over everything. hope this helps, cheers, bd.

All;

Thanks for looking and for the comments offered!

My "1937 Panzer IA "training umpire's tank" in the then-current "Feuersicherlich Buntfarbenanstrich" camo scheme completed last Friday nite (28 JAN 2011) and went off to the Calmex model show in Lake Charles, LA., Saturday.

It received a wash of Tamiya decktan and sand to mellow down the colors a little, some pinwash, a oilwash in van dycke brown, a light earth spray on the lowers, and some light chalk dusting. The red and white banner is a paper emulation of the standard 1937-era markings for company commanders and umpires during training.

Here's a snap from the show. Thanks for looking and any comments are welcome! I plan on posting some pics later when I get my camera back to working right.

Cheers!

Bob

Looks like bd gave you some good advice. it turned out very well.