The First Tank......

It was going to happen sooner or later, though when it did happen, I was pleasantly surprised.....




No, not that you perverts, I painted the first vehicle for my German force, a StuH 42. Probably my favourite of the German tank designs, yes the gun is in a low hull mount but the whole thing looks stubby and brutal.

StuH 42

One of the things keeping me from starting them was being unsure about how to apply a decent scheme without an airbrush, though that was soon solved by using a trick I found on youtube - firstly stippling the stripes on using a 50/50 mix of the stripe colour and the main colour, then using the stripe colour over the top to give a soft edged finish.

StuH 42

I've not added any weathering to this one for now as I wanted to get the paint recipe right before I start flinging mud and chipped paint everywhere. I think a bit of mud in the guts of the tracks and flicked up the side skirts should do the trick, while I'll probably keep any chips to heavy wear areas.

StuH 42

One of the things I'm pleased with and disgusted at in equal measure is the comment from my wife that it look like a shop bought paintjob, and in some respects she's right. I mean, everyone paints German armour and it all looks the same for the most part. What I need to do is work out how to make it mine. I think a few bits of stowage would help, as would taking panels out of the skirts. The rest of the tanks I've got built are all straight from the box jobs so I'll be going back over those in turn.

StuH 42

The next tank I've got on the desk is the StuH's up gunned daddy, the StuG Ausf H. I think I'll start on that while I've got the enthusiasm for armour going.