Learnings: Airbrushed Three-Colour German Camouflage
All four options in the kit are based on the German three-colour camoulage, with the cover tank adopting the Hinterhalt-Tarnung (Ambush Camouflage) variation. With most of my prior paintwork being variations of brushwork, washes and drybrush I felt I needed to graduate to air-brushing for a credible look at 1:48 scale, leading to the acquisition of an airbush/compressor starter set and an Airfix 1:72 scale Tiger I Ausf E which included such a pattern.
Despite some initial on-the-job lessons in paint thinning, pressure settings and appropriate cleaning intervals, the airbrushing side of the equation was a success despite being a cheap airbrush with a 0.3mm nozzle. I did feel that the spray pattern was a little too wide for this camouflage design at 1:72 scale and that long term a finer airbrush would be beneficial, but the current tool would be adequate for 1:48 scale.
Unfortunately my subsequent decision to use an alcohol-based acrylic paint as a wash completely ruined the intended finish, with the cleanup attempt resulting in paint being stripped.
Although we recovered the model with a brushed finish, it wasn’t the intended outcome. This was a bit of a kick to the confidence levels, so I resolved that another cheap kit was required before proceeding…
