Here's my complete Tiger #131 heading to the Normandy Front. I tried to match a pic provided to me from Bish as reference and I think it came close. The kit is Tamiya along with Tamiya zim and acrylic paints. My wash was a mixture of Abteilung black and turpenoid.  The effects and pigments were all fro assorted AK products. Bish was a big help in providing a color photo of 131 and sometime in the future I'll do a diarama by adding some figures and building to match.

stikpusher

Jack, you know that once you finish this conversion, either Tamiya or Hobbyboss will release a nice 1/48 M4A4/Sherman V kit. That is always my luck on projects like this one.

I use Alclad for aluminum aircraft. There are other ways but Alclad is the easiest for me. It's mainly an issue of getting the undercoat perfect (Alclad is too hot to use on bare plastic). If you have any rough areas or flaws they will stick out like a sore thumb under Alclad or any other aluminum paint.

I use their aluminum paint, you can use dark  or light  aluminum on some panels for more contrast. The polished aluminum is really shiny- more like a well-maintained airshow aircraft.

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Gamera - would Aluminum be the closest match to Natural Metal (aka: Bare Metal Silver)?  I'll be honest - plain old silver doesn't look like right shade of silver I've been looking as a bare metal "look".

Oh sorry- natural metal aka aluminum.

You're right stik - I do need to go light when weathering the stripes.

Gamera - I don't understand what NM means. New Metal?

Thanks all for the comments!  Bish - I'd like to try getting some better pictures of it (I'm not the best at the picture thing but pretty sure I can do better) for posting but that's not going to happen 'til tomorrow.  I was out fishing all day and I'm too tired now.  It's a rough life but someone has to do it.

I would go with whatever wash you are using overall. BUT... remember that the aircraft may be much older than the stripes, if you are doing D-Day or immediately afterwards. So go very light on weathering them for then. If you are depicting a few weeks after then the would have had time to weather more and blend with the rest of the aircraft.

BS214: As SP said, the easiest way is probably to paint the white areas, then masking and painting the black.. If you do a black undercoat under the NM, just mask again and then spray the metallic.

I'm not sure about the weathering, I'd apply the gloss, then the decals, then overspray the decals with more gloss. If you use a sludge wash over this or something like Flory brand wash you should be able to wipe off the wash if you don't like how it looks.  

stik - What about weathering the white invasion stripes? Would you use a dirty white wash on the stripes or simply use a black wash throughout the aircraft fuselage?

BB, great work on the Sherman. Do you want me to use that pics or are you going to post some more.

Jack, you know that once you finish this conversion, either Tamiya or Hobbyboss will release a nice 1/48 M4A4/Sherman V kit. That is always my luck on projects like this one.

Black Sheep, yes invasion stripes are best painted by doing the white first, masking them off, then painting the black ones.

Yes it is. Doing one with different code numbers

Black Sheep - Is your P-47 a tamiya kit? I'm doing the same. bare metal finish and thinking of painting the invasion stripes.

So, i'll have to keep a watch on this question

Well I finally got the paint (and more) I needed to order for my Spitfire. Along with that order, I decided to take a chance on Model Master Black Detail Wash. That being said, I was able to resume builing and painting the cockpit of the P-47 Thunderbolt 'Bubbletop'. I did a test run on how this wash works on an old scrap jet kit (same one I practiced using an airbrushfor the first time) and was pleased somewhat. I thought, "What the heck... let's give it a go on the 'Bolt."

I used the wash on the cockpit, landing gears, wheel hubs (haven't done so yet), wheel wells and gear doors. So far, I didn't think it looked too bad for a first time attempting a wash. I will post pics as soon as I can.

Seeking advice - I'm thinking of painting the Invasion stripes instead of using the decals to give it a more realistic look. Would measuring the invasion stripe decal's overall width by masking the areas white first then split it up by masking where the black stripes would be the way to go? The aircraft fuselage overall color will be bare metal silver.

Also - what would be the best way to create a weathered wash on the white stripes? Would using a Dirty White wash work or simply use a black wash throughout the aircraft?

Knowing decals stick better on a gloss coat, do I need to spray another coat of gloss once the decals on  before doing a wash? I am planning on putting a final finish using a flat clear coat.

** My goal is to order a couple washes by Flory (black soot and either mud and/or dark earth brown).

Any pointers or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

I love the shading and the tracks are perfect. Do you have any close up shots, I'm dying to see more. Bit I think this is a great build for the group.

Look finished? Looks perfect to me!

Great job on the storage, the dirt on the running gear, and the commander.

Yes, it was.  I'll take a betterr one once I hear from Stik (my advisor).  I was in a hurry yesterday. 

bitbite - looks good to me - if you're happy with it, I'd call it done.  I do notice a sheen on the  turret top, was this photo taken in direct sunlight?  That could be washing out some detailing you have done.

regards,

Jack

Ok. The last paint I needed to finish my model arrived today. Painted the goggles and here it is. Does it look finished to you guys?

I'm really sorry to hear that and our thoughts are with those who need it the most. All the best.

Yuck, glad you escaped the worst of it.

hey jibber

we are fine where we are. up north still getting creamed. also SW colorado around 4 corners and northern new mexico has flooding. the flood waters are as far east as nebraska  border and they are still helo lifting folks out of the canyons. people are starting to return home which usually means guttting the entire interior of a house; drywall, carpet, furniture, freezers assuming they even have a structurally sound house. to add to the difficulties is lack of power, water, sewage and roads. lots of roads and bridges destroyed so you can't even get into towns to start anything or bring in heavy equipment. with winter coming many roads and bridges won't be repaired until next summer. plus the tourist industry in the area and the farming have been decimated. many will never recover. this is hurricane type damages.

Waynec, are things any better in your area? I'm seeing some horrific things on national news.

Yeah, the M4A4 had the Chrysler 'Multibank' engine - basically five truck/lorry engines bolted together into a single power unit. Most of these mechanic's nightmares were dumped on our allies... sorry! These engines were longer than the aircraft engines used in the other models forcing a longer hull.

Not sure about the tracks but the areas with poor fit could always be covered with a little mud build-up!  

Kits with problems like this can be tough at the best of times, but when its not your preferred subject, it can make it a struggle to keep going. But I am sure you can sort this out.