VK 3002 (DB)

[Vincent Power]

This is another of my stalled builds, intended for a diorama that isn't started. I've always liked the proportions of this design that competed with the vehicle that ultimately became the Panther. To me, it just looks right and the story around its creation is quite interesting.
I bought the Amusing Hobby kit when it was first released way back when.

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I wanted to do something different for my build so I started with the intention that it would end up in a diorama. My idea was to have it as it would have appeared after the contract for the Panther specifications was lost. In my mind, the tank would have been parked behind the factory and left unattended and unwanted.
With that in mind, I began the build. The kit went together easily and quickly. Fit and finish of the parts was good and barely any putty was needed. I apologise for the lack of sufficient in-progress pictures.

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I made one modification though. I removed the Kugelblende from the turret because it didn't make any sense to me. Most German tanks at this time placed the MG in the mantlet or provided a hole for it to poke through. I did see one factory model of the proposed VK 3002 that showed just such a hole. I went with that.
Painting went smoothly as well.
After priming I started with the muffler. No specific reason, I just wanted to do the muffler.

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Next was the start of the weathering process. This was done somewhat differently for me. I used an assortment of AK Weathering pencils. Again, no reason, I just wanted to see what I could do with them. It was an interesting experience and I admit I was a little restricted by the limited number and colour of the pencils I had on hand. Remember I am going for a neglected vehicle here.

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I went back to my favourite oils when I weathered the wheels.

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To get everything to my liking, I went back and forth between the AK pencils and layers of oils.

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The timber pieces and tyre and jack are just for effect. At some point in the future, I'll firm up the junk sitting on the tank as part of the diorama.
So that's where I am at the moment. I have more completed pics that I think can go in the Gallery so I'll send these to Philipp.

Thanks for looking.

Cheers,
Vincent

[Bryan Krueger]

I'm really liking the weathering effects for on the grey finish. Lots of subtle textures. Is it all weathering pencil technique?

[Vincent Power]

Thanks Bryan.

Almost all of the weathering is AK pencils. Using them requires a bit of a re-think of techniques though. AK suggests the pencil is immersed in water, and then applied to the model. I found that produced a blotchy effect because it is difficult to control the application process. Wetting a brush and taking the paint directly from the pencil was much easier and allowed me to apply the paint where I wanted to with more precision.

What I did like was using the pencil dry and "drawing" the colour on the surface. This method made mapping the surface very simple and adjusting the colour with a damp brush gave me very good results. Adding a different colour to get a gradient in the colour was simple. The dust you can see on the turret illustrates this best I think. I also used the pencils for speckling which was a very simple process.

I thought some of the colours were a bit confusing. For example, Chipping colour is green, Streaking Dirt is almost a dark olive drab, Strong Ochre is a very bright orange and Buff has a green tinge. Naturally, all of the pencils can be mixed with each other to create other shades.

I will use them again on other models I think. I learned enough on this kit to want to keep going and explore what else can be achieved.

Cheers,
Vincent

[Philipp Gross]

Another beautiful build Vincent! I'm amazed how the German engineers took a very simple design and gave their best to make it as complicated as possible

Thanks for the explanation on the weathering, the pencils gave you some really good results

Philipp

[Vincent Power]

Thanks Philipp. I'm glad you like it.

I agree with you on the design. At least the kit doesn't include the hideous leaf spring suspension added later.

Vincent