VK-4502 Vorne: "The Berlin Hedgehog" FINISHED PICS!

Yet another update in the stage-by-stage painting of this model....

I have added some Panzer Green camo---this is Tamiya's XF65 (erroneously called "Field Grey" but really their version of Panzer Dark Green.) In order to get effect of sloppy brush painting with runny, diluted paint, I thinned it with Tamiya's own thinner, and added some dishwashing liquid to really cut down the surface tension to allow it to run. I slopped it on with a medium brush--first the highly-diluted coat. I then took a smaller brush of UN-diluted paint and added lines of thicker paint--mostly along the top and where it would have pooled on the bottom. I slopped some over the sides of the upper hull, and added runs in the corners of the interior upper hull.

I tried to imagine myself as three inches tall and wielding a brush...

Hard to see here, but the thin strip behind the engine screens has been left in unpainted zimmerit.

The turret, meanwhile, has been basecoated in untinted Tamiya Dark Yellow. Yikes, but is that dark!

Next, using a series of tape masks, and three different shades of successively-lightened DY, I've done some color modulation on the turret.

I've added some straight Flat Yellow to the top highlight coat to give the turret some sleight color variation from the hull;

The hull and turret together, giving somewhat of a hint of what the model will eventually look like....

Thanks for looking in, if you are, and let me know what you're thinking---comments are always fun and appreciated!!

Doog

   That green paint application looks a

                      bit aggressive......

            but that turret is totally awesome.

 Your weathering will bring it all together though....

                it always does.

                                            (Been a watching utube looking for ideas.........)

Looking real good Karl,not one you see every day

 Okay Karl - 3:10 am, now 'ya done it.......

       I'm up

         I'm still working on mine at 6:57 am.....

           and I got a new camera to figure out too.

Looking good DOOG!

Ha ha, GREAT, Steve!!!! Let's see some WIP pics!!!?

Thanks too, BRUCE!!!!

OK, the painting is done, as far as the camo...

I added a couple dozen more micro "drips" and runs of paint in the hull, but otherwise concentrated on the turret. The Field Grey color had some JA Green mixed in to make it darker, and then lightened with a touch of yellow and Green. The Red Brown was darkened a bit with Brown + Black, and then lightened a bit with Desert Yellow. The highlights were painted in the centers for the most part.

Here she is so far!

The gun is not attached, just posed in the gun hole.

Gonna put some numbers and a cross on it now and then paint them out, and put a new single hand-painted Roman numeral on it somewhere.

Thanks for looking in, all!

That's looking awesome, Doog! I love that hand-painted camo on the hull!

Cheers, Clemens

Looking real good there Karl... it definitely has a "scraping the bottom of the barrel for any weapons" look... just a suggestion though, the rear turret hatch inner face should be a color that matches the exterior, either Panzer Gray or Dunkelgelb I imagine.

stikpusher

Looking real good there Karl... it definitely has a "scraping the bottom of the barrel for any weapons" look... just a suggestion though, the rear turret hatch inner face should be a color that matches the exterior, either Panzer Gray or Dunkelgelb I imagine.

Good mornin'...

 In September 1944, an order went out to stop using the Ivory paint and leave the tanks entirely red inside. This seems like sheer idiocy, but there are surviving Panthers and Hetzers with 100% red interiors. Other simplifications were being made to tank manufacture at the same time - Zimmeritt was discontinued, for example. There were loud complaints, and at the very end of 1944 the Ivory paint was officially reinstated.

 Hmm... you would think that entirely red would include the hatch interiors but common sense dictates the exterior color would be more sensible as you stated.

Crazy Germans.

 This info's word for word 'bout halfway down the page at http://byrden.com/panzers/Colours/index.html

Thank you, Clemens! I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment!

Karl you have definitely achieved a unique look with this paint work and I think it definitely screams 'hurry up and get this machine into action' if you ask me.

stikpusher

.. the rear turret hatch inner face should be a color that matches the exterior, either Panzer Gray or Dunkelgelb I imagine.

I thought a LOT about this model and how to most accurately pull it off---did a lot of research, and I came across this photo on google of a Jagdtiger where you can see the rear hatch. I was surprised to see that it was in Elfenbein (Ivory, basically), same as the interior. Even at that late date!

I have also seen a KT hatch interior in an old photo where it appears to be ivory. In the end, I take it as a judgment call--I prefer to keep it in ivory, as I've seen enough back-n-forth discussions about what constitutes "correct" colors on a particular week, or month, of German tank production to have come to a firm belief that, although there are indisputable guidelines and designated colors, there is enough leeway and exceptions to allow for choices to be made, within reason.

My thought is that this turret would have been necessarily removed from this hull at some point, and applied to an operational hull, which was then in refurbishment when the need for an operational turret saw it transferred to this existing prototype hull, which would have been "headless" in some warehouse in Kummersdorf when the war came there. The painting of it is intended to relate that narrative, with the two different paint schemes. In the case of the turret interior, the rear hatch really didn't open "up", so I wouldn't have seen it as being "glaring" if it were standing up, like a loader's hatch--so I don't think that the crew would have painted it over. And then there's ta Jagdtiger picture....

Thanks for your heads-up on it though! Good to know that you're paying attention and watching out for mistakes!

Eric, thanks man! That makes me feel good that you're feeling that when you look at it! I appreciate it!

Man, really love the look of that camo pattern Karl! Very nice.

Looking at the camo makes me think of a particular Stug that looked like Picasso painted it. Maybe this one was done by an as-yet-undiscovered modernist or impressionist?

Cool, way cool.

That is one unique looking camo. Looks great!

RBaer

Looking at the camo makes me think of a particular Stug that looked like Picasso painted it. Maybe this one was done by an as-yet-undiscovered modernist or impressionist?

Cool, way cool.

Hilarious!

Picassos last ride.......        

Looking forward to the final roundup!

Bill, thanks my friend, that's nice of you to say!

RBaer

Looking at the camo makes me think of a particular Stug that looked like Picasso painted it. Maybe this one was done by an as-yet-undiscovered modernist or impressionist?

Cool, way cool.

Thank you too, Plastickjunkie, I appreciate it!

STEVE! Let's see some in-progress pics, buddy!!

Got the markings on....

Added some decals in appropriate spots, and then painted out the "old" markings and adding a big, honkin' "1" on the front. I've since outlined it in dark green.

New updates soon!!!

That yellow one looks great! It really makes the tank look even more like it was just thrown together and painted as fast as possible! The painted over nubers add to it as well!

Cheers, Clemens

A very nice bit of craftmanship on that turret doog. Should be killer after the weathering.

Thanks, Clemens, and Steve!!! Gawd but its goood to be finished with this turret already!

And speaking of that......I finally got the whole detail painting done (in between knocking off two dozen or so small parts inside the turret every 15 minutes, it seemed?!)

Here's the main gun built up and painted.

The completed turret interior:

I wanna cry though, because now I have to seal the two turret halves together and cover up most of this detail!

The turret halves glued together. I've added a little chipped zimmerit by just chipping some off with an exacto knife, and painting the chips grey behind the chips. The white is the actual White putty.

The beast is taking shape! Man, this is going to eat up space in my display case with that mondo-long barrel! There are some chips on the hull as well...

Thanks for looking in guys! On to the weathering phase next, and the tracks!

Doog

At least you know all that detail is there in the turret Karl (and so do we now that we've seen the pics! ) Looking forward to seeing the weathering applied to this beast!

  you can always show the pictures......

Hi doog,

I have been watching and taking notes as usual. Fantastic work as always.

I'm likin' it......

Leave the back hatch open, doog. It'll be a great point of interest.

Oh that turret interior is beautiful Karl! At least with the hatches open you will be able to show off a little bit of that... But that design sure does look  nose heavy with the turret so far forward and that very long gun tube.