Jagdpanther | Italeri | 1/35

I came across this kit being sold very cheaply online by Levent İnceayan, so I bought it right away. It’s actually Italeri’s 1/35 Jagdpanther kit. I hadn’t built anything in this scale for a while, so I immediately put the Jagdpanther on the bench. Since it’s a pretty old mold, the level of detail was quite limited. I began assembling the kit right away.

First, I had to fit the tracks. They are made of vinyl, so I had to use sewing pins to give them the proper sag. Even then, I don’t think I managed to get the right side to sit correctly.

The kit had a moderate amount of detail. One positive aspect was that the tools hanging on the sides were molded separately, rather than molded onto the hull. However, the spare track links on both sides were made of a very soft vinyl-like plastic, which made them extremely difficult to paint later on.

Since I believe the Jagdpanther looks better without them, I cut off the front fenders completely. I didn’t feel the need to make any other modifications to the tank.

I decided to paint the tank in the classic German yellow. I wanted it to remain a single color, without adding any camouflage on top. Honestly, this was partly to make things simpler. But I also feel that I do single-color models a little better, so I preferred to go this route. 

For painting, I used AK Interactive AK552 German Dunkelgelb Modulation Set. I tried to follow the modulation steps shown on the box. I don’t think I managed to get the modulation on the right side very well. 

Once the main painting was done, I started painting the details. The tracks are the largest visual elements, so I began with them. I painted the tracks with Vallejo Air 71080 Rust. After the paint dried, I dry-brushed the edges and contact surfaces with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel.

I painted the rubber rims of the wheels with Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black. I dry-brushed the teeth of the front sprocket with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. Using the same color, I also dry-brushed the inner sections of the tracks where they contact the wheels.

Some of the inner wheels did not have rubber rims. I painted the parts that touch the tracks with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. Some experienced modelers were bothered by this at first, but once they checked the references, they agreed it was correct.

I painted the spare track links on the sides with the same Vallejo Air 71080 Rust color that I used on the main tracks. I painted the metallic parts of the tools on the sides with Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black, and then dry-brushed them with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel.

I painted the fire extinguishers on the side and rear of the tank with Vallejo Model Color 70957 Flat Red. I’m sure the Germans wouldn’t have used such a color in wartime, but I wanted to add contrast to the tank.

For the wooden tool handles, I first painted them with Revell Aqua Color 36314 Beige. Then I applied Vallejo Model Color 70828 Woodgrain to give a wood texture. It’s not the most realistic way to paint tools, but on large, monotone surfaces, adding contrast wherever possible helps the overall look.

After finishing all the tools and equipment, I let everything dry completely and moved on to varnishing. I used Vallejo 70822 Satin Varnish. I prefer satin varnish because when I use gloss varnish, it becomes difficult to knock down the shine in later stages.

Once the varnish dried, I applied the decals. I used Tamiya Mark Fit to make them settle properly. Tamiya decals are quite thick, and decal solutions work great for softening thicker decals. After they dried, I varnished the model again and began the filtering stage.

After the varnish cured, I first applied an oil paint filter. I used Winsor & Newton oils to apply a Titanium White filter.

After the white filter, I used Winsor & Newton oils again to apply filters in Burnt Sienna and Chrome Yellow Hue. I used to work with Terlans odorless thinner, but lately I prefer Cadence thinner. The Terlans version reacts with Vallejo varnishes and lifts them.

Thanks to the Cadence thinner, the filter dried quickly and I moved on to oil-dot weathering. Since the monotone color could easily look flat, this step was extremely important for this tank.

I applied dots of Winsor & Newton oils—Burnt Sienna, Titanium White, and Chrome Yellow Hue—onto the tank. In some areas, I also added Sap Green and Prussian Blue.

On sloped surfaces, I placed the dots and then pulled them downward using a flat brush moistened with thinner. I realized later that I should have blended the colors more thoroughly. Also, yellow needs to be used very sparingly, as it becomes overwhelmingly strong in the final look.

On flat surfaces, I applied the dots and blended them using circular motions with a round brush dampened with thinner. For some reason, I’m not very good at this step—since I didn’t blend the oils enough, the colors remained too visible and made the finish look sloppy.

After oil-dot weathering, I moved on to pin washing. I used Winsor & Newton Lamp Black thinned with odorless thinner. I applied the mixture into recesses, corners, and armor panel lines. This added depth to the tank. Since the tank was yellow-toned, I applied a second pin wash using Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color – Dark Brown. 

I washed the tracks with AK Interactive AK083 Enamel Track Wash. This helped break up the monotony and reduced the overly pastel look. After completing the washes, I left the model to dry.

Once the tank was dry, I applied another coat of Vallejo 70822 Satin Varnish. I generally prefer the satin look on models. But if a gloss coat is used beforehand, the satin varnish struggles to fully remove the shine.

After the varnish dried, I began the dusting process. I dusted the tracks and wheels using Ammo by Mig Jimenez AMIG3004 Europe Earth. I wiped off the excess with thinner and fixed the remaining pigment in place. I also applied the same pigment onto the large surfaces of the tank and removed the excess with a brush.

To enhance the dusty appearance, I used AK Interactive AK4062 Light Dust Deposit washes. This product helped create convincing accumulated dust effects on the tank’s surfaces. 

I washed the tools on the tank with Ammo Mig Jimenez A.MIG-1004 Enamel Light Rust Wash. This initially gave a heavy rust appearance, so I removed the excess with thinner.

As the final step, I drew over the edges and corners with a graphite pencil and a graphite art pencil. This simple step increases the metallic feel dramatically and helps the model look less like plastic.

After completing all the steps, I finished the model and placed it in my cabinet. In the end, it turned out to be a very monotone, pastel-colored tank. I should have added more variation to the broad surfaces. I put the tank in the display case and turned to my stash to decide which model to build next.

M1A1 (HA) Abrams I Revell I 1/72

After moving into my new home, I no longer had a proper workbench to build models on. I ended up working on a small side table instead. Years ago, I had built a 1/35 scale Abrams, and I figured it was finally time to make one in 1/72 scale as well. So I put Revell’s M1A1 kit on the bench.

During assembly, I struggled a lot—classic Revell quality, as always. The side skirts at the front refused to meet the fenders properly, leaving enormous gaps. I filled those areas with putty.

The upper and lower hull halves also did not fit together correctly. Those joints ate up a lot of putty. Be careful when assembling the tracks because the instructions are wrong. In fact, the instructions are incorrect or incomplete in several places, so you really need to stay alert while building.

For priming, I used Tamiya Gray Surface Primer spray. Strangely, the primer didn’t cover the puttied areas at all. I had used Vallejo 70400 Plastic Putty, and I had never experienced anything like this before.

Since I didn’t want to paint the tank in the usual desert yellow or NATO camouflage like everyone else, I decided to go with a forest-green scheme—similar to the Abrams tanks we’ve been seeing in Europe recently. I painted the entire model with Vallejo Model Air 71093 NATO Green.

I selected the paints for color modulation myself instead of using a ready-made set. First, I applied Vallejo Model Air 71137 US Light Green over the surfaces except for the naturally shaded areas. This created the first layer of tonal variation.

Then I wanted to brighten the tank even more with a lighter tone, so I used Vallejo Model Air 71009 Eau de Nil D.E. Green for the highlights. This completed the modulation stage. Once the main painting was done, I moved on to dry brushing.

I dry-brushed the raised details using Vallejo Model Air 71321 IJA Light Grey Green. I love dry brushing because it gives the model a lot of depth and volume—but if you overdo it, it can become distracting.

After finishing the dry brushing, I moved on to painting the smaller details. I painted all the tracks with Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black. Then I dry-brushed the metal parts of the tracks with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel.

I painted the exhaust grille at the rear with Revell Aqua Color 36109 Anthracite. I used the same color for the machine guns, the barrel tip, and the towing hooks. Afterwards, I dry-brushed those parts with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. I painted the rubber sections of the road wheels with Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black.  

Once all the painting was finished, I sealed the tank with Vallejo 70522 Satin Varnish. This semi-matte coat protected everything I had done up to that point. Since the weather was warm, the varnish dried very quickly.

After the varnish cured, I looked through the decal options. I wanted this build to represent a European-based tank. The kit includes decals for vehicles used in Bosnia, and I thought those would be the most appropriate, so I decided to use them.

I only used a few of the decals. Reference photos show that forest-green Abrams tanks carry very minimal markings, so I followed that approach. To set the decals properly, I used Tamiya Mark Fit.

After the decals dried, I sealed the tank again with satin varnish to eliminate any shine. Then it was time to apply filters. For this stage, I used Winsor & Newton oil paints.

First, I applied a white filter using titanium white. Then I added a filter with Burnt Sienna. Finally, I applied a green filter using Chrome Green Hue and left the tank to dry once more.

After the filters were done, it was time for washes. Since the tank was green, I thought a dark brown wash would be the most appropriate. I used Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color – Dark Brown for the wash. After application, I removed the excess with a brush dipped in thinner. 

The tracks consist of two separate components: rubber pads and metallic sections. I wanted the metal parts to look rusty, so I used AK Interactive AK083 Enamel Track Wash on the tracks. After completing all the washes on the tank, I let everything dry. I usually use Terlans odorless thinner for washes, but for some reason this product dries very slowly.

Once the tank was completely dry, I moved on to the final protective varnish. I used Vallejo 26518 Matt Acrylic Varnish as my matte coat. Matte varnish makes weathering easier. 

With single-color tanks, too much matte varnish can make the model look like a toy. That’s why I thin the varnish heavily and apply light layers. In this form, the varnish helps blend the tones and makes the model look much nicer overall.

I started the weathering process from the lower hull. First, I applied Vallejo 73119 Europe Earth pigment to the tracks. Then I mixed Vallejo 73121 Desert Dust with thinner and applied it as well. After it dried, I cleaned off the excess with thinner.

I applied the same method to the side skirts and the front and rear sections. To add some variation, I also created white streaks using Winsor & Newton Titanium White on those surfaces. After creating the streaks, I applied pigments again over them.

Once the pigment application was done and all pigments were fixed with thinner, I used AK Interactive AK4062 Light Dust Deposit on the same areas to create accumulated dust effects.

One of the biggest mistakes I tend to make when weathering modern tanks is weathering the hull heavily while leaving the turret too clean. To avoid that criticism again, I applied the same weathering steps to the turret—but much more lightly.

I used Humbrol Weathering Powder Smoke on the gun muzzle at the front and on the engine exhaust grille at the back to create soot effects. I kept the application very light; otherwise, it starts to look like chimney soot.

I drew over all the corners and edges of the tank with a graphite pencil. This simple step creates a very convincing metallic effect. I also have a graphite art pencil given to me by Mustafa Dombay. Using both pencils together helps enhance the metallic look even more.

I sent this model to Ahmet Gürkan, who photographed it for me and took it to the 12th Plastic Battle Military Ground Vehicle Competition. My model won a bronze medal at the event. Many thanks to everyone who supported me, and especially to Ahmet Gürkan for taking the model to the competition on my behalf.