Painting massive destruction
Modeler fires his creativity with layers of acrylics, oils, and pigments
By Aaron Skinner
AIRBRUSHING & FINISHING
The kit: Dustin based his scene around Trumpeter’s 1/16 scale PzKpfw IV
Ausf H (No. 00920), a kit he describes as basic and lacking detail. But,
combined with plenty of scratchbuilding, it provided the perfect
foundation for his wrecked tank. Using photos from Panzerwrecks No. 5
(ISBN 978-0-9555940-1-4), he got up the courage to start cutting and
removing plastic from the kit parts. Turning to the interior parts, he built
wrecked pieces — as opposed to building them and tearing them apart
— with strip styrene and bits and pieces from his “scratchbuilding drawer.
Dry-fitting many times over consumed a lot of time as he attempted to
match intricate details in the photos.Engine: The engine was completely wrong. “I did my best to get it as
close as possible but did not get too discouraged as most of it is
concealed,” Dustin says. “Once I was happy with the construction,
composure, and overall appearance, I was confident in my ability to keep
pressing forward with the project. Taking a break for a day or two helps
clear my mind so it was not overwhelming.” After painting the engine
with gray base, he weathered it with Ammo fuel stains (AMIG1409),
engine grime (AMIG1407), and fresh engine oil (AMIG1408) along with
soot pigment for a grimy worn-out appearance.