"Oh gaaawd! Not another Hetzer tutorial! " I'm sure you're all saying!?
Well, this one's a little different--for those of you who may have not used "Silly Putty" to mask hard-edge lines on camoflage schemes, this short tutorial is designed to help. There are some hints and tips on using this cool stuff to paint any kind of scheme--modern, winter, WWII, MERDC, NATO--where you want a hard line between colors.
First, you should know that Silly Putty is affected by ambient temperature, This means that, the warmer it is in your home, the more and quicker Silly Putty will "run" or "ooze". You can slow the tendency of Silly Putty to absorb run "Blob-like" down the vertical sides of yur model by placing it in the refrigerator or freezer for about 15 minutes. In very warm weather, it is prudent to do this, as the putty could "absorb" certain details of your model--think of the movie "the Blob"--but can be seperated from them if that happens by simply putting the model itself in the fridge until the putty congeals, and then using tweezers to fish out the putty from around the details.
So--to start, you should start with the lightest colors first--in this case, a greatly-lightened Tamiya Dark Yellow. In the first pic here, I flatten the SP down on a hard surface (an old tile here) and then cut out the shapes I want with an Exacto knife:
...and then apply it to the model, making sure to lightly press down the edges so as to "seal' the edges and ensure a hard line...
Here you see the initial masks taking form over the DY base coat...
Then the first color, Tamiya Red Brown sprayed on. I recommend spraying in the reverse order of percentage of color that you want--in this case there will be more green so I'll spray that last.
In the next picture, I have added more SP over the original putty lines--DO NOT REMOVE THE FIRST LINES! (unless you only want two-color camo--otherwise you'll only spray right over them!) Use your imagination, or follow a pattern--just lay more "lines" over or between the existing putty lines. I then spray next and last color, Testor's Model Master Panzer Olivgrun over it all. *NOTE* If you get called away during this phase, put your model in the fridge to slow the SP's tendency to "run"!!! *NOTE* see the putty on the "floor" of the model through the loader's hatch? That is an example of the putty "running" and dripping a bit, as I was spraying and photographing on a relatively warmer day...
And....voila! What ya got when you remove the putty. You should only wait until the paint is dry to the touch--additionally, if the weather is on the warmer side, you may want to put the model in the fridge fro a few minutes until the paint dries to the touch, to stop the putty from running even a bit... Also, be aware that if the putty seems too "stretchy" or difficult to remove at this point, it just may need a little bit of cold to firm it up--stick your model in the ol' freezer for a few minutes, and the putty will return to a more workable, forgivable consistency.
And oh, what the heck--another take on the oil dot method wouldn't hurt? Heres just a few photos to show the size and distribution of the "dots"--I used various oils--Grumbacher, Windsor and Newton, it really doesn't matter which--for this model I used White, yellow, red, orange, Cobalt blue, and Olive Green. This palette too, is open to variation, just try to stay away from the darker colors--black, raw umber--Raw Sienna is a good choice too, although I simply forgot to include ot here! *NOTE* This is all going on AFTER two preliminary washes of 1 raw umber, and 2 light tan mix of white+a mere touch of both raw umber and yellow as well. Note too, that I do not seal or "dullcoat" the first washes--I simply allow overnight drying time!
...and again, draw them all down with a thinner-soaked brush...
...til they're almost gone...
...what it should look like...
...and dab it off with a soft tissue...
...after that, chipping and powders or pastels is your option as well...here's a few shots of "The Twins", as Ian so apty termed them--it's gonnna be hard to split them up! DML early kit in front, Tamiya in the rear...
Well, there it is--FOR ANYONE READING THIS FAR INTO THE FUTURE, IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THE FIRST TUTORIAL, SIMPLY ENTER:
"Weathering tutorial: the doog's DML Hetzer"
INTO THE "SEARCH" FEATURE OF THIS SITE.
Hope you all get as much use out of this one, guys! Thanks for all of your kind compliments, and recommendations of these tutorials to the "new guys"! KARL, "the doog"