Building the 8 ton Sd.Kfz. 7 Mittlerer Zugkraftwagen (dragon kit: Towing a Flak gun)

 

Whilst waiting for scenic supplies for the diorama base, it was time to start work on the towed vehicle. In this case a Flak 36/37. This was taken from the recently released Tamiya/ICM Renault AHN combo kit. As the Sd.Ah 52 trailer wheels had been removed in the image I used a set of 3D resin brake drums from a Sd.Ah56/57 trailer. To replicate the hub and wheel studs I sanded the rear of a pair of outer Sd.Kfz 251 wheels until just the central hub remained. These were then added to the 3D drums and fixed to the trailer axles. Looking at the image the trailer also had a few grab handles that were not present on the kit, so these were made up from copper wire.

 

To give the scene a little contrast I would give the flak and trailer a faded winter whitewash over a field applied camo. First primed with Tamiya fine surface primer the barrel and selected areas were then undercoated in Tamiya nato black. This would serve not only as the initial colour for the weapon but also to replicate bare metal.

 

 

 

After two fine coats of hairspray, a red oxide primer coat was applied. This layer was then chipped exposing the bare metal colour underneath. After another application of hairspray, a base.

 

 

 

After another application of hairspray, a base coat of Tamiya XF88 Dark Yellow 2 lightened with Deck Tan XF55 was airbrushed and again chipped back. This time exposing the red oxide and in places, down to the bare metal.

An Autumn camo was then added. This was again airbrushed over hairspray with MRP Red Brown. The camo colour was then lightly chipped exposing some of the previous chips.

 

For the whitewash a mix of Tamiya white XF2 with a few drops of Buff XF57 was thinned with tap water. The absence of thinner makes the process of chipping far easier to work on. After a hairspray layer this coat was laid down in a cloudy spray pattern to replicate a rough application in the field. It was also applied a little thicker to places that would have retained more whitewash over time.

As this whitewash layer was prone to wearing away far quicker it not only weathered leaving streaks but also left specs of paint where it had adhered to the surface. Using a softer brush than previously used to get fine chips, far more of the whitewash layer was slowly and carefully removed. The idea is to almost remove it in high wearing areas, leave just traces in exposed areas with the hard-to-reach areas retaining the most.

With the whitewash down it was now time to apply a pin wash. With the timeline in mind a grimy dark brown pallete of oils was employed. Subtle streaks were also added. Some base coat-coloured oils were then mixed and added to selected areas creating a different hue to some panels. A little oil paint rendering with the inclusion of some rust colours concluded the weathering.