Painting Tray Update: 1/300 WWII and 28mm Renaissance

A 1/300 Heroics and Ross Panzer IV F2 (see below), donated to me from a very  good friend at the Hartlepool wargames club. This was part of an exchange of 10mm Pendraken ECW miniatures one way and a profuse quantity of assorted 1/300 Heroics & Ross and GHQ 1/285 models the other way. I am just left wondering how to paint these mini little beasts, so here are my first stabs (see below). 

It is a pity that my Blackberry camera does not seem up to taking photographs of things very small, losing the fine focus needed.

I was trying to go for that late war three tone camouflage look using Tamiya paints and left over odds and ends from my drying up Games Workshop pots. I discovered no point trying to micro-manage every brush stroke. Inks and washes may be the way forward.

Overall I m not convinced with my first attempt (even though I have not yet flocked the base which makes a huge difference). I cannot afford to take too long on each model but at the same time want to have a little highlighting and character if possible. I am not convinced that dry-brushing alone is the answer, inks and washes, hmm, successive layers? Model wise I am not far off the OrBat of a 1944 Panzer Division (Spearhead) so that is quite a lot of stands to do (100+) so I do need a mini-factory production process, rather tan an artisan approach.

Behold my painting tray  organised chaos (see above). Two 1/300 Panzer IV battalions, one H&R (Left Hand Side) the other (Right Hand Side) GHQ. Yes I know the 1944 Panzer Division OrBat has one Pz IV battalion and one Panther battalion, so effectively I have a 'spare' Pz IV battalion, which is nice. Lurking in the background are my "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" (28mm Renaissance fro Redoubt Enterprises). These will constitute a much needed Impetus Mounted Crossbow (CL) unit in my renaissance army. However they have been lurking around my painting tray for some time now successfully avoiding any contact with the paint brush. The goal is to get them painted in time for my next game of Impetus!

One slightly negative comment to make about the 1/285 GHQ models is the darned bendy barrels they have. They are finely scales, so fine in fact that the slightest touch of the gun barrel means that it twists and out have to come the tweezers. I sent several hours straightening those sixteen GHQ Panzer IVH's and they are still not quick right. I can see that handling and storing them will be a pain!