Thank you all for the kind comments and suggestions. I really do appreciate it.
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Hi Nigel
firstly these comments are all subjective, because while we’re all looking at the same historical images we see things in many different ways (!) Secondly congratulations, to me you’ve scored a rare bull’s-eye with the dunkelgrau – that’s exactly the right shade/tone at this scale as far as I’m concerned. Thirdly I also like the restrained mud & weathering a lot, and fourthly here come some suggested improvements as invited...
The gun barrel looks oddly clean compared to the rest of the vehicle - I realise it’s unlikely to be mud-spattered but it needs something – rain/dirt streaks? The MG barrel perhaps should be a few gun-metal tones darker. The muffler – now I haven’t spent that much time looking at WW2 photos of the back-end of Mk IV variants so I’m prepared to be proved wrong, but I’m sceptical that the entire muffler corroded as much as you’ve got it (as you’ve suspected), unless it was a seriously old tank with 10K kms on the clock but I see no damage to the mudguards so this must be relatively new tank, so check your references. The tracks – if not coated in mud I’d give them a rusty wash just to take the grey off them because it’s too close to the dunkelgrau at the moment. Similarly, if not coated in mud the guide-horns I agree should be bare steel due to constant friction, as should the teeth of the drive wheels.
About the weathering – imagine the crew members with muddy boots climbing into their respective hatches and how that might look after a few months. Also imagine maintenance on the rear deck and also those front-plate inspection hatches – where would the mechanics place their greasy hands, tool boxes & leaky oil cans…? The hatches themselves would look relatively clean, but not the surrounding edges. Overspills from refuelling should be visible too, if you know where the fuel caps are.
This “D” would look superb in a diorama or vignette with some crew standing around – any plans?
Thank you especially for this detailed answer! I actually didn't notice the bit with the gun barrel until now. The other side of it has been properly better. Looks like I overlooked it. That's why it's always nice to have more than one pair of eyes looking at your model!
I've also been a bit hesitant with adding dust and mud on the upper hull. I know they're great to make a tank look natural - but I tend to overdo it and eradicate any underlying detail haha. I'll try adding a very small amount to nooks and crannies to show the buildup of dust and mud.
The tracks are a bit tough because the pigments keep flaking off - the edges look dark grey but the rest of it is actually a reddish brown color. I'm thinking of going over it with a dry brush - the acrylics seem to have a better time sticking than pigments.
The muffler - I think I'll just blend a bit more brownish colors to reduce the aggressive rust tones. I'll still keep a bit of it so it pops out.
I'll also have a look at adding some gasoline stains. I don't actually have a lot of fuel ports on the reardeck for this version, and I actually like the discoloration present with the oil weathering already (it doesn't show up well on camera though). These Panzer IVs were gasoline rather than diesel right?
Again, thank you so much for taking the time to give a detailed answer.
