Ausfwerks Features: Urban Tiger

Urban Tiger

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Numerals were added to the turret via hand painting. sloppy. yes! but that’s what I was aiming for. I must say (before someone else does) that this is a fictitious tank in Michael Wittmann's Battalion, according to Tiger's in Combat there wasn't a tank 203.
I began the weathering process with filters made via the "dot" method. After applying a semi gloss clear coat I dabbed on miniscule dots of oil paint in colors ranging from burnt umber, yellow ochre, white, and burnt sienna. These dots were then blended together with a wide soft brush damp with mineral spirits. Blend the colors till there isn't a trace of the individual colors left. What you’re looking for is a random patina of colors that very subtlety changes the base colors. Too much paint will drastically change them which is bad. The dot method is very easy to master but does require some practice to get a feel for how much paint to use and what colors (the colors will vary with your base colors obviously) I HIGHLY suggest practicing on a scrap model before tackling your latest labor of love. (If you don't have a junk model laying around to practice on then you've not been cavalier enough with your modeling. Once the filters were dry I went over the model bolt by bolt doing pin washes to bring out specific details. Washes need not always be darker than the base color. This tank was destine to be very dusty so many of the washes were done with light dusty tones to replicate dirt settled in and around crevices. Scratches, scrapes and chips were done with a combination of oil paint, enamels and colored pencils. Lighter scuffs were done with a light off white color to suggest that only the top layers of camo had been scraped off, while deeper scratches were done with burnt umber and red oxide.
The tanks is devoid of most of its tools except for the barrel cleaning rods which were painted with a combination of acrylic undercoats and oils to replicate the wood grain. Bare metal parts were metalized with iron oxide powder; this includes the road wheel rims on the all steel wheels. (see the "Painting the Initial Tiger" article in the tips section of Ausfwerks) I have had numerous people ask me where to get this stuff and to be honest I couldn't tell you where to buy it cause I've never had too. Its Iron Oxide pottery glaze left over from a 10th grade art project, I've been working out of the same 35mm film canister of glaze for 12 years and its only got like 1/4 of it used up.
General dust and grime was also added using Mig pigments. I mixed up several shades starting with Europe Dust to make it lighter and reduce the red tint.