Prepping for paint on this project presented several challenges, not the least of which was how to deal with the interior and the different modular elements. After numerous test-fits and back and forth, I discovered that I had everything lined up properly in regards to the engine compartment bulkhead even so far as the notch in the left side of the superstructure. A gap remains however between the bulkhead and the cover for the engine compartment itself.



The gap is too wide to close with finger pressure, gluing, or putty, so I turned to some sheet styrene to solve the problem. I had to add two pieces of 0.5mm thick styrene, one to the bulkhead itself and the other to the engine compartment cover. A third piece of 0.3mm was added to the engine compartment cover to close the deal. This solution was necessary because I couldn't increase the thickness of the area of the bulkhead where it needed to fit into the notch on the superstructure.



I also added the front hull details for the glacis including the access hatch over the driver's position and the two blackout lights. The access hatch is a real challenge to install at this stage because it has to be inserted from the bottom to fit properly, installing it back when the nose was still separate would've been so much easier, so I'm not sure why it was left until Step 9 in the instructions.

Locating the two blackout lights in the correct spot is a bit of a challenge as the instructions are somewhat vague in exactly where they should be mounted. The french-style light had to be removed and relocated a little further down the glacis once a test fit with the gun mantlet showed it would interfere with the mantlet, so the resulting glue scar had to be sanded down carefully to repair the damage. I also had to cut down the tab on the top of the post that inserted into the light itself as it was too tall and wide to fit into the slot provided. The second armored vent cover is molded with a mount post as well but it too was too long, so I removed it completely and just glued the vent directly into position.



With that taken care of, the three modular elements of lower hull, upper hull and fighting compartment, and the gun were ready for paint.



I applied an initial coat of Model Master Italian Dark Brown as a primer coat. This was followed by a base coat of a mix of 80/20 Dunkelgelb/Light Gray. I went ahead and painted the exterior surfaces and the lower hull/suspension as a foundation for additional work even though some would likely have to be repainted after installation.



With that out of the way, the lower hull interior was dealt with first. Since all of the driver's station area will not be visible after everything is installed, I left it alone and focused on the portions only that would be visible from the fighting compartment. I detailed the radiator and drive shaft and weathered the floor. The floor was treated with washes of Gunmetal and Burnt Umber and then dry brushed with the previous Dunkelgelb/Light Gray mix. I also prepped the suspension by painting the road wheels and return rollers with non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and then dry-brushed it with Steel to simulate those bare steel surfaces.



The superstructure was joined with the lower hull. Step 9 of the instructions curiously directs not to do this by gluing, presumably just allowing it to snap into place. I ignored this of course and glued it into position. No matter how I tried though, I couldn't get the front corners to line up properly with the front plate although I did try several different methods, but each one caused the superstructure to separate from the lower hull...so putty was the ultimate solution.



As a way to test the fit of the tracks, I constructed a small length of 15 links and used it to test clearance on the idlers, sprockets, and return rollers with the fenders. The front fenders had a small step that I sanded down carefully and once that was removed, there was enough clearance. The rear fenders also had to be sanded down for the same reason, otherwise the fenders would sit directly on the links. With that solved, I installed the front fenders and used putty to close the small gaps present between them and the superstructure, the hull sides, and the fender extensions (yes there really were gaps in all three places!).



The last step was to glue the gun and mantlet into position. This is a tough installation because of the weight of the gun and the fact that it's only a small pin that fits into the base inside the mount that supports everything. Careful use of glue and holding things in position for a few minutes as it grabbed hold were necessary as well as propping up the barrel with a paint jar for about 30 minutes. Eventually the glue held though and it was ready to go back out to the paint booth. I used strips of blue painter's tape to mask the interior and the lower hull/suspension.



I painted the fenders first and touched up areas where the paint was a little worse for wear and then applied the camo pattern. Rather than follow the vague representations on the kit supplied finishing guide, I instead went with a design closer to that on the box top. I applied the green pattern using Model Master enamel Khaki free-hand. Over spray was fixed using the lightened dunkelgelb mix from earlier and then a very light misting of the dunkelgelb applied overall to fade and blend everything back together.



The tracks will come next followed by the pioneer tools and such to round things out.

This is very nicely airbrushed. What kind of a/b are you using. A informative build log as well.

Lars

Nice work on this on Bill.I like the camo and it will be a very pleasant picture to look at when finished. Can't wait for the weathering.

Greetz,

Hilbert

Lars,

Thanks for commenting, I use an Aztek A470 double action airbrush for all my work.

Hilbert,

Thanks as well, I'm almost to the weathering stage on this one so shouldn't keep you waiting too long I hope.

Looking very good
Keep it up

Nice work as always Bill. Great job on the paintscheme. Can't wait to see what's next. Keep going.

Jose, Jim, appreciate the comments.

The next crucial step in the grand scheme of things dealt with the tracks. The links provided in the kit come 122 to a sprue and 2 sprues are provided but only 103 or so are needed per side. The links assemble in a straight-forward manner with small square tabs on each link slotting into the link ahead of it and so on until you have the run constructed. I normally construct static indy links in sections of 5 links (using the Model Master regular glue in the black bottle vs. liquid glue), creating three sets of 5 to start with and once I've got the 4th built, add the first two together and so on to allow the sections to set up a bit before adding them to the master run. Once a run was constructed, I glued the idler and sprocket in place and then quickly painted the run. A base coat of Model Master Non-Buffing Metalizer Gunmetal was laid down by brush and then dry-brushed with Steel. The run was then installed and the only area I had some problems with was getting them to fit properly around the sprocket. The sprocket teeth are too shallow to help in supporting the curvature and the tab design isn't very curvature-friendly either, so it took a lot of coaxing and back-and-forth to get them fitted. The idlers presented less of a problem because of their larger diameter. Once the runs were in place and set up, I applied a light wash of Raw Umber to tone down the Steel on the outer surfaces while preserving it more on the inner surfaces where the contact where would be higher.



The next area was the interior areas of the upper superstructure/fighting compartment. When I'd installed it, I had lightly dry-brushed some Burnt Umber to provide some wear and scuffing and now augmented that with an overall wash of Raw Umber. Once that wash had dried, I blended it in with some of the lightened Dunkelgelb mix from earlier using both dry-brushing and stippling in random stabbing motions to break up the pattern.



The rear hull received some detailing attention as well. The exhaust muffler was base-coated with Non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and then a light wash of Rust applied. Once dry, some Burnt Umber was dry-brushed to complete its look. The brake light lenses were picked out with Tamiya Clear Red and the Notek lenses with Tamiya Clear Green. The second shovel was also painted and installed, the metal head base-coated with Non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and dry-brushed very lightly with Steel. The wood handles were painted with my own mix of "wood" color, given a light wash of Leather, then further weathered with artist pastel Burnt Umber. Last but not least the crew step ladder was installed and painted with some wear added by dry-brushing Burnt Umber on the steps and sides.



The other pioneer tools were added as well to the left side, with the metal heads and wooden handles finished the same was as the shovel. The wire cutter handles were painted with Italian Dark Brown to simulate their Bakelite surfaces. It's worth noting at this stage that Bronco appears to have the layout of the tools backwards, the one reference photo (the one that the box-art is based off of) shows the gear on the left side in the Bronco instructions actually on the right. It's possible the crew exercised some leeway here on the individual vehicles, but it's strange to me that that actual installation is different from that on the box art and the most-common reference photo it's based off of. I also will point out that the scale relation of the axe handle to the other tool handles is about double what it ought to be, it's roughly the thickness of two of the cleaning rods for example. Since it's mounted low down on the side, it's not that big of a deal, but still odd considering the relationship to the other tools provided.



You may notice in the previous photo that the paint has worn off the hubs of the suspension elements. I'm not sure if it's due to the nature of the mix of Bronco's styrene, but raised detail doesn't seem to thoroughly cure when painted with enamel paints. I allowed the paint to cure/set for several days before handling again but it didn't make a difference...and since some handling was necessary to complete the remaining details, I chose to handle it by the suspension to avoid damaging the camo pattern. I had encountered this before with the paint wearing on the weld lines but had chalked it up to trying to use rubber bands and their tension had done it, but now it's repeated under light pressure/handling so I know it's not that. I had this same problem crop up when trying to paint Dragon-Styrene parts with enamels, the paint would remain slightly tacky and never fully "cure" even months later, so the fact that Bronco's plastic is a blend of styrene and vinyl/rubber elements similar to the DS material is the likely culprit. I'm not a chemist, so I'm only reporting what I've experienced so take that for what it's worth .

Anyhow, to address this problem and also prep for the decals and weathering, I laid down a coat of Future acrylic polish on all surfaces both exterior and interior as a barrier to allow for handling and protection of the base coat during the follow-on weathering process. The Cartograf decals were applied, just the simple balkenkreuze to either side of the superstructure sides and the single tactical marking for the lower left hull front. The decals were treated with Walther's Solvaset to snug them down tight into the Future and then a second coat applied to seal them in by airbrush. I should note that the Future coats are applied in very very thin multiple passes at high pressure vs. a single heavy thick coat. I hold the airbrush at about 12" distance from the model and allow it to mist onto the model surface.



Next up will be the weathering process, getting closer to the finish line.

Looks great Bill, the camo is perfect for this little guy. I'm still trying to understand how you do tracks.......

1-make a full run, still laid out flat

2-paint (let them dry?)

3-thread the track around while still pliable, and join the end

4-somewhere in between there, yell out "don't bother me, I'm making tracks!"

Sound about right?

I've had the same problem using acrylics on DS, so thanks for the heads up on handling as that could be disastrous!

Nice looking Marder you've got there Bill.
I like the camo scheme. The interior looks good, the subtle interior paint color is fine.

It's a perfect base to start the fun part : weathering. Have fun, I can hardly wait to see it finished. G.

James, you've nailed it! The Non-buffing Metalizer dries very very quickly since it's lacquer based. I wear a paint breather mask while working with it because of that fact otherwise the fumes are pretty intense even with good ventilation. The dry-brushing also is done very quickly using a round 0 sable brush as it too will dry in a short space of time. I actually will warn my wife in advance that I'm "building tracks" and she knows not to disturb me...she knows the look of intense concentration and propensity to throw things are warning signs!

Guy,

I too am looking ahead to the weathering on this one, lots of possibilities for it no doubt. Thanks for your comments!

Interesting. Do you use Model Master enamels? Ive tried two of their colours (rubber and rust) and had this problem every time. I eventually threw them out. Ive never had this problem with Humbrols, including when I painted the interior of my Hotchkiss.
Good work on the camo so far. ... you´ve got good control with your brush ... very defined considering its freehand.

Frank,

Yes, I use Model Master enamels almost exclusively. The problem seems to be limited only to the raised areas, for example the flat sides of the fighting compartment aren't tacky at all, just the weld seams or the suspension hubs/edges. I guess it's possible that there's some mold release agent or other component that may be playing a role here since I don't wash my sprues as a rule. I've never had a problem with Model Master paints not adhering properly on a kit before aside from the DS experience. Thanks for the comments on the camo, much appreciated!

Bill I am goin to ask you the same question I asked Frank Glackin. the second picture you have used in this thread, the plastic appears very soft, vinyl almost. Frank gave me some details which helped as regards his build, what is your opinion of the plastic quality completly forgeting about the model for the moment.

It's definitely not standard styrene and is softer as a result of whatever it is being mixed with to produce the end product. I've found that it sands well with 400/600 grit sanding no problem and have used rougher grits for things like the thinning of the fenders as well without issue. Thinner parts are more prone to slight warpage and when trimming parts it is very easy to cut too deeply if you aren't careful. I've also found that fine flash seems to be a common occurrence on angled pieces. The parts do hold fine detail well where it is molded and it glues just fine. Does that answer your question?

Yes you have basically reaffirmed what Frank said, it is just that picture reminds so much of vinyl toys and puts me off getting my feet wet.

I wouldn't let that aspect get to you. It builds just like any other styrene kit IMHO. There are other issues with this particular kit that I think would be more reason for pause than the styrene itself, but that's a different matter altogether and will vary from kit to kit of course.

The weathering process began this weekend and the first order of business was the application of an overall wash (or filter if you prefer) of a 90/10 Thinner/Raw Umber mix to the exterior. The purpose of this filter is to provide a working base for the later stages and even though it darkens the finish at the outset, it's not how things will end up in the final analysis.



Next was the application of small dots of Flat White and Beret Green to the green sections of the scheme.



These dots are blended together using a square tip brush slightly dampened with thinner and repeated downward strokes to achieve the desired effect of fading and altering the underlying color.



The same process is repeated but using Flat Yellow and Flat White for the dunkelgelb portions. I did these as separate sections so I could concentrate on fading the specific sections differently from each other while still being mindful of the behavior you would expect to see from the slab side of the vehicle I was working on.





Adding another layer, I applied small dots of Military Brown to provide some surface dirt/streaks.





And a close-up to show the subtle nature of the overall effects...all of which began back when the initial camo was laid down with the airbrush.



The final touch came in the form of a pin wash of Burnt Umber to the weld seams and raised detail. This pin wash was also a 90/10 Thinner/Paint mix and applied with a pointed sable brush. Once the initial wash had dried, I used the same brush to come back with clean thinner and carefully adjust the excess where needed to get it nice and tight against the detail.



This process was repeated section by section over the entire vehicle exterior and I took frequent breaks in between each one so as to avoid rushing things. Once completed, I let it sit overnight and then gave it a once-over for any areas that still needed fine-tuning, then applied a coat of Testors Lusterless Flat in the spraycan to eliminate any remaining gloss and seal in the layers.

Next came the suspension and tracks, I mixed up equal amounts of Mig Productions Dry Mud, Europe Dust, and African Earth pigments as a dry powder in a prescription bottle cap. My aim here was for a light, dusty look since this vehicle was one that would've seen duty in Normandy. I added water to the mix and applied it as a wet slurry mixture with a large sable brush, then let it air-dry.





Working carefully with a series of stiff bristled brushes, q-tips, and smaller dampened sable brushes, I removed the excess and fine-tuned things to achieve the look I was after.



And, with that, this one's finished!

Wow Bill, this turned out great. Thank you for your clear explanation of weathering and dirtying up the vehicle ! It looks great, and you achieved great result without the chipping stage(s). G.

Thanks Guy, appreciate the comments and am glad you found the step-by-step helpful.

Beautiful work Bill. Your subtle weathering is always very pleasing. And you already know how I feel about your build logs

Great work Bill,

I have been lurking around watching this thread and can say that you've done a great job despite some of the kits shortcomings. Its always a pleasure to see your work and your threads are excellent at providing potential builders all the info they will need.

Great stuff,

Thanks and keep em coming!

James

Marc, it's nice to see you over here, thanks for the comments!




Thanks James, overall I enjoyed the build even though it put up a fight in places. Glad you enjoyed the ride and thanks for the encouragement.

Another beauty, Bill, thanks for all the SBS. I definately like the weathering you've been doing lately. Even though I wouldn't think it's possible, each build gets better and better. Looking forward to the next one.