This is my first model, it’s a Tamiya Panther Ausf. A. These are the figures that go in the tank. I realize they have a lot of issues, it isnt finished yet, but I jumped in on this model eager to learn and give it a try, and from cruising the forums here (everyone is really helpful and supportive!), have realized a lot of mistakes I have already made, but I have more of a ‘learn by doing’ personality than research extensively and try to make the first one perfect. I’m having a lot of fun with it.
So first off, the things wrong with them that I am aware of are that I should have sanded off the mold seams and the colors arent exactly right. I went by the color scheme in the instructions, but I didnt have feldgrau or light gray, so I used neutral gray mixed with a tiny bit of a darker green for the field gray (and a little black for the shadowing), and neutral gray mixed with flat white for the light gray. As far as the faces, I know they arent great, but its my first time, and honestly they turned out WAY better than I had expected. SO here they are, they were painted with acrylics, but I dont recall which brand. I have named them “Herman” and “Leutnant Dan” (guess who’s who [;)]).
Here is a diorama of the allies unleashing their secret super weapon.
So anyway, I have only got the base coat on the tank body right now, but last night I put them in it to see how they would look, and realized they look like they are driving their Panther Ausf. A back from the Stuttgart dry cleaners. I was wondering if anyone had any advice on making these guys look a little more ‘used’. I mean obviously they dont need to look like infantry after an epic battle, but what sort of things could I do to make it appear that its the end of a day of normal operations? Would they have grease or dirt on them or what? Also any other tips for improvement on them overall are welcome. Thanks!
You can use an oil paint wash on the figures. I use Ivory black thinned in oderless mineral spirits.
It will dry flat, get in the nooks and cranies and make them look real without over doing it.
I would practice this if its your first time. Most serious figure painters do not do this and I am aware of this, however for the everyday builder that doesn’t specialize in figures this technique works. Obviously the paint on the figures has to be thoroughly dry.
German field grey from tamiya is too green for 1/35th scale. I always cut it with dark grey, and in the field… uniforms would have been all shades of feldgrau due to use and fading, so you are ok on that issue.
Pretty likely…That was the reason for Panzer crew’s black uniforms in the first place… As for getting them to look right, you’d be ok with the late-war feldgrau too, as the Panzer uniform was done in feldgrau and camo was well as black. Assault gun crews didn’t wear black though, although the tankers could wear any of them. As for the color itself, it can be pretty relaxed as the color-fastness of the cloth went downhill pretty fast as the war progressed and the quality of the uniforms suffered…
There were style & cut differences in Heer and Waffen SS Panzer uniforms as well… Look through these if you want to…
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=SS+Panzer+uniforms&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
I agree with using the wash as a easy way to add shadows into the folds. ‘real’ figure painters will actually paint a darker shade into the shadow and have it blend into the basic color. I may suggest that after the wash dries, try using dry brushing technique to get a lighter shade of gray on top of the folds to pop those details out even more. Use very little paint and let the effect buidl slowly.
Not that I’m laying any claim to be a great figure painter, but here’s a picture of I one I did recently. Note that even though the shot is not that close, you can still easily see the shadows and highlights due to the wash and drybrushing of differnet tones. This is a 1/48th scale figure.
