First pics -- semi WIP -- DML's Panther Ausf A #6168

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Oy.

This has been a mostly-real-fun build, my first REAL tank in a very long time. This represents a lot of first for me: First Friuls; first attempt at Zimmerit since the old papernapkin-edge technique that worked pretty good in 1983; first stenciled Balkenkruezes (tac number is an ancient decal with about a hundred coats of Microsol/Microset); first “Silly-putty” technique (worked well!).

The tow cables are temporary; they will be replaced, but until then, any tips on removing the cotton fuzz? They’re made of string, provenance unknown.

Problems I’m aware of:

Color of the tracks. They look slightly better in person but are too red and I didn’t sand down the color enough to really get that “worn metal” look where they contact the ground.

Seriously need to invest in some weathering pigments.

Neglected to fit the Kugelblende’s MG – it’s painted and ready to affix, just neglected to!

Need to paint the drivers’ periscopes.

One of the Balkenkruezes seems to be slightly off-kilter: I think my astigmatism is making its presence known.

There are probably more I’ll notice when I see this posting up!

I’m happier with my Zimmerit post-weathering than I thought I’d be, but it’s still not as good as I envisioned. But if every build came out perfect, what’s the point of having a stash?

Backstory: This late-model Ausf A of the 116th PzDiv survived the battles in Normandy and even escaped the Falaise pocket, only to be sent back to the front for Wacht am Rhein in mid-December, 1944. Factory-applied Zimmerit has not been repaired after battle damage, but the whole tank was repainted after Falaise and reconditioned in every other way (which is my rationale for having patchy but painted-over Zimmerit!). Damaged schurzen were also repainted, though some have fallen off on the road to the assembly point.

(I’m not 100% sold on my schurtzen. I may remove them all, or repaint them to show they were replacements from another tank [or maybe just some of them were…].)

Enjoy, and let me have it!

2

I think it looks great. If i could make one comment though, i would say it looks quite dark? That may be the photos though. I know you say your portraying a freshly painted subject. As for the cables. I read that you should coat string with a white glue and water mix to stop it from fraying.

Anyways, it looks great to me. Far better than my abilities.

…Guy

3

Let me preface my comments with the statement that I mean no malice. I presume you have posted your build to receive comments that you may or may not like. I mean no disrespect nor do I wish to demean your modeling, I just say what I think, it isn’t personal. I believe in honest feedback. The “nice build” comments are not productive IMHO.

I don’t like this model, here are some of the reasons why:

Although you have drafted a fairly long saga to justify the finish on this vehicle, I personally feel you should have stuck with a credible paint scheme. But, if you are pleased, that is really all that matters. If you have a reference of an A model with “ambush” scheme over zimmerit, I would be very interested in such a vehicle. I collect every pic I can of wartime Panthers, so …

The big thing that jumps out at me is the lack of “blending” on the finish. Every facet of the presentation is stark and reflects none of the “faded” condition of the paint and exterior features normally associated with a Panther in the field. The markings and the pioneer tools need attention in this respect. If you look on the reverse hull front slope and the inner final drive plates, there is virtually no weathering or very little. This adds to the “incomplete” and non realistic feel of the presentation.

Here are a couple of things that you can do to improve this model IMHO:

Remove one or two track blocks, especially on the right side, you have too many blocks and the track is too loose.

The track color itself should be closer to a dirty brown, IMHO

The combat damage to the shurzen looks very out of place, as there is no other battle damage anywhere on the vehicle, not a dent nor scratch? What are the odds that bullets were only targeting the skirts in a firefight?

You can easily add some bare metal to the I/S roadwheel rims to simulate the centerguide wear.

Finally, some “mist coats” over the entire model to blend and tone down the paint scheme.

And really, no tow cables are better than the “hairy” stuff you put on this build.

Next time you take pics, go to WalMart and spend the 35 cents for a poster board with a neutral background, set up soft soft lights, or go outside and use that medium for a background.

I know you mentioned the many “firsts” on this build. I’m sure your next one will be twice as rewarding once the “lessons learned” phase from this one are digested. Proper weathering is essential for credibility these days, and the saying “paint and finish make the model” rings true. A complicated fantasy scenario attempting to justify really hurried and incorrect finishing isn’t the way to go, IMHO. I mean to submit my comments with all the respect you deserve.

regards,

Steve

4

Well, I have to agree with what Steve said; and I’d also agree with luftwolller–it does seem dark. I really have to stress that Dark Yellow straight out of the bottle is TOO DARK! It NEEDS TO BE LIGHTENED!!! Additionally, your “spots” are too large, if it turns out that they are correct. The camo itself is very nicely rendered–minus the dots–but crockett’s probably right; hard-edge is somewhat unusual for an ausf A…I’d be very interested in the “backstory” of your post–do you really have that from a true source? And a photo of an ausf A in ambush camo?

The zimmerit does look good from what you can see of it in the photos; however the mantlet seems a bit sparse…I’d recommend a slight drybrush of tan along the edges, and just the slightest amount of it over the whole tank itself to accent the zimm a bit (“zimm-a-bit”; now THAT’s FUNNY[(-D][:-^])

The most egregious thing IS the track color, and I noticed too, that they’re too long.

I’d lose the damaged skirts too; I thought they looked a bit un-authentic, esp in light of there being a full complement of them–unlikely if indeed there was that amount of abuse to them, and compared to the rest of the tank’s condition.

DON"T DESPAIR! I know you’re getting some hard hits, perhaps, but I know that your next one will be heads above this effort!

5

I can take it!

Thanks for the comments, gents: from two of the best armor-modelers I know! It’s an honor to have your advice.

My sole reference probably doesn’t count: it’s an artist’s rendering in a book I no longer have in front of me – belongs to the library.

I may just have to go buy some Easy Off and a large Ziploc… the oven needs it, anyway!

Soon as I saw your Hetzer, Doog, I knew my Dark Yellow was too dark! Next time I’m lightening a lot.

Thanks, again, for the criticism. I look forward to seeing more before the weekend is out!

6

Hey Brumbles…don’t feel bad…I haven’t painted one in 20 some years…I’m just getting back into it and they will probably have alot of suggestions for me as well.

My Tiger I will be up for analysis and criticizm soon enough.[:D]

I think it probably gets better with time and after all…they are only trying to help really.

I’ve learned alot just in the few weeks that I’ve been here. And I’ve needed it. LOL![^]

TJ.

7

I agree that Steve and Doog are two of the best and I’m probably guilty myself of committing a few of the aforementioned things. Hang in there and heed their advice and your next will be a winner.

8

Why, thank you very much [:D] I have some talent, yes.

…Guy

9

Sorry for my negligence, Guy. Your comments are much appreciated, too, as are 9 Toe Tanker’s and Tigerman’s! And any yet to come!

Gonna spend today looking for fading and blending techniques to try… or should I strip the paint completely and start over?? Or I may chuck this one for awhile and start my Tamiya M4…

10

Hey Brumble, happy to hear that you’re not [soapbox] at the comments! I wish I had somebody to telll me what I was doing wrong when I was embarking on starting my collection–I look at some of my older builds now and I see all the things that I should have corrected.

Anyway, I wouldn’t strip away the paint just yet. In fact I’d leave this alone for now, and use it as a comparison model for your next panzer, ya know, one with the Dk Yellow finish. You can then judge the new one’s finish against this one and rebuild this one later once you’ve got a satisfactorily painted one under your belt. Just get away from it for now and enjoy your next build. Luckily, a Sherman is not as tricky a finish as a panzer; I’m sure that it’ll be a real looker! [:D][yeah]

11

So far, all I’ve tried is a lightened base color, sometimes sprayed heavily to fade even more. Once I put a wash on it and it really darkened it back up again. Too much so.

12

sorry i haven’t got back sooner bryce. my first impressions was that it looks fine to me, but after reading some of the others post, i did notice that the yellow was a little too dark. i really don’t have a ratio like some of the others. but i do mix tamiya dark yellow, desert yellow, buff, and white to find the right mixture. i just mix an extra amount, and save the rest for later applications. not much help for the amubush scheme. history is my weakness, and i’m trying to get better at it, but if the experts on here say that it never existed, i would take their word for it.

about the tow cable, try going to RC hobbies and pick up some ship rigging, it will take paint a lot better and won’t leave that fuzzy look.

and unfortunatly, i have to agree with the others about the skirts. if the skirts were damaged, i would think that some part of the tank would be damaged in the process. the tracks are an easy fix, and i find myself also with too reddish of tracks sometimes, nothing a little TLC can’t fix.

on a better note, i think that you did an exceptional job on your first time with the zimm, better than my kingtiger. kudos for that. now the next one will be twice as good. you’ll know what to do, what to look out for, and how to make it better. you’ll be surprised at how much your learned for the first time. on my elephant, i think the zimm turned out 100% better from lessons learned, and you’ll notice the difference.

i say it looks good, but this is the set up for the next one, which wil look GREAT!!

p.s. i agree with doog, don’t overpaint it, use it as a reference, you can always paint it after you get your “feel” for the dunkelgelb.

chris

13

My only real critique is that you’ve got a too-dark, gooped-on kinda-look thing going on. Might just be because the paint needs to be lightened, which of course has already been covered.

Which paint did you use for the dunkelgelb? The reason I ask is, sometimes you can mix in a little Polly Scale “Doped Linen” if you can still find it. I bought a bunch of it on eBay. It might not mix well with everything, but it can still be used in the right conditions. It’s a good medium for lightening Tamiya’s Dark Yellow.

Other than that, there’s a lot of positive going on here. You’ve got really good construction, and I can’t see any seams or scrape lines. And I’ve painted vehicles in the ambush scheme before, only to find out that that vehicle never had the ambush scheme. Some folks’ll tell ya that it’s a bad thing, but I think of it as creative - [:D]

14

Guys, all you really need to do is to cut your Dark Yellow by about 60% with plain old white–it looks dreadfully light when you’re spraying it on, but look beyond that, and think of how it’s gonna look with the wash! You can also try other tans, etc, but sometimes these aren’t strong enough to adequately lighten the strong pigments in DkYellow. I don’t know why Eric (tigerman) had such a problem with the darkening–might’ve been too thick a wash?–but a medium wash of raw umber will usually bring it right into spec. You can even try an off-white wash to fade it, and then do the outlining wash in raw umber. Just don’t spray your Dark Yellow straight out of the can! (bottle!)