A smart modeler will give themselves a lot of room, and not start a project with 5 others going on at the same time.

I am not a smart modeler.

But, with the other halftrack builds starting, I lost my patience I'm building AFV Club's kit like the title says. Apparently there's some nasty fit issues with this particular model...so we'll have to see where things go...



Going with the painting and markings for a Das Reich one in Normandy



What I was surprised by was the quality of the individual weapons it came with. Pretty detailed stuff. Won't be going into my spares bin.


And I got 2 sprues of them


A meager start




This bit was a pain...didn't seem to make sense in the instructions. But hey, I've build Dragon kits, I'm used to that.



Nicely detailed floor though


I did notice the difference in how it builds up, but other than the one issue, it's a pretty straightforward kit, and progress is quick. Should have an update again soon.

Thanks for looking!

-Conor

Nice start Conor,
Might as well join the group!!

Hi Conor
I really hope you have better skills than I. I build an AFV Club 251, and had major trouble with the fitting of the hull parts. So be very careful in that building stage. It's a very nice detailed kit, so it would be a shame to screw it all up in the assembly.
Best regards
Jacob

I think the main problem is that the top part of the hull is a few mm too short ...I do believe that AFV Club has fixed the problem but it all depends on whether you got a fixed kit or not... I haven't done it yet but my plan is to cut the hull along the natural seam and add styrene between the two pieces once everything lines up right.Test fit before cutting just in case you got a fixed hull of course.

Rick

Haven't done much to this thing since the last post, but I'm almost ready to hit the interior with dark yellow primer. I really can't wait to weather this thing and get the interior done. The inside went together really well, as did the lower hull.



The only major difference between this and the other kits is that it's just an odd build on the lower hull bit.



It's odd pieces like that. They fit perfectly, they just don't seem like they should.

And finally, this:



I'm going to paint and weather all that before I put the wheels on. The 2 hull pieces seem to fit OK now, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to use a few rubber bands to get it to glue right.



The scene I want to put this kit in will have a Panther in it as well, and this diorama should clear off some space for it on the workbench:



Well the Simpsons end in ten minutes, and if I don't watch Family Guy I'll look it all over and hit it with the dark yellow. Update tomorrow perhaps.

-Conor

So this is where I stand tonight!

Hit the interior with Dark Yellow primer, dry fit the two hull pieces again, and I think these 4 studs need to go:




They really throw the fit off to the right. That's the only problem I can see right now...This is the radio and other bits:



Left out a few pieces in there to put on after I've painted them



This bit went together great. The fit into the lower hull is kinda off and kinda on, I guess it just depends on what day it is.



In the early model of this, the bench in the back was cushioned, so I'm going to try to get a good leather-ish type of look on it.



Black is thinned and laaid out in accordance with the shadows and shading I'm going for...



This has been fixed since I took the photos, but you kinda get the idea. I think it came out alright:



AAAAAANNNDDD, figures. I'm going to try to make a lot happening in this thing, just gotta be careful not to overdo it.

Spur of the moment buy, and it was a good one. The faces on this kit are pretty good too, but some will get Hornet heads. I won't use all of the guys, well I don't think so. Probably just the MP40 dude and the guy with the grenade.



Only 2 sprues? That made me nervous at first, but again, this kit is old, but it really is a great one. Think I'll buy it again later on for a different scene. This is probably one of the best Dragon figure kits I've ever bought.



This is the grenade guy's face. Pretty good I think.



This is the MP-40 gunner. Hornet head, scarf (WIP), and no arms yet.



And this is where he stands:



I need some tips here, fellas. On the box he's reloading his gun, but I'm thinking it would be cool to have him handling the MG42. Not quite sure which to do. If I leave him as is, that's cool and easy, but a bit boring. If I hook him up with the gun, that's awesome and grabs attention, but, I could really gaffe that off too. Opinions?

Finally, this guy. He was the Tamiya schwimmwagen driver, but now he's a beat up infantryman or grenadier. Dragon Gen2 head, and I'm working on his arms...



The head is kinda big, and the picture really enhances that, but I've seen it done plenty of times before, and it won't be too noticable when everything's together.

More to come later on!

Thanks for looing

-Conor

Alright, got a bit more done.

Here's that same guy, but with more plastic and putty:



And what I've done with the interior. The leather seats came out great IMO, but I do think the colors could use a bit more blending in places.





OK, again I could use some help!

What the hell is this?



I'm not a German AFV expert (yet!) so I'm not sure how to paint that.

Finally, that poor guy sitting in the back. He's got nasty burns almost up to his elbows, and the nice custom camo on his helmet got singed off. I just clipped his arms and, after my milliput did nothing but piss me off because it wouldn't dry, I used mostly my Tamiya putty, only using the milliput to smooth things out. The nasty color of the burned parts was just cheap acrylic Brick Red, Vallejo Shadow Tone, and some Model Master black. I used AK Water Effects with some of the stuff in places to give it a bit of a shine. My cousin had scalding hot tomato sauce spilled on is arm, and that got swollen and was all sorts of awful looking, so i kinda referenced that in a few places.









That shine to him is partially my light, and partially that he's not 100% dry yet. I've got to touch him up a bit later on. Just noticed I missed a few spots painting him... But that's where I stand at the moment!

Thanks for looking

-Conor

The track is lookin good but the soldier is in bad shape. MEDIC!!
J

Looking good. BUT, you have the magazine pouch upside down under the MP40.

Jesse

Hi Conner ..those are spare armored glass for the visors..
Is it me or does that head look too big for that body? It just doesn't look right .

Rick

Thanks! That's what I was thinking but I wanted to be sure.

And it is a bit big. It looks bigger than it actually is in the picture too, but once it's all together it's not going to be too noticeable, if at all.

Progress. I may have skipped over photographing a few steps though...



Look weird? Yeah it does! The doors will be open though, so that's why only 1 side has damage. The decals came in 2 sides, so I lined them up as best I could, even though they don't need to be 100% perfect.













Lot of gaps showed up after I had painted it...Luckily this will be in Normandy, and have camo netting and branches, so I'll be able to cover a lot of it.

Oily hand prints! Can't take the credit for that idea, saw Jerry Rutman do it on his, so, well, I suppose this is stealing? Shhh.



Top down, and most of my interior decorating is done. I've tried flipping the photo to the right on photobucket, but it didn't seem to work...



I used Tamiya spray paints, and masked it off with my sisters Playdough (don't tell her).Weathering was AK Earth and Light Dust pigments, and their Summer Kursk Earth effect. It's a bit heavy in places, and judging by the photos, very light in others. But I can still break it down or touch it up. Around the door decals and side decals I used rust and steel effects to make it look burned and damaged. I didn't want to, but the decals came apart during application. Next up are wheels and tracks, then more weathering, and finally the stowage...which will be weathered too. Lot of weathering...

-Conor

Looking good Conner. You still need to turn the extra magazine holder for the MP40 (behind the drivers seat) over and paint the magazines. Right now they are leather, should be steel.

Jesse

I disagree Jesse,respectfully. The spare ammo pouch for the MP40 was either leather or cloth and the magazines were covered and inside with the flap closing the whole deal. If you go to my build thread on the 251/11 there is a link to a perfectly restored vehicle that shows this nicely.
J

I like the hand and boot prints on the bonnet. The mud splatter under the mudguards also looks very realistic.

Best regards,

Villiers

Looking good
Did you skip the filters and washes

Thanks for the comments guys




Karl I used AK's Dark Yellow Vehicles wash on this one...it came out better on the inside though. I didn't do any filters on this one though. I think when I went at it with the pigments and earth effects some of the wash might have come off. I may try and get some of the spots again but for now I'm actually very happy with this. First halftrack in 3 years haha

-Conor

Very nice. Looks like an interesting and fun build

Thanks Greg, it has been fun so far.

Last night i picked at my NCO in the halftrack. I painted and mounted the MG (took some cosmetics on the gun shield to get it to fit right), and sculpted into his left arm to make him appear to be holding the MG.



That didn't work. It would've taken a lot of work on the arm and hand that I would only screw up. So I settled for him as he is. His feet may not be on the floor correctly, but nobody will notice. That means you.

I used a dark steel pigment on the gun too. Love how it came out.


And finally, I touched up the face with some teeth. Amazing how much better he looks with them.


Next up are all those God forsaken wheels. Gotta be patient I suppose!

Thanks for looking!

-Conor

Upon further research, you're right, I'm wrong. Doh!

Jesse

Well I've been poking at this thing for a while and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel by now 8-)





Tracks and wheels! Essentially, it's the same thing on the other side, minus the damage. I've starting adding rust/damage above the wheel as you can see as well. The tracks are the rubber band vinyl crap, but they'll do. They're pretty good, as I compared them to some of the single link one's i stuck together for comparison. Once weathered enough, it shouldn't be noticeable at all. Not by me at least

Para for scale...


Wheels! I forgot to take a picture of the wheels and the suspension underneath. Looks like I just picked a whole bouquet of oopsie daises.

Onto more...



AK Dark Steel pigment used to scrape up the gun shield and around the cab. I only did it so I wouldn't waste leftover pigment on the brush, and it did the trick!

And the beginning of the fun part....


Stay tuned.

-Conor

Nice to see you back at it and all the progress that you've made. It's really looking like a proper 251 now.
J

Great work !! lol little hand prints!