Also built my Panzerwerfer 42 - a little kit that I've long wanted to build.

OOTB, no AM for me for the forseeable future

For some reason it really inspired me to go for a faded hard edge camo look...

This is the result

Hi Trifon!

That kit turn out really well. I like the camo you have painted on it.
My only advice, would be to weather it a little more, but, I think it is just a matter of taste.

Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Pablo

Amigo de gracias!

I've been trying to keep my weathering impuplses in check lately....

Another good result from you. One small thing - I can see the outline of the clear part of the decals- to get around this problem myself I always cut to the edge of the colour with a knife before applying decals.
Great job though

This one also looks great. How did you paint the camouflage? How did you mask the colours? It's.... perfect ;

The decals here looks much better comparing to the flakpanzer (beside the small silvering issue). Some more pronounced brown washes would be good. If you can get the Mig production Brown Wash (ready to use) it gives great effects.

spit

Pat, Spit, thanks!!!

Argghhhhhhhh, the decal silvering nightmare..... yeah, sometimes I get it sometimes I don't...... but to be honest, the pics are too "unforgiving". They really don't silver at all to the naked eye...

As for the masking..... very easy really! Simple A4 copy paper straight from my printers tray, cut in nice long wavy curves with the scissors, wrapped around the kit carefully and held together with masking tape after the base was good and dry and sprayed the camo colors not very diluted, carefully and VERTICALLY to the masks.

The paper mostly did not touch the model, except for most corners and stayed approx 1mm away from it.

As for the weathering, I feel like the alcoholic who is trying to quit and his friends are going "C'mon have another beer/vodka whatever"......

I'm trying to keep weathering down as I used to really go overboard with it. What you see on this kit is:

1. whitened paint for a faded look
2. wash with oils - burnt and raw sienna
3. filters with enamels and oils - whitish enamels for rainstreaks and red oil for rust streaks.
4. 2-3 hands of drybrush with progressively lightened enamels (from buff to white)
5. ground pastels in corners, panel lines and around projections.
6. Matte Topcoat to seal everything and flatten the various shades.

Trifon, I'm so glad you published these photos; I'm currently scratch building a 1/76 scale one of these armoured Maultiers over on the Braille Battlefield campaign, and from studying photos of the real thing, there's a couple of bits that I haven't been able to get clear. Mainly that sticking out flap plate on the side of the engine compartment - in old b&w photos its profile can be hard to see. On your model, this detail is very clear in your lovely sun lit photos. Also you've provided me with a good clear view of the top surface, something always rare among photos of the real thing!

I am building the 24x8cm rocket version (Vielfachwerfer), so although it has rails instead of the tubes, mostly it is identical, including most of the rotating launcher platform. A detail that I think may be missing from yours is the armoured electrical cable that emerges from a hole in the side of those curved vertical arms and goes up to the rocket tubes - it may be of course that you have a photo showing that they don't all have that cable!

Leaving that to one side, I really like your paint job and I actually think the colouring and weathering on the upper half of the vehicle is very good. On the decals, you're right about the unforgiving photos - as I said above, you took these photos in sunlight, I think, which gives a lovely crisp and detailed look - and is guaranteed to show up any shiny spots!

On the weathering, all I would suggest is maybe a little more on the tracks and tyres where they contact the ground, and maybe darkening down the underside (e.g. the suspension springs etc. visible at the front of the vehicle.)

Incidentally, photographs do suggest that, unlike with gun barrels, rocket tubes do end up getting stained or blackened with the exhaust from the rocket propellant, at both ends of the tubes as well as on the vehicle itself. Photos of these things in action suggest that the tubes were often fired pointing up and to the rear. The reason for this is that after firing, the rocket exhaust trails betray the position of the firing vehicle exactly, so I believe that the rockets would be loaded, the crew would get back in the vehicle, close all the hatches, fire, then drive off in the opposite direction . . . anyway, this would result in exhaust marks on that flat roof.

Your build came out real solid Trifon, I echo the comments about the colors used. Did you use the kit wheels on the front?

@ Jeremy, thanks for dropping by! Yes, these are the kit wheels, came out quite nice didn't they?

@ Brian, thanks for commenting. After the comments here about the decals I took a closer look at them last night and this is what I found: As I had done exactly as you suggested (decals on pure camo, then weathered over, then matte topcoat) it seems that as the decals are a bit on the thick side, the topcoat (I used Mr.Hobby spray) has pooled around the decals and whitened a bit when dry, giving the pseudo-silvering effect...!!! Really don't know how to correct this...

Hi Trifon. Nice job on the old Italeri Panzerwerfer. The camo looks great.
Its a pity you had some issues with the decals. I find gloss coating before and after decals helps hide the edge and silvering problem. Takes extra time, but its the end result that counts. This also protects them from reacting with the weathering steps. I also use micro sol and set system, which has served me well for many years.

To avoid the silvering it's necessary that decals are perfectly tight to the surfaces

When I used to be an aircraft modeller, dealing with the decals was one of the steps that i mostly hated (and this is one of the reasons why I switched to tank modelling )

Firstable I applied a gloss coat on the model
When the gloss coat was cured I applied decals and stencils using the decal setter. I used the microscale products, nowadays it is possible to use the Gunze stuff
When the decals were in place, I softened them using the decal softener. Decals softener seamed to "melt" the decal but it was just a momentary appearance. It was important to never touch the decal during this step. When the softener was evaporated (...and if I did all in a right way) decals were perfectly tight to the model surfaces.
After the softener phase I used to apply another thin glass coat to definitely hide the film.
Finally, if it needed, I applied a matt or a satin coat.

It was boring, but unfortunately there weren't alternatives

In tank modelling decals are maybe less important, but anyaway , process is more or less the same:

1 gloss coat
2 decals with setter
3 decals softener
4 gloss coat
5 matt coat

The main difference consists in the fact that Usually tank decals are smaller than aircraft ones, so I can apply the entire process only in the areas where the decal are going to be placed

But, of course, stencils are A LOT easier to use!.

Anyway Trifon, in my opinion your model is nice indeed

You did the camo in a very convincing way in my opinion


cheers

Forget that . . . cable is only on the 8cm launcher only.

However, I think you have the back doors on upside down . . . that kind of rectangular plate on the door, presumably a hatch with a hinge, should be on the left hand door and with the hinge at the bottom:
http://en.valka.cz/files/maultier15cmnbw-05.jpg
http://www.achtungpanzer.com/images/sdkfz41_6.jpg

Nice little kit you have there. Exceptional job on the camo and weathering. Now all you need to do is pair it against a Sherman with a calliope.

Excellent build Trifon. Love the hard edge camo and weathering.