RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

I just painted my freshly zimmerit KT. First I primed, then painted flat black for dark undercoat to darken the finished base coat. Then I used Testors sandgelb for the base, olive drab and military brown. Then a coat of satin clear then a coat of matte clear. I was going for this:



And this is how it turned out



I know the pictures don't show completely the patterns but when I look at it something seems wrong. Something seems to be missing. I lack the keen eye of the experten in residence here so I'm asking for advice and opinions, brutal honesty not only tolerated but encouraged here!


Applying the clear was the first mistake, to me, I forgot that to my eye, applying the clear always seems to be a mistake-makes the final finish look a bit fuzzy and not real. If I had left the paint be with no clear coat it looks dry, almost dusty and more faded like the real item. But the camo pattern is what bothers me. Seems irregular or unsymmetrical somehow, just doesn't seem right. I know there was a lot of variation in the real tanks but despite that, i feel strongly like I left something unpainted, overpainted or just simply painted wrong.I already tried the ambush pattern, this is not supposed to be that pattern because I wasn't completely happy with that and don't really want to do that again.

In a previous post I asked for alternate schemes and several people were nice enough to assist by posting some, but the final product you see here was what got translated between my brain and airbrush hand...I am really stumped here. The model is so big to me it's hard to get it right whereas, my Tiger and Mk III i was happy with the first time I painted them...Ideas, A wash, fading, drybrushing, total repaint? Any and all ideas appreciated.

Honestly, I think it looks great. If I had painted it I would be very happy with it. I think once you put on the tools, tow ropes, decals etc they will help to break it up a little.

Looks ok to me Marc....Whats missing is the decals and details

ALPHA

Can you upload some bigger pictures? Can't make out much from these. However what your describing is pretty much how I feel about all my tanks before I start the weathering process. I'm never really happy with them with just a base coat and camo on. What you need to do is look into filters, pin washes, chipping, dirt and dusting to bring your tank to life.

It's like going from this:



To this:

I guess the thing to remember is its might easier to lighten a paint job than darken it and maintain the colours. If your colours are to dark initially, you can use dusting (a buff Humbrol, Tamiya or one of the many dust effects from people like AK fired through an airbrush) to lighten and change the tone easily.

If you're using flat black as an undercoat, then following coats needs to be extremely light for the effect to take place. If you want to darken the whole model now, you could use a dark ochre filter. It will darken everything and can blend out some paint detail if too heavy or dark. It needs to be thinned a great deal first.

A pin wash will serve to bring out the detail but for zimmerit, it probably doesn't want to be too much darker, so a light ochre would probably work nicely. I used an enamel dark ochre on mine and it looks good. For the rest of the detail you might want a slightly darker ochre. Remember that the filter is a thin coat and shouldn't run over the tank to change the overall tone. A pin wash is for detailing and should be sufficiently dark to bring it out and only applied to where you need it. Using capillary action to spread. Another thing to think about with zimmerit, is it's perfect for dry brushing. So you can darken the recesses and then lighten the edges and the effect can look pretty good.

As Tom suggests, post some larger photos and if possible take them in natural light as its pretty hard to judge.

It looks good from what I can see, agreed pics aren't the best. I'd give what Alpha said a try before you get too discouraged put all the detail parts on and see how it looks as they make a BIG difference! Also thats just the base camo job I'm sure once you weather it and give it some washes it'll look way better to you.

Thanks all for all the replies! Sometimes it actually depends on the mood i am in and the lighting whether I am convinced I did a satisfying job or not. Unlike my other tanks I paint this one over and over, and it's getting ridiculous. I think becase the KT is so big, magnifies any flaws real or perceived, why I have yet to be satisfied with it. Even when I compare what I have doen, with dozens of photos of not only other people's models but photos of the real thing, my logical mind says it is fine and accurate, my "artistic" mind says "not even close..."

I was thinking of retouching the camo with a going over of the blobs, with same color lightened with some white color added. I am starting to feel that the paint simply lacks depth due to the large size and that is what is bothering me. Your comments are much appreciated, I will wait a bit longer and not do anything drastic.

Anyway one of the nice people who commented mentioned larger pictures, here's the "mug shots"









Any specific techniques or links that an expert eye could point me to would be appreciated. I have tried washes and the like but they always come out a mess or unnoticable. Was thinking of trying oil paints like the articles recommend doing, I'm more one for light weathering. As it's my belief, although over weathering is how some people like to do it- but to me it is out of scale vs how the real thing would look.

I noticed this interesting weathering technique using only airbrush and use of colors, for a 1/72 PT boat that someone did, if anyone can get some useful ideas out of it here is the link. I would have actually tried this but I googled it AFTER I painted.

http://www.thecombatworkshop.com/2013/0 ... rt-ii.html

It looks fine. I'd personally consider filtering it then a pin wash. The filter gives the tonal depth you're wanting. You can use a very thinned down oil. Just don't put on enough that it pools anywhere.

This is an old pic of my KT directly after painting the base coats This is it today, with a dark ochre filter, acrylic pin wash and then some dusting and pigments. The yellow underneath is the same on both tanks, but the filters and pin wash is different giving them a different overall tone and one is dusted light and the other with a redish brown dirt.

I use a very weak wash of black and sepia wash, this sits in the recesses and adds depth works especially well on zim

Hi Marc,

Here is my honest comment. I don't mind what you did at all but I think if you were trying to get closer to the initial illustration the problem your eye is having is that your browns and greens are touching each other and not defined enough. If you look at the original you will see there is sand between and around each colour. Also your "spots" (for lack of a better word) of colour are larger than the original illustration. The absolute best way to do these types of complicated patterns is to lightly pencil the pattern onto the tank before starting. Also watch the "fanning on the edges of the colour spots. This is caused by not having the airbrush at 90 degrees to the surface you are painting. It causes your edges to be very soft and "fanned" out. It takes some practice to do this. On complicated bits and angles it I actually will practice my hand movement 2 or 3 times before I actually spray. Like anything it just takes practice, practice, practice!

That will solve your original dilemma about it not looking right I think...