First attempt at armour

[jewishbatman]

I recently bought this tamiya 1 35 panther for about 13 quid and i was pretty happy when it arrived. I was even more happy when i opened it to find a load of extra content, 5 sets of tracks, 4 extra decal sheets and a 1 35 german mortar team. So i thought as i have a mortar team i could make my first diorama as well as my first armour. I was thinking a countryside dio with the panther dug in and the mortar team around, but im not sure and could use some expert opinions

Thanks for looking and i hope my panther comes out as well as some of the armour ive seen on here.
Oh and sorry if my pics are a bit too big, iPhoto refused to reduce the size on some of them any further.

 

[Wurger]

The kit parts look very nice and you shouldn't have any trouble with assembling of the model. If you need some help, just ask a question. There is always someone who can provide an answer.

 

[Airframes]

I've built this kit at least twice, between around 1968 and a couple of years ago, and it goes together without problem. The mortar team are in early war uniform, and an infantry section support team, so maybe wouldn't be seen close to the tank - but of course a scenario can be built up around the desired diorama.

 

[Catch22]

I've built a couple of these as well and they're excellent kits. SHould be a good one!

 

[Airframes]

Yep, for an old, late 1960s kit, it's still very good. Here's what it looks like, with added skirts from plastic card, and the 'zimmerit' from Milliput. I've been meaning to put this one in a Normandy diorama for about four years at least !!

 

[Catch22]

Nice stuff Terry. I've never tried to make my own Zimmerit. The Panther G I have actually came with Eduard PE Zimmerit.

 

[Airframes]

It's a bit time consuming Cory, but not too bad. Just have to ensure the Milliput is applied in sections, and rolled out more or less flat, then scribe when not quite set.

 

[jewishbatman]

wow airframes thats a great looking tank, how did you get the paint to look faded?

 

[Airframes]

Thanks mate. The overall paint scheme was brush-painted, with a mix of the two colours on the edges of each stripe (example, Red brown and sand) to give a feathered, sprayed look. Dust and dirt was dry brushed where needed, then the whole model given a dusty look by dry-brushing overall with a very thin, light grey mix. The scratches on the side skirts were done with a pencil, as was wear on 'sharp' edges, such as stowage bins.

 

[jewishbatman]

Thanks for that, i'll use those techniques. Also, is it worth buying some mig pigments/washes for weathering and blending or should i just use pastels and the promodeller dark dirt wash i have, and is it ok to use the red/brown paint i use on ship hulls for the tracks?

 

[Airframes]

Personal choice, but most of the 'ready to use' washes etc are pastel-based anyway, so you're paying for someone to mix them for you. That colour sounds OK for the tracks, but of course the final look will depend on the terrain the model is posed on. Don't forget 'shiny' areas where drive teeth engage, and road wheels abrade.

 

[jewishbatman]

Sorry its been a while i've had lots of other things to do and then stuff to buy for this. Anyway i've pretty much finished putting all the bits on the tank and i've scratch built some trees for the dio. i'll start painting soon but im not sure about an undercoat as i dont have any spray-on primer so can i just paint on some white or just forget it?
Also, i've decided to go with this warsaw camo scheme:
http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww164/earlofgrey/Color Profiles/Panthers/panther08.jpg

Others i found are from here:
Panzer V 'Panther' camouflage patterns - Earl Grey collection

Opinions and comments welcome.

 

[Wurger]

Looking nice.

 

[Airframes]

I agree. For future reference, you'll find it much easier to paint the road wheels before fitting them. In fact, very often, the whole tank can be painted first, then fit the wheels. Small items like the commanders hatch cover can easily be broken off during handling and painting, so again, these can be fitted later.
If you're using enamels, then you'll be OK painting straight onto the plastic. Acrylics will be better with some form of primer.

 

[Lucky13]

Nice going mate! Better get cracking with my Firefly!

 

[jewishbatman]

Thanks for the replies guys and thanks again airframes for the tips, luckily for me the road wheels aren't glued on so i can just take them off and paint them. Not sure what i should use for primer though....
But i'm gonna finish my trees so that'll keep me occupied for a while before i make my mind up.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Off to a good start.

 

[jewishbatman]

ok some more progress, i havent yet put the camo on but ive painted on the dark yellow. The lower hull is pretty much finished as i couldnt wait to try out the mud effects and i have to say it worked pretty well for my first time. Tracks were a let down because i had to put the nicely detailed ones aside as they kept splitting in half at the glue point so i've used the one piece tracks. My trees are also finished and im really happy with how they came out.

 

[Wurger]

Not too bad. Looking good. But could you tell me what period of a year the small diorama is going to show?

 

[jewishbatman]

Its going to be in autumn.