HI All,

This tank was not supposed to be any particular historically correct tank, rather, it was an attempt at a new process of weathering, for me. There is a lot left to do. The rear of the tank, the front, and the top of the hull, both in front of, and aft of, the turret, still need significant attention. But wanted to get a reading from you all about what you think, so far.

By the way, I know the pictures are AWFUL! They are just snapshots, with no thought to background or anything, I just wanted to get some pics of the tank.

I have been watching most/all of your builds for some time now and see this as a departure from your usual light dusting. I am at the same place, beginning to add significantly more dust/dirt/mud as built up accumulation. To me your effort looks pretty good, dried mud. The wear on the turret and around the hatches also look well done. Good luck.

Curt! So far I think you’re spot on if the goal is a cat that has just tromped through the mud of mother Russia. I like that you have dry and wet areas. Perhaps there would be much more in the tracks and road wheels. That was a common concern with Tigers. The interleaved wheels got packed with mud, making for some very sticky situations. Looks great so far though.

I think it looks fabulous. But I’m not following that muddy ring around the driver and radio operators hatches, it looks like it’s “bubbling up from underneath” the hatch, as everything around it is too clean. I’d say it would be just the opposite, the area around the hatches would be a bit cleaner, but the areas leading up to it would be dirtier, just my opinion (I was a tank platoon leader for a few years in a different army though)
VR, Russ

Gentlemen,

Thanks for your kind words!

Yes, definitely a departure of sorts, to add as much 'yuck' to this tank as possible, without making it look crazy and unrealistic. My last 2 tanks, this one, and the whitewashed Panther that I posted ( https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/284662#2391807 ), are unabashed 'copies' of 2 tanks from Michael Rinaldi's TankArt 1 book. Trying techniques that are new to me, and my intent is, after a few more tanks, to begin applying the techniques and methods to other tanks that Michael has NOT put in his books. My thought was that by trying to duplicate, insofar as possible, the methods that he used on his tanks, it would tell me if I 'got it' or not. Obviously I don't think any real modeler wants to just copy the work of others, but certainly, using others' work as inspiration is fair and really a tribute to the other modelers' works.

I'm guessing that the first tank upon which I'll use the techniques I've learned here is an M1A1 Abrams from the Baghdad Airport Thunder Run in 2003. I've previously built that same tank for the Thunder Run exhibit at Ft. Stewart, GA, but I expect, hope, that this version of 'Answer To This' will be far more realistic looking tank, using these techniques, and that is my goal, to try to do vehicles, tanks as well as aircraft, that have the sense of 'hyper-realism' which I think Michael regularly achieves in his armored vehicles. I can only hope that with time, and much practice, I can begin to approach what Michael does, every time, in my own models.

Anyway, thanks again, guys, for the compliments.

Funny you should mention the Thunder Run exhibit. I met Robert about 2-3 years ago a one of the shows on the East Coast and he invited me to build for the Ft. Stewart display as well. He explained to me what was involved and declined as I do not do social media. My current project is a rendition of All Bout da Bones. Good luck.

Curt.

THAT is a fabulous (in scale) panzer grey colour choice ...Kudos!

Gary

Really? The gray used was much darker, even in scale.

I think it looks great overall. Photos distort things so this may or may not be a valid input, but I think the mud on the side of the tank looks too thick. I totally get how you would get splatter up there, but looks a little too packed on?

True, grey could have been darker. Still learning!

More than likely excessive...no argument from me. Again, this was/is primarily a learning painting/weathering exercise. However, I learn by feedback. Something to take into consideration for the future; thanks!

One thing in my defense is that this tank had no fenders, and there was a considerable amount of track that was 'available' to throw mud and dust onto the hull sides. I would agree that the majority of that would likely have been concentrated on/limited to about 25% of the hull to the rear, though. I should have thought a little harder about that, but I am happy to have covered a portion of the German Cross on both sides of the hull, which had been a specific intent of mine.

Bob Burik is truly a great guy! I've sent all 3 of my models destined for Ft. Stewart to him for shepherding to their final destination! Wow...you sure picked a great subject, the "...Bones" tank If you haven't already seen it, you need to search for Don Haney and his rendition of that tank, the one he built for the exhibit. Truly a build to shoot for, in terms of everything, the build, the paint, the weathering. I tried to emulate some of my build using his as a guide. I know I didn't get very close at all...

I have seen Don's build and it is in fact the inspiration for my own.I will probably see Robert this September at AMPS Nationals in Danbury, CT. Assuming of course that the kung flu will allow it.

Well, if all works out and you do get to go and see Bob, please pass on my best regards!

Jump on a plane and come on out!

Who knows? Maybe!

I like it. It's nice to see someone building from his own inspiration and not worrying about being extremely pedantic about it or others' pedantic criticisms. What modeling years ago used to be like...

I do kind of think the color comes across almost like a sky blue, but that very well may be my monitor. In any case, just go with what you like.

It's for these reasons, my next builds are just going to be Panther IIs, Panther Fs, maybe an E50. I want to try some techniques and not have to worry if I placed a tool box in an incorrect angle or something like that.

Keep up the nice work!

Curt, well my first impressions were a torrent of positive expletives.

However I can’t be sure if this is daylight, if not it might be useful to re-shoot outdoors in overcast conditions. I’m seeing green, purple and blue shades in the gr*y (especially in photo #2 – and no I ain’t touched the magic mushrooms today Officer) which are perfectly fine but are they being intensified by some artificial light? As for whether it’s the right gr*y gimme a break - there are no absolutes, I could list 10 or more variables which would lighten or darken any colour known to man. You’d only have to turn your photos monochrome (I’ll do it if you can’t) and I’m certain they’d stack up against any number of (variable contrast/brightness) original WW2 images.

Further impressions – the mud effects are mostly excellent and believable, but the Tiger needs to be put in context i.e. a base, before it could be said if they’re ideal. For example if it’s a (Leningrad?) snow/slush scene, the tracks are fine but I’d question the white-ness of the spray on the hull, in any case it looks a tad too sandy/chalky, and the patch on the front under the MG looks like an afterthought. Also, unless this is a long-abandoned derelict I’d strongly suggest losing all the rust patches, this tank was likely only a couple of months old & wasn’t made by Alfa Romeo. Unless I’m mis-reading mud as rust, if so maybe just turn the orange component down.

Other suggestions – rear deck: muddy-booted mechanics…leaky oil cans…fuel overspills? Track-guide & sprocket teeth: if this tank’s just gone through a deep muddy puddle it’s excused, but typically all the teeth should be showing some bare steel no matter where it’s come from.

What also stands out for me is the WAY you’ve applied the paint & weathering, you can’t buy that kind of talent. Overall, a really great job bravo

Curt,I know that you are interested in more then the "looks great" encouragement,so even though I am no expert myself,and your kit would look great on any display shelf,I will try to pick some nits.I think your effects look great,but in some areas the transition from dirty to clean looks too stark for my eye,The area around the exhausts,the engine deck,the front mantlet,I think they are too clean or bare if you understand what I am saying.

@Gary N: Thank you, sir. Regarding the color, I didn’t make the choice. I simply duplicated the colors that Michael Rinaldi used on his Tiger (Lifecolor UA022 was the base color). However, I probably wouldn’t have chosen a darker grey, even if doing it without reference to Michael’s work. I may change my mind, though, as I WILL be doing another initial Tiger in a grey scheme.

@George Conaway: George, the ‘sky blue’ is definitely a monitor issue. The model is definitely grey, and while the camera/monitor may have picked up the blue components in the grey paint, ‘in the flesh’, it is grey without any doubt. Regarding historical accuracy, I usually try to duplicate real vehicles in my work, but in this case, I was just going with what I felt I needed to do to get experience with new (to me) techniques.

@Tim Martin: First off, thank you for the positive comments. The colors you are seeing really aren’t present in real life. I was using my work light to illuminate for the photos. When I complete my work, I’ll shoot more photos in natural light, which, I’m guessing, will resolve the color issues present. There are no rust patches, all the weathering is supposed to be mud/dust. I will revisit the bare steel on the drive sprockets. I had ALL the teeth in bare metal, but they must have gotten covered with additional mud/dust. Regarding the rear deck, agreed that all your suggestions are valid possibilities. I’m not done with the tank yet, and will consider all those as I work toward completion. Lastly, placing this model on a base with appropriate dirt/mud/dust would be a significant improvement, for sure, if for no other reason than context, as you wrote! I haven’t decided if I will put it on a base, but your comments are moving me to consider that more strongly than I have to this point.

@Anthony: You are correct…I don’t need/want ‘just’ good job comments (but I’ll take some of those, too). I want/wanted critiques!! You are absolutely correct about the areas you noted, and I think I said in my first post that I'm not yet done. All those areas are targeted for additional work…but thanks for the comments!

Curt, if this was my build I'd be proud to put it on my shelf !
Like you said, "it was an attempt at a new process of weathering".
And, your "unabashed copies from Michael Rinaldi's Tank Art 1"needed a test bed to try out those techniques. Techniques that you could adopt and modify making it your own style. Heck, you can't make an omelet with out breaking some eggs !

Ever think about delving into the world of dioramas? I think you'd be pretty good at it with your eye for detail.

out of 3 beers for what this project is, an experiment in weathering techniques.

Looks good.
You could tie in all the colors with glazing. Steven Zaloga uses this method. He mixes a little buff into Tamiya clear and airbrushes this on.
Or you could build up with layers of filters.

Thanks for the nice compliments! I mentioned in my post just before this that I'm considering a diorama. It turns out that I've only done one 'base' for a model thus far, and that one was for an airplane, of all things! The 'driver' for doing that airplane base/diorama was because the wheels/tires were slightly 'off', that is, not perfectly aligned, and the plane didn't sit squarely. I figured a diorama would allow me to account for this imperfection. The plane is a 1/48 WWII Focke Wulf Fw-190A-4 tail sitter, in North Africa theater colors. I did a desert base for it, and it turned out well, if I do say so myself. Dioramas are definitely of interest to me!

By the way, I"m a half-native Wisconsinite, myself. My mother was from northern Wisconsin, near Superior/Duluth, Minnesota.