Thanks everyone.
The Ferdinand is the DML kit in 1/35. I added the Aber Photoetch set (intended to convert the Italeri kit into the Ferdinand) and I roughed up the armor with a dremel bit. I wish I could remember the decal company I used, but the set is one which is specific to the 653 Panzer Jager Abtl. It came out right after the Fantastic book on the 653 by J.J. Fedorowicz. They are absolutely beautiful and give you enough decals for several of the groups vehicles during the entire lifespan of the group.
The kit is painted in MM enamels. Weathering is done with a combination of paint, oil based washes, and weathering chalks (I used the old Prof. Weathers chalks).
I drybrush in three different stages. Each stage gets it's own "intensity".
The first stage is a mix of 75/25 of the main color with white. This gets put down pretty hard over the entire vehicle.
The second stage is a mix of 50/50 of the main color with white. This gets put down mainly over the large raised areas (hatches, ventilators, and of course all the edges).
The third stage is a mix of 25/75 of the main color with white. This gets put down very sparingly. I only use this to hit the highlights on the extreme corners.
There should be subtle changes between each stage, nothing really "hard" should show. I've played around with this technique for a while and so far I like the results. Maybe I can get some "good" photos posted to show what it looks like in person.
Unfortunately the "overflashed" pictures show the drybrushing WAY too much, and the "no-flash" pictures hardly show it at all. So it's somewhere in between in reality.
LOL, the "Pesky Russians" did get the tow cables.
I was building this for a contest and did not have what I needed to scratch the tow cables (time got a little tight), so, they didn't make it to the completed kit.
Shermanfreak,
Thanks for the posts. You are exactly right on what I was doing. I'll try to post some others later today using your suggestion.
Thanks for the help.