Dragon Jagdpanzer IV A-0 in 1/144

Started: July / 2008

Finished: July / 2008

As many of you know, every year I return from our national plastic modeling convention with my usual share of oddities. This year I
haven't found any 1/72 indians, but couldn't resist these little Dragon 1/144 tanks. They come in pairs, mine being kit #14029, which
comes with a Hetzer and a Jagdpanzer IV A-0. I decided to attack the Hetzer, but I managed to break the vinyl tracks and left it to a
future project. I then turned my attention to the Jagdpanzer IV, knowing a damn thing about AFV's except for a couple of references.
So off I went. In fact, the only real assembly step is to glue the upper and lower hull halves. The rest is the track elements, cannon
barrel and a small light. Seems simple, eh?

I primed the little tank with automotive acrylic primer and applied a gentle pre-shading with Panzer Grey automotive lacquer. Rubber
parts of the wheels will remain with this color (black would be too harsh for this scale). Meanwhile, I also scratchbuilt (well, just a
matter of cutting plastic cards, really) the lateral armor plates, commonly seen in war time photos:

I then proceeded to the base dark yellow color. My own mix of Revell enamel colors resulted too green, so I post-shaded most of the
model with Humbrol #94 to correct the hue, hiding most of my pre-shading (what is becoming an usual practice to me). I started used
a drafting template to paint the roller wheels, but after painting one, I gave up and painted it without any masking device thrusting on
my Sagyma airbrush and a couple of Vallium pills to keep my hands steady (just kidding...).

On a closer inspection, I noted that much of my pre-shading was actually preserved. And since I haven't retouched the lower aeras, I
guess it will be easier to dirty them afterwards. The only major problem I foresee now is how to paint those tiny tools on the rear
deck...

Next came the camouflage. I couldn't be sure about using silly putty masks or airbrushing free-hand. In the end, I decided for the
latter, probably thinking I was a great airbrush artist. Well, I was wrong, again, but no way I'll put this model in the caustic soda bath
now... My major mistake was actually to forget old rules of airbrush engagement. In my case, I'm talking about the difficulty in spraying
very thin lines with flat paints. Nei Biazetto later warned me about that... too late. I used Testors Leather (#1736) for the brown color
and a darkened mix of Beret Green (#1171) for the green streaks.

Next, the decals were applied without any problems. Thanks to Cartograph, no sign of silvering was found. I didn't even bothered with
a sealing coat. Using a small pointed brush, I painted the handles of the tools on the rear deck using Model Master enamels. Because
of the glass coat, I could remove any mistake using a cotton swab dampened with white spirit.

The barrel, spare wheels and light were attached to the model at this point. I then proceeded to the flat coat. I tried Humbrol Matt Coat
(in the square glass bottle) for the first time, and it is a great substitute for the old Humbrol Flat Varnish (in metal tins), which has a
history of yellowing with time. The model was drybrushed with a dark sand color mix using artist oils. I avoided overdoing it in such a
small model.

Thanks to a tip from my friend Victor Tavares, the dark spots of the tools were then "painted" using a sharp 4B pencil. The flat finish
makes the graphite to adhere very well, and you have more control than using a brush. It results still too bright for the scale, though,
so I recoated the affected areas with a mist of flat varnish:

During this stage I also painted the exhaust system using Testors Model Master Rust color straight from the bottle. The weathering
then started. The first step was to apply pastel chalk diluted in alcohol as an overall coat to the lower surfaces of the hull, wheels and
some recesses. Of course I concentrated the effect on the wheels and rollers. I used only two tones of brown, the darker being
applied first, and the lighter on dabbed on top of it.

I used basically the same process to weather the tracks, except that they were painted with Vallejo Hull Red (#70985) first. I managed
to remove the base color in several places during the handling, and they will need a touch up later. The tracks were installed after an
overall wash with Burnt Sienna, followed by the pastels. It wasn't a simple task. I fitted the tracks without the roller wheels and only
after adjusting the tracks I glued them. The kit has a small flaw under the rear fenders: once the rear wheel is installed, the track don't

fit in the slot left (even without paint - guess how I know...). I did my best, but I couldn't align them perfectly. All this because I
decided not to dry fit the tracks to avoid breaking them as I did with the Hetzer. Bad luck, I guess. I used a black artists oil paint
washed around the exhaust pipe to simulate oil stains. Since it dries flat, I brushed some diluted Future over it to make it glossy. I also
rubbed dark grey over the rubber parts of the wheels and along the roller paths on the inside of the tracks.

The weathering then continued with the touch up on the tacks with CMK Dark Rust pigments. As a final touch on the tracks, some
Humbrol Brushed Steel Metal Cote was dry brushed. A number of spots received very subtle rust marks, and I also applied rain
streaks along the hull walls using a very diluted lightened mix of the base Dark Yellow color. The cannon barrel opening received
black pastel treatment.

The model is now virtually done. At this point the paint chipping is still missing, but I decided to do it only after the installation of the
side armor plates.

After a little break, I resumed the work by painting a couple of items that I missed: the hook on the right front fender and the jack on
the rear deck. I also installed the lateral armor plates, a couple of retouches here and there and it's done:

The finishing phase consisted of making a decent display base for this model. I sourced inspiration in a 1/35 diorama published on an
old Verlinden Magazine. The subject was the same, but of course I had to make a few concessions due to the scale.
I started by stealing a small wood block from a game I found in my daughters room - perfect size for a primary base (a secondary,
more aesthetically pleasing wood base with plaque will be added later). I built up a terrain relief with thin layers of acrylic paste. The
idea is to depict a road side where the little Jagdpanzer is sneaking for his next prey, protected by some bushes, of course. Therefore,
a small declive was added to simulate the road wall. I painted everything with semi-gloss black. The perimeter of the base was
masked and I proceeded to the ground work.
After applying an overall coat of diluted wood glue, I sprinkled very fine sand on the road and microbaloons on the remaining areas.
The sand provides a more smooth finish, typical of wet or high traffic areas, while the microbaloons deliver a random roughness to the
ground surface. More importantly, this simple measure dissimulates any artificial markings left while spreading the paste. The areas
where the tracks would rest were masked and covered with thin modeling putty. While still wet, I made track marks using a piece of
plastic with suitable width. This was done only where the marks would be visible. After leaving the putty drying for a few minutes I
removed the masks. I then primed everything with acrylics dark brown color.
The vegetation was made using only three materials: static grass, Woodland Scenics turf and scrubbing pads. The static grass was
applied in all non-traffic areas to provide the ground vegetation. I didn't bother the color of the grass - it will be painted later anyway.
Small pieces of scrubbing pad were stretched and glued in place to act as an armature for the bushes. And since the high vegetation
should look relatively dense, some turf was applied around the base of the armature.

The coloring was done exclusively with my thrusty Badger 100, using browns and greens acrylic paints. Don't ask me which ones. I
tend to use old paints of my stash for these jobs, before they dry completely. So I ressurected some Pactra, Tamiya and Testors (old
formulae). The first step was to apply a very dark green to the areas covered with static grass. This provides a base green color (it
will be selectively lightened later) and false shadows for the high vegetation. Next I added a very thin layer of yellow over the dark
green, avoiding the areas under the bushes, so that the grass exposed to the sun became more vivid. I then proceeded with several
thin mixes of brown and light earth colors on the areas not covered with grass.

The last step was the addition of the foliage to the bush armature. I used Microscale Foil Adhesive and Woodland Scenics turf. Once
dry, the foliage was misted with green and brown colors to cut its synthetic shine. In the end I also added a wood fence section, using
wood pieces from a matchbox case, properly stained and drybrushed. I guess this was my fastest base ever - a couple of hours was
all it took.

The base masking was removed and the little Jger was then laid over its base:

I'm still looking for a suitable wood base to put the scence. Only then I'll fix the Jagdpanzer to the ground. Meanwhile, I declared this
model done. Here's a good pic to give you an idea of its real size:

Don't ask me why I do these little things. It is fun, and I'd better to do them while my eyes allow me... And besides, now I can brag
that I'm able to finish a model in the same month I started it.

Technical file
Kit: - Dragon #14029
Additions: - Side armor plates scratchbuilt from plastic card
Basic colors: Notes:

Rato Marczak 2008

Primer: Acrylic automotive primer.

Black: Panzer Grey automotive lacquer
Dark yellow: Humbrol #94
Green: Testors #1171 (darkened)
Brown: Testors #1736
Clear coat: Testors Metalizer sealer
Rust: Testors #1185