My Big Snow Cat

Again...Thanks for all the positive comments, tips, and information.  I look forward to seeing more of your fantastic projects.  I am now off to start a P-47 Ive had lying around forever.  Cheers! 

Awesome job!  The tank looks great, really like the white wash but the figures are very nice!  Like the color of the crews uniforms, gives contrast from the tank.

The crew looks great---it's always good to see crew on a model for the scale effect. Nicely painted ones are even better!

Yeah...I looked at the contrast between the tank and suit.  My story is, he just did laundry.  I think I may start with something less than white in the future, then work shadows and highlights from there.

Excellent job on the crew figures!

Some might say the white reversible suit on the loader is too bright. To counter this its plausible every jacket was new at one time.

The commander's 5 o'clock shadow is very convincing.

The close-ups show the paint chips better which are well done also!

Jason

Perfect...thanks! 

And here are the crew pics I promised.  These were my first crack at something smaller than 90mm:

For some good info on fire extinguishers, click the image below. Then go halfway down the page.

Looks like the gang has you on the right track, er uh tracks......

I like what you've done here. Looks mighty fine to me.

Thanks for the info on techniques and sl3 colors.  I'll grab some closer shots of the figs and post them soonest.

Normally externally mounted German FEs were left in hull color (so DY in the case of your big cat). Internal mount FEs varied and some examples from the period were green similar to what you've depicted. HTH!  

Looks great.  Doog is dead on about the challenges of weathering a big white canvas.  I am happy to see the way yours turned out with moderate weathering.  I have been stating at my pure white Marder for 2 days trying to decide how to tackle it.  While not as big as your cat, it has the huge armor panels on the side.  So vast  You have inspired me to get at it though.

Very nice job!  Wish I could do figures half as well.

How about a close up of the figures?

They look great and I am sure others are curious as to their painting.

The tank looks excellent! Without exact reference photographs of a vehicle in whitewash there is a lot of artistic merit in its execution. In fact the whitewash would almost degrade daily depending on wear & tear, battle damage & of course the weather!

  very nice work loved it .Ron

Very nice snow kitty! I like how you left the wash off the running gear. The wheels and bolts pop nicely.

Wolfp

 

Doog:  Thanks for the tip.  I initially started a chipping process but soon found I was doing more damage than good.  It is either a fine motor skill issue on my part or I am using the wrong tool.  I was using rounded blades held at about a 45 and scraped downward.  i was probably applying too much pressure as the areas either became too wide or penetrated down to the primer coat..  More practice is necessary I think.  When you say pick, are you talking about tooth pick, a metal olive pick, or something larger?  What does the blade on that look like?  Anyway, read your article and was very impressed.

 

If you read my article, you should have been able to get a handle on how I chipped and weathered my KT. I used an actual scribing tool from MicroScale that has two sharp ends which are used to scribe plastic, but you can get the same effect using a 11 Exacto blade. Additionally, some rough sandpaper scraped lightly along the ww can take off bits of it. Just about any sharp tool can be tried, and think logically--what high points and protuberances would be likely to sustain wear and degradation?

I would also strongly recommend that you do NOT use Tamiya White paint to apply WW. It's too tough, too durable, and has too much "bite" on the model. Use ordinary, cheap craft store paint. This is perfect for slopping on, and doesn't have as much tooth as the Tamiya.

Honestly though,, like I said, it's still a fantastic model.

Wolfp,

 Thank you for your reply on the drive train.. It is greatly appreciated..!! As for the suggestion on chipping or fading of the white wash, ever thought of using Squadrons 3 n 1 sanding stick.. Use the fine portion

 I would test it out in a small conspicuos area and see how it turns out.. I recently did a 1/48th P-47 dressed up in a training unit State side and I AB'd silver in the areas of wear then AB'd the final color..

  After all was said n done, I lightly sanded by using the fine portion of their sanding stick.. Hope this helps!

By the wy, any close ups of the figs.. They look really good from where I am sitting..

Flaps up,

 Mike

Rangers Lead The Way

My thanks for the kind words and critiques; especially the critiques, as they are the only way to get better.

Bill:  I honestly dont know what color German fire extinguishers are.  I dont have a single color plate with one shown.  I think I based it off of someone else's work I saw somewhere.  What should the color be so I can add it to the pallet?

Mike:  The road wheels were finished in 3 color camo and didnt recieve the white wash.  I didnt think it would last on the drive train.  The washes were a mix of raw umber oils with a touch of black.  I reapplied several times until I achieved the worn look I wanted. I then drybrushed with tamiya buff and deck tan.  It made the planetaries and lug nuts pop nicely.

Doog:  Thanks for the tip.  I initially started a chipping process but soon found I was doing more damage than good.  It is either a fine motor skill issue on my part or I am using the wrong tool.  I was using rounded blades held at about a 45 and scraped downward.  i was probably applying too much pressure as the areas either became too wide or penetrated down to the primer coat..  More practice is necessary I think.  When you say pick, are you talking about tooth pick, a metal olive pick, or something larger?  What does the blade on that look like?  Anyway, read your article and was very impressed.

Again, thanks to all for the feedback. 

I think this looks really good!

It can be a challenge to whitewash a big model--I did a King Tiger last year that is in this month's FSM--and it was a chore to make it interesting because it's such a big canvas. I think you puled it off well. The only thing I can think of to criticize would maybe be that the whitewash coat is a little "uniform" in places. White wash was pretty much slopped on, and ran and went on unevenly and then degraded pretty quickly.

Maybe some more scratches and off-color chips and whatnot would break it up a little more. I used rough sandpaper, sanding sticks, a sharp pick, different washes and painting to really break up and age the whitewash. Not saying it needs it, but that's the only thing I can really say that I can see that I personally would try to improve.

Otherwise, a really fine model!

Very nice looking paint job i like the way you dirtied the whitewash instead of the chipped/worn look i find it very effective and nice to look at i intend to try this method soon myself.

 Well done my friend..!! I like how everything comes together!! The white wash is verfy nice and remember, not all winter washes are the same..

 What did you use for the road wheel washes.. I like how the different level of details stand out on them.. Funny enough, I will be doing a winter wash on my 1/72nd DML Tiger shortly!

 Thank you for sdharing and I am looking foward to seeing the base!!

Flaps up,

Mike

Rangers Lead The Way

At first when I saw the initial set of pics I thought "what about the details?" then saw in the following pics that you dealt with them after the vehicle was painted. Looks sharp all around, nice work!

I am curious about the green fire extinguisher on the rear deck, did you do that just to add some color variety or is there more behind that color choice?

Nothing to criticize from my view.Nice job.