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.

Panzer Kampfwagen III Ausf. L I Revell I 1/72

After taking a short break from tanks and building a Star Wars model, I returned to armored vehicles with Revell’s Panzer III kit. I had previously built this model once before, so starting it again felt like a good way to see how far I’ve come in my modeling journey.

This kit is in 1/72 scale and assembles almost like Lego. The fit is excellent with no alignment issues. I particularly liked the inclusion of link-and-length style tracks. While putting together individual track links can be tedious, the final result gives a very realistic look.

Once assembly was completed, I primed the model using Tamiya Gray Surface Primer. I usually prefer grey primer; black tends to make the final coat too dark, while white often struggles to cover the model evenly due to pigment issues. Grey ends up being the best middle ground.

After priming, I checked the seams and fixed a few small gaps, though the kit fit was good enough that it required minimal correction.

Once the primer was fully dry, I decided to paint the tank in German yellow, or Dunkelgelb. I’ve grown quite fond of working with this color lately. Unlike green tones that tend to swallow up modulation efforts, Dunkelgelb reveals all your shading and tonal work beautifully. That’s why I enjoy working with it.

For the painting stage, I used the AK Interactive German Dunkelgelb Special Modulation Set. I began with the Dunkelgelb Dark Base and Dunkelgelb Base for the initial coverage.

In the second stage, I used Dunkelgelb Light Base to paint the larger flat surfaces, leaving shadows in the recessed areas. I then highlighted the edges and uppermost parts with Dunkelgelb High Light. 

In the final stage, I loaded Dunkelgelb Shine onto a brush and dry-brushed the raised surfaces. This completed the tank’s main coat using dry brushing techniques.

With the base paint finished, I moved on to the details. First, I painted the tracks with Vallejo Air 71080 Rust. Once dry, I dry-brushed the contact surfaces and edges using Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. 

For the rubber rims of the wheels, I used Vallejo Air 71315 Tyre Black. The spare wheels were painted in the same shade. I also used Vallejo Air 71065 Steel to dry-brush the drive sprockets at the front.

I painted the spare track links on the front and the towing hook at the rear with Vallejo Air 71080 Rust, then dry-brushed both with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel.

The metal tools on the hull were painted with Revell Aqua Color 36109 Anthracite, and again dry-brushed with Vallejo Air 71065 Steel. This combination gives a pleasing and realistic metallic effect.

  

As for the wooden parts of the tools, I used Revell Aqua Color 36314 Beige and added dry brushing with Vallejo Air 71132 Aged White for texture.

For the final part of the painting stage, I used MIG 044 Chipping paint with a sponge to apply wear to the tank’s surface. In hindsight, I may have overdone this a little — a lighter touch might’ve looked better.

Once all painting was complete, I allowed the tank to dry thoroughly. The acrylic paints I used dry quickly, which really helps speed up the workflow. That’s one reason I’m so fond of Vallejo and Revell acrylics.

After the paint dried, I sealed the model using Vallejo 70522 Satin Varnish. I’ve stopped using gloss varnish because it’s hard to dull down in later stages. Satin gives just the right balance for me.

Once the varnish was cured, I applied the decals using Tamiya Mark Fit. Although I also have Tamiya Mark Fit Strong, I avoid it since it has previously damaged the underlying paint.

I didn’t use the decals provided in the kit, which were intended for Eastern Front vehicles. Instead, I used ones from my stash suitable for an Africa-based tank.

After the decals set completely, I lightly sanded over them with fine grit sandpaper and sealed them again with Vallejo 70522 Satin Varnish. This protects the decals and prevents them from looking glossy. 

Next came the oil filters. I used Winsor & Newton Winton Titanium White first, followed by Chrome Yellow Hue, and finished with Burnt Sienna. For thinning, I used Terlans Odorless Turpentine. It’s low-odor and pleasant to work with, though it dries very slowly. 

Next, I applied a yellow filter with Winton Chrome Yellow Hue. I finished the filtering stage with Winton Burnt Sienna. For thinner, I used Terlans odorless turpentine, which is easy to work with but dries quite slowly.

After filtering, I waited several days for the turpentine to dry completely before moving to the wash phase. For this model, I used two types of washes.

First, I applied a black wash using Humbrol AV0201 Black Enamel Wash. I removed the excess with a brush dipped in turpentine. Then, I applied Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color Dark Brown for a darker, more nuanced effect — again cleaning up with turpentine.

The tracks were weathered using AK Interactive AK083 Enamel Track Wash. I let everything dry thoroughly. Often washes darken the model, but this time the final tone was just right.

To protect all previous steps, I applied Vallejo 26518 Matt Acrylic Varnish before weathering. Matte varnish creates a textured surface that helps weathering products adhere better — an essential step, in my view.

That said, matte varnish on yellow paint can make the tank look like a toy if overused. I thin it heavily and apply it in multiple light layers to avoid that issue.

I started weathering with the lower hull and tracks as usual. I used Vallejo 73121 Desert Dust pigment generously on the wheels and side panels, then fixed it in place with turpentine.

After applying pigments to the tracks, I used AK Interactive AK4062 Light Dust Deposit to do additional washes over the wheels, side panels, and track surfaces — repeating the same for the tank’s underside.

For rust effects, I diluted Ammo Mig Jimenez A.MIG-1004 Enamel Light Rust Wash heavily and applied it to the spare track links and towing hook.

I gently dusted the tank’s entire surface with Vallejo 73119 European Earth Pigment using a nearly dry brush to avoid pigment buildup.

Finally, I used a graphite pencil to edge-highlight the tank’s corners, giving it a subtle metallic look. I finished the model with light, refined weathering rather than a heavy, grimy style.

Originally, I hadn’t built this model for a competition. But my modeling friend Bayram Koçer told me he would be running a MiniAFV stand at the 6th “Scale Worlds Model Competition” held on May 4–5, 2019. He asked me to contribute a few models. 

I sent several of my builds for display and asked Bayram to submit this one into the competition. He kindly agreed and took the model with him.

In the competition, the model won second place (silver) in the 1/72 Scale Military Land Vehicles – Hobby Category. That recognition made me very happy. I sincerely thank everyone who supported me and Bayram Koçer for taking my model there.

Later, the same model won third place in the Standard Category at the 5th Online Plastic Model Competition. Many thanks to Gökay Yalçın for organizing the event.