Tamiya King Tiger Painting Guide

[Saxondog]

Yes, But Bubbajoe is interested as I purchased three King Tigers from him last year. He is as stubborn a man as I have ever liked,but he would be the first in the group to jump in the mud to help a friend up,and I believe you to be of the same cut yourself Wayne.

The main thing is this is the first time I used a brush that is the size of a brush or mop in scale.Then the floor polish was sprayed and I brushed the varnish. I still need some experience with the washes and other techniques, my ship models are easy as their ships and all ships rust the same way, As soon as a keel is laid a ship starts rusting.

Tanks are a little different but this is the third tank in my life and I may not be very fast but I am content with this tank so far,it is also the only one I have not stripped and stared over.

The two below are my first two,both were stripped using oven cleaner to bare plastic and repainted after I screwed up the first try. Might also begin to notice I use the number 13 or a series including the number 13 on my tanks, just my lucky number and it works out in most divisions,companies or platoons. Saxondog

[Von kraftwerk]

Hi Sax I was'nt having a pop at anyone,I was just supporting camo that does'nt follow accepted norms,eg a bunch of shermans were shipped in wrong colour someone got thier ass kicked because they were too green and not olive drab,I have come across great variations on real items,and yes when brushes were used it made a difference esp when paint was diluted with whatever came to hand

[majordisastor]

it made a difference esp when paint was diluted with whatever came to hand

Seems to be a far more complex subject than you might think ....its a headache enough working out the whole primer as camoflage issue, throwing in the cezch and french paint stocks as well adds to the fun.

I am sure the paint would acheive a diiferent hue - and durability as well - if it was mixed together with fuel or water say.

Another fly in the paint tin would be the inability of black and white photographs to give you a tonal seperation of brown or dark green. By this I mean they would be very hard to tell which colour was which.

Anyone who has poured over black and white photographs will know that the shortcomings of the camera lens technology at the time coupled with the quality of the film stock, its processing and storage gives a result that is often not ideal.

One question to ask - if the Germans were so good at keeping records - where there not any painting diagrams left tucked away in the tank builders filing cabinets ?? Would be nice if they were ..............

Whatever the facts or implications of real world paint samples chips etc If its your tank , you paid for it, built it and painted it then its going to have to your call, I would like to think that by seeking advice and information from better informed members then at least you should not be too far away from a realistic scheme ......

Andy

[Von kraftwerk]

yes and as modellers we see the same humbrol tin number can be different batch by batch or age,when field workshops painted whatever the unit commander said,it depended on the skill of the man with the spray gun,when spraying a model you can mist or lower pressure and get in close and get tighter dense darker with the same mix,a favorite of mine is when Rommel arrived in Libya the kit was all in panzer grey so they painted wet mud,which when dry blended in with the locale better than any paint,I've seen mud used to cover whitewash during sudden thaw,also when a panzer was brush painted the colours come out bold and dark(less dilute)so fellow panzer nuts,stick to regulation base coat,eg pz grey,dk yellow,then do what the **** you want,and nobody but a fool would try to tell you its wrong,unless modelling a specific tank,