Panzer V Panther - First attempt at weathering

[Jackhmn]

Hey guys, 

 

This is my first of hopefully many posts and builds on this forum. I'm relatively new to modelling having only two proper model kit builds to my name. This is my latest one - The 1/35 Panther D from Tamiya. I had never weathered a model before so this was a really fun build and I feel I learned a lot. You can probably tell I went pretty heavy on the rust and that (not very realistic for a Panther in Kursk I know...) I wanted to put it up here so you gents could take a look at it and maybe tell me what to improve for next models, I'm sure there is loads of things that could have been done better. But at the end of the day it's all a learning curve isn't it.  By the way, please excuse the quality (rather lack of it) of the pictures, the next ones will be better. The last image is just a base I threw it on for a school project (didn't invest much time into I hated having to model for school purposes) 

 

My next project is a rather big one, diorama of Bologna airfield 1944, Italy. I won't give all the details here but If you're interested the first post will be up in the diorama section as well as one in the "other vehicles" section (first build is the 1/48 SS-100 from Tamiya)  in the coming days. I'd appreciate it if you could help me out by telling me how it's going what I'm doing well, not so well etc... 

 

Kind regards, 

 

Jack

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sairou]

Firstly, let's talk about the good things. The chipping looks good to my eye, it's not overdone, and adds a nice effect. With chipping, it's often a matter of personal taste how much you do, but I always try to focus on high-traffic areas, so for your build, I would have done more on the top of the hull, and the turret, since that is how the crew will get onto the tank. I see no real issues with the general paintjob (airbrushed I'm assuming) and personally think you represented the rusty exhaust quite well.

Now, onto things you could improve. The overall finish of the tank seems a little glossy, especially around the decals. Another matte coat might have solved this, although I can never seem to get a perfect matte finish myself. One technique I'd definitely recommend you trying is the 'oil dot filter' technique, where you streak and blend dots of oil paint, which creates an effect of grime and dirt streaking, and also helps unify the overall finish. I am by no means an expert on this, so I suggest you research it further yourself. The only other real thing I would suggest concerns the tools, specifically the wooden handles. (The wire cutters IIRC would have bakelite handles, so the painting should reflect this.) The wooden areas on this model seem to have just been painted a wood brown, and to my eye contrast a lot with the dark yellow, so the eye focuses on them. However, when the wood effect is not pronounced, this can make a model look unrealistic. So, in future, I'd recommend using a less contrasting colour, or alternatively creating a wood effect, through washes and highlights, or oil paints, both of which are fairly easy techniques.

I hope this critique is helpful. Overall, as a second model, this is a cut above average, and you should be proud of it.

[Jackhmn]

Hey Sairou,

 

First of all I really appreciate you taking the time to critique it the way you did! I’m glad you found it was at least a decent first go at weathering. 

 

I will definitely try to use the oil dot filter at some point soon. Although there is something scary I find with the oil paints compared to the streaking grimes and the like ( from AK or AMMO). How would the results differ do you think? 

 

Concerning the wooden elements I totally agree with you, they kind of don’t blend in right. I’m definitely going to try and do things a bit differently next time. 

 

Thanks again for the help,

 

Jack

[Hairtrigger]

Great result...  You could do a little dry brushing on the tracks.  - show metallic qualities  - very light dry brush of silver mixed with grey.

[Jackhmn]

Thank you very much Hairtrigger, It's definitely a technique I'm going to attempt going forward. 

 

Cheers!

[Sairou]

17 hours ago, Major Wardaddy said:

Hey Sairou,

 

First of all I really appreciate you taking the time to critique it the way you did! I’m glad you found it was at least a decent first go at weathering. 

 

I will definitely try to use the oil dot filter at some point soon. Although there is something scary I find with the oil paints compared to the streaking grimes and the like ( from AK or AMMO). How would the results differ do you think? 

 

Concerning the wooden elements I totally agree with you, they kind of don’t blend in right. I’m definitely going to try and do things a bit differently next time. 

 

Thanks again for the help,

 

Jack

I find that oils are easier to use, although I too procrastinated switching to them. You have much more versatility with oils, since you can apply multiple colours then streak and blend them, giving more tonal variation. Also, they're much cheaper in the long run.

[Jackhmn]

That’s good to know! Thanks, I’ll give it a go next time.