Coming along nicely. The tools look fantastic. Looking forward to seeing it get dirty...

Thanks alfa10! The weathering process is one of my favorite steps in a build...but also one of the slowest. Since this is a small vehicle it shouldn't take as long, we'll see.

There hasn't been much in the way of good stuff on TV the past couple of days so I decided to use the time in the evenings to get the decals on. First up was the usual sealing coat of Future applied by airbrush. This was allowed to air dry for a couple of hours and then the work began with the decals.

I opted for the "R03" designation since I had a reference photo to work off of from "Panzer Vor!" Vol 1. The kit markings are pure white even though it looks like the photo has had mud smeared on the markings so I'm going to have some fun in how I approach that one.



The decals were applied using Solvaset and, due to the complex surfaces that most had to conform to, several doses and some careful prodding with a soft brush were necessary to get them all to settle down properly. The decals did tear slightly in a couple of places so some touch up with some Flat White paint was in order but nothing too dramatic. A second coat of Future was air brushed to seal in and protect the markings and will be allowed to sit overnight at a minimum before the weathering process can begin.

bill it looks really good, i like the brown spots applied to the tank, makes it looks like a new breed of dalmatians. . ive never tried solvaset before, only micro sol and set, which one would you prefer? great work
calvin ng

Hi Bill,

You're doing a great job on this lil'un

Hey, about putting it in a little dio? Like that scene you show R03 in above? C'mon, ya know ya wanna!

Rudi

Calvin, thanks for the comments! I've never tried micro sol and set, so I'm the mirror of you! Unfortunately that means I can't fairly compare the two. I've never had a problem with using Solvaset with any manufacturer's decals although some are more resistant than others and require multiple coats. Sorry I can't be of more help on that front!




Thanks Rudi for the vote of confidence. Dios/bases aren't my thing as the finished builds end up in a display case on the wall. Have to admit that the photo does provide a certain amount of temptation, no doubt about it!

With the decals on, the next step was to proceed with the weathering. Since the camo colors are dark to begin with, I first applied an overall wash of enamel Raw SIenna with a large round sable brush.



This was followed by dot filters of enamel Flat Sea Blue, Flat White, and Italian Dark Brown to fade and add variation to the overall finish. The dots were blended together with a square tip blender brush moistened with clean thinner. I liked the results on the fenders from the Raw Sienna wash so I left those areas alone, applying the fading/streaking only to the hull and turret surfaces.



The Raw Sienna was a good compliment to the base coat colors and I applied it again as a pin wash to all of the raised detail and panel lines to simulate dust/dirt accumulation. I also used it to simulate the "mud" on the turret crosses and numbers by carefully building it up with multiple applications and fine-tuning along the way. I didn't want it so heavy that it obscured the underlying white totally and this required several attempts before I got it to look the way I wanted.





The entire vehicle was then given a sealing coat of Testors Lusterless Flat via spray can and allowed to dry for an hour before starting in with the pigments. I used Mig Europe Dust combined with regular tap water with a touch of dish washing soap added to break the surface tension. This wet mix was applied to the lower hull, running gear, and fender edges and then allowed to air dry.



The next step involved removing the excess pigment using a round stiff-bristled brush. I wore a dust/sanding mask during this phase to avoid inhaling the very fine pigment particles.



The next adjustment was done using a combination of wet and dry q-tips to further remove and position the pigments in the desired locations.



That completed the build and then it was off to the photo booth!

this one looks really good Bill. Whats next on the chopping block??

Thanks Jon! The next victim will be an Sdkfz 251/9, I've been meaning to get back to the halftrack world for a while now but kept getting detoured.

Sometimes its hard to stay focused....what were we talking about again??

I'm sure it will turn out great...now if we could just get you to build a sherman...

Just for the curious, I decided to do a comparison if all things were equal and the camo was shot as a black-and-white and not a color photo.

Color:



B/W:



It's not hard at all to see why it's so difficult to pick this scheme out in period photos. Unless the vehicle is clean and the lighting just right, the contrast between the colors is just too subtle for b/w to pick up cleanly.

Bill, this is a great looking model. Your SBS and photography are top notch. Thanks for the hard work. This is the sort of build log that sells kits!

Thanks Frank, appreciate the kind words! I don't know about selling kits but I sure do enjoy building them!

Excellent work as always, and the B&W photo is a real eye-opener I think.

Thanks Bill! Definitely a case of "now you see it, now you don't!".

This was definitely a great build Bill, it went by so fast. As for the B&W photo, it looks really good but there's a way to pimp it:

Aging Photos

Upload a photo (.jpg is best) and click the blue button below the browse bar!

Example:

Thanks Sebastian, that's a neat little link/tool...it goes a little overboard with the pics though in this case, I think it's having a real hard time with the dark tones especially on the lower hull and suspension. It renders them almost solid opaque/black!

Great job on the one Bill. The way you "blurred" the turret marking looks very close tot he photot of the real deal.

I just had a blast with that link converting pic to oldies.

Thanks Marc! That link is addictive...I tried out a whole bunch myself just to see how it would look. If you want to get really crazy, try taking one from say the Bundesarchiv and running it through it!