Panther II – Filters and washes
Once I finished the base painting, I applied some filters in order to vary the colors of the model and some washes to improve its visual depth. Finally, I added the decals and some additional finishing touches.
Filters
The first filter was with an acrylic paint, Vallejo 70.914 Green Ochre (a couple of drops in half a cup of tap water), and as a result it blended together the different shades and achieved a warmer hue. The following picture shows the result, comparing the "before" (left) and the "after" (right).
I colored the edges, the bolts and the protruding elements with a lighter hue, to better highlight the details. The difference in shade, apparent especially with the yellow, will be dimmed in the next weathering steps. Notice also, in the second picture, that a lighter color in the upper part of the machine gun "sphere" (Kugelblende) achieved a quite realistic lighting effect.
Decals
After that, I applied a layer of clear gloss varnish, in order to protect the underlying colors, then I put the decals and eventually sealed them with another layer of varnish.
Wheels
I colored and desaturated the wheels like in the rest of the camouflage; I painted their borders with a steel-colored Model Master enamel, whereas I colored the tracks with a mix of black and brown. Then I painted the metal tool parts and the spare tracks in black and finally I made a dry-brush with Humbrol 53 Gun Metal enamel.
Washes
A selective wash, using oil paints diluted with turpentine, managed to highlight the slits and cavities, thus achieving a better visive depth. I used Van Dyck Brown (around protruding edges and bolts) and Mars Black (for deeper cavities, like the armor plate weld joints).
The wheels were given a heavier wash with Mars Black, while those in Dunkelgelb received a further one with Raw Umber. Finally, metal tool parts and tracks were washed with Mars Black and Burnt Sienna.
Other filters
Finally, I applied a "dotted" filter to the whole model: I soakedthe surface with turpentine, then I tipped it with small dots of oil paint (pink, blue, green, yellow) and, after a few minutes, I blended and faded them with a soaked paintbrush (vertical strokes for vertical surfaces, circular for horizontal ones). The result is barely noticeable but still effective, consisting in subtle variations of the color texture.
Happy Easter!
