i started this kit a few weeks back, a while before i joined here, so i'll bring you p to date first. i ordered this kit off ebay from abroad, and it arrived intact, but i was surprised to see when it was made. although the box is pristine, bothe the box and the mould marks state that it is the 1971 version. whether this means it was made in 1971 or the moulds were made in 1971 (i presume the latter), this seems awfully old to me. never mind, i didn't pay much for it. it went together fairly well, apart from the suspension which was a shambles. the road wheels are ok, but the drive wheel also seems a bit odd and has a 'simplified' feel to it. i airbrushed the model with flat black, then highlighted the centre of panels with flat white. the model was then sprayed with dark grey, but unfortunately i overdid it and the panel fading doesn't really show though. then i gave the whole model a dark wash. i also tried spot oil filters for the first time, using white, yellow, burnt sienna and blue. these seem to have worked well, although the turpentine stripped of the paint in places. i painted a few details like the headlamps, and painted on the yellow insignias. the german cross decals are taken from spares from a DML flak 88. whilst rooting around in the box i also found this lengh of chain, which fits nicely on the front. although this doesn't quite match up with reference pics (the chain should stretch twice between the hooks) i quite like it.
next is a light dry brush and a wash type filter. then i'm gonna complete the running gear and get to work with my new pigments.

Hi there!

Nice job so far. I like how the base colour turned out. With some washes and filters, it would look awesome.
The only hting I would say, is that the chain in the front looks a little out of scale, but it is just a matter of personal taste.

Thanks for sharing!!.

Cheers.

yeah i agree, but ithink it's the angle and closeness of the camara, plus the fact that its very shiny against a rey background. i can't find any reference photos, but heres a great website for anyone looking for reference photos of Sdkfz 251's. it's a gallery of hundreds upon hundreds of living examples from museums and re-enactments.

http://www.sdkfz251.com/index.html

Hi Luke i myself have all of the 251 variants from tamiya and from what i've seen of your current build it's looking fab you know how you remarked about the suspension being a shambles you might consider replacing it with an AFV set which is resin and injection moulded plastic for the swing arms and drivetrain i did with my 251 "stuka zu fuss" and was well happy with the results the half track wheels just sat better and looked the part

well this is going to be heavily weathered for a mud and snow diorama, so hopefully it wont show as much. i'll se what i can do today.

ok i've been a little engrossed with completing my tiger so i put this to one side for a while. i did some more to it today though. first up was a wash of mud colour, as shown here;

after that had dried i mixed pigments, acrylic colour and plaster to muddy paste and liberally applied it to the lower section of the model. i got the splatter effect by blasting the loaded brush with air from my airbrush. i know it seems a bit over the top at the moment, but this is just the base of dry mud, the damp and wet mud layers will be a lot darker. i'm also going to apply darker dry pigments to the current mud to vary it a bit, so this will also tone it down a bit.

Nice! It'll look great with the various layers of mud, looking forward to seeing this your progress.

Cheers -
Tim

Wow Luke that 251 is looking really good i love the mud dude can't wait to see it finished keep at it

good. i'll try to upload some focussed pictures soon
i dusted the basic dry mud with darker colours and it looks much better now. soon i hope to add the damp mud and fresh, wet mud layers but i need to do these with the wheels on really.

ok here you go. i think the other pigments aplied randomly actually made a difference, it's not just the fact that the photos are decent.





i still need some guidance on the interior. were the seats leather or just steel? were any of the insides painted a different colour? was it really that bland in there or am i going to have to scratchbuild something to make it realistic?

I'm not 100% sure about the seats i think they were either leather or canvas covering over a steel framing and the instructions say that the coloring is either a red brown (leather ) or khaki(which would be the canvas color) but like i said i'm not certain hope this helps?

I cannot say exactly about this one, I built SdKfz 251/4 Ausf C from AFV last year, and its interior was painted dark green, the equipment in german grey color and the seats black, but they are wood, with tool boxes behind their back and underneath.
That mud looks great!
libor

The seats in this baby would usually be made of a brown leather and the interiorcolour would be the same as the exteriorcolour.

I love what you are doing to this old kit. It really looks good!
I just think you should have added the mud after you had fitted the runninggear and wheels to create unity in it's appearance.

How exactly did you do that mud? It just looks real!

the wheels and tracks are next on my agenda. i left them off for the dry mud so i could get a more even coat on the hull. once i've painted and installed the running gear i'll tough up with dry mud and then add the damp and wet layers.
the mud is pigments, pollyfilla and tamiya xf 64. mix to a consistency like real mud and sort of dab it on liberally with an old crap brush. i got the splattered effect by blasting the brush with air from my airbrush. this works better with a more wet mixture. for damp mud, i'll use the same but with oil paints and clear satin coat. with more coat the mud looks really wet. there's a good article on pigments in the features section. i'll find it.

ok done some more today, though not a lot. i really want to get the tracks on but before i can properly install them i need to press them into the plaster of my base, and they'll then need cleaning, and i still have to find a few bits and bobs for the diorama. i made a tissue tarp for the side though, and the interior is improving. the diorama will be depicting part of the german offensive/ counter offensive in the Ardennes 'battle of the bulge'

Hi Luke that 251's really coming along well keep up the good work i especially like the tarp you've added to the side as stowage a nice touch

they're really easy to do too. you just roll up wet tissue paper and press it against the model for a perfect fit. i need to dust it slightly with pigments still to get rid of the shininess.

sorry no photos today, but while browsing the photo galleries i found some pics that show what others have done with the inside. i have now added a rope made from twisted threat, coiled on one of the seats, a bucket and two jerry cans. any idea on how to simulate tarnished steel for the bucket? not sure gun metal will cut it and silver will be too shiny.

also, any idea how thick telegraph poles are, as i need some for my diorama and i think dowel rod would be effective, but what size? 6mm? i worked out that it's about as wide as your head, so the head of a 1/35 figure should be about right for the thickness. this is about 5/6 mm, so do you reckon it would be ok?

Hi Luke with regards to simulating tarnished steel paint the bucket with aluminium then using a graphite pencil dull the aluminium finish also you can try the chipping technique

Luke love what you've done with the old Tamiya kit. The mud looks great. The half track you have modelled is a early 251 and is painted to represent a 16th Panzer Division vehical from 1941-42. The yellow Y with line line through it was 16th PzDiv tactical insignia. Also after 43 all armoured vehicals were painted dark yellow( Dunkelglelb) Your 251 is painted grey(Dunkelgrau) and would be more suited to the invasion of Russia. Dont forget its your model and its up to you were you want to place it, but after doing such a good job so far maybe it would be good to place it in its propper invironment. A muddy field in Russia, Hope this helps a bit , cheers Geraint

thanks for the tip on the bucket i had the idea of putting some old and dried grey paint marks inside it from where the crew have touched up the factory paint where it has chipped off for instance. as to the location, i think i'l take your advice and go with a russian winter. i won't need to make and changes to the diorama plan but i can change the trees from pine to a deciduous tree. this is a relief, as i was dreading trying to replicate the tall pines from the ardennes forest. hopefully i can get some stuff done later tonight.

Sounds good Luke i say go for it i'll look forward to seeing the pics as soon as you post them

ok didn't get a whole lot done today, as i mentioned earlier i'm a bit short of things to do until i start the diorama. no point starting the tracks if i'm gonna get plaster all over them, and i can't do any more mud without the tracks on i can only do little detail bits, which isn't all that bad. here's my jerry cans, rope and bucket. thatks for the graphite tip by the way, it didn't work when i applied it staight from my pencil or from my finger, as it went too shiny, but by mixing a bit of water with some and painting it on you get a convincing matt effect. just rub the pencil on a piece of paper and then use a drop of water to make a wash. it dissolves really easily, but also dries in about 10 seconds somehow, so you have to keep adding more water. hope you like these;

Hi Luke,
it looks good!
I can really use your tips about the mud, as I have a 251/2 coming up in a muddy setting.
I'm looking forward to the kind of diorama you're going to make.
you might want to do something about the gap between the upper and lower hull though.
They are quite noticable.