Painting Panzers

Take your vehicles to the next level in a few super simple steps! I have recently bought some vehicles, sprues, and bits from a friend and member of the local Bolt Action community, and thought that his paintjobs could be enhanced with some weathering. (Plus, I had some techniques that I really wanted to try...) With more forethought than normal, and some before and  after pictures, I'll break down the process I used to take the tabletop standard models to the next level with only some super simple weathering. Panzer IV. Ausf. H Before The Panzer IV already had some decals applied and had its dunkelgelb base and camo stripes applied.  To start off, I took an old hobby knife and carefully scraped off the star wars Imperial decal. As much as I wish my Star Wars: Legion forces could have some armor support, I wanted to try out more battle damage, and thought that the decal would be distracting. After gently scraping it away, I took som e Vallejo Luftwaffe...

The finished King Tiger of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion is ready to defend Normandy to the last! This kit is Warlord Games' new King Tiger model, which went together really well and was nice to paint up. The kit comes with options to include the side skirts or not, and options to build either the Henschel production turret or the Porsche turret, which was nice. I chose to go with the Henschel turret, as I thought it was more of a "classic" look, and there exists some photographic evidence to support Henschel Tiger IIs being in Normandy. After building and priming the model in grey, I started on the Dunkelgelb using AK Interactive's Dunkelgelb modulation kit. I've never done any color modulation before, so this was a great introduction to it. The AK colors need v ery little (if any) thinning for the airbrush, and were fantastic to use. The modulation worked really well in my opinion, and gave some good coloration. I know it isn't the fi...

Panzerkampfwagen V "Panther"  Ausführung A , in the (in)famous Hinterhalt Tarnung . The model was primed in Grey, then base coated in Tamiya TS-3 Dunkelgelb . Next, the stripes were applied with some Warlord Games blister packaging. They were done in (all Vallejo) Luftwaffe Camo Green, and Dark Rust. Then the dot pattern was applied in German Camo Beige WW2. Decals were then applied and left to dry, before the weathering process.            Weathering was done with Citadel Nuln Oil in the recesses, a slapped-together green wash for the green patches, and a slapped-together brown wash for the brown patches. Then a bit of edge highlighting was done on corners, and black was applied to the exhaust and gun muzzle to simulate carbon buildup. After that, a bit of chipping was done with black, and tools were painted. Next, the tracks were done in Dark Rust, and were washed down with Nuln Oil, with the road wheels being painted black, then washed in the...

Tiger I, painted in a three-tone stripe camouflage. The stripes are Luftwaffe Camo Green and Dark Rust (Vallejo). Decals were then applied, and left to dry. The tank was then given a coat of Citadel Nuln Oil wash, with the wash left to build up in the recesses. Then, a coat of black was applied around the exhaust and barrel to simulate wear and carbon buildup. Next, the tracks were painted in Hull red, and road wheels done in Black (Vallejo). Once dry, they were given a slather with Vallejo's Light Sienna pigment. I then used the leftovers, thinned down with water, to go over particularly dirty places on the tank, including the lower glacis, side skirts, etc. Finally, accessories such as the pintle Machine Gun, and shovel were painted and highlighted, before the whole model getting a coat of Testor's Matte Varnish.