Urban Tiger page 3 With the zimmerit on I could proceed with the ancillary parts... The only real deviations from the kit instructions were damaging the rear turret stowage box by thinning from behind and then grinding dents into the outside and piercing the plastic with various files and knives to replicate shot damage. Also weld seams around the top of the hull and turret were re textured with a pointed bit in the Dremel tool. (a speed controlled Dremel tool really helps doing stuff like weld seams; I have a homemade rig with a dimmer switch and a plug to infinitely control the speed) The gaps were filled with Bondo spot filler thinned with Testors liquid cement. DML’s own PE tool clams and aluminum barrel were used throughout as were there engine deck screens which are pre-shaped and beautiful. You will also notice that there are several shot holes in the side of the hull and many shot gouges in the surface... The closely grouped holes in the side of the hull were drilled out and then textured shaped with a Dremel tool. The shot damage wasn't intended to be fatal to the tank. In my mind this scene takes place after the shoot out in Villers Bocage, therefore the ready ammo racks in the sponsons would likely be empty. These shots could have passed right through that area and rattled around a bit but may not have started any fires. The commander’s legs are right about that area thought. Ouch! With principal construction complete I could now proceed with my favorite part... Painting About this time I had read Robert Oehler's Osprey title on building the 251 series halftracks. In that book he describes his "scribble" method of camouflaging with an airbrush. Very intrigued at this technique I decided to give it a try and replicate a fairly standard paint scheme from the Normandy campaign. I was also eager to give my new Iwata Revolution airbrush a workout (one of the cheapest in Iwata's line but still a superb double action brush) I knew this paint job would be subjected to a barrage of weathering so I started out with VERY light colors. The base color is Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow mixed with a LOT of white and XF-57 buff, also added to the mix was a little shot of Testors flat yellow to re saturate the color after all that lightening. The camo colors are Testors Rust with a shot of XF-60 and for the green I believe it was Testors Dark Green mixed with some XF-57 and a touch of yellow (again to brighten it up after lightening the green) The camo colors were thinned to down around a 75% thinner (water/alcohol/Flow-aid) and 25% paint. The paint was applied in a scribbling motion keeping the airbrush moving randomly in all directions to lay out the pattern. Only then did I go back and deliberately paint over the colors again to make them more opaque. The trick to this method I think is to be as fluid and free flowing as possible and not stop and concentrate in one area for any length of time. I have to say I was very please with the outcome of the basic camo work. copyright©2006 ausfwerks