Nice start on the camouflage, Jan.

I have now finished the Fujimi 1/76 Pz. I. It is a nice little kit and looks decent considering the kit is probably older than me.

Comments welcome

Nice job on the dusting! Personally I'd put a darker wash in the engine grill, but not bad at all considering the age of that little kit.

Its been a long time since my last post!

But I finally managed to change the kit into the version that I wanted to build. While I struggled with the styrene bits I found out that there will be a kit in the near future that depicts this specific version of the T-26. How motivating...

I really think I should have built something OOB for the first time. Anyway - here are the pics:

Let me just add pics showing the model with primer and base color on. The top of the turret will be white and is not painted yet.

Stunning rivet detail Jens!

Holy cow Jens, that is some nice scratch detail work!

I finally got a base coat on the Neubaufahrzeug.

It has been a Jekyll and Hyde kit. The suspension and tracks were a nightmare, while the rest of the tank was a smooth build.

Nate

@16dollars - Jens,

Coming along nicely and I am also impressed with the rivet detail.

@Hangelafette - Nathan,

Tell me about the issues with the NbFz! They are quite the pain for painting and the assembling is definitely not "Shake 'n Bake."

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Progress in the form of two steps forward and one step back. I thought that it was wiser to do most of the painting before putting the fenders on but I forgot that I'd only painted the underside of them. Obviously this is going to cause some issues with other areas when I do the top of the fenders.

Anyway, the important thing for those building one of these is that the tracks on my kit were a bit too short. Nothing that a bit of gentle stretching wouldn't solve. However, the way the tracks join is far from the best and will lead to a very weak joint as the contact area is barely 1 mm wide by about 3.5 mm long. This joint broke on the left track when I tried to put it on so I used gap filling CA glue to join the other track.

Another issue appears to be the fenders as their fit is rather loose and floppy, hence the use of a clamp to hold it in place in the photos below. Here's where the right side stands at the moment.



The trick is to glue the fender from about just behind the front most return roller, all the way back. THe area forward of the return roller needs to be glued later to get a proper fit to the hull.

As I'm doing the separate Blog in the Braille Forum of the Dragon PaK 40 w/ Gun Crew and building the 1/72 figures that come with it, I thought it might be interesting for people to see the NbFz with a figure (figure is just primed) to give a measure of the size of this beast.



Now on to repairing the broken track and putting the other fender on.

Cheers,
Jan

Can't believe it but I actually make fair progress. I did a bit of checking (measuring) and it turns out I stretched the right track a bit too much. By removing a few links I shortened the track and also had two clean and even ends to work with. Tamiya Extra Thin glue was used and while the right track was drying I proceeded to finish the right fender.

Here we see the right fender area with the various associated pieces attached. Note the small triangular shaped plate at the bow that was also added. Canadian and Us 1 cent pieces for scale (diameter .75 inch (19.05mm)).





Close ups of the muffler area pieces and their orientation.





The larger two mufflers/exhausts (A35) fit quite well with a couple of pin in hole locating features. A plate with bolt heads on one side (A27) just sits between two vertical alignment ribs. The auxiliary engine exhaust (A34) has a very light attachment feature and should not be placed before the main exhaust is on and secure.

Next instalment will be the completion and attachment of the left fender.

Cheers,
Jan

Excellent work Nathan and Jan!

Okay, with the exception of the machine gun barrels, this three headed monster is finally built. I've done some shade variations on the grey areas and the rest of the brown camo is next. I also still need to paint the rubber on the front idlers, but that can wait for the moment.











The only warning I have for a builder is to watch that the track teeth fit into the slot between the front idlers. The slot isn't quite wide enough and should have been widened a touch. I had already glued the fenders before I saw mine weren't wrapped tightly around the wheels. Fixing it was a pain as the area under the fender is quite tight.

Cheers,
Jan

Update progress.

Nice progress everyone.

I did the camo and the decals. But now I have a question: What color do you use to paint the tools? Not the wooden handles, but the metal parts?

Hey Jens,

For metal tools (and gun barrels) I use flat black and dry brush a mixture of silver and black over it.

I have been away from this campaign (and my work bench) for quite some time since I have a new 3-month old boy at home! He is a ton of fun, and this Master Box Breda is not. Fit issues galore!

I'll post some pics if I manage to get it pieced together. If I had more time, I might just buy another DML Panzer 1 and stick the Breda turret on it.

Thank you Steve.



Congratulations!

Jens, I like your build so much beter than mine! (I think the superiority of the T-26 is what made the Panzer I Breda necessary in the first place).

Anyhow, this model has some gap and fit issues.





I've taken some unused wheels and bits from the Dragon Pz 1 varients I have. So, it's time for gap filling and trying to fit everything together. Fun!

Steve,



Thank you.

Your kit seems to have more than just a "few" issues. I too have a "Pz1 Breda" kit laying here. It's from Masterbox. You made me curious and I tried putting it together yesterday. No chance! It is looking like yours. There is no fit at all. I think that kit will meet the dumpster.

Yeah, not a good sign when it comes with an additional instruction sheet that includes gap-filling.

I'd keep the turret and put it on a DML body if I had more time and money. Instead, I found a random PZ 1 A Photo Etch fret in my stash, so I started adding some rivets, and general detailing. I'm liking it better as it gets built up. Hopefully my painting won't banish it to a box somewhere.

Jan: You know you're going to have to do some serious weathering on that little kit, it's just begging for it!

Lap Man: Coming along nicely!

Jens: The paint and marking look stunning! It will almost be a shame to weather it, what are you going to do?

Steve: The extra details are really helping out, good on you for sticking with that kit!

How is everyone looking time-wise?

Steve: I am impressed by your building skills. You managed to put this "kit" together and turn it into a model. Hats off..

Jeremy: I know what you are thinking. There is a high potential to spoil the model while weathering, esp. for a newbie. But in my thinking weathering is an important part in armor modeling. So, if I will ever be able to build some decent models I will need to start praticing, right? While writing this, the weathering is almost done - pictures later this weekend. I tried to keep the weathering subtle, very subtle. I still ended up with a model thats a little bit too dark. A few thing did go wrong, mainly while applying AK enamel products. With every step I neutralized/washed away the precedent step. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Maybe I should wait longer between the steps to grant the paint more drying time. Or maybe it's required to seal every step before proceeding. I have to find out....


Regarding the time... I think, I am fine. Two weeks to do the tracks should be ok.

@Jeremy - I still have to do the rest of the brown camo colour before I deal with the details (tools, visors etc). These beasts usually appeared in show room condition (for propaganda purposes) but I'll presume the Norway ones would be more on the "used" side, looks wise. The hi-lighting and shadows are going to be a killer (all those angles, nooks and crannies) time wise, and with the holidays so near I am getting pretty nervous about the time remaining. I don't want to rush this thing as I have hopes for entering it in next seasons shows, so to be on the safe side, I'd vote for a slight extension (two weeks?).

Cheers,
Jan

Jens: I don't know what I'm thinking either half the time As far as the AK washes, that shouldn't be an issue. You can contact them through email and ask them about your issue. I haven't dealt with their main branch in Europe, but the USA branch has been very helpful to it's customers.

Jan: The conditions there at the time would have made quick work of weathering, so I'd lean towards that unless you want to depict a propaganda shoot. If I grant an extension it will be for 2 weeks min, unofficial. I don't think it's fair for me to have been absent as campaign leader for two weeks + and expect everyone to finish by the official end date.

If I was doing a propaganda version then I'd have gone for the all grey colour. As I'm doing #10 with the lost crewman inscription, I think that it will need to be at least moderately dusty. Have a look at this image with the tank under repair.



It "appears" relatively dusty when compared to its brother in the background. You'll also note that the muffler looks pretty darn good. These beasts weren't in service that long so I doubt that they'd get as worn or beat up as other tanks (and as some modellers have portrayed them). BTW, how's your NbFz coming along? If you need any inspiration or help with an issue, I've got a build log in the Braille Forum (rather than trying to roam through all the pages of this thread) that I hope covers all the nuances or pitfalls.




So am I to presume that the above is an unofficial, official yes, or a we'll see? Or, is it the old "campaign ends on the end date BUT you have 'x' length of time to submit photos to the gallery?"

Cheers,
Jan

I also see some grime on the armor as well as oil from the wheel hubs and the upper pivots on the suspension arms.

If you can post that link, I'd appreciate it Jan.

As far as the extension goes, unofficial meaning that this thread and the gallery will remain open to current participants, but enlistment will be closed. And yes I will grant at least two weeks.

Okay Jeremy, I get the pictures and thanks. Now for the picture, it's actually from what appears to be a Russian site so unless you can read the language you'll just need to settle for all the pictures. There's some production pictures near the top but the 22 Norway pictures are near the very end. For the most part they're pretty descent images. Here's the link: http://www.aviarmor.net/tww2/tanks/germany/nb.fz.htm

Cheers,
Jan

I did a translation with google. Interesting read at least.

Translation