Panther G Part 2

As Promised, Damage.
The easiest thing to overdo or Misuse. This Panther is going to be a war horse. I decided to focus the damage on the driver's side of the tank. Maybe the Tank rounded a corner or met the spearhead of advancing Russian probe before it could retreat.

I started with the wheels. Looking over a few photos The wheels are usually quickly replaced by Werkstatt. There are some photos from Normandy and Eastern Front where the Panthers have been .... Shoot to Pieces. They however do show how the Wheel would be damaged in action by 75mm shells

To mimic the real wheel I shaved  down the inner wall of the wheel. I used a Dremel tool with a few sanding heading. This allowed the realistic effect, Using Tamiya Thin glue to soften the plastic I used tooth pick to Punch the impact in to the wheel

Fast forwarding a bit We can see the "Damage" Freshly incurred and painted. The Outer wheel and third Wheel(yellow)  Interact to blend  the damage together.

And a Tease of Part 3

 

Panther G

I finally resolved my Computer issues. My graphic cards burnt out and replacing them took more of my time then I planned for.  But with this massive issue now in the past. I can proceed with my Projects again.

I left off with the Primed inner hull. I painted the fan assemblies in Ammo Rot Braun 8012 and Stainless Steel. I added a general Dust of Rubble dust to after the paint dry. It simulates the Dusty air of combat pulled down to cool the engine.

 I also took the time to paint the MG ball mount and RO periscope shield while the hull was open.

 Part 2 "Damage" coming soon

New Project And a Sidetrack

This is a little late. A series of PC issues have been following me. This is My new project, Yes Its another Panther. No Its going to same. In facts its going to be a fun exercise in Battle damage.

Fingers Crossed I'll be able to post a really nice post on Thursday. After the pc get back in shape

Panther Ausf G May 1945 Part 5

This will be the Finale of this project.
Lets dive into with a splash....Or Splashes. I mixed small amount of Light Dust and Plaster dust. This was then applied by brush using an airbrush to force air and carry the mixture off the bristles

This represents the dried mud and dirt. The heaviest accumulation should be at the Front and back of the tank

The spray from the tracks and the Cross country travel.
In part 4 I talked about the dirt process. After the dirt is allowed to dry I when in with a Diluted Earth mixture adding it to dirt  build up. The Earth enamel color the dirt to a bit more uniform and deaden the tiny bits of shiny rocks present with in my backyard soil.

  Earth was even applied to Turret side in small splashes. As the Dirt would pile up before the Turrets rotation moved it. This was basically the end of weathering a few tiny streak of earth and Oil in certain location and the tank was finished. Then I had a long time to look it. I decided to improve  it. Its some times the hardest thing to do. Saying this isn't the best as the Project finishes.

This was the end. project finished. However I wasn't totally happy so changes happened. The changes weren't  massive but they were important to the overall finish  The 1st major change was a Rework of the road wheel damage

Then the Dirt was reworked in a small section. Along with this a highly thinned Earth enamel was used to create nearly transparent splashes of earth. It made all the weathering seem more realistic and subtle  

Ill be starting on the next write up about my Isu-152 and also my newest project.

Panther Ausf G May 1945 Part 4

Weathering
Time For fun. Its great to find a reference for the effects your trying to do. In my case I wanted a large soil build up on the under upper hull but also localized to a small area.

This fits the bill.

 Tanks are subjected to large selection of thing made to stop them. Mortars Guns Planes bombs etc.
I decided to link the Running gear to Hull and turret via a shared "Damage".

I started with affecting the Last and second to last road wheels. After sitting and  looking at it I realized that amount of damage  would have resulted in the crew abandoning the tank. So I reworked it.

I returned the Last wheel to its station and search thru a "donor" kit for an extra outer wheel. I slowly ground down the excess til I was left with the hub. It changes the focus. Now We can move onto the dirt

A bit of backyard dirt/dust was  applied a fixed to areas of hull. There are areas of soil on the mudguard rails. This is to show the turret moved and pushed the soil off. It takes a little trial and error. The best way was to put some soil on first and move the turret  and note where it falls

This effect is easy to Over do. Smaller is better until you get the hang of it. Part 5 Final Weathering  Tuesday =) If I have power
 

Panther Ausf G May 1945 Part 3

Paint time, Favorite time.
Lets dive into a few things. Panthers during this time were base coated with Olivegrun. Then the rest of the  Factory pattern was applied. So knowing that I would be using a Light Tone I picked white as my primer. This will over brighten the camo tones.

At this stage the colors are very jarring. Its not fun to look at for a long time. This is the perfect place for Filters. I needed to cool the competing down. There a great tip which is "Work from the Lightest color"- Tankart 1

 I picked a Light Grey filter  It worked well with both the Dunkelgelb and the Resedagrun. It brought the Tones into line. Its cooler, Its appealing to the eyes and is the first on the weathering process It gently faded the color.


Filter on left Base color on right.

 

 Part 4 Weathering





ArmorCon 2015 Report

ArmorCon was this Friday and Saturday. I took my camera with me this year to take some Photos. However in the  mad scramble to leave and get up to Danbury before the traffic I forgot to replace the batteries. Here are a Small portion of the Great Entries at this year show

Best German Award?

Best Weathering Award

Best German Award?