HOW TO PAINT A SD.KFZ.

251 HALF-TRACK
Victrix Games

Color chart Tracks Weathering Paints

W
Dark tracks (A.MIG-035)
Filter e usually uti-
Camouflage lize acrylic
Tan for 3 Tone Camo (A.
dark yellow MIG-1510 paints to paint
Graphite pencil
our wargam-
Dark base (A.MIG-901)
Wash ing miniatures. These
Brown for German Dark Yellow paints are easy to use,
Crew and stowage (A.MIG-1000)
are thinned with wa-
Base (A.MIG-902)
ter and dry in seconds.
Field grey (AMMOF-512) Chipping effects However, in our lo-
Highlights (A.MIG-904)
Chipping (A.MIG-044) cal hobby shops we
Warm Skin Tone (A.MIG-117) can find other types of
Green and brown paints: enamels, oils,
Oils
pigments, lacquers, etc.
Matt earth (AMMOF-507)
Olivgrün base (A.MIG-916)
Dark brown oilbrusher These are commonly
(A.MIG-3512)
used by scale model-
Burnt brown red (AMIG-0134) ers to create different
Schokobraun (A.MIG-015) Rust oilbrusher (A.MIG-3510) weathering effects as
they offer different
Silver (A.MIG-0195)
Highlights (A.MIG-904) Earth oilbrusher (A.MIG-3514)
possibilities compared
with acrylic paints. It
is important to know
Dust oilbrusher (A.MIG-3516) that these other types
of paint require specific
thinners and are used
Dust effects (pigments) differently, as you can
see in the two boxes
European earth (A.MIG-3004) below.

Dark earth (A.MIG-3007)

Legend: Medium rust (A.MIG-3005)

Acrylic paint
Enamel/oil based paint

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Acrylic and enamel / oil paints
Acrylic paints Enamel / oil paints
- Can be thinned with water or acrylic thinner. - Thinned with white spirit or similar.
- Brush can be cleaned with water. Vs - Brush must be cleaned with white spirit.
- Dries in seconds. - Dries in hours.
- Once it is dry, it is impossible to wipe away. - Can be worked with and cleaned for a long time.

Step 1 – Primer coat

tart removing the cast flashes and lines using a mode-

S
lling knife and files. Next, using a specific glue for plas-
tic kits we put all the pieces together. Let the glue cure
for at least one hour and then apply the primer coat.
The primer is essential and we always have to apply it
prior starting painting a miniature. The primer a special type
of paint extremely resistant and facilitates the adherence of re-
gular paints. I normally apply the primer coat with an airbrush
or spray to create a very thin layer. This is very important when
painting vehicles as we have large flat surfaces. Using an airbrush
or spray primer allows a smooth consistent coat which can be
harder to do with a brush, which can flood the details, or lea¬ve
brush strokes. A grey primer as it is a great base for both li¬-
ght and dark colours. The primer is then left to cure overnight. Let cure the primer coat from a few hours to overnight.

Step 2 – Dunkelgelb (dark yellow)

I
n this occasion I decided to paint the hanomags with the is distinct in different places. Although most of the paints for
mythical ambush German camouflage or Hinterhalt-Tar- airbrushing are ready to be used, I prefer to thin them a little
nung. This camouflage consisted in a base color of dark bit more. For acrylic paints, we can use simply water but it is
yellow (dunkelgelb) with olive green (olivgrün) and red- always recommendable to use the thinner from the same compa-
brown (rotbraun) or chocolate brown stripes. Then, small dots of ny. Thinned paints prevent airbrush clogging problems and fa-
the oher two colours were applied on top of each colour. The idea cilitates the application of the paint. In addition, if the paints are
of this pattern was to simulate the sun shining through forest fo- thinned, we can play with the intensity of the colour: the more
liage. That is, first we need to paint the three-colour camouflage layers, the more intense or opaquer the colour. This is very useful
and then the small dots. Given the small scale of the half-track to create smooth transitions between colours without preparing
I decided to paint hard-edge camouflage spots to create a more a new mix.
defined camouflage.
We have different methods to apply the highlights in scale mod-
To paint the camouflage with shades and lights we will need an els. The classical method is the zenithal lightning, which consid-
airbrush. I normally use a Renegade Krome from Badger with a ers a single source of light, such as the sun. However, we there are
0.2mm needle and around 2 bars. Note that this might change other options including panelling, pre-shading and colour mod-
depending on where you live since the atmospheric pressure ulation. Personally, I find the colour modulation the most suita-

lightning styles

Color modulation Panel lighting Zenithal light

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ble method for these tiny models. The problem of small objects easily one panel at a time without ruining the adjacent ones. I
is that their surfaces are small, and therefore, the amount of re- acknowledge that this method is rather complicated to follow in
flected light is also very small. This means that small objects look these tiny models. But do not worry, we do not need to get per-
darker than bigger counterparts even if they are painted with the fect lines and transitions. Just try to get a nice contrast between
same colour. To overcome this problem, the colour modulation panels, as you can see in the images.
serves to force the contrast or the difference between the lightest
and darkest tone of a colour. Although this method is extremely To paint the German dark yellow, I normally use the colour
unreal, -it resembles a 3D render-, it is very useful to bring our modulation set from AMMO of Mig Jimenez, which includes 5
tiny models to life. successive colours. These are ready to use so that we do not need
to mix anything. For these tiny tanks I airbrushed only three of
In the colour modulation we paint each panel or surface inde- them: dark base (A.MIG-901), base (A.MIG-902) and highlights
pendently, with their own shades and highlights. The better re- (A.MIG-904). I started with the darkest and then continued with
sults are obtained when we place the final highlight of one panel the base and light. For the final highlight, I used a normal brush
close to the darkest shade of an adjacent panel. To do it we can and a even lighter dark yellow, Shine (A.MIG-905), to painted
use different masks to cover the adjacent panels, such as masking small details such as hatches, rivets and some edges.
putty, masking tape or a piece of paper. Therefore, we can work

The color modulation is unreal, but it creates very interesting contrasts in our tiny models.

Step 3 – camouflage with masking puty

A
s I explained earlier, I decided to paint the camou- I normally use an auto-adhesive or masking putty (A.Mig-8012)
flage with hard-edges because I think that the results for masking. There are many options in the market and you can
would be clearer or tidier after painting the dots of the use any of them, but be sure that it does not take your paint away!
ambush camouflage. For hard-edge spots, where the
edge of the spot is clearly defined rather than diffuse, we need We begin covering one third of the hanomag with the masking
to use masks to protect the previous colour/s. For each colour putty creating stripes or amoeboid shapes. Remember that what
of the camo we will use a shade, base and highlight as we did for you cover will not be painted! You can use a toothpick to adapt
the dunkelgelb. For this type of camouflage with irregular spots the putty to the surface. Then, we airbrushed the green colour in

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Cover 1/3 of the hanomag using masking putty. Airbrush the green colour, with shades and lights.

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three layers: shade > base > light. For the shade we can mix 50/50 fashion: shade > base > light. Finally, remove carefully the mask-
Olivgrün Base (A.MIG-916) and black, for the base we can use ing putty and put it back into the box (it can be reused).
directly Olivgrün, and for the light we can mix Olivgrün with
Dark Yellow Highlights (A.MIG-904) in the same proportion. Then, using a thin brush we paint small dots with Dark Yellow
Follow the same lightning pattern you applied before for the dark Highlights on the green and brown spots. And similarly, we paint
yellow That is, apply the highlights in the same area as you did green and brown small dots on the dark yellow area using Ol-
before. Next, we repeat the process. First, we cover half of the ex- ivgrün and Schokobraun. Try to cover all the areas with the same
posed surface with the masking putty, and then we airbrush the density of dots, and keep the same distance between all of them.
brown camouflage using Schokobraun (A-MIG-904) in a similar

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Cover again the vehicle with masking putty. Airbrush the brown colour, with shades and lights.

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Remove carefully the masking putty with your fingers. If needed, use a brush to correct the camo spots.

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Paint dark yellow dots in the green and brown spots. Paint green and brown dots in the dark yellow areas.

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 Step 4 – Details, decals and sealing

N
ext, using acrylic paints we paint the remaining unpaint- so that we create a totally flat surface to accommodate the decal.
ed parts, such as the wheels and tracks. For example, I This will also help to avoid the “icing” effect (when the transpar-
painted the tires and rubber parts of the track wheels ent parts of the decal become whitish). Next, using a modelling
with black, and the tracks with a grey brown colour such knife cut carefully the decal and then soak it in water until the
as Dark tracks (A.MIG-035). In addition, I used Burnt brown red it is separated from the paper. Next, apply the decal on the sur-
(AMIG-0134) to paint the back parts of the seat and the wooden face using the corresponding products such as Ultra Decal Fix
part of the MG, and with Silver (A.MIG-0195) the gun barrel. (A.MIG-2030) to accommodate the decal on irregular surfaces
The same Burnt brown red colour serves to simulate the rusted and Ultra Decal Set (A.MIG-2029) to secure it on the surface.
exhaust. Remember to thin the acrylic paints with a little bit of Finally, it is very important to apply one layer of satin varnish
water to facilitate its application. This is the moment to apply the with the airbrush to protect everything from the more aggressive
decals. It is advisable to apply a thin layer of gloss varnish first, enamels techniques that we are going to use next.

Use acrylic paints to paint the wheels, tracks, seats and MG. In addition, now is the moment to apply the decals. It is extremely
important that before continuing with the weathering effects we apply a layer of satin varnish to protect the previous work.

Step 5 – Filter

T
he first weathering effect we are going to apply is a fil-
ter. This effect consists on a very thinned layer of paint
whose goal is to slightly change the colour of the sur-
face. For example, we can use a light brown filter to
simulate dust, or an orange filter to saturate the dark yellow col-
our if we went to far with the white during the highlights. Note
that a filter does not serve to mark the recesses (that is a wash,
the next step!). Here, I used a brown-orange enamel filter from
AMMO, Tan for 3 Tone Camo (A.MIG-1510) to recover a little
bit the yellow and also to homogenize the three colours of the
camouflage (each colour will be slightly change toward the filter
colour). To apply the filter, first we soak the brush in the filter
and then remove the most part of it on a paper towel. Now, with
the brush moistened with a little bit of filter we extend it over
the vehicle. Do not expect to see a clear and striking change.
Apply gently the filter over the vehicle. Remember to remove the
The change is subtle! I normally let it cure for several hours or
excess of paint first on a piece of paper.
overnight.

Step 6 – Wash

T
he second weathering effect we are going to apply is a pin turpentine), this can be done once partially or touch dry before
wash. The primary goal of this is to add artificial shadows the enamel is fully dry. This is impossible to do with an acrylic
to the recesses of the model with a dark colour, such as wash, and we have a much longer working time with the enamel.
dark brown or blue (black is often too stark or unrealis- For the wash I used Brown for Dark Yellow (A.MIG-1000). We
tic). We explicitly want to use an enamel here. The main differ- apply the wash very carefully and exclusively on the recesses (this
ence between enamels and acrylics, is that enamels take longer is a pin wash). I then wait 30-60 minutes. Any excess pooling of
to dry, giving us more time to work with the product. Enamels wash can be removed with a brush or cotton wool bud moistened
cure in hours, whilst acrylics dry in seconds. Any excess enamel with White Spirit. When using a brush the excess wash can also
can be removed with enamel thinner (such as White Spirit or be shaped using vertical strokes to stimulate streaking effects.

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Apply carefully the wash with a thin brush on the recesses. Once it is dry, remove the excess of wash.

Step 7 – Chipping effects

N
ext, we will use again acrylic paints to create chipping
effects and scratches where the paint has fallen off and
exposes the metal underneath. I normally apply the chip-
ping effects in two steps, first with a light colour (super-
ficial impacts) and then with a dark brown colour (bare metal).
However, in this case I decided to simplify this effect given that
we already have a lot of light colours around due to the dotted
pattern. Thus, I used only a dark brown colour, such as Chip-
ping (A.MIG-0044). To paint the chipping effects we need a thin
brush to carefully paint small dots on the edges of the panels
and in those areas that are heavily used such as hatches. You can
also paint thin lines to simulate scratches. It is very importan to
1) paint SMALL chipping effects and 2) avoid patterns. Further-
more, you do not need to cover the whole vehicle with chipping Use a thin brush to paint small chippings and thin scratches.
effects. Paint them here and there.

It is very important to avoid repetition and patterns. Do not paint the same chipping effects on each vehicle (i.e. if you paint a big
scratch on the MG shield of one half-track, do not do the same in the others). Each vehicle should tell its own story.

Step 8 – Weathering effects using oils

O
ils are utilized in the same way as enamels: they are it and use it as a filter (as we saw before) to slightly change the
thinned with White Spirit and cure in hours. We can use colour of the area. The more layers, the more intense will be the
them to create some colour variations and enrich the effect. For my half-tracks I decided to use four different colours:
model. For example, we can use a reddish tone to create one brown (Rust oilbrusher, A.MIG-3510) and one red tone
some rust around some chipping effects or create some dust ef- (Dark brown oilbrusher, A.MIG-3512) to create dirt and rust,
fects on the wheels using a light brown oil. We have to options to and two light brown colours to simulate dust: Earth oilbrusher
use them: 1) apply a little bit of oil on the desired area and then (A.MIG-3514) and Dust oilbrusher (A.MIG-3516).
blend it with White Spirit, or 2) first thin the oil with White Spir-

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 Use oils to enrich the base colours and to create additional effects, such as heavy dirt or streaking effects. Work one area or even
one panel at a time and remember that it is important to create variations and contrasts. Use several oils and play around with the
number of layers (the more layers, the more intense the effect) to achieve this.

Before AFTER Here you can clearly see the

results after applying the oils.
Note how some flat panels
become more interesting after
working with brown and red-
dish oils. This is more evident
in the frontal horizontal panel
and the sides. Similarly, using
dusty colours we can simulate
dust effects on the tracks and
wheels.

Like for any other weathering

effect, remember that someti-
mes "less is more". Remember
that you can easily remove the
oil with White Spirit if you do
not like the results.

Step 9 – Pigments

T
he last weathering effect are pigments. We can use these the mixture over the wheels, tracks and mud guards. After this
to create dust or mud effects. There are two options to ap- step, DO NOT apply any varnish or you will dramatically change
ply pigments: 1) dry (directly from the bottle) to create a the pigment effect. If the pigments get wet with the varnish, they
regular dust effect, and 2) wet (mixed with White Spirit) will change the colour and become very dark. This is in fact use-
to create accumulation of dust or mud. You can combine both. ful if you want to simulate mud, since you can use glossy varnish
In my case I used the first option to create accumulation of dust to darken the pigment and give it a glossy effect. Alternatively, if
in lower parts. I normally mix two or three different pigments to you want to protect the real colour of the pigment, you can care-
enrich the resulting colour, and then using an old brush I spread fully apply “pigment fixer” from AMMO in a drop-wise fashion.

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Spread the dry pigment over the tracks and lower parts. Carefully apply the graphite pencil on the edges of the tracks.

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 Step 10 – Crews and stowage

T
Finally, we paint the crew and stowage using acrylic same proportion, the base with pure Field Grey, and the high-
paints. I normally paint these separately and then glue light with Field Grey and light yellow in the same proportion.
them on the vehicle using cyanoacrylate glue. We can Apply the lights following the wrinkles and/or in the most prom-
simplify the process using triads or three colours: shade inent parts, such as the shoulders or knees. Similarly we paint the
> base > light. For example, for the uniform we start applying the the rifle and the skin with Burnt Brown Red (AMIG-0134) and
shade with a mix of Field Grey (AMMOF-512) and black in the Warm Skin Tone (A.MIG-117) respectively as the base.

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Apply the primer coat if you did not do it before. Paint the uniform and helmet with a field grey Highlight the uniform first with field grey and
For this scale I usually use grey or black. + black in the same proportion (1:1). then with field grey + light yellow (1:1).

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Paint the skin with Warm Skin Tone and apply the lights
Paint the leather parts with black and the face For such an small scale miniatures batch pain-
by mixing it with white. The rifle can be painted first with
and hands with Red Brown Red. ting speeds up the process.
Red Brown red and highlighted with Orange.

Paint the stowage separately and then glue it on the hanomag using cyanocrylate glue.

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