Finished Panzer IV Tiger I

So, here it is in all its painted glory. This was only the second tank I've ever built, so I was pretty happy with the way it came out. There were certain things about the model that were really irritating, however. When I used a heated metal screwdriver to fuse the first track together, it worked fine, but when I tried the second track, one of the little holes for the peg broke open, and it ended up looking like a mess.
Also, the decals didn't work well at all - even though I used Testors decal set, one of the crosses on the side of the hull disintegrated and fell God knows where, so I had to paint the cross on. Still, doesn't look too bad. The decals on the side of the turret were also a pain in the butt, they didn't stick well at all to the bumpy and rounded surface.

Hasegawa Pz.Kpfw VI Tiger I Ausf. E Late Model

I bought this tank a little while ago to go with my recently finished Esci US Paratroopers. I'm thinking about the possibility of - dare I say it - starting a new wargame. This is probably a terrible idea, since I already have a handful of unfinished wargame projects sitting around, but I like the idea of a skirmish-style WW2 wargame set in Normandy after the invasions.
I learned after I got the kit that the rough zimmerit coating (applied to late war German tanks to prevent magnetic grenades from sticking to the hull) was not modelled in the plastic of the tank; in other words, I had to apply it myself.
I looked up methods of doing this on modelling forums and such, and was inundated with a wealth of accumulated knowledge on the subject. Wow. It's amazing how much people have to say about zimmerit coating.  Anyway, one method rose above the rest, and it works very well.
Apply a thin coat of regular modelling glue (I use Testors) over the surface area to be treated. (The surfaces to be coated with zimmerit are the sides of the turret, the front of the turret, the sides of the hull, and the front and back). Wait for the glue to dry, about 30 minutes. Wait too little, and the glue will be too wet and sticky. Too long, and you won't be able to make an impression in it.
Once the glue has dried for about 30 minutes, take a small screwdriver and make horizontal marks in the surface of the paint, forming columns running vertically down the vehicle.As you can imagine, this takes a really long time.
Unfortunately for me, the Tamiya Dark Yellow paint I ordered for the dunkelgelb camouflage (literally 'dark yellow' in German) will not arrive for several weeks, so even after I finish the tedious task of applying the zimmerit, I won't be able to finish the model for a while.

You can see my attempts at zimmerit on the side of the tank

The size of the screw driver I use in comparison to the model

Airfix Messerschmitt Bf110 C-4/B, Eastern Front, 1941

I don't post a lot of aircraft models, partly because I do very few, and partly because I'm not very good at them. This is my most recent and best aircraft model. While it is no-where near the quality of some other aircraft-painting aficionados whose work looks real enough to be dropping bombs over Russia, it is what it is.

Airfix British 8th Army

I just had a few of these guys lying around, and decided to use them as practice models for a new technique: washing with varnish. Before, I used a water wash with a little black paint to create shadows, but then I had the idea to use varnish for my base. This works better because the varnish is thicker, and helps the paint to pool in crevices, creating better shadows.
However, I overdid the black in this wash, and the shadows are a bit to dark and heavy. Also, I forgot to prime this figures, and ended up putting no less than five coats of paint on this figures, obscuring some of the details.
This was something of a botched job, but it served my purpose: I now know to use varnish in the place of water for my shadow wash, and I am very pleased with the results.
Despite the chronological order of these posts, I painted these guys before my Orion and Italeri Russians, and so the Russians benefited from my experience with these poor 8th Army guys.