Not had that problem. Only very slight issue I had was that it doesn’t play well with Tamiya paints when they meet if you brush one against the other over large areas.
I don’t want to hijack the thread, so I promise this will be my last off-topic question: How does LifeColor spray actually? I like them quite a bit for brush painting (figures mostly), but remember to have heard that you need to spray them comparatively thin and very carefully building up the layers… so totally not as forgiving as Tamiya for example!?
Jim, was the flat earth mixed or straight ?
Hey, carry on discussing paints, I don’t mind, that’s what this site is all about. I would share my experience with lifecolor but I don’t have any!
John, the flat earth is straight up, just thinned 50/50 with lacquer thinner with retarder. However, I did do all the brown camo with xf10 flat brown first so the earth is laid on top of that, although the wheels were just earth on top of the yellow and the colour is just about the same.
Been experimenting with AK worn effects acrylic chipping fluid, and some ammo white acrylic, and quite happy with the results. This is my first go at using such a medium, having never tried the hairspray technique before. Pic shows the base of hull and the snake shaped bit was where a piece of masking putty was. Not a great image, but gives the idea.
Cheers, J.
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Chipping fluid looks good to be fair, how does it work ? Dabbed with a brush ?
And I am now convinced to use the dark iron as the base coat for my tracks from now on. Very nice.
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Cheers John. I sprayed three light coats of the chipping fluid, letting it dry between coats. Then sprayed the white straight away. Once that is touch dry I just used a small brush and water and gently worked at it and it comes away fairly easy. I also tried using cotton buds which remove too much, and cocktail sticks, which work great for scratch type effects. Have had another go at it after 7 or 8 hours and it is fairly stable now. I like the process and look forward to trying it for real. As I’m not sure how long it is workable for will do a section at a time.
Cheers, J
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Yep, I will also most definitely give that dark iron a try!
@iwatajim - Jim,
Been following your build with interest and I like how you are handling the paint scheme, nice! These German heavy tanks are my favorite flavor so it’s nice to see how some of the current model brands fall together. I have yet to purchase a Das Werk kit but it does look good so far, I’ll have to give them a try.
Keep up the great work and excellent paint work, I’m enjoying the view from here!
~ Eddy 
Jim. I have just checked on Amazonian and they do seem pretty reasonable prices. Most seem to be at £33 or under and I havent looked on evil bay yet. You mentioned some fit issues at the start, where there any big show stoppers ? looking at the finished pre-painted kit, it looks like no, but what would you say ?
Did it come with the PE engine grills ?
Thanks For the support Eddy!
John, the kit is fine all told. I had issues with the join on the front glacis plate, but a bit of trimming on the inside sorted that. And the engine deck needing some careful aligning but came together nicely. Also not a fan of link and length track but the kit does come with jigs for these. I think it is value for money really, I’m just too used to shake and bake Tamiya like kits! I bought mine from AMS paints and supplies, good peoples;
That’s the white on the port side. Same technique as described previously. I used brushes, toothpicks, scalpel, paint stirrer, fingernails, etc to try to vary the size of scratches, chips. I like that you can see the original camo colours where the chips are.
Thanks, J.
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https://www.megahobby.com/products/washable-white-acrylic-paint-17ml-bottle-ak-interactive.html
I have used this is the past…it is a washable white acrylic paint, and lets you skip the hairspray, works exactly the same.
Wilder makes one also.
Happy Modeling,
Eric
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Now that would have been easier! Thanks for the info Eric.
And I have now straightened the shovel handle I managed to damage taking the masking putty off
Cheers, J.
Jim,
You’re using lacquer thinner with acrylic paints? I would not have thought that was possible. Learn something new every time I visit the site.
Tamiya acrylic is different from the likes of Vallejo, mig etc. They can be thinned with their own lacquer thinner, or even mr color. AK real colours are a similar type of paint, along with others. I’m not sure but I think tamiya are acrylic pigments in an alcohol based carrier, so you can get away with using other thinners.
However I would not try lacquer thinners with proper water based acrylics like Vallejo, AK, mig ammo, etc.
I’m sure there are others more clued up on all this than me. I just know they spray and lay down so much better with the lacquer thinner.
Cheers,J.
You can also thin Tamiya Acrylics with hardware store lacquer thinner as well. I bought a big container when my Tamiya branded lacquer thinner ran out. Works exactly the same.
Damon.
Interesting. Do you guys clean your guns with lacquer thinner or something else?
I just clean the airbrush with isopropyl alcohol.
The smell is bad but with ventilated workspace not really an issue. Using that white water based acrylic reminds me of why I went back to Tamiya paints after trying so many non toxic alternatives, and having such inconsistent results.
I only use Tamiya or Vallejo, so I use generic window cleaner to clean and a little isopropyl alcohol to wash out the window cleaner to avoid any other issues.