The holidays are a perfect time for getting stuck into some painting, so in this week's Flames of War Friday we're taking a look at how to paint Ambush Camouflage using the AK Interactive Late War Paint Set

Step One: Priming & Basecoating

As usual the first step is to assemble and prime your model. For Flames of War models which include metal parts, such as the Hollywood Tiger which I painted, I would recommend using a spray primer as these tend to adhere better to the metal parts.

For the basecoat firstly I applied some pre-shading underneath the side skits, around the road wheels and turret by airbrushing a mixture of Dunkelgelb aus'44 DG III and light grey. Then I airbrushed the whole tank with the Dunkelgelb aus'44 DG III downwards at a 45 degree angle. This method gives fast shading to the recessed areas of the tank.

Step Two: Hard Edged Camouflage Patterns

While airbrushes are fantastic for applying soft edged camouflage, they do require a bit more work for hard edged patterns. Firstly use blue tack, silly putty or liquid mask to lay out the area where you want the camouflage pattern, aiming for around 1/3 of the surface area of the tank hull. You want the masking to be wide enough that you won't get any over-spray.

Firstly I airbrushed the Resedagrun green and let it dry before removing the masking. Then I repeated the process to apply the Schokobraun brown, again aiming to cover around 1/3 of the tank hull and following the edges of the Resedagrun in some areas.

Then I went back and touched up any areas of over-spray or soft edges with a fine detail brush. You can also paint the camouflage patterns directly using a brush if you prefer.

Step Three: Camouflage Dots

One of the most distinctive versions of the German late war ambush camouflage patterns uses small dots of each of the three camouflage colours randomly painted across the hull. This can be a little hard to paint with a brush, so I recommend using a 0.2 or 0.3mm mechanical pencil to apply the dots.

Start by placing a small drop Dunkelgelb onto a paint pallet, dip the tip of the pencil lid into it and apply small dots of it onto the areas painted green and brown. Then repeat the process with the other colours. This is by far the fastest and neatest way to apply the dots.

Then I finished off the tank using the same pin-washing and weathering techniques I've covered earlier in this series.

The key to deciding which camouflage patterns to use on your German Flames of War army is to pay attention to the period of the war in which the tanks you're fielding were used.

The World War 2 buffs among you will already have noticed that the Hollywood Tiger I've painted here is rather historically inaccurate and wouldn't have been painted in an ambush pattern since its in a configuration used in the mid-war period.

If you're wanting historical accuracy without having to do heaps of research the 1945 German Colours Profile Guide from AK Interactive is a fantastic resource; packed full of over 180 colour renderings of the various late war German camouflage patterns as they were applied ot a variety of armoured vehicles.