Ola Jerry

I have followed this thread all through. Read every comment. And when I saw the paintjob I thought "yikes" that looks rough. But when I checked it better I think most of it looks rough because in most spots the paint is more translucent then other and you see the streaks. If you take a largish soft brush and dilute the paint a bit so it flows better and applies smoother. And with very soft strokes apply it to the camo spots so you cover the paintstreaks Then It already looks much better. And if you go over it with oil dot fading, washes and filters you'll see it is quite salvageable. Some parts could still benefit from hiding under foliage but all in all I would not say the paintjob is bad.

On the subject of painting in the field.. It is not like at one point they simply stop in the middle of a field. A BMW R75 with sidecar pulls up next to them. Tosses out some tins of paint and beelines it out of there. Even in the "field" they will end up in a frontline depot of sorts where all that paint is stored. And usually they have a compressor around for those jobbies. That said of course vehicles will have been handpainted but given that a soldier will always try to make his own work as easy for himself as possible I think if a compressor and spraygun is available he will definately use it.
And I can understand the reasoning behind the handpainted look. But if you look at your doorframes for instance. You might see different levels in the paintcoat but most of those levels are within a margin of a mm. 1:1 this is quite visible. But a 35th of 1 mm is not visible at all. Same goes for visible brushstrokes. If you go for the handpainted look I think it is best to use the technique I mentioned above. Thinned paint gently applied with a soft brush

By the way... we work too neat on our models

You are correct,there were a lot of organized ways to get painting done in the field and most werkstats had at least one airbrush working off a regular commpresor but I heard last week from an old Panzermanner that once helped cammo his tank with leaves dipped in paint and then smeared on!

Jerry,both the work and research you have done on this build are immpecable.Any field applied camo(pre factory painted) leaves you LOTS of leeway.I find that the field applied finish is much more difficult to replicate than standard factory finishes and I too believe that we overstrive for neatness in our modelling efforts.The vehicle crews didn't often have the time,compressors or the concern that we show.This is a great build and I'm following it as closely as I'm able.I'm trying to gain some strength after 10 days of brain radiation,so please forgive any spelling mistakes!Keep up yhe good work,Cheers...Murray McLennan

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You are correct,there were a lot of organized ways to get painting done in the field and most werkstats had at least one airbrush working off a regular commpresor but I heard last week from an old Panzermanner that once helped cammo his tank with leaves dipped in paint and then smeared on!

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Oh yeah I know those stories as well that the crews used anything from branches to Bedsheets on a stick and ye olde Broom and in my theory this was usually done with stuff you mix in a bucket. Stuff like the famous Dust/Sand/Mud camo that was used a lot on the eastern front and Afrika or white-wash camo. Stuff that doesn't need to look good but that needs to cover. And that needs to cover quickly. I think that covers about 90% of the cases. Some chats I had with German relatives who served during the war kinda confirm that.
That said there are still countles examples of handpainted vehicles so it is not all that weird. And painting camo with a leaf? Damn.. hope he had to paint a motorcycle. Otherwise he would be busy for a while.

I remain my own worse critic and have never given myself a glowing review.

Yes! Paint looks great and the mud on the treads and tires is awesome. That does look a lot better. Looking forward to the weathering

Just outta curiosity, what were the logs used for? Extra armor?

-Conor

Now, your camo looks amazing! The dirt on the suspension is excellent! Do you still plan on covering it with foliage?

Jerry, you have nothing to worry about with the paint job fella, nice work indeed.

Regards

Dan