Afternoon all. This is not as much a build log as a paint log. This is the dragon kit (9030) and I will say I am not impressed at all. They used an OLD kit and added some new parts to make this version. There are two things that truly annoyed me with this kit. The first was the fenders, they put little raised boxes where you are supposed to attach the tools ect... however they tell you to remove three of these during assemble. The fender nonslip is little bumps.. there is NO way to remove the raised boxes with out removing the bumps.. VERY annoying. The second was the tracks. The links had two nice ejector pin marks on each as well as the two sprue attach points that needed to be cleaned up. LOTS of time. I would NOT buy this kit again.

So now that the build pain is done on to the paint. This is my first build log and I will take a Brits suggestion and do lots of pics.. hopefully through out the whole process. I might want to mention that I am currently working in Taiwan and living out of a hotel room for the next year. This makes finding model stuff lots of fun as I do not speak Chinese.

So here we go.. First off we have a shot of what was used to paint the Pz III. I forgot to pack the jars for my airbrush so found a cheap top feed brush, it works about as well as you would expect a cheap brush to work. The thinner is some of the hottest stuff I have ever seen. Pretty good odds it would melt the whole tank if I soaked it in it.. yes it even will get through future that has not had a week to cure.


I base coated/primed it with XF-10, I normally use straight black but since this one is going to be dark yellow I figured black would be a touch to dark.







Now to make it ugly as all get out. I am not a fan of the way most do color modulation. I can not get on board with lime green hatches on russian tanks or yellow ones on american tanks. I paint the areas I want lighter with white or in this case yellow so it will show through the final coat. You get a similar result with out the drastic levels that I have seen on some models.







As you can see I am fighting with the cheap air brush, but it all gets some what covered anyway. My top coat is mixed thin so that this base will show through when it drys. I have had better results with Model Master enamel vice an acrylic with this method. It will get a coat of future soon anyway. I know there are those that will tell me the color is not quite right but it works for me.













In the end I think I should have gone with the black. The pics do not show all the color shifts and honestly I think there could be more. I will have to do some work with that in the later stages of weathering.

As always any suggestions or comments are welcome.. and Matt you said lots of pics..

This promises to be an excellent blog. I have tried a similar pre-shade method, using Floquil Red Oxide and Tamiya Hull Red. I think yours is much more realistic. Yes, some of Dragon's older kits leave a lot to be desired. I find them to be excellent starting points to exercise the scratch build muscle. I am just learning this and have not posted anything. How did you paint your return rollers?

Matt...The Brit. yes it is a big cup but it likes to spray a little for a while then it sprays ALOT for a bit. Makes the pre shade thing tough. I felt the same way about the black and the yellow so I went the red. A coat of future has helped me see the shades. So I am warming up to it

Matt... The American. I have added some extra track armor to the front after seeing a few pics on the interwebs. However I am not up to taking on much scratch building. The return rollers and the road wheels are paint the old fashion way with a brush.

The tank now has a coat of future, the kits decals are old and yellow so I need to source some new ones.. Off to the local hobby shops and lots of charades to try to see if they have some.. I have the tools base coated and will get them on the fenders in the next day or so. Then I will post some more pics.

I may be able to help you with the markings. I have several sets from IIIs IVs I don't plan on using.

Thanks for the offer but I am in Taiwan right now, mailing them will cost a pretty penny and take some time. Let me look at the local shop first and if I need em we can work something out.

i recently experimented with post shading, and was happy with the results. if you want to enhance the pre-shading that you have already done, you could try post shading.

I used Tamiyas clear smoke, and diluted it significantly so that it was not really thick, allowing me to control how much i wanted to shade. can apply thin coats until you get the result that you want.
filters help it blend in even more, in the end.

I am pondering this, I read a post about post shading here and have a jar of smoke just for that. I am do not think the current air brush has the control to pull that off. I am working an angle to get the forgotten air brush jars sent to me, if I can get them here soon enough I may give it a go.

here is the outcome of my attempt on my KT, and the Musashi.

For the KT, i didnt want it to be too noticable, so i went very light. i really just did it around the main edges. you will notice it more, through the pictures, on the turret.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/207391#1740381

For the Musashi, i wanted it to really show detail, so i went a bit heavier, but still a good outcome.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/206438&ord=&page=2

This was done with a low end airbrush as well. In fact, i think your airbrush is the same one i have.
Dont be afraid of it. if you dilute it enough, it will be easy to blend in with other weathering

Jesse Nice work, I am loving the king.. on my list to do. You have sold me on it. I will give it a shot this weekend, my air brush jars will not be here for three weeks and I just learned about a show early next month that I want to try to go to.

So here is a small update. A gloss coat as promised and the tools painted and set in place. Also the extra track I stuck on since the last post.






And here are the kit decals (all three of em.. I know it was taxing) I think they are a touch yellow but let me know what you think.. Should they stay or should they go (now, if they stay there will be trouble, if they go it will be double) I know at least one guy has that song in his head now. Your welcome.

SO after the trip the local hobby store did not result in any new decals the ones I have are going to have to work. I used an old trick for whites and stuck the thing in the sun for a day or so and it has whitened them some. They are not perfect but you work with what you have.

I did some post shading on this with the tamiya smoke as Jesse suggested. I thinned the smoke quite a lot so it took awhile to get much effect. I was not looking for tons so it worked for me but next time not as much thinner. I have also put a pin wash of black on the details and learned that I did not let the future dry long enough for my nuclear thinner and it has melted the future and mixed it with my wash, and in one spot went through the paint down to the red below. I am now using some tamiya enamel thinner ( that does not thin Model master enamels for the record) to clean up the wash and things are working much better.
Any way enough or my ramblings, here are the pics.









First one to spot the area where the thinner chewed through wins the special prize... not sure what the special prize is but hey winning is winning right?

Edit due to moved photos

The Jack Block!

I wish it was that easy to fix. I am still pondering trying to paint the jack block like wood or just make it the color of the tank.. I am pretty sure the germans did not make those things look like a dining room table top like some show, but just shot paint over them. Odds are I am going with the base color since I have a tough time with painting wood.

Easy8,
I've been pondering those very same questions with my Dragon Sd.Kfz.III Ausf.H (kit 6642) -- sitting in primer state forever now. It's these little details which cause Panzerwerks production hold-ups -- at least that's the excuse I use! You're inspiring me to man-up and spray that thing ... soon. I can only hope that it comes out looking as good as yours.

--mike

Have decided to go base color on the block, this is going on a simple base with some mud with some what heavy weathering since these tanks seemed to last longer than normal combat tanks. I did find a figure set to stick on the base with them. Not exactly what I wanted but again I am limited. This one is straight display, not a lick of story.

Micheal... paint away, things always look better after smelling paint fumes...hey wait... nahh I used to stop work and think and worry if I was going to screw up. Then I looked and my stash and started doing the math. One kit every six months and I die with out getting to buy the new stuff. So now I plow ahead, if there are errors, well there is mud, tarps and extra stowage to cover them.

Progress has been made, not tons but progress. The little PZ III got a light dry brushing the other day. Nothing harsh just trying to get the detail to stand out a little more. The pics were shot right after and the white was a touch stark but its oil and tends to mellow when it is dry.









I have also gotten the first run at streaking on this one. I work dark to light so this is straight black.









So now it is on to chipping and then to rust/rust streaks. I am still plugging away with the figs for this as well while the PZ is drying.

Thanks Matt, now if we can get the little bugger done with out any more happy accidents life will be good.

Ok, still working on this. Had some issues with work and life and now a typhoon... got to love it. Here are my results with chipping and rust streaks. I am not thrilled with the chipping, but honestly I have never liked any chipping I have done. So here are the chip shots...









And now with a the rust streaks.. Have to forgive the pics here. The light in this room is well horrid at best and I use the sun to help but due to Typhoon Matmo there is a lack of sun at the moment.







That last one is well yeah anyway it is what it is..
And here is a teaser of the simple base this will get. No bricks snuggles.. no bricks



Now I need to let the rust dry, was using the sun to help with that so it seems things will be slow for a bit longer. Stay tuned, up next is some dust and dirt and then some mud.

I'm still impressed that you're doing work this fine in a hotel room...... and in the middle of a typhoon even.
Re your chipping, I think your technique is good, but that the chips themselves are too regularly placed. I'm not terribly confident when doing chipping myself, generally avoiding it entirely, but when I do apply chips, I try to keep them only around areas that would be exposed to hard contact with other items, such as around tool fasteners, extra track links, hatch handles, maintenance items like track tensioning mechanisms, etc.
It's always a tough call for me.

Thanks guys. Yes I think you are right Russel, they are a little to even. I try to keep the same thoughts in my head when I do the chips but well it is still a learning curve. I am in this hotel for the next 6 months (and have been here for 6 already) so I have a bit more stuff than say a shoe box but it does make it fun sometimes. I will snap a quick pic of my "bench" for you all to see.
Matt I am indeed trying to get a worn out looking tank, seems these things lasted awhile since they were not front line tanks and did not see much direct combat. So no big damage from fire but lots of wear from crashing around doing what tanks do. (a lot like cats on catnip)
I have tried a new method for the dust and the dirt on the track area.. So far I think it will work, I should have pics up tomorrow if it dries and looks somewhat good.

Here are the promised shots of the dust and dirt effects. I used products from true earth. It is a water based wash for dust and powders for the dirt. I had played with the wash before and was not thrilled with it, This time I mixed some with water and made it very very thin. This was washed over the whole model and then the full strength stuff was used in areas I wanted more dust. I am pretty happy with the way it came out. The powders were used on the running gear and are pretty straight forward to use. Wet the tank with water and apply the power... let dry. I am going to shoot a coat of flat on the tank and then some true earth wet effects on the lower dirt and then some mud in the lower running gear and tracks. The missing return roller came off on the fit of the tracks and will get put back on when it all goes together. Enough of my ramblings here are the pics.









And here is a shot of the "bench" as promise.. not much but it works for me.

Exceptional paint and weathering! I am itching to get to that stage on one of my builds.