Dustify!

My friends, weekend is over, late summer is here (what's the correct term in English anyway? When there are a few sunny, warm days in autumn? Is there a term at all?)

Anyway, it brought some inspiration! Inspiration for a dry, dusty look for the Jagdpanther. After all, it operated in Normandy during summer of 1944 and the historical photos show it almost completely covered in dust. Well, dusting the upper surfaces of any model ain't no quick job compared to something like a lower hull or wheels, so I'm presenting you the vertical surfaces while the horizontal panels are still only pre-dusted with an airbrush. 

This is, of course, not the final appearance of the earth tones and I'll be adding more contrast and details once this first layer is fully cured (at least overnight). 

Something I wanted to talk about are weathering products. Initially I wanted to use something different than my usual Splashes from Ammo, but after a few minutes spent with stuff such as Rainmarks Effects or a dust-colored oil paint, I switched back to Splashes. For me, they're truly the best representation of dirt thanks to their high pigment content and fine texture. They also come pretty thick out of the bottle so they can be used for nice speckling effects or very thin, diluted dust washes. I simply can't help myself 🤷‍♂️ 

As for the actual weathering procedure, it was carried out in the same way as on the lower hull or wheels. Acrylic textured mud from AK Terrains range, dirt and sea grass fixed with VMS Ballast Freeze, pre-dusting with Tamiya acrylics, and finally earth washes with Ammo Dry Earth and Earth. Tracks don't have any acrylic texture this time 😁 

Next up I'll finish the horizontal surfaces and then proceed with a few darker, very controlled tones around corners and other places where some contrast was lost. And maybe a few stains and streaks for good measure! 😁 

PS: Eagle-eyed humans will notice one of the tracks going in the wrong direction in that photo from the rear. I noticed it while taking photos so I quickly reattached it in the correct way :) 

PPS: I was worried how the Zimmerit would accept the earth washes. As it turned out it's a very nice surface, creating pretty interesting effects and shapes almost completely on its own!