Hey all,

I have been out of the modeling game for a few years. I decided to get back into it, I would start with this Tamiya Panther. I love the 1/48th since it takes up less space, but still has good detail.

I bought a couple aftermarket parts from RB Model for this kit. Barrel, MG, and 75mm shells.



Got the turret finished and RB Model barrel on. Just had to drill out a slightly bigger hole to make the barrel fit. I love the detail it has, and how there is no seam



Dry fitting the wheels on



....and dry fitting the hull and turret all together..



I am thinking of doing a primer coat of Rust Red and then a base coat of of the German Yellow. Then I will apply the brown and green camo pattern typical of German tanks. (Forgive me for lack of terminology, I have been out of the game a while)

This will be my first time using an airbrush so I am excited but nervous. I am going to use Tamiya paints as I have always like them and their quality. Let me know what you guys think and if there are any tips and pointers you may have for someone getting back into it. Thank you!

-Joe

Practice your airbrush skills on a piece of scrap styrene. If you hadn't already attached the wheels, I would recommend leaving them off, for ease of painting. Other than that, you have a solid looking build. What are your intentions for the shells?

I AB almost exclusively with Tamiya paints. I recommend using their yellow cap lacquer thinner. The white cap thinner will also work but I get a smoother finish with the yellow cap. I thin the paint pretty heavily and spray at low pressure working close to the surface. It takes longer but I find I have greater control and just build up the layers slowly. Like all else, experiment and find what works for you. Good luck. Look forward to seeing the final product.

I find Mr. Leveling Thinner produces a better result than either of the Tamiya specific ones. If you want a dead-flat finish, you can thin them, with isopropyl alcohol.

Thank you! Yea I have been spending a lot of time practicing and watching videos. I also bought a book which is very detailed and well written.

I plan on placing a few spent shells on the rear deck of the Panther kind of like they were thrown out of the turret to make room.

I'll have to keep an eye out for the yellow cap! Thank you!

UPDATE

I finally decided to start painting! To start, I sprayed Model Masters Dull Red all over the model as a "primer" I then used MM black to pre-shade all the crevices and areas around the hatches. Then I used Tamiya Dunkelgelb to cover the tank sort of in circular motions to change the tones up. I plan on probably adding a few more layers as well as adding Tamiya Buff to give it a "dusty" look.



As you can see in the above pic, there is what looks to be some "chipped" paint underneath my dunkelgelb coat. This is from me sanding excess paint after my dull red coat and it actually flaked off my paint
I decided to leave it and maybe work with it in the weathering process. I am also re-doing the road wheels with masks rather than hand brushing them.



Tried my hand at making weld seams around the ball turret with Vallejo modeling putty. It is ok. More practice would make it better.



Overall I really like how the color and tones turned out! Wish I got an airbrush earlier in my modelling career! Thanks for the feedback!