Faces, Bases, Something, Something – Pouncing Panthers.

One of the great things about playing German Forces is that you are spoilt for choice on camo patterns; there is always something to try out.  One thing I have never got around to is “Ambush Camo” which started being rolled out in Late War, partly to address the allied air dominance.  This consisted of a 3-tone camo, with the application of pea dots in order to further disrupt the pattern and aid the use of overhead foliage to obscure the vehicle. 
Today I am going to show you how to paint Panthers with this camo scheme

Painting guide

1.  First off you need to prime your tanks with a grey primer.
   I used a can of “matt grey” from Wilkinsons.  It’s super cheap and acts as a great prime coat.
2. Next, you need to apply the first base coat which I sprayed through an airbrush using Vallejo Surface Primer (VSP)  “Dunkelgelb”.  Once dry I mixed about 1:5 White and Dunkelgelb and hit the top of the model as a quick form of modulation.

4. I used Vallejo “track primer” on all the track links, remembering to get the spare link on the side of the vehicle.

5. Next came the application of Vallejo Model Colour (VMC) “Reflective Green”. I use random patterns to cover approx. 1/3 of the model.

6. I then did the same with VMC “Saddle Brown”.

7.  I then went back over the Brown and Green with a lighter layer highlight.  I mixed 1:5 VMC “Buff” with the “Reflective Green” and 1:5 VMC “Red Leather” with the “Saddle Brown”.

8.  Now comes the Ambush Camo part.  I took a cocktail stick and apply small dots over the model.  “Reflective Green” over the Brown and Dunkelgelb surfaces and “Dunkelgelb” (mixed with a little white) over the Reflective Green patches.  I also painted some Green and Brown on the wheels.

9.  The models then got a wash with a Mig “Brown for Yellow” Filter. This is more subtle than a traditional wash and helps to tie all the colours together and also create some depth to it.

9. This stage is about the details.  I applied the decals and also painted the stowage.  I used the base colour, wash and then a lighter base colour highlight method for all the stowage.  VMC “Green Grey”, “US Tan” and “British Uniform” are all good colours for stowage.  I also painted the metallic areas using Citadel “Lead Belcher” with a black wash over it.

10.  Now its time to weather the models.  I applied a black dry brush to the end of the barrels and also the top of the exhausts.  Then, using an airbrush, I firstly applied True-Earth Dust Wash – Mud to the bottom areas of the model and then lightly over the stowage and decals.  This was followed with the same method but with their Earth colour.

Hopefully, that helps you get some great looking German tanks onto the Battlefield, especially with the new Bulge Books coming this Summer in which this scheme became much more common.