Working on my latest batch of Zvezda 1/100 (15mm) late-war German tanks.

After trying adhesive putty to delineate camouflage, using both brush and spray paint, I tried using a small sponge.

The sponge seemed to work best.  I used a couple of umber and black washes to gritty the tank up, and then a little bit of touch-up using a Q-tip.  I do enjoy tanks, because my lack of precision and technique can be superficially covered up by applying dirt, grime and weathering.

The result…. it “looks good on the table” (which is a miniatures equivalent of  “Bless His Heart”).

Here are some dynamic before and after shots taken in the usual crypt like lighting.

Finally finished up the late-war Soviet and German tanks purchased some time ago.  They were languishing  in a painting induced purgatory, victims of my incompetence.

Painting early war tanks is straight forward.  Single color, weathering, dirt & grime…done.  Later war Germans are something else.

There are some excellent resources on the web about how to paint them (#1 and #2) .  The problem is I just couldn’t leave it alone and do what I was told.

Instead, I tried using the Blu Tack (or its far less expensive counterpart Blue Stik), along with spray paint and, just to make things more interesting, ignore cleaning out some stray landscape flock from the painting box.  The result was ridges along the color lines, and grit all over the tanks, like a molted zimmerit paste.

It took a awhile to psychically recover from this screw up.  But, in the spirit of clearing out all the miscellaneous bits and pieces before the next  big project, I trudged to the finish.  The results……..well……..(let’s blame it on the bad lighting).  If they look glossy, it’s because I finished them in gloss coat.  Perverse, but they seem to look better this way.

Undeterred from this episode I bought some more late German and Soviets.  Exotics.  What started out as a “let’s get a few late-war tanks and fight in an urban setting” has ballooned into something else.  And, don’t even get me started on the continued scale printing problems with the paper buildings.

During this sad process, I picked up a copy of Stalin’s Tanks.  Had read some positive comments, and remembered it as something I thought about buying way back when.  The hope is I can mash up this rule set along with Tanks!  to add a little depth  to a beer and pretzels game from another beer and pretzels game.

Back from a week in the Sun with friends.  Nice way to spend the time.

Just before departure, I  received the last of three books ordered to help with the Tanks project.  All of these involved camouflage and markings throughout World War II.  I already had one book covering the Polish and French campaigns.  Each of these four books, while originally published many years ago,  is highly recommended.  Here’s a few comments on each.

The cover says it all.  I was especially intrigued by the widespread use of tankettes and carriers by the Allies.  Many of the photos were of abandoned Allied armor, which shouldn’t have been a surprise, but the sheer frequency of breakdowns reported was astounding.

This is the only book not published by Arms and Armour.  George Bradford is well known for his profiles series.  I was not overly impressed with it at first glance-through, but subsequent readings proved it to be a very satisfying overview, complete with scale drawings of all the armored vehicles used during the campaign.

Another volume with Steven Zaloga, the well known armor expert and author of the popular  Panzer Colors series.  This volume includes a helpful survey of German Panzer unit insignia, as well as an interesting discussion of Soviet tank inscriptions. Vehicles from Romania and Hungary are also covered.

This book begins with a very interesting discussion of the purposes and techniques of camouflage.  The author emphasizes the effects of dirt, dust and foliage on armor camouflage, and the differences in philosophy between the Great Britain, United States and Germany.  To me, the illustrations aren’t consistently as good, but I am a fan of profiles and not aspect renderings of equipment and aircraft.  Most of German vehicles photographed were captured, with only a few shots of them in action.

Prices for these books – all used- range from the reasonable to the absurd.  It took time and effort over a period of months to locate quality copies at good prices.  I feel the money was well spent.