Wow Bill, this was a rather fast build dont you think? What color are you using for the Dunkel Gelb , i remember it was a MM paint mix. And please show how your gonna do the weathering, its something that i would like to do!

Bill,I just checked this build out and I must say it looks fantastic,your step by step is great,and easy to follow.This is inspiring me as much as your recent Puma,I must get one of these for myself.again thanks for sharing.

Calvin, this one did indeed build up pretty fast...the fact that I've had time off for the Christmas holidays really enabled that to happen quicker than normal. I'm not using Dunkelgelb since this is a Tropen scheme that doesn't use Dunkelgelb but instead uses RAL 8000 as the basecoat. The Testors' Model Master equivalent for RAL 8000 is called "Afrika Grunbraun '41" and is a made-up name they applied for their own purposes. Will definitely include the weathering steps when I get to that stage. Thanks for the comments!

Anthony, thanks for the comments as well and for following along with this one.

Great work Bill! Love the paint job!

Thanks Martyn, appreciate the comments!

NIce progress Bill. This one is almost done.

Thanks Jim! I have the rest of the week off so might be able to sneak this one in under the gun as the last build for 2009...have to see though.

Always a pleasure watching your clean builds. The pictures are excellent to watch and clear.

One question, any specific reason for MK tracks over FM ones? I've done one set of Panther Late tracks and found them flimsy during and after construction, with several of the pins breaking, leaving some fiddly cutting and drilling required to re-assemble the run.

Looking forward to the next update

Thanks Herbert! The only specific reason that I've gotten into the habit of MKs vs. Fruils is down to price and availability. When I started adding AM tracks to my kits, they were (and continue to be) cheaper and easier to get here in the states on a consistent basis. I got comfortable working with them and understand their quirks...you're right about the pins not being as durable as the wire in Fruils but as long as you don't handle them too roughly they generally hold up well. I've built several different sets for different vehicles over the years but haven't ever built a Panther set so can't really comment there.

Perhaps, if you really NEED FM tracks, JBModel has them in regular stock and priced equally to MK-tracks.

Thanks Herbert, will check them out. JB Models has been getting an increasing share of my model funds lately regardless!

Looking good Bill great to see your still cranking still amazed at how clean your builds are one of these days i hope to be not such as slob heh,, you have had a terrific year i saw all your builds in the thread at FSM i have lots to read and catch up on and as usually use for reference, thanks for doing a great job on all your blogs and have a great new year.

Ron.

Thanks Ron and glad to see you back online and posting again as well! Happy New Year to you and your family!

Nice work so far. I too have been getting my MK tracks from JB Models. Quick shipping considering the distance.

Mark,

Thanks for the comments!

My normal source for MK tracks is RZM Imports here in the states and, so far, I've yet to find a better price for MKs. They typically will list them at $29.95 but take 10% off for online orders, putting them around $27 (not including shipping) for the Pz III/IV type that I buy the most such as SK-18. JB has that same set listed for 27.97 EUR (other sets are more or less expensive depending) which at the current exchange rate of 1.43 works out to $40 USD before shipping. That's a pretty hefty price difference.

The only downside to ordering from RZM is that they don't state on their website when they have items in stock vs. having to order them and sometimes the wait can be a long one depending on how successful they are in getting restock from MK. I've got a very large stockpile though that I've built up of the sets I use the most so I'm never in a rush and the extra savings are worth it IMHO. The upside is that they will tell you once you place the order if the item is backordered and they don't charge your CC until the item does arrive and is shipped to you.

One of the downsides to being home on vacation this week was the need to take care of various non-model related things as well...which limited somewhat my time at the bench but just in time for the end of the year, I was able to make some good progress.

The tracks were the last major item needing attention and I duly set to work assembling the MK workable tracks. The MK set includes a jig that holds 9 links at a time and the pins are provided on separate handles with the pins handed inside vs. outside. Adding the pins is straightforward, just a touch of glue needed at the head, insert to join the links, then twist off the handle and voila! workable tracks. The hollow guide horns are provided as separate parts and these also have a handle. Once the horns are glued in place and the glue had set up after a few minutes, the handles were easily removed with sprue cutters and the top lightly sanded where needed.



The MK instructions recommend that 92-95 links are needed for a Pz III vehicle but I always take those recommendations with a grain of salt and test fit to be sure the count is right. I assembled two runs of 90 links each to get me in range.



The idler was dry fit onto the mount and the mount itself needed to be trimmed down a couple of mm to allow the idler to seat properly. The MK runs were test fit on either side and two more links added to get to 92 per side with the amount of sag I wanted.



The MK SK-26 set doesn't provide very many extra links but since I had used one of these sets before, I had some additional links available and used these to create the added armor runs for the superstructure front plate. I used the kit supplied links for the "cow catcher" run between the tow points that also holds the two extra road wheels. The kit links required a lot of clean up in terms of flash, ejector marks on the faces, etc. and I ended up using 16 links to get the right curve and angle needed. The tow pins are removable so that I can paint and detail the run separately and were used to help hold and shape the curve along with the spares while the glue set up.



Tomorrow, weather permitting, I should get the tracks painted and installed and then it's on to the decals!

Hey Bill, just checked into this, sweet model. I wish i could build like that though. Evertime i paint a model, it ends up being covered in tiny dust hairs that just wont come off.

Thanks Calvin!

Sorry to hear about your dust hair issue...it has to do with the fact that the paint spray ionizes the air and the surface being painted...and that attracts the little dust hairs. I usually will wipe down or dust the area around my paint spot in the garage to try to minimize that happening...maybe try the same thing for your area? Either that or get a paint booth?

Oh the paint booth sucks away the dust right? Well my hobby room is in my room and my paint shop is on the porch. Ill keep that in mind next time, ill wipe of the surfaces first. Thanks Bill.

Bill this one is moving along very nicely. It will compliment your Panzer IV that you did awhile back very nicely are they from the same unit?

Well Bill, you are building an absolute masterpiece.

When I look at your III I wonder how stupid I was to get the old Tamiya ausf M/N on the workbench.

Thanks Jim! I had originally intended for this one to "book end" the Pz IV for the 2009 building year but didn't quite make it. The IV was finished in January 2009 and this III will be done in Jan 2010 so there's still a little symmetry there. The IV F(2) however was from a totally different unit (8th Regt vs. 5th Regt) and with the '42 Tropen scheme...but I did steal some of the ideas from the 8th Regt configurations to apply to this one, so they do have some common heritage!

Michal,

Thanks for the comments as well! I've never built the Tamiya kit so can't comment there...the older kits generally still build up well though, don't get discouraged with it!

Made more progress this weekend and am getting this one oh-so-close to the finish line. The first order of business was to prep the lower hull for the track installation. I dry brushed the contact teeth on the sprocket with Steel and stippled some Panzer Schwarzgrau on the lower hull to simulate some scuffing/scrapes there that would've exposed the original Panzer Gray paint a bit. I also did the same, very lightly, on the turret side hatches and commander's cupola.



The tracks were painted by airbrush with a primer coat of Flat Black laid down first to protect the bare plastic from the "hotter" lacquer based Non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal main coat. The tracks were then heavily dry brushed with Steel and given a wash of enamel Raw Umber. Once the wash had dried, the tracks were installed along with the idlers on both sides. For the idler's contact surface, I gave it the same treatment as the tracks without the primer coat of Flat Black. The idler mount itself is still positionable since I haven't yet locked that down even though the idler itself is now glued to the mount.



The spare track run for the front hull as well as the added-armor tracks were also painted and installed. They were basecoated with the non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and lightly dry brushed with Steel before given a wash of enamel Raw Umber followed by a wash of enamel Rust. Once those had dried, I dry brushed some additional enamel Burnt Umber to deepen their look and tone before gluing them into position. There are a couple of points that are still a little too reddish for my taste, I'll add some artist pastels to them later on in the weathering stage to tone them down a bit more.



Those were the last details to add before proceeding to the markings, so the entire vehicle was given a sealing coat of Future applied by airbrush and allowed to dry overnight...mostly because I ran out of time yesterday than anything else.

The kit-supplied decals needed some work/modifications to be usable since the turret numbers are provided as one continuous detail with a large clear section between the middle 1 and the 4...and there's no way you could actually install it that way without some trimming and cutting. Using a pair of scissors, I carefully trimmed out all three numbers for each turret side set and also modified the rear turret bin number by removing the 4 and trimming down it's clear section to allow for a more contiguous look there. The kit-supplied crosses were also replaced since they were the white-outline only variety and the reference pic of #114 clearly shows a black-center-white-outline style of cross. The replacements came courtesy of some spares from a previous Tristar build that were the right size.

All of the decals were treated with Walther's Solvaset with the turret side numbers requiring multiple careful doses to get them to lie down and conform to the very complex turret side surfaces. Once the markings were dry, I applied a 2nd coat of Future to seal them in and protect them from the later weathering steps.







The weathering will have to wait until next weekend however as my extended Christmas/holiday vacation comes to a close today and it's back to the grindstone tomorrow!

Really nice. Good work, Bill.

another excellant build Bill, always look forward to seeing what your gonna do next and you don't disappoint amazing work. Ant