Thanks Carl, it's a sound kit, you'll enjoy building it. Even better with a group!

Great work Bill. Looking forward to seeing how you tackle the whitewash.

Looking real good Bill.
Can't wait to see it in it's final Paint
So easy weather or Gooped all up?

Thanks Pat, I'm studying how to attach this one, have several ideas but will have to proceed deliberately.

Jeff,

Since the battle took place in Feb/March, the whitewash would still be largely intact I think, so it won't be super-ragged but will definitely have some wear.

Bill, Lookin Good! ! Thanks for the step by step construction photos, (keep them coming) . They will be helpful when I start my Panzer IV.

My pleasure milvehfan, glad it's helpful for you.

Work continued with the focus on the whitewash up first. Since there are a lot of equipment items to install, I decided to work on the whitewash foundation first. Using the air-brushed Light Gray as a foundation, I dry-brushed straight Panzer Gray using a 0 round sable brush over all the surfaces. I started at the front of the vehicle and worked my way back along the hull and fenders with the turret being done last. Once satisfied, I did the same thing with the Light Gray but in lighter passes to blend it all back together and correct some of the excesses here and there.



Next attention turned to the details and the pioneer tools. The fenders are crowded for the most part and exact placement is crucial. The left fender came first, with the various metal surfaces on the tools painted with Testor's Non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal followed by dry-brushed steel. The wood handles on the cleaning rods were painted with my own mix of "wood" color followed by a light brushing of artist pastel Burnt Umber. Going off reference photos, I also dry-brushed Light Gray over the spare road-wheels and installed them. The same thing was done to the main road wheels but lighter and the undersides of the lower hull were given a very heavy dry-brushing of Panzer Gray to show wear.



The right side fender got similar attention as the left. I realized that I'd incorrectly installed the jack in earlier steps so had to gently remove it and reposition it in the correct orientation for the shovel to install properly. I also discovered that part H3 doesn't fit under the fender brace H5 without a lot of force, I was able to get it in but it's much easier if you install H3 before H5 (something I didn't realize back in Step 13 when I left the tools off).



The rear hull also got some attention with the exhausts base-coated in the same Metalizer Gunmetal and then given a wash of Rust followed by dry-brushed Burnt Umber. The rear Notek lenses were done with Tamiya Clear Green and the fender reflector with Tamiya Clear Red.



The spare track runs were added both to the glacis and the hull front. The glacis run is a combination of standard links from the Magic tracks and special links with mount pins and, most importantly, the track pins molded in for the first and last links. I took 4 links from the Lefthand bag for this run. Installing the holders for this run is a little tricky due to their very small size and small attachment surface and proved an exercise in patience. The track runs were base-coated with the Metalizer Gunmetal and then given successive washes of Rust and Burnt Umber with additional Burnt Umber dry-brushed as well to tone down some spots here and there.

The front hull run is 9 links which I took from the Righthand bag just to be sure I had sufficient links and to provide some variety vs. the top run. This run is tricky to install because of the added thickness of the additional armor plate, the tolerance between the clamp bar and the hull is narrower. As a result, the fit is extremely tight no glue was needed to secure this one in place. It's worth noting that the instructions diagram in Step 11 show the guide horns under the clamp bar for some reason instead of above the bar where it should be...later on in Step 19 and in the Finishing Guide diagrams the tracks in their proper orientation though. I had to double check my references just to be sure and it was a head-scratcher for a moment.



All that's left to do now is assemble and install the tracks and then the markings and weathering will follow.

Hello

I must have missed this beauty along the way. Looks really great in that wintercamo :-)
I am looking forward to see some more

Grtz Roel

Thanks Roel! I expect to have the tracks done and installed today before the "Superbowl" puts an end to all model-related activity for the day.

Fantastic WIP, you make it easy to follow the steps you use to achieve each effect and I thank you for that!

Can't wait to see your next update.

I'm glad to hear that Ray, one of the reasons I use this format is to lay out as much as possible the intervening steps. Not always able to do that either due to time or process constraints of course, but it's comforting to know it's having the desired effect.

Hi Bill,
the kit is very nice...
and your assembly job very clean! I like it.

Looking forward to see more photos.
ciao
Tom

That is shaping up really nice Bill, a very effective method for your white wash. The Tools look superb. The addition of the markings should really make this one come to live. Looking forward to see it finished.

Enjoy the Super Bowl.

Cheers
Henk

Thanks tomasso, appreciate the comments!

Henk,

Thanks for the comments, I enjoyed the game, right down to the wire as had been the case all season with the Patriots, they just didn't pull it out this time.

Today's efforts focused solely on the tracks. Each of the "Magic" links needed attention in the form of removing a small nub on each guide horn and making sure the two ejector marks on either side of the guide horn were removed. I did this for both full bags of links, right and left, to make the assembly process as smooth as possible. My method for indy links is a little unorthodox in that I engage in a "speed" build with them, a race against the clock due to the setting time of the glue. To construct a track side, I assemble the full run (in this case 100 links per side) into one long track using Testor's black bottle glue. This glue has a longer set time and allows for roughly 1 hour of work time before it starts to set up and the run become too stiff to work. Once the run is constructed, it's quickly painted with Metalizer Gunmetal, dry-brushed with Steel, given a wash of Rust followed by a wash of Burnt Umber, and then installed along with the sprockets and idlers (and their mount arms left off from previous steps). I use toothpicks in connection with the fenders to hold the links down onto the return rollers and produce the desired sag.



This process is then repeated on the right side, with a run of 20 links constructed first to hold the installed left side level until the full run can be installed on the right side.



Then, because it was Super Bowl Sunday, I let it set for 4 hours while I watched the game and then came back and removed the toothpicks.





Next up will be the sealing coat of Future followed by the decals and final weathering. Almost to the finish line.

Looks real good Bill real good a save to me it looks.

So I have to read that Whitewash thru again.

I guess you used Grey for the wash?

Or did I miss something?

Interesting way of doing indy links, Bill. That "speed build" would make an entertaining video I'm sure Looking great, by the way.

No washes have been applied to this point. It's all done, so far at least, with dry-brushing of the Panzer Gray and Light Gray over the previously air-brushed foundation.

James,

It works...but have to be sure I've got the time available in a large enough block to make it possible. I always warn my wife before hand that "I'm making tracks!" and she knows not to come bother me. Now if I could just get the cats to do the same thing I'd be set.

A lot of progress made actually yesterday and today but I held off posting the updates as the majority of the work was done today. First in line was a coat of Future applied overall to the vehicle and allowed to set for a couple of hours before the decal markings were applied. The markings are fairly straightforward, just a set of turret numbers and the Totenkopf emblem on the front and rear. The Totenkopf was an interesting arrangement, it's actually 3 parts with the white background as one decal, followed by the eyes/nose of the skull, and then the jaw line as the final piece. These were all applied and given a dose of Walther's Solvaset to insure they snugged down tight to the surface. Then a second coat of Future was applied and left to set again, this time overnight since it was a Friday.



Starting out this morning, I began the weathering process by applying a pin wash of Raw Umber to all the different detail surfaces. The wash is a mix of about 90/10 Thinner/Raw Umber enamels and the brush is a 3/0 sable brush.



The beauty of the Future sealing coats is that the underlying coat is thoroughly protected and the wash I applied can now be adjusted and worked into the finish or removed as needed. To do this, I use the same 3/0 brush as before but use a spare mixing bottle with clean thinner to coax the excess wash into places where I want it to go or remove it entirely.



For example, in the photo below, you'll see on the left side the forward portion of the hull has had the wash adjusted while on the right side the rear engine deck hasn't yet received its attention. By working carefully and wiping the brush on a paper towel frequently to avoid paint build-up, the wash can be fine-tuned to very tight tolerances and any tide-markes removed or blended in.



Going over the whole vehicle, I spent about 3 hours adjusting the wash until I was satisfied with the results on both the hull and turret.



The entire vehicle was then given a coat of Testor's Lusterless Flat in the rattlecan and allowed to thoroughly dry before moving on to the next step of weathering the suspension and running gear. I opted for a mix of Russian Dark Earth and Dark Mud Mig Pigments and added them together at a roughly 50-50 ratio into a prescription bottle lid and mixed them together as a dry-powder first.



Then I added ordinary tap water to produce a wet mixture and applied it with a 0 round sable brush and allowed it to air-dry.



The best way to describe the next step in the process is "addition by subtraction" meaning that the desired effect is achieved by carefully removing the pigments from the areas where they were too heavy or I didn't want them to be. To do this, I go over the surface first with a set of stiff bristled brushes, while wearing a dust mask to avoid inhaling the fine pigment powder, and then follow-up with moistened q-tips to further remove or blend the pigments.



Once that's done, then I carefully dry-brush some Steel on the track faces on the front and rear for their wear.



And that's where it stands...I'll let it sit overnight and then check to see if any adjustments need to be made and then it's off to the photo-booth for the final completion shots.

That's looking really good! I'll try the pigments technique you used on the lower hull as well. Seems like a fairly easy but effective method.

Martin

Thanks for the update, looking very professional!

I really do appreciate the fact that in your summaries you actually describe how you achieve the desired results, rather than just say what you do.

cheers

Kick Butt Job Bill real Kick Butt.

Need to save this one for when we get around to building one.

Thanks for sharing.

Great job man ,you always seem to get the finish just right. Very realistic .

A great SBS! Thanks for sharing, it looks so easy when "you" do it.......

looks really good cant wait to see the final pictures.