Thanks DJ! I used Testors Model Master enamels. For the wood handles I used my own custom mix of various colors (it's complicated, I just started mixing one day until I had the color I want which is basically a medium tan color that I then stuck a "wood" label on the mixing jar top!) for the base color and then apply a thinned enamel Leather wash over that. Not sure I understand what you mean by tool box, do you mean the jack block? If so, it got the same treatment. HTH!

Outstanding! I have always enjoyed your builds! Thanks for the effort you put out to photograph them.

If it was my model i would not add alot more weathering, the camo is looking good as is.

Thanks Gary, appreciate the comments!




Steven, the steps remaining aren't going to dramatically alter where the model's at right now in terms of overall finish, just add a little more subltety to it and tie it all together. It's the lower hull that's going to get the most attention in the form of some pigment weathering.

Made great progress since the last update and the first order of business was to get the decal markings on. I applied a sealing coat of Future acrylic floor polish by airbrush and let that dry for a couple of hours before applying the decals. Each decal was treated with Walther's Solvaset to insure it snugged down tight to the surface and didn't silver. Once the decals were set, a 2nd coat of Future was applied to seal them in and protect them from the next steps in the weathering process.





I let the 2nd Future coat cure overnight and this morning I applied a light filter/wash of thinned enamel Raw Umber using a round 00 sable brush. This reduced some of the starkness on the whitewash areas and also served to tie the overall finish and decals together.



This was followed by a pin wash of enamel Burnt Umber applied with a 10/0 pointed brush to bring out all the various detail areas, weld seams, etc. Excess wash was cleaned up/adjusted using the same brush and some clean thinner.



The entire vehicle was sprayed with Testors Lusterless Flat in the spray can to seal everything in and remove any remaining vestiges of gloss from the Future coats. I mixed up a dry powder combination of Mig Pigments Russian Earth and Dark Mud and then added tap water with a drop of dish washing soap mixed in to break the surface tension to create a wet slurry mixture. This mixture was applied with a sable brush over the lower hull, tracks, and running gear and then allowed to air dry.



Excess pigment was then removed using first a series of stiff bristled brushes and then followed-up with a combination of dry and wet Q-tip ends until I had the look I wanted.



I'll give it a once over again in the morning to make sure I didn't miss anything or make any adjustments before calling this one done.

Bill: Well done! I wish I could build this fast and get such good results. You're skills have obviously been honed very well. Would you mind shooting a picture of the Tiger I and Panzer III together for us?

Bill-- thanks, I'll experiment.
Great job
DJ

After letting this one sit overnight I came back to it with fresh eyes and made a few more adjustments to the pigments on the lower hull, removed the masking on the driver's vision port and touched up the paint there, and then it was off to the photo booth for the walk around shots.



















And just for Jeremy, here's a shot of the "brothers" together.

Very impressive, I purchased this kit today because of your build. I should be able to get it complete when I have finished my Panzer 1a and the other 10 kits I have waiting

I only hope that my Panzer 3 turns out as impressive as yours

Steven

another Fantastic build Bill, thanks for sharing Ant.

Much thanks mate! What and outstanding pair to display

I think you definately got this one spot on and showed great decision making in knowing when enough was enough.

Look amazing! A total inspiration. Thanks for this log.

Steven, thanks for the comments and glad to hear my effort inspired you to get the same kit. Look forward to seeing what you do with it when the time comes.

My pleasure Ant and thanks for the kind words.

Jeremy you are most welcome. It was interesting to me to see them side-by-side as well especially given the fact that they represent a substantial gap of almost exactly 3 years in terms of technique evolution time for me. Winter whitewash schemes aren't ones that I tackle very often with this particular build being only the 4th one I've attempted in the 9 years I've been building armor.

VM always tough to know when you've done enough...it's usually when you start thinking "I should just do this one more thing..." Thanks for following along!

Lovely work Bill I like also the "family picture". And... very remarkable build speed . Finally I must say the upper hull is quite weathered and it looks goooood



spit

Brilliant as always!

Thomas

Thanks Pawel and Thomas, appreciate the comments!

Bill, I have to echo what everyone else has said. This was an awesome build, and done very quickly to boot! I'll be referring back to this one when I build mine. Nice job!

Thanks Guy! This definitely is one of the faster builds for me of late...the fact that it was done OOB makes a big difference along, of course, with the fact that I had a four day weekend due to the Labor Day holiday. I typically only build on the weekends so that was the equivalent of 2 weeks worth of build time squeezed into 4 non-stop days.

Glad to hear this will help you when you get around to your kit, look forward to seeing it!

Hi Bill

A great build as always, your blogs are always very informative and the weathering is just perfect on this Pz III.

I just love the picture with the Tiger I and the PzIII They match up quite nicely.

Keep up the good work

Ole

Thanks Ole, appreciate the comments and vote of support.

Bill,

doe the blue tack work better than sillypuddy?

Don,

That's a good question, I've never tried using silly putty before so can't honestly say how it compares. Both are used to achieve the same masking goal so it would be interesting if a side-by-side were done. I've never had any issues with the blue tack approach so have just stayed with what works vs. trying the silly putty method.

I've used silly putty before. It tends to creep into the smallest cracks and openings, and will stick if left on too long. Blue tac is much better.

Bill, great looking build. I'm amazed at the speed. I'm only halfway through the build portion of mine.

Another master modeler triumph!

Thanks Russ and Bill, appreciate the comments.