Tiger II – Photo gallery
This model of Tiger II, a German heavy tank of the Second World War, is the 30th I've finished so far. I started it in July 2020 and, after a long pause, I finally completed it in December 2021.
You can read all the related posts here.
Weathering
Respect to the previous post I further weathered the model, in order to achieve a more realistic look. First I gave it an oil wash with Raw Umber, to enhance details like corners and recesses. Then I continued with filters and rust, dust and mud effects; finally I added some further details.
Filters
Filters are useful to level out the different colors of the camouflage, dimming their contrast, and to give them a "worner" look. I used oil colors, starting with an overall ochre yellow. Then I used the color dots technique (already described in this post) to "move" a bit the paint.
After this I mixed equal parts of Raw Umber and ochre yellow to reproduce the build-ups of grime. I put it in the darker zones and in recesses, I waited 10 minutes and them I blended it with a paintbrush damped with thinner. The results are more apparent around the pilot's and radio operator's hatches.
Finally I used some pigments by Mig —even if technically they're not filters— to vary the colors a bit. In particular, I used African Earth for the red, Light Dust for the yellow and Allied Green (Fading) for the green.
Rust
Rust on a tank is quite rare, because usually armor plates are made by rust-resistant steel. The only areas where it could actually form are on the spare tracks, in a thin layer, on the tools and mostly on the silencers, since the heat favors the corrosion.
In those parts I painted the base in a mix of dark grey and ochre yellow (the same I used for the steel color in the previous post), onto which I made a Burnt Sienna oil wash. Finally I completed the effect using Standard Rust, Light Rust and Ochre Rust pigments.
Dust
I used the dust very sparingly, since too much of it would cover the underlying effects. I applied mainly Europe Dust and Russian Earth pigments, on the areas the crew would walk more frequently, around the hatches and the tools and on the upper hull.
Mud
Mud was ubiquitous in most of the Second World War theatres of operation. Infamous was the Russian rasputitsa, the “mud season”, in both spring and summer months. In that period the layer of mud on the ground was enough to hamper the movement of vehicles, often halting the advance of whole armies for months.
I didn’t want to overdo, since otherwise I would have covered too many details. Therefore I chose to represent a moderately dirty vehicle, with residuals of fresh mud surrounded by already dry parts.
I covered the tracks with a mix of dirt, synthetic grass, white glue and various pigments. I put the same compound also on the rear mudguards and partly on the wheels. On the other parts I used both enamel effects by AK (Fresh Mud, Earth Effects and Dust Effects) and Mig pigments (mainly Dark Mud and Russian Earth). Apart from applying it directly with a paintbrush, blending it when necessary with a thinner-soaked brush, I also “splattered” the mud by moving a toothpick on the bristles.
Other details
This Tiger II model kit lacked the protective meshes for the engine air intakes. I salvaged a spare plastic mesh from an old kit, I cut the parts and I glued them in place. After painting and weathering, they blended perfectly with the rest of the model:
Many late war German tanks used metal wire meshes to hold bushes and branches, in order to conceal the vehicle from enemy air strikes. I used some 0.1 mm copper wire painted with Vallejo 70.872 Chocolate Brown and, here and there, with 71.130 Orange Rust RAL-2010 to simulate the rust.
Finally, I rubbed a soft pencil on the scratched edges and on the track pads, as a bare metal effect. Moreover, I put some birch tree inflorescences on the engine deck, as if they were leaves fallen from the trees.
Photo gallery
Here's an overview of the final look of the Tiger II model.
