I have to catch a breath after whole day running around with my son and a sleepless night… This is good opportunity to sit down, drink some beer, listen to Cocorosie (man, that’s one f%^ked up music… ) and write few words here.

Step.G.11.2. Gun barrel is put in place along with two parts on the left wall of chassis.


1009 parts used.

Step.G.12.1. In this step several subassemblies of parts that will be placed on the chassis is done. Except for problems with cutting out F18 part (handle of shell support) which is extremely thin and is being hold on a tree with quite thick and multiple arms no assembly problems appeared.



Shell support should be assembled on arm without a glue (it should be able to rotate) but it was very loose. I used heated screwdriver to delicately flat the end of supports axis – now it stays in place and is still able to rotate though it’s quite delicate.


15 parts used for these subassemblies.


Step.G.12.2. Placing subassemblies on the chassis along with few other parts on the wall and control panel.




1034 parts used so far.


Step.G.13.1. Ladders and platform. Ladders can be made in two ways – full length or folded. The folded version is required if you build a gun on a cross track, but can be also used for straight track. I’ve built both ladders in full length option. Some delicate filing and sanding was necessary with side ladder parts.


Platform is made of five plastic parts and a mesh. I must say that mesh is kept in scale (it is plastic) and is quite firm so there is no problem with attaching it to a frame.


20 parts are used for these subassemblies (including mesh as 1 part).


Step.G.13.2. Assembly of ladders and platform on main chassis. I had to adjust the ladders a little to make them fit to the walls and the deck, but it was a delicate adjustment and took only about 5 minutes.



Platform is attached in two points – no problem here. Only difficulty is to keep it horizontal (there is almost no horizontal lines on the chassis near the platform – no reference level than…).


Four additional parts are being used in this step to attach ladders to a wall, there are four other parts placed on the walls in this step as well.
1062 parts used by now.

Step.G.14. Hand rails assembly. There are four of them placed on main chassis. These sure are parts with highest length to thickness ratio in this kit .
There is a cover of control panel attached over it in this step as well.
1067 parts used so far.
We have the gun, trucks and ammunition wagon done already so next step is final assembly.

Andrzej

Alright, progress!
It's looking good. Keep up the amazing work.
Rich

Hi, A,

See your progress is becoming very well.....
Have painted almost all parts of K5, only the barrel left....
As a ground color i used Tamiya XF65. German field grey.
Read somewhere on one35th,that it was the originel color. Must say it is looking good on the K5.
It is a grey/greenish color.
Want to paint the K5 panzergrau, even with the field grey it is a good ground color.
How do I post the pics on the forum?
It is easier then on my account.
Noticed that your movable gun deck is not in the right place, same as my model.
It is not straight with the main deck.
I cut off the pins, drilled a miniscule hole in the remaining plastic and put a new needle as a hinge. That works fine at least I have to align the movable deck just a little bit. So it will not touch the sides of the main deck
Must take some pics tomorrow, paint is drying right now, so I can post them on the forum.
Only the parts that close the wheels are my lose parts.
Good luck with your build,

see you tomorrow (I think)

Marc

Hi,
Rich, Marc, thanks for comments and stopping by to check my progress.

Movable deck is in a strange angle for sure, but fortunately it is still movable and there is no collision between it and the main deck.
Bigger (because almost impossible to correct now) problem is that the gun’s barrel is not perpendicular to the chassis as well (at least in my model). I’ve checked all other parts and they fit correctly so What the heck! has happened with the gun? Anyway, it is visible only when the barrel is almost horizontal.

Rick, if you want to post the pic simply write “[ i m g ]link to your picture [ / i m g ]” removing the spaces I’ve left to make the code visible.


Model is assembled and ready for painting.
The plan for painting is:
1. reddish, rusty color as a base (color that is already visible on gun barrel and elevator).
2. wooden parts painting (decks, ladders)
3. heavy dry brushing on areas where possibility of heavy paint chipping and wearing was highest, I’m going to paint some deck parts totally in dark metal in this step.
4. wet salt application, mostly on areas mentioned in point 3 (a lot of salt will be applied also on wooden parts – paint hardly sticks to the wood and is easily pilled).
5. dark yellow over whole model
6. red brown camouflage scheme
7. details painting
8. salt removing to create paint chipping and pilling effects
9. gloss coat/decals
10. dry brushing
11. matt coat
12. washes, color modulation (I’ve just ordered 502 Abtailung oils – I’m going to try dot technique).
13. pigments
14. sitting next to the model and shooting anyone trying to touch it .

I will have to place the model somewhere before I finish the base with railroad, but I want to have model ready before the deadline of the campaign – base is secondary issue… (I hope that Jim will accept the railroad gun without a railroad as an entry )
I’ve planned step 1. for today.

Andrzej

Step one is done - I have to sneeze the paint away now...
More pics tomorrow evening.

Hi A

Upload a pic to test but all I saw was a URL link to the picture...
Not the right way...
Nice to see you in action with your build.
Try again tomorrow,

Marc

Test pic, now I know how to upload, more to come...

Marc.

Hi,
I've finished step1 form paint plan posted few days ago. Leo is looking a bit rusty now.


Today I'll try to do something with wooden parts.

Hi,

I've been a little sick lately so my progress has one day delay from the schedule. Now I'm listening to latest Chris Cornell record and posting some pics. Later I'll try to apply yellow paint on my model.
Now: what's new?
Wooden parts of model are painted - I've used Humbrols: #71 satin as base, than #83 for second layer (or drybrushing rather than real layer) and black green #91 for delicate wash.
Wooden parts will be covered with gun's main paint anyway, just some of them will be visible after paint chipping.


Next step - preparation for later paint chipping. I've dry brushed whole model with gunmetal, rust, and some black, made some metal and rust stains all over it and when the paint was dry I've applied the salt. I've sprinkled it all over the model and added some extra where the paint should and would go away for sure.


Andrzej

Hi A,

Hope your feeling better, so you can work some more on the paint.
Interesting to follow.
My painting is becoming nicely too.
Have paint the whole railway gun panzergrau.
Here some pics for you to see, enjoy..

Marc.

Marc,
That sure is a nice gun there! Although the Panzergrau looks a little pale on these pictures.

I've done a lot of progress but I did not have time to sit down and do something with the pictures... I hope to make pictures and update the log today evening.
Anyway, gun is painted yellow, red-brown camo is painted as well and paint chipping is done too (it took me almost two hours to remove the salt from the model - I bathed it in my son't baby bathtub )
Today I'm going to repair damages I've made during salt removing, correct brown paint in two places I've missed during painting (5minutes of painting, 5 minutes of paint prepatation 15 minutes of airbrush cleaning...)
I want to paint metallic surface in the area of recoil on the barrel today and gloss coat the model for decals application.

I will post some pictures this evening.

Andrzej

Hi again!
As promissed before: pictures!
After salt show on last picture from my previous posts was dry I painted whole model with Humbrol #94 - dark yellow.


Next step was painting camo with German camouflage red brown (I used #160)

Here you can see it without a barrel which is still drying after recoil area painting.

Next step was salt removing. It last for almost two hours, required several liters of warm water and my son’s bathtub (only container I could fit the Leopold to…). I’ve managed to damage only 4 small parts during this process but they are already attached back and no mark left visible. This was my debut with salt technique but I’m quite happy with the results. I will only have to use salt with bigger grains next time.






I hope you like it!
Andrzej

Hi A,

Very impressive pics...
Looks good so far.
Nice coloring and details.
What is the procedure with the salt technique?
Looks really good.
About the color of my gun on the pics it looks indeed a little pale, but I asure you it is really panzergrau overall. I think it is the light I used for the pics.
Anyway it looks now coming straight out of the factory, brand new and no weathering.
So I have work to do, so I want to know a little bit more about the salt technique.
Again really nice job

Marc

You've got some serious skills. Wish I had 'em...

Loving the look of this big gun,
Rich

Marc, Richard - thank you very much for kind comments! I really appreciate it!.

@ Marc - I think that a dark background and flash light may cause the pale look of your model.

Concerning the salt technique - if you already have your final colour in place it's too late for it, but if you want to place a camo on your Panzergrau you still may use it.
It's extremally easy - first of all you have to prepare the surface that is going to be visible under the chipped paint. I used red rusty brown which was visible few steps ago. Than you you have to make the model wet with water (I use enamels, I have no idea how to do it with acrylics... probably you have to paint whole model with matt coat first). Than sprincle salt in places where chips are possible (that means almost everywhere...). Next thing I did was preparing salt-water mix. You should get wet salt easy to apply in bigger amounts in places where paint should chip on bigger areas - steps, decks etc.
Let whole model dry for one day - salt will stuck to the surfaces. Than paint everything as you wish, let dry for one day. Than you can scratch the salt away - it results with effect you can see on my pictures. Rinsing model with warm water (I gave it full bath) helps a little.
Good advice - don't use salt with very small grains... use bigger instead.

@ Richard - concerning my skills (thank you very much for very kind comment once again) that you think you don't have: you sure have them, you just don't know that . It is not matter of skill in this case - it is matter of knowing some techniques that allow to make nice things with some patience and time - salt technique is one of them. This was first time I've tried it. After using it on 5-10 models with successes we can start talking about skill .

Thanks once again guys!

Today I want to polish the recoil area on the barrel, drybrush metal parts (wood will be drybrushed after coating to achieve different texture) and gloss coat whole thing preparing it for decals.
I expect a delivery of my 502Abtailung oils today so I will spend whole next week for washing, dot technique color modulation and pigments application.

Andrzej

Hi A,

Again thanks for the warning about the decals.
Where did you get the info from?
To bad you broke some decals, but can you order them somewhere?
Have washed the railway cars with black and nato brown/Tamiya.
Been testing one railway car with the pigments from tamiya, with rust.
Have some pics for you to judge for me. My first time to use pigments.
What do you think? Shall I continue?





Marc

Marc,

The decal placing plan I've sent you is made by comparison of Leopolld pictures and decal numbers... I should have done that before I've started...
Results of your work look really good, but I'd place decals before weatering with washes and pigments - they should look weathered too.
I apply pigments as a last thing.
Right now I'm coating my model - it dries so I will not be taking pictures today.

Andrzej

I've coated whole thing twice with gloss coat, than I've placed decals, once again a gloss coat and matt coat all over.
Here's the effect:


You can see recoil area as well.

Today I've done wash with my new 502 Abtailung oils (I've poured half of my new turpentine when I've accidently hit the bottle ) and effect is great (or at least I think so...) I'll post pictures tomorrow when it's 100% dry.
Next step: dot method experiment.

Andrzej

Hi,
Time for more painting:
I’ve washed whole model with 502 Abteilung Brown wash.


Than I’ve tried dot technique to make the surfaces less monotone, and add more weathered look to whole thing. I used 502 Abteilung oils: Snow White, Buff and Dark Rust. I’ve placed dots all around the model - the higher the more of lighter colors (white and buff), the lower the more of buff and dark rust.



Than I’ve blended them with turpentine with downward brush moves. On flat surfaces I was tapping the brush until the paint dots blended leaving just smooth color modulation.



Additional rust dots treated with turpentine gave nice rust bruises.





As you can see I've applied Vallejo Rust paste on exhaust pipes as well.

I hope you like it so far!

More comming soon (I have only two days left - tomorrow is the campaigns' dead line so I soon means today or tomorrow evening).

Andrzej

Very nice dirty work you did on your k5.
Looks very good to me.
Nice saturation and blending of colors/oils.
Last week I had no progress with my gun. Still panzergrau.
This weekend I plan on gloss the gun and placing decals.
Looking forward to see the finished pics of your exellent work.

Marc

@ Marc
From the Book of Leopold:
1.1. And the Andrzej who was Leopold’s builder said to Marc who was also chosen by almighty Leopold:
1.2. “Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Thou shall not believe your own eyes when you look at my creation! Curse of horrible instruction touched mine Gun and cursed it remained.
1.3. None decal know its place and no place know its decal!
1.4. Therefore thou shall place the decals as I’ve written to thee and no as you see!”
1.5. And Marc went to place his decals on his Leopold which was not touch by the course, but by cure of Andrzej’s written instructions…
:D
And now in English – keep to written instruction and not to these pictures… I’d say that about 66% of decals are in correct places on these pictures.


@Everybody:
Gun is completed (there are two hoses between main chassis and truck missing but I will fix them when the base is done (I’m working on it right now). Some delicate pigment-work was done but I’ve observed some locomotives and trucks lately and there were almost none dust on them.
Here are some pictures I’ve made for the campaign, but they’re best… I will make more pictures in daylight for better effect.
I hope you like it!











Andrzej

Hi A,

Busy with the finishing touch of your gun?
Mine is heavely weathered, and pigmented.
Applied one coat of matt, drying right now, look tomorrow if a second coat is needed...
Will take some pictures within a couple of days outside.
Lighting is much better then.
Inside you have a pale picture and the colors are not accurate.
It was my first weathering job and I must say its looking nice.
Have to assemble the roadtracks now, the one you saw were from my BR-52.
By the way, how did you assemble your ammunition/granates?
Did you glued them I mean shell and granate?
I think they would be separate from each other.
Looking forward to see your pics, I will send mine too.
Have to think what to build next, or King Tiger or.......no I should not write that.

Good day to you.
Marc.

Hi Marc,

Sorry for not answering for long time - I sure was busy but not with the Leo - since the very gun is done I want to take a rest from it for few days. Therefore the railroad will be done along with the BR52 railroad later this year and other stuff (like projectiles) will be added when I find more time. Right now I'm working on Airborne Campaign dioramas and I've started F-15.
I've made some pics with natural light but they still need some cropping and and other small ops in PS.
Concerning ammunition...The complete round consisted of the projectile with fuse, three separate charges in cloth bags and the main charge in a brass cartridge cade with a primer in the base I will do them separately than closing the brass cartridge from the top. I will also try to make some cloth bag charges but i dont have idea how to make them yet.

Andrzej