mustang1989 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 It's looking good from every angle I can see Wayne!! Man you really know your way around an armor build. I've seen some folks that seem to take forever with a bulld like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 4, 2014 Author Share Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) Prime coat on.................finally!! and a little pre-shading to go with that!! Now this here next is what kicked my tail (no pun intended) for a while. The rudder to tail fit due to all the stuff that's inside of the tail. Starting pics are scary............ and the next one is after about an hour and a half of sanding, re-fitting and tidying up........... Not ALL the way that I like it but dramatically better! Good ol' AM stuff sometimes....................... Edited March 4, 2014 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 Oh don't you just hate it when you get all the way to this point and find something like that? There's a lot to be said for AM parts, but you have to weigh the benefits against the detriments. Good save on the tail. I added another horizontal bar to the back of the rack. I also found quite a few pics that show the majority of these did carry the jack on the fender instead of water cans. Stay tuned! G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 4, 2014 Share Posted March 4, 2014 After a marathon painting session the base colors are on! In primer. I began by using the mixes I prepared a week ago. These were MM Acryl colors that closely matched what I know to be the actual colors. Nothing worked. The paint gummed up in the AB, and wouldn't spray until thinned beyond use. I used MM Acryl thinner and the AB was clean as a whistle having been run through the ultrasonic cleaner a month ago. D*&n. Plan B, break out the Tamiya acrylics and mix on the fly. Base color is Tamiya Buff, Deck Tan, Flesh and White. I added a drop of white and panel faded the entire tank. It doesn't show well but it's there. I don't pre or post shade when doing a desert tank. The second color was made by adding a drop of Khaki to the original mix. The real colors were close in tone and some paints depict them as nearly identical. Photos reveal a bit more contrast so I went with that. Tracks were painted a mix of Tamiya Red Brown and Gunmetal. Spare links were sprayed with the above mixture plus Nato Black. I went dark on these for a reason. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted March 5, 2014 Share Posted March 5, 2014 Nice work Wayne. In a couple of weeks I will be starting the first armor build I have done in about 20 years or so, so I'm watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 6, 2014 Share Posted March 6, 2014 I'll be right here for you Ray! Nice thing about armor is there is no "correct" color, no "correct" camo, just a good time weathering and making it come to life. Oh and no glossy finish to polish either! G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 6, 2014 Author Share Posted March 6, 2014 Can't wait to see your build too Ray!! Wayne......................................looking good dude!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 You know Wayne I have the same problem with MM acrylics clogging up the AB. Sometimes I'll cut it with 70% ISO and that helps out alot but its just something with that brand of paint. I'm constantly cleaning the AB but I guess that's the price I pay to be able to paint indoors in the A/C. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 8, 2014 Author Share Posted March 8, 2014 It felt good to actually put color on this thing finally. I'm using Vallejo Air acrylics and those DO NOT clog up the AB like MM does , thank God! Here she is so far: and to the sides: if anybody is wondering about the ridiculously large gun barrels in the wing, that's electrical heat shrink that I masked the metal gun barrels off with. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 I'm waiting for some aftermarket decals then after they are applied I will begin the weathering. Meanwhile I'm working on stowage items. I found 8 jerry cans which would be used for gasoline. You see stacks of these on the tanks when on the march. Water cans are similar and had white crosses painted on them. I will build those next. I have a ton of stuff that I will use for bedrolls and various bits and bobs of stowage. It's soaking in Blechewhite before I can begin painting. Also, I finished the display base for the Befehlspanzer. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the goon Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Looking good Wayne. I've got a small update; been busy, dropped the hull the other day , had to rebuild it , trying to keep up my exercise program (lost 61lbs so far, 7 to go), stayed home sick today (stomach flu), so here's a few pic's. Got the hull/deck/cargo well glued for good, mocked up the door, painted some more bits/pieces. This is going to be an unarmed version, so I drilled out the gun mound bases, and added some resin cast deck access plates from Harbor Models. I'm not going to use the armored pilothouse either, just the instrument dash/helm, so I added a piece of styrene to the back side, so it can stand alone. More to come. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 I'm waiting for some aftermarket decals then after they are applied I will begin the weathering. Meanwhile I'm working on stowage items. I found 8 jerry cans which would be used for gasoline. You see stacks of these on the tanks when on the march. Water cans are similar and had white crosses painted on them. I will build those next. I have a ton of stuff that I will use for bedrolls and various bits and bobs of stowage. It's soaking in Blechewhite before I can begin painting. Also, I finished the display base for the Befehlspanzer. G Sorry if I missed it but what did you use for your ground work ? I used to use Celuclay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 DAS air drying modelling clay. It's just as light as Celluclay and in my mind easier to work with. It won't shrink or warp, the upturned edge is my fault. It is very absorbent so I like to use acrylic paint. It helps with the color modulation. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 Mark: Good recovery on the drop man! Whew! I'm in a group build on another site and a guy dropped his plane after having the fuselage together. I'll say it here like it was said there, "Better to happen at this stage in the game". Like the build and progress. Wayne:What can I say? Your work is astounding down to the base. Can't wait to see this and more builds here and abroad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 A little bit more progress here. I applied the border with the AB needle barely open at all and with the air pressure at around 30 psi. Using acrylics required constant cleaning of the tip throughout but overall I'm happy with the results. The "hump" in the middle of the paint is for the Gruppe numeral that will have a slight oversprayed condition. Stay tuned and I'll get to that. and the yellow tail that's prevelant on Staffel leaders birds. Will be fine tuning all of this down the road but this is where its at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Now we're cooking! Those late war colors are striking. Everytime I paint a tedious pattern I vow to return to enamels. Everytime. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Thanks Wayne!! At first the colors were kind of gross to me but they ended up growing on me. As far as the acrylic paints go I've gotten used to the downside of using them but the upside is that I get to paint indoors in the comfort of the spare room and the A/C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Same here. My "mancave" as it were, is my third car garage. Way too hot most months to be in while building or painting. So inside with acrylics I am. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Amen to that brother! A quick recap of the color scheme that I'll be going with here. It's gonna be "Black 10" of JG26 as it was just before capture in May 1945. For some reason the greens aren't quite as bright and colorful in these photos out of Jerry Crandalls book! Anyways...on to where we are now.......... Managed to get the Defense of the Reich bands, a gloss and decals for this photo. She's starting to take shape as a plane I think!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Looking great! I stayed home sick yesterday and started the Panzer III E command tank. Nothing much to show yet, just wheels and the lower hull. It'll be a couple more weeks for my decals to arrive so I am patiently waiting to start the weathering on the PzIIIL. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 (edited) Man you've definitely found your nitch in armor building Wayne. I'm looking forward to more of that build. Got the elevators painted which almost turned into a boo boo. I had marked the camo demarcation lines with a pencil on the already primed surface which initially I thought was a good idea until I painted the elevators. After I thought I was done I took a closer look and saw the drawn lines through my "finish coat" of paint. Sheesh!! Out the AB comes again and I finished it off! That would have been cool to overlook that and see it AFTER I had finished the whole thing! Any how here's a pic of the elevators: and now to what I consider to be a cool part of the build. The first pic is after I had applied all decals onto the main fuselage/ wing assy BEFORE the flat/ sunbleached coat. This is the AFTER pic with the wash and all flat coat/ sunbleaching coats applied: Whadda difference that makes. The crudely field oversray on the Gruppe numeral on the fuselage is clearly visible in the pic as well. Now we are off to other stuff like the bottomside bare metal surfaces and landing gear fellas................ Edited March 16, 2014 by mustang1989 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Attention to detail, that's what makes it. I took a few more pictures today. Painted some water cans for the Pz III L. I used a piece of sponge to paint the white crosses. Painted some stowage items as well. I obtained these items from Value Gear at an IPMS show in Phoenix. This is good stuff and very reasonably priced too. Here's where I'm at with the Pz III E command tank. The first tanks shipped to Tripoli from Naples had lengths of track hung all over them as replacements. Spare tires so to speak. It wasn't untill later on when Allied guns became more dangerous the track links also became added protection. I formed this set from aftermarket spares I had lying around unremembered for years.The pins are temporary, I will construct accurate ones soon. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Here's what I'm working from for the Panzerbefehlswagen III E. This is an H model but the turret hull and antenna are the same only the width of the tracks and rear idler wheel are different. I got the diagram from the internet and thus don't know who to credit. I have made molds and resin cast spare antenna bases, vision ports and the big armored bolts that hold it all together. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Nice work on the armor. I will be doing some armor and dioramas soon. Have not done any for about 25 years or so. I may contact you with a question or 2 if you don't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent G Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Ask away Ray! G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.