TANKART4 German Armor

There are a few luminaries in the scale modeling world, names that have earned recognition on the quality of their modeling, and a willingness to share techniques and ideas with others. One of the most noteworthy is Michael Rinaldi. His builds have graced magazines, but it is through his Tankart books that his teaching becomes fully realized.

The latest in the series, Tankart 4: German Armor, 2nd Edition, takes his approach up a notch with expanded sections and 64 more pages than the original edition published in 2017. The premium softcover is alive with superb photography and step-by-step instructions. Michael opens the book with detailed descriptions of several techniques, including pinwashes, blending, hairspray chipping, and three different ways to handle the ubiquitous panzer gray camouflage, in which he details correct and incorrect approaches and offers pro tips.

After a lengthy section devoted to applying and weathering winter whitewash, the book opens into five projects:
      •Dragon 1/35 scale Tiger II Ausf B
      •Dragon 1/35 scale SdKfz 184 Nashorn
      •Dragon 1/35 scale SdKfz 138/1 Grille Ausf M
      •Kitbashed 1/35 scale Sturm 33B
      •Tamiya 1/35 scale Char B1 bis in German service by Mario Eens

One of the things that stands out about the approach of these books is that each project ends with a quick reference showing where to go to find specific techniques.
If you are into building armor of any kind and especially German World War II vehicles, pick up a copy of Tankart 4. You won’t be disappointed.