Hi All,
The dust has barely settled from my last build of the Egyptian M4A4/A2 Fl-10 Hybrid. I am now moving on to the next project in my "ready rack." Next up: Tamiya's Panzer II ausf c "Polish Campaign" version. This is the tank w/o the cupola or zusatspanzer front armor. My plan is to depict it as a 5th Panzer division vehicle in the brown/gray camo scheme. The crosses will be yellow w/a white outline, white tactical numbers and a yellow/black/yellow rhomboid under the number (to denote regiments inside the division).



I'm not getting to crazy with this build as the last one was pretty involved. I will, however, be using the DML Czech OVM parts w/the Aber pre-1943 tool clasp set. I'm even going to use the working tool clasps (wish me luck on this)!



Here's where I stand at the end of the first session. The suspension is done and the wheels are assembled. Be very careful putting the suspension together to make sure everything is straight and aligned. I think the first time I did this I got them out of order. The roadwheels have poly-caps so I'll be removing them for painting once the tracks are done (link and length).



Here are the completed drive sprockets and idler wheels. I dropped one of the convers on the idler wheels and needed to punch out my own with styrene sheet. I didn't bother to detail the insides, because once the tracks are in place they will be all but invisible. They might need to be sanded down, though.



Here is my very first tool clamp. It took a bit of time to get it together, but I am sure by the end of the build I'll be pretty proficient! All for now.
Regards,
Georg

This was the very first kit I built when I got back into the hobby about 2.5 years ago. Nice little kit.

Hi Georg,

I also cut my teeth on the DAK version of this kit. looks good so far, but i got to hand it to you man, great job on the tool clasp! That is to this day one of my biggest nemesis. My patients and big figers dont go well with those darn things. My hats off to you man. Well done!

Gary

Hi All,
They say the beat goes on... and this case the beat is on my ipod in my workshop! Anyway, I got the basic build on the lower hull done. This went together pretty smoothly. I swapped out the rear stiffening rod with one made of stretched sprue. Other than than, not too much to report here.







You can also see my home-made hub caps on the inside of the idlers.



Once the lower hull was done, the big parts of the upper hull were assembled. This was somewhat painless, although I messed up the front splashrail and I think it will need some further putty work to smooth it out.





I was really impressed with the engineering of the rear fenders. They are designed to slip under the sides of the upper hull! That allows them to have the proper curvature without crazy seams in the wrong places. Really smooth!



Here you can see the divots. I think this area is going to need some more love. All for now. Comments welcome!
Regards,
Georg

Looks good so far!

The road wheels do look a little rough, but maybe it is the lighting and the dark plastic that is exaggerating it.

Are you doing a grey brown camo, or just grey?

Mark

Mark,
Not to sound like a poop, but have you read the whole post? The answer is there. Also, regulations at the time specified the 1/3 brown & 3/2 gray scheme. This was not recinded until the summer of 1940 after the French campaign. So, there isn't too much wiggle room on this. The roadwheels are rough on purpose to show wear.
Regards,
Georg

OMG The MAD SCIENTIST is at it again... ha ha ha....

Hi All,
It was a pretty quiet week modelling-wise. I was getting back into the swing of things after a week of vacation. But, I'm now back on track and really starting to make more headway with the Panzer II.





Here you can see that I've completed the tracks. The link-and-length tracks were pretty good and with a little careful clean-up will do the job nicely.



One part I particularly did not like was the towrope mounted integrally with the mounts and front service hatch. So, I found a spare hatch in the kit (I don't think I'm going to need it elsewhere) and scratchbuilt some brackets from styrene strip.



The engine hatches are now in place, so alot of the further work will be detail-related. All for now.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
It's been a bit of time since the last update, but I have not been idle. I've spent this weekend at the local 4-H county fair by me building models and talking to people about the hobby. I also have 3 days of unrestricted building. However, I am under a large tent, so lighting isn't great and the wind is a factor. That being said, the majority of the Pz II constructions is now done.









Here's the turret. So far, so good. I also found that my rebuilding of the tow cable mounting points was unnecessary as the parts are present in the kit. I did replace the ones I made with the other kit parts. However, one got loose before the glue fully dried is really out of whack. I'll need to shave it off and and re-glue it.









I used some putty "gloop" from the bottom of glue bottle for the texture on the muffler. All for now.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
I managed to get through the faire pretty well. In addition ot the Panzer II, I got alot done on a Tamiya ISU-152. So, when we left off, I had built one tool clasp, but had not attached it. Then there were two...



I spent most of last week putting more and more of those itty-bitty clasps together, along with some other tool-retaining parts. These were also from the Aber tool clasp set.




The fire extinguisher is a DML accessory part with Eduard parts (from their STUG III ausf B set) and paper straps.



Here's another veiw.



And the other fender. I intend to leave a couple empty, just for variety. I wasn't really happy with the top plate, having sanded a bunch up there, so I added some weld beads from stretched sprue.





I used some DML sprue, my usual methyl ethyl ketone glue and the back of an X-acto #11 blade to texture it. It turned out pretty nice and I'm pretty happy with it. I'll do the final inspection tonight and then give it a coat of primer.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
I didn't want to bore you with pictures of the primed model, so I didn't bother with the pictures. The model was primed in red-brown automotive primer and left to dry. This evening I got the basic paint job done. This time, I used XF-52 flat earth for the lower hull and running gear. It would be a waste of paint and time to paint in gray only to completely cover it with dirt and stuff later. Here how things looked at the end of today's session:





Here's the underside of the hull showing the dirt-colored paint.



Here's the turret. I'm going for the early war scheme of 2/3 gray and 1/3 brown.



I had initially planned to level the roadwheels in XF-52 completely, but decided against it and hit the centers with some grays.





Here are the tracks along with the exhaust deflector. It's a really nice PE part that came with the kit. You get 2: one without the cut for the smoke discharger and and one with. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to hit the model with a coat of clear gloss in preparation for decals. I'll post more pictures when it has some decals and tools.
Regards,
Georg

Hi Georg,

Looking fine man! You did a great job with the PE. those tool clamps would drive me nuts! Well done.

Gary

Hi All,
I got a coat of gloss on the model in anticipation of decalling the model tomorrow. I figured you all know what a glossed model looks like, so I didn't bother to photograph it. See you tomorrow!
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
I was able to get the decalling done yesterday and I made an addition that's going to need some clean-up today. I used the kit decals for the yellow/white crosses, with the exception of the one on the mantlet (that came from a Tamiya German decal sheet). The numbers came from the Tristar 38(t) ausf E/F kit and the rhomboids were supposed to be from the Italeri Panzer I kit. Unfortunately, those disintergrated in water and I printed a new set of my own on my Alps printer.








I also thought a white aerialrecognition mark would look really cool. So, I cut a stencil out of some tape and airbrushed on some Tamiya white. The overspray was vicious (as you can see in the photos. Initially, I thought the weathering might cover it, but upon further inspection, I think some repainting is going to be needed. So, sometime tomorrow, I make some touch-ups and then coat it with clear flat.

Regards,
Georg

Nice work Georg. But oversprays will get you every time.

Hi All,
It's been a pretty busy week so far. My wife and I are hosting a Chinese exchange student until the 20th, so we've been busy with him. But I have found time to get some work done on the Panzer II. I was able to get the over-sprays under control on Monday night with some free-hand painting with the airbrush. Here's where things ended this evening:









I was able to get all the tools mounted. For a little extra peace-of-mind, I glued the tools down and then glued the clasps shut. The wood portion of the tools got a light brown wash to show wood-grain. The exhaust has gotten its first coat of paint. This will be added to and changed with oils in just a bit. The antenna is stretched sprue. I'm hoping to get a flat coat on the model tomorrow night.
Regards,
Georg

Hey Georg just fix the little area to the immediate right of the big door... Looks MUCH Better...

Jim,
Thanks! I'm on it.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
I haven't had much time to work on the model, but I did get some work done over the weekend. First, I made up a dark mustard colored filter and coated the model liberally. Second, I followed up with a sepia oil pin wash. Third, I went to work on the tracks using the AK interactive "dark steel" pigment. I was quite impressed with the last bit. It's kinda sad I'm going to have to muddy up the lower hull and cover parts of it up. Here's how the model stands right now:













So there you have it. I'm hoping to work on "dot filters" tomorrow night and then move on to the pigments later in the week.
Regards,
Georg

Hello Georg,

The little Pz.'s looking fine man! keep'er comin'!

Gary

Hi All,
I was able to get some more weathering done on the model Wednesday night. I used dot filters to show streaks and dirt. I also did some weathering on the muffler. It's going to need some more attention, but I think I headed in the right direction.











I also used some AK and MIG products for the oil/fuel stains on the engine deck and fuel filler caps. Let me know what you think. But please, before you respond, please read the post, so you don't ask a question I may have already answered.
Regards,
Georg

Georg. Check your Email.

Hi All,
This project is done and my tale comes to an end. I did alot of work with pigments and such. I finally mounted the model on a base made out of the campaign map of Poland in 1939. I'm really happy how it turned out and I am looking forward already to my next project: an ISU-152 from the Hungarian campaign, fall 1944. But that, as they say, is another story... enjoy the pics!















See you soon!
Regards,
Georg