Hi Bill,

very nice tank you've made. I read your topic about the DAK color scheme with great interest and it is nice how it turned out on your model. Besides being accurate, it is much more attractive. I agree with Rob that the red numbers are a nice contrast with the other colors.

Congrats and yes, this model deserves being published.



Jelger

great build Bill! I must say that without all those scratches and chips it's very different from most of the DAK vehicles we see. Definitely will add it to my favourite links.

spit

Jelger,

Thanks for the kind words! I was a little disappointed that the DML kit only included one DAK option but the Bison set offered many more opportunities and once I saw the red 215, I knew it was the one! I had quite a bit of fun looking into the DAK schemes and doing the research for the add-ons, I will never underestimate the resourcefulness of crews in the field after this.

Pawel,

Thanks for your comments as well. It's become the accepted norm that DAK = desert whitewash in terms of chipping so this one definitely marches to a different drum in that regard. I'm glad you liked it.

An awsome job Bill, you've outdone yourself and it deserves to be published. what's on the bench now?

Rob

Thanks Rob! The bench is in the process of being cleared in anticipation of the next project which will be Tamiya's Marder III.

Bill,

Again an excellent job! The contrast between the colors on the camo sure gives this Africa tank a much more interesting look than the single color camo scheme that I have become so familier with when viewing German WWII campaign desert tanks. I will have to give this a try on a future build. Bill, you sure have done an outstanding job again.

Thanks for taking the time to share another one of your step by step builds.
-Eddy

Eddy,

Thanks very much for the kind words! I had a lot of fun on this one, probably one of the most enjoyable projects in a while in fact. Definitely recommend giving the two-tone a shot on a future project, it opens up a lot more possibilities IMHO vs. a single-tone scheme.

I know you've been hearing compliments galore from me, but i just gotta say just one more time that your Pz IV looks great! Do you have any idea wha your next project will be?

Thanks Dean, appreciate the comments! Next project is a commission build of Tamiya's Marder III and various goodies, just waiting for a Tristar interior to arrive in the mail to get started on it.

Which Marder III specifically? The Marder III, or the Marder IIIm?

Its a German tank commander's dream come true. Great job Bill.

Dean,

The Marder III, not the III M. I had already built the III M about 18 months ago...before DML announced theirs. Maybe if I build the Marder III the same thing will happen? I've been batting close to 1000 so far...they've done it with the Flakpanzer, the Marder III M, and the Bison I...all getting announced within a year of me completing the older kits.

Chris, thanks for the kind words, much appreciated.

Oow, please start on a Panther-II Bill, please, really please

Sorry Herbert, I think that's one that you'd have to work on and complete before the model-gods would see the proper alignment of things and then issue a kit.

Very, very awesome! That camo sheme is nice!!! I wonder if that scheme is possible on a Panzer IV E?

Thanks for the build info!

Mark,

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated! As for IV Ausf E's serving in N. Afrika, they would've had the earlier '41 scheme of RAL 8000/RAL 7008 so the colors would be different as a result. Same kind of pattern distribution (basecoat RAL 8000 with 1/3 disruptive RAL 7008) though.

Great looking machine, Bill. I think you really nailed it, and your written log offer lots of great information. If you do another photo shoot, perhaps you could take a few pictures in black and white. It would be interesting to see if the camouflage disappears under those conditions.

-Doug

Doug,

I converted a couple to grayscale...not quite the same as b/w but pretty close.





Depending on the angle, lighting, dust, etc. the camo pattern almost disappears.

I love the black and white photos, looks almost like the real thing. It shows that you can't always go by the b/w photos in books to distinguish a vehicles color. Excellent job Bill.

Rob

Hi Bill,

Even with some noise and blur I can still see the camouflage pattern--but I know where to look. I agree that adding angle, lighting, and especially dust to the equation would make the camouflage disappear. I will pull my book on 10th Panzer and take a closer look.

-Doug

Doug,

I agree it's hard not to "see" the pattern once you know it's there...have to admit I've gotten much more attentive to N. Afrika photos (even looking at them under my lighted magnifier!) to see if it's possible to spot the pattern knowing what to look for...even then it's tough to pick up any kind of contrast. Too bad the photographers weren't psychic in anticipating our needs in the future and taking better photos!

Bill, I came across this on Mr Kunihito's modelling site, his take on a pzr IV in two tone desert scheme.

http://homepage3.nifty.com/AFV_model/

Incidentally check out his Marder III.

Very cool Pat, thanks for posting the link. Looks like a small growing minority adopting the scheme at least! Not too coincidentally, I'm in the process of getting a Marder III completed at the moment as well.

Sorry to ask you some information after so much time (hope is still possible to have a reply).

I'm trying to build this kit (Dragon 6360) and just in step 1 can't understand where assembled pieces A53 and A51 (marked as E) have to be placed.

Can you plese help me ?

Do you know similar issues in the following steps ?

Thank you and greetings from Rome

Luca