repaint King Tiger question

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dragon53
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repaint King Tiger question

Post by dragon53 » Tue Mar 12, 2019 11:21 pm

I have a question about possibly repainting this King Tiger tank #204 using the "Dean Kleines" method that was popular with the JSI F-14 "Spotcat".
I am thinking about using the Dean Kleinees method of dabbing on some dark green acrylic paint to cover the "204" and putting a German cross decal over the repainted spot.
I've never tried the Dean Kleines method, so I'm asking those who have used it, would it work on this King Tiger model without looking really bad?



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normandy
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Re: repaint King Tiger question

Post by normandy » Wed Mar 13, 2019 2:12 am

Not familiar with it.

[CAT]CplSlade
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Re: repaint King Tiger question

Post by [CAT]CplSlade » Wed Mar 13, 2019 12:51 pm

If it was me I would just do an entire repaint rather than try to match colors and replicate the camo.

normandy
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Re: repaint King Tiger question

Post by normandy » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:16 pm

Is the number a decal or painted?

If you do try to match the colors, Tamiya Acrylic is close.

Dark Green XF- 61

Red Brown XF- 64

Dark Yellow XF- 60

I have removed numbers, like 204 on your Tiger with
Tamiya Thinner X- 20A
Carefully with a Q tip, small areas at a time.
Good luck which ever way you go.

tmanthegreat
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Re: repaint King Tiger question

Post by tmanthegreat » Wed Mar 13, 2019 3:52 pm

Dragon, you had me confused on the name of the method at first, but then I remembered the guy who used makeup sponges to do his F-14 repaint nearly 10 years ago :wink:

Personally, I’ve not used the sponge-dabbing method on armor or aircraft models, but could see where it might leave a bit of an uneven mess. That might be OK in a way as often the paint on these vehicles was uneven, had sloppy touch-ups, and was generally messy - quite unlike the pristine models we get. The sponge-dabbling method would actually be good for simulating a mud weathering effect.

However, were I in your position, I’d either do a localized repaint using a small paint brush to cover over the numbers or I’d use an airbrush. An airbrush will give you the smoothest surface, but will take some practice if you’ve not used one before. As for paints, several brands make the basic 3-tone German camouflage colors including Olivgrun (olive green) or dunkelgrun (dark green), dunkelgelb (dark yellow base), and rotbraun (red brown). Tamiya, Vallejo, Testoes, Mission Models are all good paints and have either the exact or close-enough shades so you may not have to mix colors.

If you don’t have an airbrush it might be a good tool to invest in. Hobby Lobby stores carry a decent selection of airbrushes from beginner advanced designs as well as compressors. They have a great beginner set that comes with an Iwata Neo airbrush and small electric compressor that retails for about $150 (or $90 with the 40% off coupon).

Hope all this helps :D
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

dragon53
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Re: repaint King Tiger question

Post by dragon53 » Wed Mar 13, 2019 5:07 pm

GUYS:

Thanks for the info.
King Tiger 204 and 104 were in the Battle of the Bulge and had the same ambush paint scheme. The big difference between the two tanks is that 104 did not have a number on the turret, but instead had a small German cross on the turret.
I don't have an airbrush and have never used one because it sounds like it requires a lot of skill and patience (I'm short on both), but I've thought about buying one for years.
Others swore by the Dean Kleine repaint method for the JSI F-14 Spotcat, but it sounded too good to be true to me, so I'm asking about it here.

[CAT]CplSlade
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Re: repaint King Tiger question

Post by [CAT]CplSlade » Wed Mar 13, 2019 6:47 pm

To be honest, that was a different circumstance as that method seems to be more about creating a gradient effect to blend similar colors, like a woman applying foundation to hide tonal changes or blemishes on her face. On something like the ambush camo, which was factory-applied and effectively hard-edged you would have a hard time matching the relatively even demarcations between colors. And the 'spots' were often applied by stampers and were roughly regular in shape.

I think it can be done with patience and a steady hand and thinned paint built up in layers to clean up the edges, but it will be your personal one-of-a-kind once you're done.

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