So far ... NICE!!








~ Jeff

Bill, interesting approach to the dot filter on the zimmerit. I have always wondered about that. Now I know what I'll try!

Wow- poor cat
The Brummbar looks good. Interesting tip about the oil dot filter going with the grain of the zimmerit, I'll have to remember that.

Thanks Jeff!

Guy, my pleasure. Working with zim surfaces always presents different sets of challenges!

Pat, the cat is very lucky IMHO! He's fortunate there wasn't a fan blade or something similar for him to be pulled into, otherwise I think I'd have had shredded cat all over the engine compartment.

Picking up from the last update, the weathering continued with the application of a pin wash using thinned enamel MM Burnt Umber and a pointed detail brush.



Because of the flat finish surface that the dot filters created, the pin wash has a tendency to "bloom", so that meant coming back with the same detail brush and some clean thinner to tighten things up.



With that step done, the entire vehicle received a sealing coat of MM Lusterless Flat in the spray can. I let that set for about an hour in the spray booth with the vent fans running to dry thoroughly before moving on to the pigment weathering.



The pigment weathering for the lower hull began with a wet application of Mig Dark Mud pigments. I use regular tap water with a drop of liquid Dawn dish washing soap added to break the surface tension and apply the mix with a medium round brush.



After the met mix has air dried, I use a stiff bristled brush (while wearing a dust mask to avoid inhaling the particles) to remove any loose/excess pigment. More pigment is removed and adjusted using wet q-tips until I get the look I want.





This process was applied to the lower hull and running gear on both sides as well as the hull front and rear. Next up will be giving the tracks their treatment and getting them ready for installation.

Bill-- superb workamnship! Question regarding your photos, what type camera and setting are you using? What are you using to host the photos?
Many thanks
DJ

DJ,

Thanks for the comments! I use a Canon EOS Rebel T1i with a Macro lens (EF-S 60mm lens) on a tripod with a remote trigger for all my model photo work. I have it set to a manual White Balance setting. I use a light tent with 4 different light sources and a piece of light-blue poster board as a seamless background. Here's the photo-booth setup arrangement:



As far as hosting goes, I have my own website and host the photos there vs. using something like Photobucket. HTH!

Bill is a professional modeler all the way, why just look at that studio he has set up.

Totally a neat operation. Except he left his bone on the floor.






~ Jeff

You've discovered my secret Jeff...I have a very loyal assistant!

Beautiful Bill!

I have 3 assistants, but this one here is my main "Go to Guy".



He does it all except pouring the coffee!







~ Jeff

Bill- many thanks for the feedback on the photo procedure. Great build, look forward to the final product
DJ

PS--- dog looks good too

Great job so far, please make a feature about this, when You are done.

Jeff, looks like a very capable assistant! Brenda is an only dog but she has a lot of fun keeping my wife's 2 cats away from my office and the work bench area...cats are like kryptonite for model building!

DJ, my pleasure!

Arpad, thanks for the comments as well and vote of confidence!

That fat beast is looking great! To comment on your cracked barrel issue. Ivehad the same thing happen to me on another model. The part I had trouble with was also tight and under pressure (squeezed) like that, which the glue or paint didnt bother it. But as I applied my oil pin wash I watched it crack open. Just thought Id mention it for future reference.

PLain superb!! Masterfull.
Thanks a lot for sharing, I'll not the drop of liquid dish soap.

Phil

Tim, that makes sense...the more I've thought about it the more I chalk it up to the part being under stress as the true culprit behind the cracking. Thanks for confirming it's happened to someone else and for the comments!

Phil, my pleasure! The dish washing soap trick is one I picked up from someone else so happy to pay it forward.

just come across this - and boy will I need to re-read a number of times... going to raid it for tips & tricks for weathering my armour...

stunning

forgot to ask... "crochet rope"... that you used for the tow-cable, what is that? can you provide a link or some such as I would like to add some to my PzII (and Stug III when I do that)

cheers

This is what I use. It's something I found in the needlework area of a craft-store chain and that's what they referred to it as..."crochet rope". I'm not familiar with crochet beyond the basic idea but the material is perfect to represent scale tow cables so I picked up a ball. I've had it for several years and one ball is probably a lifetime and more of suppply! It was only a couple of $s and came in several different colors. I just picked up one that was an ivory color as opposed to pure white to make it easier to use it for actual tie-down ropes and such if I needed.

Here's a pic if it helps you find something similar.

cheers - will look at that here in the UK... am sure we will have something similar

My pleasure Rob! I'm sure you'll be able to find something comparable. It's always amazing to me what can be cross-utilized from one hobby to another!

Today was one of my more-productive sessions in a while. I started in on the pigment weathering for the tracks and this is where using a set of workable tracks really pays off in my view. I used the same water-and-dish soap approach here but used Mig Dry Mud pigments. It's a lighter pigment that works well with the dark color of the tracks and I applied it only to the bottom surfaces of the links. The intent here is to get it into the faces of the tracks but not as heavy an application as when I was working on the lower hull.



This is allowed to air dry, the result is much lighter than the wet mix would lead you to think, and I used a round stiff bristled brush to remove most of the pigment.



The reason I don't apply the wet mix to the top side of the track is that it's not necessary. The process of dealing with the bottom side translates into a light coating of fine pigment ending up on the top side due to the action of the stiff bristled removal from the bottom. Sounds a bit counter-intuitive but it is the result. Some adjustments with the same round brush on the top side and this is how the track run ends up.



I installed the tracks on both sides and glued the sprockets into position. Once the sprockets had set up, I used some dry Mig Dry Mud pigment to lightly dust the wheels and suspension as well as the hull side to create an additional layer effect and tie them in with the tracks.



Front hull received some dusting as well as did the spare track runs. I also applied some black artist pastels inside the muzzle of the 15cm gun to improve its look.



The rear hull and spare wheels were dusted along with the exhaust. Then I added the radio antennas using 2m brass rods from RB Models. I cut the rod down for the star antenna to the proper length and used CA gel and the kit-supplied "star" portion to assemble.



The fun part with the antennas was getting the tilt and alignment right on the different antennas. The impulse is to have them both straight and upright but that's not how they were due to the different bases and points of installation.



There are just a couple small things left to clean up like adding a little bit of bare metal wear to the track faces on the sprockets and idlers since the pigments largely removed what I'd put in place earlier. Tomorrow will see this one in the photo booth for the walk-around completion pics!

It's been a while since I've seen one of your builds, Bill, and I'm glad I saw this one. I'm very glad to see that you are still at it

Very nice Bill. Make sure Brenda gets a treat for all the hard work!








~ Jeff

Thanks Jon! I don't build at nearly the same pace as I used to but still try to get in some time at the bench on a regular basis. I keep build logs of all my work at http://www.bpmodels.net if you're curious or missed one along the way.

Jeff, Brenda has been sufficiently compensated along the way for her help on this project, no question about it!