Need help with painting

[zwartdraakje]

Hi all

I m painting a series of panzer 4. I want to paint them late war so i use Vallejo sand yellow. I prime first with white then airbrushing them with the yellow. But the color of the tanks seems much too light. Should i mix paints or use a different color for painting?
Anyone can help me out here?

And what colour should u use for American tanks late war? I was thinking olive green.

thx

[Ritter]

Light is better than dark - now add a wash of dark brown and the model will look more to scale.

Troy

[kennerator]

Ritter, did you use an airbrush for the camo of the two Panthers on your website?

[Ritter]

The Panther on the left is base-coated with a brush - and cammo-ed with a Badger dual action, the one on the right was base-coated w/brush and cammo-ed with an Aztech (piece of crap) and ambush dots added with a 10/0 brush.


Troy

[jb]

The Panther on the left is base-coated with a brush - and cammo-ed with a Badger dual action, the one on the right was base-coated w/brush and cammo-ed with an Aztech (piece of crap) and ambush dots added with a 10/0 brush.


Troy

Troy, those are some really nice looking cats. I wonder what the one with the crap brush would look like if you did it with the Badger!

[chrisswim]

But the one on the right is the better tank: side skirts and front mantel. I like both very much, exceptional.

[Terrible Tim]

Ritter, great paint job on those pathers. The minis on your site are fantastic! Are you using a magnifying glass? The detail is unbelievable.

[WHM]

I also am impressed by the paint job on your figures and have used it (modified) in painting my own. I've painted some Syrian circa 1973 T-55s and feel they are my personal best but not up to the same standard you've acheived, but I'm satisfied. My T-55s are the first camo tanks I've done.

In painting them I used a Badger single action and the question I have regards mixing the paint. I use acyrlics (remeber, I said modified), and when I spray the model the brush will become clogged and I will unclog it by cleaning it/ thin the paint more/increase the air pressure/ and or do all the previous to get the paint to flow again. Generaly not a problem with the base coat, but when over painting the camo colors the paint "runs" because it is too watery and the air from the brush pushes it like a splatter. If I paint a little further away (distance being realative to the size of the model) it sprays to wide a area. I can't seem to get a happy medium. I have mixed the paint 50/50, since I use acyrlics I've thinned w/water, but lately I've used window washer fluid. Sometimeds the paint dosen't seem to be covering the model well so I add some paint, other times I will add a thinning agent when the brush clogs.

I've thought about buying a different airbrush but when I consider my skill level and expense I decided against it. Shouild point out I use a thin needle and head to try and gat that "pencil line" width i hear about.

Second question regarding the wash. I use a square cut brush, dip it into a thinned black wash and touch it against the protruding details on the model (hatches, grills, tools and tool boxes, headlights, etc.), but when you do it do you also wash the flat surfaces where there is no detail?

Thanks much

[WHM]

Sorry, nearly forgt to ask, should acrylics be baked?

[Peter_Fitz]

Wherever possible I airbrush detail with Tamiya acrylics, thinned with Tamiya's thinner or isopropyl (rubbing alcohol), and seldom have a problem with spidering or running. Spirit-based acrylics in general seem to be less prone to spidering, probably because the volatility of the medium means that it dries much more quickly than water-based paints.

I prefer Vallejo Model Color for brushing though; it's water-thinned and is a lot more amenable to recoating with a brush than Tamiya is.

I haven't yet tried Vallejo Model-Air, but I believe they're also spirit-thinned (unlike their Model Color range).