Here are a few photos of a Tamiya Panzer III L that I recently completed.

It has a Verlinden engine compartment and rear stowage rack, as well as a scratchbuilt fighting compartment.

Paint is Tamiya acrylic. Weathering was done with Grumbacher oil paint, some drybrushing, and pastel chalk.

All in all it was a really fun build.

Very nice work .. congrats

Rick

Nice, technically well done build. I do see some little issues that you might want to think about on future builds, though. Forgive me if I bring up something that's actually correct. The tone of the pictures makes it hard to see some areas well.

1) The leather covered head protection cushion of the main hatch would not be the same color as the hatch.
2) The mounting strap of the jack block would not be the same color as the block. While the rest of the block may well be one color as you depict, the strap, itself, would be mounted to the vehicle.
3) While you show wear on the track guides, there doesn't seem to be reciprocal wear on the sprocket and idler.
4) The ride surface of the road wheels wouldn't be the same color as the sides (unless the vehicle hasn't been moved since the last trip to the wash rack). The same goes for the area on the tracks where the wheels are running.
5) The tail light lens needs paint.
6) What's holding the jack in place? Any straps or clamps would be body colored, but I really don't see any.

To clarify this a little, it's not meant to be harsh or nit-picky. I just look at vehicles as a show judge might (and as I judge both AMPS and IPMS, it's hard to get out of the habit). The items pointed out are only meant to help you think about details that you might not have.

I'd love to see some more detailed pictures of the interior and engine work you did.

Very clean work indeed, but I must agree with Bob..these are the little things which separate Good from Outstanding. Now maybe your intention is depicting a PzKw III fresh out of the depot and not yet in service, we don't know...it's mighty clean for a tank. Or maybe you're learning, in which case I say Drive On. You've obviously got the building and basic paint part down quite well..now it's all details. Keep at it.
Reference pics. I love reference pics. There's a lot of real life info out there of these and about every other tank, in the field, in combat, fairly fresh to all beat up to destroyed. I would suggest a study of reference photos.
But don't misunderstand, this is a very well done clean assembly and basic paint..I've built a few of this kit, i know it well.

Thanks Bob,

I welcome the critique, as I'm planning on entering this model in an upcoming contest. Fortunately, the items you point out are easy fixes, and I have a few weeks before the show. I hit the sprocket and idler with Floquil Old Silver, but it doesn't show in the pictures.

As for the tracks, the ones on the model now are the glueable/paintable ones that came with the kit. Better than the old melt the pins over ones, but still lacking in detail, and I'm not really happy with how they look. I have a set of Modelkasten tracks on the way that I'll be installing and weathering more accurately, and I'll be addressing the roadwheel weathering at the same time.

The Verlinden engine is nice, but it's nearly impossible to photograph now that everything is buttoned up.

I did the fighting compartment in the Shep Paine "Creative Gizmology" style, meaning there's enough in there to look like it has a decent interior when viewed through the hatches, but it's not accurate enough for close inspection. Didn't want a judge shining a Maglite through the hatches and seeing an empty void.

My next project is a Tamiya Stug III G to go with the Panzer III, and I'm building it with a Tank Workshop resin engine and fighting compartment. Picked up an Eduard photo-etch set and there's a second set of Modelkasten Tracks on the way for it. I'll be using the Ryton Sturmgeschutz book for reference. I'm going to do a build log as I go.

Any thoughts on the overall accuracy of this kit? Any issues I should address before I dig in?

MrVitello

As I mentioned to Bob, I welcome the critique and advice. Although I've been building for many years, I'm always learning and employing new techniques and improvements in each new build.

I was just looking at some color photos of a Stug III being restored in the Ryton Stug III book. The thing is immaculate, yet even in it's un-driven state, the part of the roadwheels that contact the track are a much lighter and dusty looking color than the sidewalls.

Time to take advantage of those poly-caps, and remove the roadwheels for more weathering.

MrVitello

The only real problem with the kit supplied tracks are the closed guides. With that in mind, the ones on your tank look fine, other than the already mentioned detailing (of course, you'll run into some who say they're too tight, but for a new vehicle, they're not). Glad you saw the picture of the road wheels to see what I mentioned about the contact surface.

I missed the silver on the sprocket and idler. One thing to add, that you may not have done, is that the track guides would wear at the inner surfaces of the idlers, too.

One item that's not shown in your pictures that may need a change is the wire cutters. A lot of people mistakenly paint the lower handle sections wood, or worse, metallic. These were actually made out of bakelite, and had an orangey/burnt sienna tone. Here's a picture for reference:


I mentioned paint on the taillight lens, previously, but I guess I should add the rear convoy light, too, if one's mounted.

I daresay the StuG IIIG kit you asked about builds up as easy, if not easier, than your MkIII. Referencing kit #35197, in the fighting area, the worst thing is the lack of the rear half o f the main gun. There's nothing from the pivot points back. The other thing that bugs me is the mount for the rotation pin. Without modification, I've never been able to build one where the mount was tight. Other than those things you should have another fun build ahead of you.

What show are you planning on attending?