Ahh painting - here is where things tend to take a turn for the worse - insert any CD by The Smiths or The Swans & cry for awhile. :-)













I had to use some decals mixed in with dry-transfers - things will get better.

This is the part of the build process where I start to freak out, you never know how the end result will be. After that initial paint job where everything is bright and garish you just have to push on and hope it all turns ok.
Good job so far.
regards,
Robert

Hey Alex,
I agree with Robert 100 percent here. At this stage of the game I am usually climbing the walls doubting myself and wondering where it all went wrong LOL. But after I calm down and come back to it the next day or so and start the weathering...it all comes together. It's funny no matter how many times I build a model I go through the same thing..Soooo im sure you will feel the same way we all do after you come back to start the weathering. Great job so far Alex..its comming along nicely.
Cheers,
Bryan

I really like this start of the paint. I think with some weathering, and paint chips this will turn out pretty good. I like what youve done with it so far, please show us some more.

Starting to look really good!

I notice some water marks (?) around the various decals. Do you plan to cover them up with mud?

Come on Vadster,

this does not look too bad... the only nitpick: possible silvering around the license plates (especially the front one).

Good luck with the next steps,

Harm

Danny & Harm,

The stains are from the Solvaset I used one the transfers & decals. I'm hoping that they will be hidden as steps in painting continue. The license plates are the actual kit decals hence the silvering seen - I have put Solvaset on them 4 seperate times to no avail. During painting, I discovered that I need a moisture trap for my airbrush as water began to join in on the fun while painting my camo. Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement.

Alex, it looks very, very good so far! I do believe that the "problems" the others 'revealed' will be dealt with during further painting and weathering of the model! Keep up the good work, your on the right tracks!
Cheers and happy modelling!
Prato

A shame it did work out that way (and thanks for the heads up). Luckily with the 234 booklet have come some other decals.

I hope all will be fine when you're all done.

Harm.

What's Up TN......This is the exact color richness my Hetzer started out as... You should see it after the FUTURE was applied.... I then applied the decals using the Micro Set/Sol combination, and WOW it got the painted on look after drying, at first I thought it was messed up, but the Micro Sol worked its magic. I have applied a layer of an oil wash, then did a fine mist of the base coat, which in my case was dunkelgelb, this helped blend all of the colors and start to tone the paint down. I then have been doing different oil washes/rust colors, experimenting on test vehicles then applying them to the Hetzer. Last night I sprayed on a fine mist of Buff, to give a faded look...still have more to go... You will see a big difference once start the washes....(i did get a slight build up of Micro Set/Sol, used a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol, and lightly wiped, it took off some of the residue, then I let it dry, and then when I applied the washes it faded away....)
Keep the pics coming!!!
"There's more to see in TN" :-)

I didn't see anything that a good weathering job won't cover. BTW-I feel your pain with the water problem. I had that problem, installed a water trap, and still have that problem!! Everytime I lay down the paint, I have to worry about a big blast of water coming out. And it usually happens in the hardest places to cover. It never happens on the back side of a road wheel, or under the chasis. Go figure. Good luck, and keep us posted.

At first I thought the yellow was too bright, but know that I contrasted it with the tone of the green color, I really like it. Very nice build, after weathering I think it will look good. If I'm not mistaken, the straps for the jerry cans are brown.
-shain

Brian,
I find your circumstance to be disheartening as since my last post on this particular thread I have been searching to find a moisture trap / pressure guage set up locally or one I could pay with via PayPal. I just ended up buying a whole new compressor as of oh about an hour ago.

Shain,
All my references indicate that the straps holding the gas / water cans are the color of the vehicle's overall paint scheme.

Prato, Brent, Brian, & Shain thanks for the compliments!

Straps are metal and are vehicle color.