Hi, folks.
Yep, I think that may be a Chi-ha back there. That photo was taken at a contest held here in Osaka last October. You can check out all the entrants at: http://homepage1.nifty.com/lefthand/16afv/16afv_page01/16afv_1.html
Some really good works.
As far as making the color lighter in the center of the turret top, I airbrushed all the horizontal surfaces a lighter shade of gray (the base color) to represent a little sun-fading (which I don't think the freshly-painted vehicles in the movie actually had, but what the hey!), and then veeeery lightly misted some thinned Buff on top, but I think mainly what you're seeing in this picture is the lightened Flat Earth (all paints Tamiya enamels) that I scrubbed onto areas where I figured Hessler and his boys trod frequently.
Pop quiz:
Can anybody discern the mods in the pic that make this a "BoB" M-47 "King Tiger?"