I was finally able to paint this one over the past few months. This PZ IV is, without a doubt, the most difficult model I have personally done in regards to both assembly and paint. I’m not totally happy with it.

This is my second model with zimmerit. Only five more to go. I still did not get the appearance I wanted when painting the zimmerit but you learn as you go.

Many thanks to my friend and Spanish master modeller César Oliva for painting me that nice figure. I live it pal. Thanks again man!!!!
Although I studied this one carefully I added a few details trying and keep it fun. One feature is the blue sign on the front that reads ¨Frontline pig¨ when translated to English. When working for model company I found that I like to do these little things when modelling on my own time in an attempt to keep the personal imaginative joy I had for this hobby as a teenager. These details also give me the opportunity to try different painting techniques. Maybe I’ll also add some IR gear just for an old friend of mine.

I would like to thank the following for there help, critiques and advise with this model.

Scott Negron
Tom Cockle
MIG
Harry Stein Muller
And all of the people an here on ML, PA and on the MIG Production forums.
















Have a great weekend

ANPW

Hey !

A great "Frontschwein"! Exellent work. The little ideas you integrated make your model look like a living thing. Good work !

Greetings, Phil

I like the unusual herringbone pattern zimmerit. That alone must have been quite a chore. The chips and scratches look a bit overdone on this one, but it does look like a well worn war vet.

Namaste

the overal feeling of the vehicle is great, very worn out and great use of colours. although i'm also thinking the scratches look a bit too much. even so, we all know this is something of personal taste.
either way, lovely vehicle Adam, another project to be proud of!

Hello Guys

Thanks for the postings guys. Attached is a photo I referenced for the scratches. This is as clear as I could get them because I do not have a scanner. Let em know your thoughts.

Charley, I will be home in a few weeks. Talk to you then.

Philipp and Steven, nice to speak with you as well.





Cheers
ANPW

I can see why you were inspired by it. It's really scratched to hell isn't it? Almost like it was used as a bulldozer through a forest!

Great work!

Think that this one is really nice. Its Orginal overall. I belive the reason why your not totally happy with it, is because your not used to doing vechicles with Zimeritt, perhaps?. I do like the used look of the subject, The Colour Modulation was well utilized here.



well played my Friend, well played indeed!

Hi Adam,

You might not be totally happy with this subject, but personally I think it is a little gem!

You have captured the look of an exhausted old warhorse to perfection and I guess we will see it gracing the pages of one of the modelling publications sometime in the future.

It is a gorgeous rendition of a vehicle which looks like it is looking forwar to the war's end.

Smashing!

John

Caught it the second time around. Awesome as usual, Adam. Cheers,
Mayo

I've been wanting to see this painted since you posted the build here a while ago. It came out well I think, a bit busy with all the damage and complicated paint job, but Very realistic. Really good work from you again! If you had a small scene with the tank stuck in some prediciment it might help explain all the damage.
Do you think you will stick with the color modulation thing from now on, it actually is very subtle with all the weathering finished? BTW the teddy bear is a unique little touch. Cool job

Alex Pistole

"The way to win a war is not to die fighting for your country, it's to make the other poor b@$t*rd die for his"

cool pictures, my style

Hi Adam,

Finally you´ve managed to melt everything together and turn it into a great model again. Actually I´ve always known you´d do! Congratulations for that.

Best regards, Robert

P.S.: I think the IR equipment would add the final touch!!!!

Adam, if I may ask, what is the base kit and aftermarket parts used? The Panzer IV is such a boogerbear - perhaps the greatest tank of all time . . .

...what a feat! I would say that you have more than demonstrated the versitility of modulation and I'm looking forward to watching you (and others) refine the techinique.

As for the subject of your articles, the zimmerit, you have done a great job on the application and I sure that the body of works will be most instructive.

Certainly a lot to look at and learn from this project.

I'll talk to you next week,

Rick

Adam you are just unbelievable in your modeling sir. Every detail is perfect. For one fleeting moment I wanted to do something Axis, that passed quickly Bravo Adam, Really!!!

Bob

You continue to impress me, I'll say it once again you are perhaps the best modeler out there right now and a major inspiration for my stuff...Brilliant

Adam, once again - outstanding work !

I love the damaged fender and all the other cool effects. I never really had any doubts that it will turn out great in the end. Again I love the raw and mean appearanec of the vehicle. Your typical style I admire so much ! As stated in the other Forum. The teddy will remain an issue

Enjoy you vacations !
Cheers
Sven

Thanks again Sven
In regards to your comment on the MP forums, the teddy bear was based on original drawings and eyewitness from Veterans. It is very, very, very, very accurate. Therefore I should only be the one to use this detail because I researched it.

Have a great weekend.

ANPW

I see your models,I don't know why,I'm convinced to admire a strange and magnetic ART.
There's something in your models,that goes beyond the model.It's difficult to explain.
Thanks for share this.

Warmest Regards

Ciro Riccio

Wow Adam,

this one turned out great! I love the overall look and all the nice details! You again did a wonderful job and by comparing the finished model with the base coated in modulation style one can see how much the bright colors come together very well.

Congrats... I love the teddy, the different tracks (Panther, T34...), the damaged fender, the damaged roadwheel, the sratches, the mud .............

Have some nice days at home!

Cheers

Volker

awesome job you did on this piece....I think of all your tanks this is my favourite. Love the scratches especially!

Was great meeting you at Girona...many warm regards.

Matthew

Hi Adam,

That's a truly spectacular model, I wish I could paint my models one tenth as well as you do!
You say that you're not entirely happy with it; FWIW, one thing that I noticed is that in some places the contrast between colours is a bit too high to my taste, for example the MG ball mount, the driver's visor, and the details on the turret side hatches. Your Panther F has less contrast between colours, and to me it makes a more balanced impression.

A couple more questions: did you colour-modulate the camouflage colours as well, or are these the same tint all over the model? And how did you paint all the tiny spots, by flicking a brush, or one by one :-O ?

And tell César that he made an excellent figure!

Cheers, Eelke

Hello

Philipp, Charlie and Steve, thanks again for your comments. I really appreciate your thoughts on the scratches Steve. I will certainly keep this in mind for the next project. Thanks again!!!!

Do not know if its the zimm Silnius. I do think it came out a bit flat. I hope to fix this on the JagdPanther that I will start painting next week. thanks man!!!!


Glad you guys like it John and Mayo. Thanks for taking the time. Mayo, this is the Tamiya H model with Aber fenders, side skirts, turret skirts and another PZ IV Detail set. More Aber then I care use for one model. Let me know and I will try to get you reference numbers. Everything fit well actually.

Whats up Alex? It is a bit busy isn’t it? My friends would tell me the same about the pictures of monsters I drew as a boy. I guess that’s just the way I like it. I do enyoy the colour modulation. I still have a lot that I want to try with it. Thanks for your thoughts. Talk to you soon.

Thanks Jan and Robert. Ill keep you in the loop on that IR gear Robert. Now why would I want to spend all of this time on such a nice model just to ruin it with this inaccurate detail . You’re a pal.

I need to get back to the office. I will reply to the rest of your thoughts tonight. Sorry about that.

ANPW

Adam- the spare tracks look awesome-

Can you please tell me how you went about painting them? Nice work on the running gear too-

JD

Hello James
I wish that I had some photos for you. The principle is basically the same. You want to treat spare tracks like any other detail. That is by painting them with different tones and types of weathering for contrast while trying to add a bit of history and life to the piece overall.

The rusty track was airbrushed with a mixture of 1 part Tamiya Hull Red and 1 part German Grey. After I mixed some rust tones using Humbrol matt 72 and standard rust and the other again with matt 72 and light rust pigments, thinned them juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust a bit, then applied the different tones to entire sections of the spare track. That will give you different good matt rust tones to each section.

After those dried I mixed a very light tone using Humbrol matt orange and light rust pigments. I again thinned the mixer and added it to one or two links in each section. This light tone will beak up each length. Just add this tone to one or two links in each section. More will make it obvious.

The T34 tracks where painted like the third page of this article here but with dry earth tones. http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=1221&page=3

I thank adding old rusty track and newer track with mud is just one little thing that gives a model history that an observer will not even realize he is feeling. These little details are a lot of fun as well.

Sorry about my bad grammar and spelling. I just got a lot to do tonight.

By the way James, I think that you are one of the more important people on this forum for many reasons. It is always good to see you around.

ANPW

Always nice to hear from you-

And thanks for the nice reply- both the excellent explanation and the other perplexing yet nice comment-

JD

I have to say after viewing that reference pic, I can see where you got the idea for the extensive weathering of this vehicle. at first when I saw the pictures and your comment (that you're not very satisfied with the result), I personally felt the same way - that the vehicle was missing something - especially when I look back at your beautiful panther project.

My first impression was that it may have received a too extensive amount of scratches, but watching the pictures of your model again I'm doubting if that is actually the real reason why I felt this way.

When I looked at the pictures briefly for a second time, I've started to see how some parts of the tank received a base color which is quite light. I know this is a part of your modular painting method, which I admire actually, but it might be the fact that the color these parts received was a bit too light, that it created an absence of contrast on those parts. This could make the rest of the weathering not stand out as much as you'd have liked, resulting in somewhat bland colors instead of a right pallet.

I've been strolling down that very lane these last few months, trying to find the right colors to make a project interesting and give it a good overal feel, moreover trying to catch the right way of weathering a vehicle with scratches and how to make these scratches look interesting yet not too powerful. It's very hard, but practice makes perfect, and you've had way more practice than me :D

hope to have been of some help, and good luck with future projects! I'm really looking forward to the pictures of your next finished model.

Adam,

Outstanding work! The weathering and painting as a whole is superb. Your new color modulation technique is very inspiring. However, in my opinion this model (as well as your Panther F) appear to have lost the overall camo color schemes of typical German WWII AFV's. In my eye, the highlighted portions of the base color appear too light which results in an unrealistic appearance, almost as if it is devoid of any real paint color, except for a light tint of the initial base color. I find it impressive nevertheless and commend you on your quest for breakthrough techniques. I'm confident that color modulation will effect the way in which models are painted for generations to come. The scratches and paint chipping are exceptional and are very realistic, although slightly overdone for my taste, I don't think it takes away from the overall appearance.

I'm almost done with my first AFV (Befehls-Panther G) corrections and will definitley be seeking your assistance regarding painting if the offer still stands. Again, I applaud your efforts in a search for new methods and techniques in a field, that according to many, has become stagnant in recent years. Cheers,

-Kevin

Hello Adam, very nice work here, as usual from you. The mud looks very well made also the aditional tracks, and of course the teddy bear...

wath are those littlet clear doots on the hull roof? pigments?

kind regards

Hi Adam, to be honest i am not convinced with this technique just yet. As others have said the "scrapes" looked at first glance to be over done but on looking at your ref pics, you painted what you saw.. Will we see this or any of your other work at Euro, maybe a demo perhaps of your methods?.

Andy

In regards to the rest of your postings guys. Once again thank you for giving me your time and nice words but even more, these thorough critiques. Sorry if my spelling and grammar are not to par. It’s been a long day.

It was nice to breafly talk to you today Rick. I will need to call you again on Monday regarding that email. Yes I know.... always talking shop. Thanks again for all of your support man.

Thanks again Bob and Daryl. You are another two that I always enjoy seeing here on the ML CC.

You got my response Sven. Thanks man

Hello Ciro, keep up the postings. Your doing great. Thanks again.

I am looking forward to going back home for a bit Volk. Thanks for that. You have had a great year with the modelling man. You have really made a name for yourself. I think Germany is the next hot spot in the modelling world. You all have a lot of talent there.

You also Matthew, what a show ey!!!!!! Have a great summer.

Dear Eelke, I have just been doing this for a long time. I also need to quickly paint models everyday in the office that will look good enough to place on a box. If you were in my shoes you would also learn to do the same I think. Thanks for the kudos.

Steven and Kevin, responses like yours are priceless to someone like me. They are also an incredible complement. You brought up both parts that you like and dislike about the piece. I guess the two if you felt that this model was worth some of your time to devote your thoughts while writing them down for myself and everyone here to see giving us good points about how to improve this style and also the techniques used.

Up until now Steve all of the colour modulation I did was on vehicles that where relatively simple in shape. This one was different because of the hull and turret skirts. This caused me to paint the inner parts of these areas with much darker tones for shadows. I also wanted to take the style a bit further because I was still not getting the contrast I wanted on the models I finished. Again this caused me to apply heavy shadows to some of the inner areas which, as you mentioned, resulted in me loosing some contrast on those parts. I think that although I really enjoy these finishes with a lot of contrast, I might take a step back to less of a dramatic change in colours on the next one. Thanks again for the thoughtful response. It really helps me a lot.

Kevin, I do understand what you are saying about the different tones on some of the details being a bit bright. Again, I may decide to tone this down a bit on the next project although I am unsure at this time. I really learnt a lot from this one. Personally I am also happy with the scratches but again, I can see why you felt them to be a bit strong. Thanks again I will be back in the States in a few weeks. Keep in touch and looking forward to the Panther!!!!

It is always good to hear from you Tito. What are you working on these days?

Hello again Andy, I will not be at Euro this year. I got a show to attend in Mexico at around that time. Thanks you as well for your honest thoughts regarding the scrapes. I will miss all of you at Euro. Keep me informed after the show.

Thanks again all of you. Have a great summer

ANPW

Incredible Adam!, I really love it, incredibily realistic!!!
Best regards
Luis

Is the weathering overdone?...underdone? who knows?

All I know is that I'm looking at an inspirational piece of art.

This is a beautiful work Adam...I'd love to see it "in-the-plastic" some day.

Regards,

Adam

_________________________
http://www.idf-in-scale.com

Hey Adam,

My apologies for the delayed response. Seems like we've all been super busy lately. It has also given me time to really study your efforts and photos. I completely appreciate your dedication to work thru this model and use as a point somewhere in the outer edge of the color modulation envelope. This model provides a great bookend for your earlier more subtle color modulation efforts like the Tiger B hull boxart and Waffentraeger.

I think if anything, photography plays quite a bit towards the bright contrast. This is born out by the turret top close-up and then the overall topview shot. The contrast is much more intense up close on the fine chips and scratches, but they become very pleasing when you step back a bit. This likely means (in person) there is a prime viewing distance that this model really shines from. Hi-powered digital cameras are so sensitive and lighting can easily cause some overexposure, especially when trying to capture the detail in the dark shadow areas. Overall by your own admission of really wanting to push the outer boundaries, I think this is a very important piece in the ANPW model display case. It's not easy going to such extreme levels and under such a controlled situation. My hat's off to you for doing so.

I also love a lot of the "normal" details like the damaged fender, spare tracks, the sign and superb mud work. You've also given us just enough of the lived-in look with the smaller detail items to counter some of the extreme painting. All in all this is an important and memorable model and one I'm glad to have watched from start to finish.

Best,

Mike

Outstanding on all counts! Well done. Dave

anymore:)! I'm going to buy a telescope and take up astrophotography.

Fantastic my friend, quite a journey with more that it's share of challenges to say the least. I still don't know how you do this level of detail (construction AND paint) at the rate you do (your Panther F comes to mind). Can't wait to read the article

You might as well just keep my Panzer IV books, I give up:)!

Best regards,

Scott

Sweet build.
I have seen None better in awhile.
Question what super glue do you use?

......... Hi Adam........Beautiful Panzer IV!

THere was a time when I would spray the model in the required colours and give it the good old dry brush.........than the wash came along............preshading was taking over and dry brush was kinda fading out.

Enter Mig and gave a radical technique to modelling. Now it's Modulation! Gee....I was just getting good at preshading!

Now on every model I'm trying out the modulation technique....why? Because it's a cool thing to do on your model at the moment! Well, to say the truth, although a bit complex at the start till you get used to it, Modulation does make sense and adds more life to a static plastic model. And it's these improvments and new techniques that make the hobby interesting.

All I can say "it's a great time to enjoy modelling" ....new stuff just keeps coming out of the production lines and modellers like you, Adam, keep the hobby on it's toes!

Thanks for sharing your techniques!

Regards
Noel

Sorry I’m late guys. Got a lot going on but all is positive.

Luis and Adam thanks. Adam it has been nice seeing you here over the years. have a great summer.

Mike you are starting to make me feel a bit guilty with your postings. All I ever say to most people is…. Looks great!!! Like this and that effect as well and bla…bla.. and how about a little more weathering there…..

You put a lot of thought into your comments to the people here and on our forum as well. That’s very nice of you. I know you’re busy with all of this like I am.

The photography has been difficult for me lately. The Tiger II hull was much easier. I have had photograph both the Panther and this one twice. I did have a problem with the contrast of the fine dots during the in process photos. As I mentioned I am going to take a step back a bit on the next one. That means using more different tones to add depth and contrast while backing away from the barks a bit. Overall I am happy with the result of this one but I was unsure of the outlook a few times after the very valid critiques on the MP forums.

You have been with me through the thick and thin throughout the past two years that I have been fooling around with colour modulation. You have always given me your sincere thoughts both positive and negative. Thanks again man. How’s MX?

Thanks again Dave

Scott man, thanks for all of the advice after market parts and research material you have sent to me for this one and the Panther. It would have looked much different without you. Talk to you very soon.

Glad you like it Jeff. Keep modulating.

Hello Noel, it is really not that difficult. Modellers like Spencer P, Mike Rinaldi, Sven Frisch and Volker Bembennek just to say a few, have made it look very easy. It is a lot of fun. Email me if you have problems.

Thanks again everyone. I was not expecting this.

Sincerely

ANPW