discussion German Camo Practice

[Alan 45]

over the last week I've been practicing how to paint camo on tanks in this case German , I've found a way that looks good although to do it to an acceptable level is going to take a lot of practice but it can be done as the photos will indicate


The best way I've found is to dry brush this is a panzer IV I built some time back and it's turned into a practice piece


This has several different attempts so it's not uniform but I thought I'd so off the best attempt so far and then there's some photos of it in winter camo so it's become an actual build instead of just a lump with different colours on it


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these are shots of the left and right side of the turret I'd like you to concentrate on as you can see the dry brushing has created a sort of blended effect this does need practice it's not how I would present a model but this will come and I think in a month or so I will have a viable effect and in six months it will look like it's been airbrushed

This is the winter camo


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This is also a practice for a T34 I have planed

 

[papa 695]

It looks very good Alan

 

[Guest]

Why not buy an airbrush & save all that effort?

 

[Alan 45]

Because there's no skill in an airbrush

 

[Guest]

Because there's no skill in an airbrush

your kidding me ?? I do not think so, Greetings

 

[Alan 45]

your kidding me ?? I do not think so, Greetings

No I'm not , AB is an easy way to create great models , brush takes years of practice to get to the same level

 

[john i am]

Incoming !


Hi Alan you camo looks very smart.


I agree brush painting takes a certain amount of skill and practice and respect to those that do.


I also agree airbrushing is an easier option but to say it doesn't require any skill. I'm sorry I can't agree with that statement Only the air brushers amongst us will appreciate my disagreement as some of us can't even get the paint through the airbrush (see old threads)that's an art and a skill in itself! I won't say one is better than the other as I feel it's what..... "Suits you sir"

 

[Guest]

Because there's no skill in an airbrush

Now there's a provocative statement! There's just as much skill involved in using an airbrush as there is in using a hairy stick. It's foolish to suggest otherwise Alan.


We've had this discussion before & remain convinced that real-life spray patterns can't be fully replicated with a brush. One can come close, but in a side-by-side comparison, the difference will be clear.


Whilst I admire you're dedication & effort, the right tools for the right job.


Are you scared of trying an airbrush Alan? One provocative statement deserves another

 

[Guest]

No I'm not , AB is an easy way to create great models , brush takes years of practice to get to the same level

Modestly, I think with the brush you can not do certain things if they can do with the AB.


I think if the figures for a good brushwork, but my experience is indispensable, I have seen that with a brush, i was not able to get excellent models I saw in the catalogs,


I get so frustrated I got to leave the hobby , for perhaps twenty years, until now I've rediscovered a new world of modellism, and decided to bet on the AB.


Now with AB, I have not put aside the brush, it is fundamental, but seeing the results I had before with the brush only, I think I've improved a lot,and that my models of thirty years or more, to the age I was, means in my power, and skill, were pretty decent (modest, it was the best of friends that we met to talk and see models did, but not the best means had,but in all forms so critical with my models, many went to the boxes of spare parts (poor little ones ...).


In short, if you like a little one of my posts models, I confess that I've been using the AB from june, and it is also a AB-300 (over 30€ chinese made).


Cheers Alan

 

[Alan 45]

All I'm saying is it's much easier to produce very good models with an AB than it does with a brush


Sorry if I've offended anyone

 

[Guest]

All I'm saying is it's much easier to produce very good models with an AB than it does with a brush
Sorry if I've offended anyone

none of that, please, if we can be helpful, why not?

 

[john i am]

All I'm saying is it's much easier to produce very good models with an AB than it does with a brush
Sorry if I've offended anyone

No offence taken mate love you ..................and your big hairy stick

 

[Alan 45]

No offence taken mate love you ..................and your big hairy stick

Cheers mate I appreciate that


But this doesn't mean we'll be swapping spit in the shower or taking long moonlight walks on the beach

 

[Guest]

I really like this! Been trying to pull a winter camo off for ages

 

[Alan 45]

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Well I'm not too far away with achieving my desired goal with white but White is easier as it doesn't have as many additives

This was my first piece of armour I built and I thought I'd have a bash at a different type of winter camo


SD KFZ 251/1

 

[Dave Jay]

Normal service resumed i presume.


Im with alan on this.

 

[Dave Jay]

A lot of armour was hand painted in the field, access to a compressor and spray gun wasn't always available.

 

[Guest]

What you you have achieved with handbrushing these models is great.

 

[Guest]

A lot of armour was hand painted in the field, access to a compressor and spray gun wasn't always available.

Excluding the application of whitewash, all German armour post August 1943 was painted in field workshops. The vehicles arrived from the factory with a base coat of Dunkelgelb & the camo was applied at company level, usually by a number of crews - not each individual crew. The workshops had access to spray equipment - painting a tank by hand would take a good deal longer than with a spray gun, especially when doing many vehicles at a time.


Whilst there are no absolute certainties during wartime (especially when fighting a losing war), this practice remained in place right into 1945.


The idea that every German tank was painted in random individual patterns is a common misconception. Nazi Germany was a totalitarian state & therefore central control was paramount.


By September/October 1944, many vehicles were painted direct at the factory, usually in the Hinterhalt-Tarnung or "ambush pattern".


As the war drew toward its end, supply & manufacturing problems led to an inevitable breakdown in procedures, but by that stage, very few tanks were making it to the front lines.


Cheers


Patrick

 

[Dave Jay]

Once again i stand corrected!


I hesitated in posting back on this forum, but my hesitation was founded, i shall remain clear of this shit forum.