Country Drive WIP

So a little work on the Panzer III, attached a couple of components to the upper and lower hull. As the model was originally designed to be motorized the upper and lower hull is designed to separate, making it a little easier to work with at the stage as it allows for the model to stay together for quick progress checks. I also went in and used a scribing tool to cut fresh areas where the weld bead detail will go. The weld beads that were on the original plastic were all but invisible and this will add a nice bit of detail. Currently I am waiting for some solvent cement i used to clean up the scribe lines to fully set up before I try doing the weld beads. I am also waiting on a new barrel I order to come in to make sure I don't have to do anything wired to get it to fit into the turret. When it and the skirt armor comes in I will post comparison shots. 

So got the wheel done, not to much to say here. They do have polycaps so that will make working with them a little easier. 

The other update tonight is my first attempt at doing weld beads. Used milliputty for this and the results are not great, and I'm glad I tested it out on a spoon. Lesson learned, milliputty good for large area work, not so good for detail work. So will have to get some of the Tamiya quick type. 

So a little test fitting, had to do some modification to attach the new barrel as it was actually made for a newer tooling of this kit. As such don't think I got it positioned 100% accurate but its close enough. Still need to scribe out the weld bead lines on the turret but waiting on the glue to setup. I also need to get some Tamiya quick type as the stores closest to me are sold out and will be a few days before I am going to be near another store. 

Double update tonight. One of the things I wanted to try out on the Panzer III was using metal tracks. So here we have the first side cleaned up. Still need to open up the holes for the attachment wire to start stringing them together but that will be for later. I do want to say I knew going in that they would need a touch of clean up right out of the gate and this was absolutely true. Though while it was very repetitive it was not so bad. I only found two issues with these tracks. One is the lack of info on which bag has the right and which has the left tracks. The othere is no info on how many per side. So I will check out some more recent kits for instruction guides to see if any have at least a close counting of how many per side. 

So pro of using metal tracks: they look great and have the most realist weight to them. The con: the monotony of cleaning them up and assembly. I guess this is what it means to suffer for your art. 

Been off from working on this but made a little progress on getting the tracks put together. However what I wanted to show tonight is the difference between the kit drive sprocket and the aftermarket one. To get it to work I had to cut off the kit's attachment peg and drill out a hole for the new metal peg. 

Got the first side done. 

Finally finished the tracks plus the set of spare tracks. 

So to help with ease of building and painting I raided some extra pollycaps out of my build MG kits to allow the metal drive sprockets to be detachable. 

Got the weld bead lines scribed out on the turret. 

Second attempt at weld beads and have to say it is night and day better. Did not end up using Tamiya quick type as it was sold out everywhere. I ended up using the Mr. Hobby equivalent, which I have to say is actually a better buy as you get alot more in it for the same price.  

So first step in weathering the tracks is done. Blacking agent was applied directly from the bottle via brush and then cleaned with acetone. 

First update in a long while. Finally able to work on this guy again and started on doing the weld beading on the turret. Now I do not know if its the putty I am using or something on the plastic but the putty just does not want to stick. This shot is in fact my second attempt. This time instead of doing the entire turret I chose to work on a couple smaller sections and will allow them to set fully before continuing. Once they do I will try washing the parts to see if that helps with adhesion. 

So finished up the turret, still would say I am a ways away from mastering this technique but it is a start. 

As I am going to be using an aftermarket skirt set I needed to fill a couple of mounting holes for the supplied kit parts. To do this I used a very new technique that I learned about and that is to use 3D printer resin. Used a little on the lower hull and here and have to say this works. You will need a uv light to cure the resin, and I would personally recommend using a hypodermic needle to apply it for controllability, but it works. 

Showing the areas filled under uv light. 

Started work on the upper hull weld beads. 

Finished up the weld beading on the upper hull. Overall I will say this technique does take a lot of care to do. Next time I think I will try using either stretched sprue or plastic rod. Either way now is a waiting game for the epoxy to set. 

Clipped the commander figure off the sprue to do some dry fitting. Right away know will have to do some filling around the waist and the arms as there are some significant gaps. I also test fitted how the figure would look when placed in the turret. Will need to add a step for him to stand on to the bottom of the turret, something which I would have done sooner however the instructions gave the impression that it would fit snuggly in the commander coupla part and not necessitate a need for a step. 

I did a little test fitting of the turret to the upper hull and managed to damage some of the weld beading. So I am trimming down the turret key so there will be a greater amount of vertical play between the turret and upper hull. 

Made some progress working on the figure. Started by filling in the area between the legs and the torso. I recently picked up a set of silicone brushes and they helped with smoothing out the epoxy. 

Some of the prep work that was done before joining I prepped the legs and arms by dremeling out a channel to give the putty more area to hold.  

Started work on the turret skirt armor. 

Progress on the turret skirt. Am using CA glue for this and it is proving to be more challenging then I thought it would. Will keep pushing forward but do think I might consider soldiering next time I do something like this. 

Ok long while since i posted. So my original plan to had the add on armor separate and painted as such fell through. When i went to test fit I started having all kinds of problems, especially with the attachment brackets. At the moment 2 of them have completely fallen off and will need to be reattached. Any attempt at keeping the glue marks to a minimum has also all but failed, with the uncure stuff I got not really working, essentially it just makes a glue soft and gummy requiring you to scrape it off in order to get it clean. So right now I do not know what to do, as I do not want to even start the rest of the armor plates till I get some advice as things are not working as I had planned. 

So shortly after I posted the previous picture I tried to adjust the armor and it basically all fell apart. As such I decided that at this point I was just going to have to start over, stripping all of the CA glue and will start again. Pictured is the post stripping state of the turret PE. At the moment I am thinking for this second attempt I will attach the brackts to the turret first then install the plates. 

Decided to take a break from working on the turret armor, in part due to waiting for the IPA to evaporate after cleaning off any residual CA remover. Got all the last bits, less the spare wheels, attached. Need to base coat the intakes before attaching the PE grills, but making progress. 

First attempt at soldering PE parts. Would say not terrible for the first try, and a overall good learning experience. Do need to reattach some of the upper brackets, and one lower bracket was claimed by the floor and will require scratch building a replacement. 

What started as a bit of a disaster has turned into a major learning experience. While I would call it far from perfect, this turned out better then I thought it would for a first attempt. I now feel alot more confident on doing the hull armor now. 

Turret armor now attached 

Base coated the engine intakes black and attached the engine covers. In this shot you can see the difference with and without the grills. 

Started on the smaller brackets for the hull armor. For these I decided to go back to CA glue as their small size would make soldering an unattractive solution. Unfortunately due to a accident trying to get some residual ca glue off my finger was only able to get 4 sets done.  

Been a busy few weeks dealing with somethings. Finally got some more progress on the Panzer. Got the majority of the side armor brackets attached on the left side. On bracket fell off and while trying to reattach it I accidentally poped out one of the supports so need to reglue that.

Speaking of glue, I think I figured out what my issues were with glueing the turret. First, was the type of glue. I was using the thicker gel type and that small bit of added thickness was causing problems. Second, I think it was the curve design of the pieces. One unfortunately drawback of a rounded surface is that it does make attaching to it more difficult than a flat one.

So as of posting this the glue does seem to be holding and will be starting the right side soon. 

More armor work. To help make it easier to attach the armor plates I have tapped them down and applied a little glue along each panel. 

First set of panels on. 

Finally a new update. Got the other side done now, and with the exception of and antenna I am calling the construction phase on the hull done. I did also remove the schurzen plate as I was an idiot and forgot that I need to paint the equipment on the sides. 

Double post night. So with the hull complete I can start work on the base. First photo shows the rough doodling of the layout and positioning of everything that will be on it. 

Second photo shows the elevation change, though I am debating if I want to double it. Unfortunately I only have one piece of the white Styrofoam and don't want to start cutting till I am sure. 

More work on the terrain. Attached the other piece and did my first attempt at hot wire cutting. While it is in no way perfect, hot wire I have only allowed me to cut perpendicular to the road and not parallel, I think it will work, especially after I add the plaster to fill in some of the divots. 

Another rough shot now with the rocks im going to use and the tank hull added for scale. Really starting to come along. 

Got the ground work onto the base, unfortunately I chose the day it chooses to rain to do this. So this thing has had to stay inside all day and now I am trying to help it dry using a hair dryer in the hopes of it being set up enough for me to take it with me to my IPMS meeting tomorrow. 

Been a little while since I posted any progress. Just did a wash test for the rocks with two different grays, and I think I am going to go with the one on the left. Since im waiting on some Airdry Clay to set up to fix a couple of spots would love some feedback and opinions as to which rock color people like more. 

Decided to go with the Blue Gray wash and here are the results after 2 coats and dry brushing some white. 

More work on the Panzer dio. Got the base painting done, will be adding dirt over this when I have some time. 

Got the dirt layer down and overall am pretty happy. There are a couple of spots I am gonna have to touch up where it eithet cracked a little or I missed, but not to bad for a first attempt. I am also really happy with the color as I was think I would need to come back and airbrush the road. With it basically dry, I dont think I will. 

Touch up of dirt layer still drying but looking good. 

Aftermath of first attempt at doing static grass with a home made applicator. Sufficate to say it failed miserably, with me rushing to get paper towels to wipe it off. 

So thinking it might be my technique I tried again with a plastic spoon holding it closer. While it did turned out a little better the thing just did not work. So looks like my attempt at saving money did not work. Upside is this attempt did let me see how the 2mm and 4mm static grass would look and it was not what I was exactly looking for. So will also see about getting some longer 7mm to mix in. 

Since I am a little stuck working on the base until I can get a new static grass applicator I decided to work on the tree that will be a focal point of this diorama. Nothing fancy here just some clipping off a tree in my yard that I hobbled together. Will look in the morning to see if I can find some smaller bits to add onto the branches to fill it in more. 

Was not able to find any suitable small bits to use in my yard so I decided to make my own. Used 26 gage wire that I twisted together and ca glued onto the tree base. I will come back later and apply some airdry clay to them to give them a little more substance. 

Take 2 on grass. This time with success, thought not 100% it works. The small 2mm is all but invisible not adding the additional variety I wanted. Also, because Amazon dropped the ball I was not able to get any 7mm, or any additional so the more uniform color is just gonna have to work. If nothing else it was a good learning experience. 

Test shot with the tree added and the Panzer hull on. Am likeing how things are coming along. 

First time getting paint on plastic in months. Got the primer coat down on the figure and with the exception of a couple spots where I had done some filling is about ready for painting to begin. 

Back view and the areas to fix 

Shadow layer 

Mid tone layer 

Highlight layer 

More progress on the Panzer commander figure. Painted his hair, under shirt, and got the base coat down for his uniform. 

More paint progress on the Panzer Commander figure. Close to being done with him. 

Not much progress to report, did start painting the rubber on the wheels. I do have to say I am extremely impressed with this color for the base. I am using Vallejo 70.866 Grey Green and it is a fantastic rubber color straight from the bottle. 

Been a little sparse lately as been struggling to find motivation to finish up painting these tires, but I am calling them done. Going to hold off any weathering for now as I will do it once they are attached and I have done some to the hull. Speaking of the hull, that and the turret are my next painting project. 

Finnaly got the base paint added. Also have the base paint done on the turret but still need to add the camo to the armor plates. 

Back to work on the Panzer. Finally did the camo, which I decided to limit to the plates base on a photo I was able to find. Did this for 2 main reasons. The first, given how delicate the plate parts are and because I would have to be painting around them I did not want to have to do any kind of masking out of fear of damage being done. The second is because I had gotten a new fine detail airbrush. Still need to get more practice with it, almost exclusively due to the paint needing to be thinned significantly more than normal to flow through the smaller nozzle. At current the next step is gloss coat for decals. I am aiming to try and have this done by the end of next month in time for Spruefest. 

Shot of the side armor plates 

Decals on ready for flat coat and some weathering. As an aside was pleasantly shocked by the decals. Given the age and how they looked I was expecting them to be worthless and fall apart the second I put them in the water. However they worked perfectly. Guess it pays to try your old decals first before writing them off. 

First attempt at painting the tools, and unfortunately at this point I am thinking the neutral grey I went with is too light. Will wait untill it's fully dry to make a final decision but for now it's probably gonna get repainted. 

Take 2, likeing this alot more. 

Wood painted on. 

Finally took the leap and started adding chipping to the Panzer. First shot is a sample of the German Yellow against the base color done on the underside of one of the spare wheels where no one will ever see on the finish tank in the event it did not work. 

Next is the chipping applied to the rest of the wheels. 

After that we have the side armor panels, mainly focusing where you would expect to see chipping cause by impacts from terrain and areas where the crew might frequently brush up against. 

We then have the turret, again focusing on areas that would get the most use and wear from the crew. 

Lastly we have the rest of the hull. For my first attempt at this technique I am mostly satisfied, few things I would do slightly different next time, but am not going to complain too much. Will add a little more in a few spots to touch up but am basically ready to start adding some rust. 

Chipping done. This took a little bit of time and for a first attempt I am happy with the results. First shot is the wheels. 

Second is the turret. 

Next is the side armor. 

Last is the hull. 

Sorry for the lack of updates. Had alot on my plate the last couple weeks and the added prep work needed with oils made it hard to get work on this guy done. That said finally got the oil on. Overall for a first attempt I am happy with it. Oils are definitely a easy to learn, difficult to master technique. As it is there are a couple of spots that I may come back and touch up, but will not really know till the white spirits dry. Aside from that and the area around the engine intakes which I'll come back with an enamel wash to darken them up, I'm calling this ready for mud. 

Another set of quick progress shots 

Since Erica is now done, still need to take photos of her, but thought I should give a little update on the Panzer. Did a little testing with AK splatter effects diorama paints and Vallejo diorama effects. Overall I found the splatter effects paints to be very thin, even after stirring. This means they will be great for splattering. In this I applied them with a brush directly and even then they are not to bad. Only complaint is the particulets are on the small size so they will need to be applied over other products. Which brings us to the Vallejo diorama effects. This surprised me with how thick it is. This will make it great for doing the base layer of mud on the hull and tracks. Don't know of I will be getting to starting the mud work, hopefully this weekend but am dealing with some major stuff. Will update again when I can. 

First step done weathering the tracks, applying the Vallejo colors Grey Sand Diorama Effects. Going to use this as a base for further weathering. 

More work on the tracks. First picture is my first attempt at adding dust. Unfortunately the mixture I use is more intended for adding rain marks and not for dust.  

So I tried a second application to see if I could build it up. This did not work as the effect was not noticeable.  

So I instead decided to go with the stand by of very thin Tamiya Deck Tan. This worked really well, pic 3, and also did a single layer on the other side of the tracks. Will come back for another layer of dust after enamels. 

Other side of the tracks. 

Next phase of weathering these tracks. First step was adding another thin layer of mud using Ammo by Mig Dry Light Soil. Since this is an enamel we can wet blend with the next layers. 

Second layer is Dry Stepp done with a splattering technique using an old airbrush needle to flick the brush on. This layer is done more lightly to just add a little color and added interest.  

Third layer is Kursk Soil, which will be the main layer. This was applied using the splattering technique again, but done much heavier. 

Last layer is Light Dust. This was done the lightest mainly just to add back in a little of the dust color we started with for added depth. Now we wait while this all drys and sets up. 

Before and after of sanding the the tracks. Thinking I'm going to call this side done and will be moving onto the other side. 

Back to working on the diorama for the Panzer. Drybrushed the tree which will be a central focal point for this piece. 

Second shot is after I added the clump foliage to build up the volume of leaves. Will see what I think in the morning if I want to add some more volume, but liking how it is looking. 

Attempt number 2. So the spray adhesive I got did not work. So got a different one and we will see how this one does. If this does not work I'm not sure what I am going to do. 

Attempt number 3, in progress. So when I went to try and clean up the previous attempt, as much like the previous nothing was sticking and the spray adhesive was refusing to dry, the tree finally gave up and everything started falling apart on it. Pieces I had CA glued to it were falling off, the clay bits were breaking down, it had become a complete disaster. I don't know if it was the goo gone, washing it multiple times, or finally in desperation (to get the spray adhesive off and have a clean slate to work with) 99% alchohol which finally killed it or some combination there of. So I made the final call and abandoned it to start fresh. Fortunately I lucked out a found a dead branch that would work perfectly. 

This time I am adding the foliage much more slowly, allow time for each bunch to set before continuing. So far the to part, which was done first, is holding. 

Ok calling the tree finally done. Going the tack glue route worked alot better, but substantial slower. But at least stuff is staying on, which at the end of the day is what matters most. 

Closing in of finally finishing the Panzer. Got the tree now attached to the base, going back and forth on if I want to add some more shrubs. At this point I don't think I will have time to add the fence I wanted to do, still have about 2 weeks to the competition but I am trying to get the main parts done for Saturday's club contest.  

Moving back to the hull I started doing some ground work of dried mud texturing. Not going to heavy and trying to focus more on the lower areas.  

Also put a little on the wheels to give them a little.  

Lastly I started working on the exhaust. Unfortunately things did not work out. I had planned to do a enamel rust wash over the piece, using the underlying coloration to differentiate areas on the piece. However I discovered I did not have any rust enamels. Think it would not be an issue I tried improvising using oil paints. This turned out to be a mistake as the oil, despite being heavily thined, never dried. As I was a bit rushed I did not take a photo. So at the moment I have it repainted in a rust color snd I use some chipping mediums to do it tomorrow. 

Going to be a double post today in regards to work on the Panzer. First up we have finishing up the turret. So I immediately ran into an issue with the last coupla piece, the figure doesn't fit.  

So decided to make a little change and now have the figure standing on top instead of in the opening.  

With the hatch pieces now attached and the figure placed, I'm calling the turret done. 

Second panzer post of the day, this time focusing on the exhaust. So my second attempt at doing the exhaust failed again. Don't know if I let the chipping stuff sit too long or put a thick enough coat. Regardless the results speak for themselves and it did not work.  

So I pivoted to ak interactive rust color paint set and a piece of sponge. The progress was done first with hull red to mend the base chocolate and fill in where the paint had gone down to the initial attempt layer.  

Next came dark rust as the second layer.  

Last layer was medium rust for the highlight layer. All that is left, though still debating how, is doing the smoke blackening. 

Last progress update for the Panzer. So decided to use the sponge method again for the smoke on the exhaust. I also painted the brackets that connect to the hull.  

Next up was weathering the hull wheels and other side of the tracks.  

Once these were dried I got them attached. This was followed by a dust layer to blend everything, plus a coat on the skirts.  

Then came time to get the tracks preped for attachment with a coating of grahite where the it comes in contact with the wheels.  

These were then attached.  

Lastly was putting on the side skirts.  

Next skirt on. 

With all that done the turret was mated to the hull for the final time.  

Quick shot of the Panzer on the diorama base.