Weekend project...

hi all...I've been away due to tonnes of work etc but I'M BACK!!! Anyways last weekend i decided to pick up my first true hobby way before 1/6 figures came along-military scale models.

i have actually quite a few unfinished 'projects' and this was one of them- Tamiya's German Panther tank type-G,believe it or not the last time i touched this project (or any model project) was more then few years back to add 'zimmerit' coating to the tank using putty. The model kit box art is below but as usual i like to customize my projects.

ITEM 35170: German Panther Type G Early Version

Close view of Zimmerit on the bow of a Tiger II

Zimmerit was a coating produced for German armored fighting vehicles during World War II for the purpose of combating magnetically attached anti tank mines.

so here we go...first on Saturday after returning from BsB...applied a proper base coat with primer.

these 2 German tanker figures below were painted by hand years and years ago...trust me,not easy as these are all 1/35 scale and stands about 2 inches tall and i needed a really good fine brush especially for the eyes-its back breaking but hey no pain no gain.

OK on Sunday...lets prepare to paint this sucker.

flat dark green as the base paint...this is the easy part with the air-brush...

now comes the tricky part...using the air-brush to create the camouflage patterns by free hand...always use actual pictures as a reference.

flat black streaks to highlight the brown/khaki streaks...all free hand with the air-brush.

just look at the mess...this is why i don't do this hobby too much anymore...its just so much work esp the cleaning up,oh well done for now.

still a lot more detailing work to do esp on the tracks...

an actual color photo of a Panther in action...as you can see this was my reference on the camouflage pattern,well still lots to do with detailing and weathering and did i mention that the box of this project with the extra bits is no where to be found :(

The Panther was a tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and IV, though it served along with them as well as the heavier Tiger tanks until the end of the war. The Panther's excellent combination of firepower, mobility, and protection served as a benchmark for other nations' late war and immediate post-war tank designs and it is frequently regarded as one of the best tank designs of World War II.

click here to find out more about the Panther.