starting my camo

ive been so busy lately i can hardly keep up with everyones progress... but it all looks awesome, armor 86 that thing looks awesome man...

 as for mine the preshading worked as best as i could hope...  it basically got into the nooks and crevices i wanted it too, like under the exhaust, periscopes and such...  i see guys getting better results but i just cant seem to put a light enough basecoat on to get it right...  also i started using tamiyas laqcuer thinner and i have to say what a world of difference...  it works so well i cant believe it...

   as with the zimm.  ive changed my mind again, it looks alot better under paint...  i think my pain was more operator error...

Gorgeous Tiger, Dan!

oooh...very nice Dan...looks great

Looking real good there A86.

Some more photos - DAK Tunisia Tiger - Dry brushing to highlight detail - some close up photos - Armor86 

Hey MaloneD - she's looking pretty sweet to me. What is it specifically you don't like about Tamiya's zimm?

Eric, don't forget to post Shawker's well done KT on the front page. If you feel like it you could add my 2nd build to the list too. 1:35 Italeri Panther A.

armor86

Nice Finish Jack - dust and streak weathering looks great. I'm justing getting off work (2nd Job) and hope to finish my DAK tiger this week. I'm still dry brushing and will do some more pin washing on a couple spots - then chipping and lastly dust/dirt streaking ... post some updated photos later.

Malone - looks great with mixed paint - did the dark shading show through some of the main color (dark yellow)  

Eric - any word on a possible North Africa GB. Noted another web site's GB / Campaign with an armor car GB starting Sept. 1. Have a Tamiya DAK 232 kit.

Armor86

Can't answer that for sure.  I had some drama come up and I'm a bit in limbo at the moment. So, I'm just not sure.

Nice Finish Jack - dust and streak weathering looks great. I'm justing getting off work (2nd Job) and hope to finish my DAK tiger this week. I'm still dry brushing and will do some more pin washing on a couple spots - then chipping and lastly dust/dirt streaking ... post some updated photos later.

Malone - looks great with mixed paint - did the dark shading show through some of the main color (dark yellow)  

Eric - any word on a possible North Africa GB. Noted another web site's GB / Campaign with an armor car GB starting Sept. 1. Have a Tamiya DAK 232 kit.

Armor86

Malone - c'est beautiful

IBuildOne48 , Bob, Dave and Eric - thanks guys for those kind words.

Yea, regarding the turret number decals, I ended up having to paint the vehicle colour up to the white outlines.  Still have to anchor the model to the base - that metal tub for the hull really is a bugger now.

regards,

Jack

BASECOAT... I RAN INTO A BUNCH OF EMPTY BOTTLES, SO A CUSTOM MIX OF EARTH BROWN, YELLOW, AND BUFF...  

Jack, that Tiger looks gggrreeeeaaaattttttt.........I love the dusty weathering effects on the roadwheels. I will post the finished build later.

Wow, Jack, that looks flippin' fantastic! You've really brought that kit to life. I honestly think that cropping those pics with the right background you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between model/real thing. I love the finish you've reproduced. It really looks like it has been in the field and repeatedly caked with dust/ worn off, etc. Very impressive detail work in 1:48 too. Those homemade decals looks awesome as well. They really came out top notch. The way the "painted" numbers look slightly flared in spots looks right on. Bucket and extras looks very realistic. Congrats on the finished build. You have every right to be proud of this beauty.

Malone-looking forward to seeing how your pre-shading comes out.

Jack-fantastic build-even more impressive when I consider that it is 1/48 scale-detail & finish are outstanding....and the base adds so much to the overall build....great job.

Very well done Jack! Those Tamiya 48 scale kits are great. Your weathering is tops!

Thanks Jack! Looks way better than the plain pigments I've been using.

Stik, SchattenSpartan, mustang1989, Greg and Gamera - thanks for those kind words.

Yes, the initial dusting was from Florys' wash, using their Light Dirt but did mix in a little of their Sand wash, otherwise it looks like chalk white.  Once it dried, I wiped off whatever was accessible in the open areas, with a damp section of an old t-shirt.

I then scrubbed in some dry weathering powders for a heavier look in the lower areas, and sealed the whole thing with a dead flat spray.  Added some further dust streaking by applying some more powders diluted in water/Tamyia acrylic thinner, and then did some in reverse, by just using a wet brush to remove said dust.

There were several powders used: light dust, dry dust, and African Earth(looks more like red Mediterranean soil), which possibly could be the tan hue you are seeing.  I did add one layer of an ocher filter before adding dust effects.

regards,

Jack

MD: You've got a good start there, with pre-shading you just want to spray a little darker shade around the details so you get a little shadow effect going on.

Jack: She looks fantastic! May I ask how you got the cool dusty effect? Is that a light tan paint wash?

Awesome work, Jack.

I pop in here from time to time just to check out how you guys are doing and you all make me glad I do. Really nice work Jack. Really nice.

What? That Tiger is 1/48? That makes this already awesome model even more impressive!  Great work!

Excellent finish and presentation Jack! That is 1/48? Even more impressive. And the weathering ties in the low contrast camo perfectly! Very sweet all around sir!

Malone -  I think pre-shading is more an artistic impression than a reflection of reality, so you have free rein on how to approach it -  overall it is looking really good.

IBuildOne48 - excellent base, and the camou emulates actual tiger stripes, nice!

--------------------------------

Alrighty, colour this one as DONE.

To recap, base kit is Tamiya's 1/48 dressed up in PE from Voyager.  Individual plastic track links from AFV Club, resin jerrycan (Gaso-line) and helmets (Attack Hobby), with cables from Eureka.

I took some liberty with the stalking tiger symbol.  Although the 501st is one of the better photographed units of the war, there is still not enough photos to set a rule of thumb regarding it's use/placement.  I choose to add the graphic on the right side as well, as I've come across two examples of it found there on Panzer IIIN support vehicles.

Heidi was the number two vehicle assigned to battalion HQ, as denoted by it's turret number 02.    I've read that as losses mounted and could not be replaced,  the vehicle was used to fill this gap.  Not sure if the crew staff remained, most likely they transferred to another vehicle.

regards,

Jack

thanks guys for the comments...  heres some half-butt pre shading...  i really havent grasped how to make it work fully, but i like the outcome most guys get...

Malone-your Tiger looks real good from where I'm sitting.

iBuild148-your KT looks sharp-nice base too...hang in there on the tracks...they will be well worth the effort.

Malone, that looks pretty good to me.

IBuild148, that is shaping up nicely.

Sloooooow progress on my KT. I have started my MK tracks and have 30 put together. 150+ to go.

Still need to put the fence on the base.

Very nice work, Malone! I am not able to see that you had problems with the Zimmerit.

The primer coat is when it all starts to tie together MD. Looking good so far.

SO THE IN PROGRESS WITH THE TURRET DIDNT UPLOAD FOR SOME REASON, BUT BASICALLY ALL I DID WAS ADD TAMIYA PRIMER FROM THE BOTTLE TO ALL THE EDGES AND TRIED MY BEST TO SAND SMOOTH.  I DID OK...  I WILL BE USING THE SCRAPS FROM THIS SET TO ADD ZIMM TO THE DRAGON AUSF G WIRBEL...  HOPEFULLY ILL DO BETTER...  THERES JUST TOO MUCH PE AND SUCH ON THIS GUY FOR ME TO REALLY GET IN THERE WITH ANY DETAIL...