Sd Kfz 182 Pz. Bef. Wg Tiger Ausf. B "Ambush"

Good day once again

Quick update on camo work with the ambush spots. Some references have large spots of varying degrees of colors where others have little specks, most are artist impressions of the detail of the camo found on these beasts. Looking closely to photographic evidence I found most "spots are supple and faint with the sand color being predominate. I tried my best to represent this aspect in my paint work. Then again this is my impression of this paint work.

A clear coat of Model Master semi gloss lacquer was sprayed on prior to this stage. Tamiya acrylic paints were used doing the " spots".  Any over spray of "spots" were easily removed using Windex on a cotton bud.

Simple set of masks were made to use on this aspect of the paint work : Templates made out of small strips of cardboard lined with Tamaya tape to keep back the over spray. These were holed using a hole punch. 

Next stage , clear coat and decals.

 

Sd Kfz 182 Pz. Bef. Wg Tiger Ausf. B Camo

Good day

I must apologise for the lack of updates , but this fall has been very busy with 1/1 scale builds { renovations } that take up a considerable amount of time.
I did have a chance to make up some time last weekend to paint the camo on my King Tiger. Masking was a pain , and all tools were left off till the end , trying to keep the agony of flying parts to a minimum. As follows the first set of pictures after the initial camo was painted.

 The first four pictures are the initial camo after the masking was taking off .Faint washed out  camo colors are visible and more work has to be done to make them a little bolder.

 The masking was taken off at this stage to minimise the disembarkation lines between colours. More coats of colors are added after .Utilising a Iwata Eclipse HP-BS  airbrush at about 18lbs of pressure.

 Initial camo colours that are used are Tamiya Hull Red XF-9 and Flat Green XF-5

 Highlights and low light colors used are from model colour range depicted in the photo. These were used as washes to further intensify the camo colours.

Exhausts and covers left off at this stage. 

 The final finish of camo colors before the application of the "ambush" pattern spots used extensively on this type of camo late '44 and '45.

 No headlight or tools added yet to make things much easier at this stage.

Stay tuned for more updates on paint finish, next the "ambush" spots . Thanks for tuning in.

Famo Update

Took a break from my Kingtiger in order to do some special paint work on my Famo. This piece has all the aspects of weathering including hairspray technique , orange peel, fading , pin washes , oil paint rendering , chipping ,dusting and washes. All  mediums used extensively and over fifty hours of finishing done so far. Have a look, still more to come.

Feel free to comment and thanks for having a look.

Cheers

Sd Kfz 182 Pz. Bef. Wg Tiger Ausf. B: tracks

Adding the tracks , complicated assembly? not in any way with the Dragon magic tracks. Assembly is a simple process where as using a # 11 blade I scrape all the knock off marks and then assemble them on a flat surface using a pair of tweezers from the dark ages. The tight fit makes the process very simple.

 

After a quick coat of Tamiya extra thin cement I let them sit for about 10 minutes. then I apply to the road wheels and let dry.

I did three segments for each side where I could easily take them off for prepainting, making sure there was the proper sag and fit around the idlers.

Once dry I gave them a blast of Vallejo surface primer German red brown.

Then using successive washes of more Vallejo paints using a spectrum of rusts dark to light.

Now the tracks are assembled and ready for the mud and snow effects.

Humbrol # 11 and some metalizers were used to enhanced the metal edges , a little brash is contrast but will tone down with the successive washed of mud and dirt.

 

Tamiya clear is airbrushed on to protect all the work already done , let to dry for a day or two.

Then it's back to mud once again ,AK dark mud washed on sprinkled by the plaster mix described once before.

Then the snow effect are used once again by using heavy medium gel and Woodland Scenics snow and baking soda.

Let to dry and some over washes of dark mud will be used once again .Next stage mating of the upper and lower chassis and masking.