1/35 VK1602 Leopard update (Part 5 - completed model! )

Above: I think this is my favourite build thus far. I'll admit, I've not built many models since I picked-up my childhood hobby once more, but yes, this is my favourite.

Above: I was originally going to have this tank depicted as a captured machine and had even hand-painted my white allied star on the hull, however, it just didn't look right to my eyes. I will save this idea for another build.

Above: a mud mixture with grass scatter works well to add some realism, even though my aim is not to try to solely make it look real - which sounds weird, I know, but to create an interesting model which is visually satisfying in its own right, whether or not it looks real or not; a realistic model is, of course, a nice bonus.

Above: I just had to use the lovely photo-etch hinge/bracket supplied with the kit. I used my trusty artist pastels to rust it up and fixed it with thinner - this might be my favourite little area of the tank simply because I love the colour contrast it provides and think it also looks quite convincing as rusty metal.

Above: I added both Mig dry and damp mud pigments to the underside of the hull and behind the tracks/running gear.

Above: cheap jewelry chain from an art shop adds some visual interest to the engine deck. It's weathered using pastels and pigments.  The red-oxide thing to the far left is a scratch-built spare road wheel holder and securing clamp.

Above:  a plain black base 'frames' the model nicely without distracting the viewer from all my hard work.

Above: I did plan to have a spare road wheel/extra armour on both sides, but wanted to have a different look to the model on both sides, thus opted for one to the port side - that meant on the opposite side I could show off my scratch built wheel bracket.

Above: oil and fuel stains finished off the engine deck

Above: using brass wire I added loops to the turret which enabled me to hang any natural vegetation the crew wanted to camo their machine with.

I often find that the little extras like a bucket finishes off a machine nicely and adds a human element, after all, without a human this machine is just a static piece of steel. The exhaust pipes were weathered using artists' pastels fixed with thinner.

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1/35 VK1602 Leopard update (part 4 - chipping, oil weathering, mud)

After finishing  chipping I always take photos and review them carefully. It's strange, because just like my artwork, in a photo mistakes instantly jump out of a photo that I don't see when viewing the actual model. 

After deciding what my changes will be, I use Photoshop to highlight areas in the photo that need to be changed, adding or removing chipping, oil streaks, rusting, etc. It's then just a question of following my photo guide.  These photo sessions are normally repeated many times before I'm happy, thus the reason my builds take so long.

In the photo above you can see the chipping and streaks that represent rust, dust and fuel/oil. I personally like very weathered machines so use my full weathering arsenal.

Above you can see the tracks have been muddied up.  I wanted a vehicle that had recently driven through mud, but that also had some dry mud caked into the tracks - the wet and dry mud help to create some extra visual interest.  I mixed white glue, pigments and other bits and pieces to thicken up the gooey mess. Later on I added another layer in which I mixed in static grass and pieces found in my garden. To speed up the drying process I used a hair dryer.

I used the same muddy mixture, but watered down, to flick onto the hull. I used a short, stiff- bristled brush dipped it into my mixture, and using my finger  flicked the loaded bristles to create the mud spattered effect. A post-it was used to cover areas I wanted to stay clean,

Here's another view of the lower hull that I was still working on.

See the final reveal HERE

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1/35 VK1602 Leopard update (part 3 - adding the camo)

There are many ways of creating a camouflage pattern, and I studied them all carefully. However, for some weird reason I opted to use masking fluid as my paint mask, a method I've never explored or even heard of being used in this particular fashion, so I was really asking for it! Luckily, and it was surely only luck, my method worked but required some clean-up with a damp toothpick once dried.  

It's important to mention that I had previously drawn out a camo design on paper so knew exactly where everything was going to go and how the finished pattern might look; this is a good idea if you want to save a lot of hard work later on.

I had planned on using Mig-003 Resedagrun, however, once applied it didn't look anything like the illustration of the late-war Panther I was using as my inspiration. I added Vallejo Model Color 70.883 Ger.Cam Bright Green (what a mouthful!) to the mixing cup,  test-shot it through my airbrush, and then onto my model.

Remember, once weathered you lose a lot of the vivid colour so I recommend going quite a bit brighter than your coloured illustration guide/mind's eye interpretation, especially if you intend to add heavy weathering effects. Also bear in mind that if a vehicle is in bright sunlight, this can fade paintwork in time - just look at an old red car.  Here in France there are many pink cars!

I forgot to mention if my previous posts that I had a go at creating my first cast gun mantlet with this build and it worked quite well.  I'm pretty sure I mixed glue with filler and stippled it onto the mantlet with an old, short-bristled brush (try saying that fast a few times!).

And here she is with tracks test fitted (and painted with AK's track wash). In this photo I'd begun the weathering process and added some chips around the corners.  For this I used tweezers to hold a small piece of sponge dipped into my chipping colour (dab off most of the paint on some scrap paper and leave only a minimal of colour on the sponge - like when dry brushing). 

See part 4 HERE

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