Hello all. Long time register. First time poster...

This is my current project using the Dragon #6633 Zimm Stug. Some of you have seen this through other forums or FB.

But for those who have not seen this before, I'm using this as inspiration:



I've been working on this for the last couple of weeks.

Pink Foam Mock Up.



I'm waiting on more Voyager parts to details out the roof and misc hardware.




The stowage is a mix of what ever I had. BlackDog resin, Tasca fuel cans, styrene, and epoxy.



The kit zimm was OK but the seam lines on the upper front armor had a nasty seam that needed filling. I created a small tool to match the pattern, patched it up as best I could and then covered it with a tarp.





Still in progress are the tow cables and misc hardware. Realized now I need to add the zimm to the rear lower hull. I also think there is an additional box on top of the larger box. Or, the box has a weid shape.

Very nice work .. and it just goes to show you can make DS tracks work ..Nice job on the tarp. Congrats.

Rick

Here is the model with the basic white wash applied.

WW was achieved with the HS technique. Stowage is painted with VMC acrylics.

White wash has been achieved with the HS technique and then some mapping with acrylics. Some of the contrast was lost with the following filter but I'll bring some of that back up after the wash.

And here it is with a nice coat of mud and more mud.

A very nice model you have there.

Great paint and weathering ... Can't get much better than that . I LIKE IT!

Rick

One word.....EXCELLENT!

Cheers.
Joe

That's a good looking StuG.

It looks pretty much spot on with the photo.

I hope you start posting more often.

Awesome stuff, love all those little details..great work

That is one fine looking Stug. Looks lived in and beat up without the effect being overdone. I have a couple of questions- what did you use for mud, and how did you get dragon's DS track to sag so nicely?

If you do put it on a muddy base, please post pictures of that too.

Proper job

Very well done sir!

very awesome! PS- where did you get the large tarp?

Thanks all.

To answer some of the questions.

The tarp is rolled Green Stuff epoxy putty. Applied as a sheet, folded, and worked over with sculpting tools.

The mud is many things. Here is the recipe I worked up earlier.

OK. Let's see if I can recall exactly what I did.
Before all the mud I washed, outlined, and stumped AK Streaking Grime and Dark Streaking Grime the night before.
Lower hull sides and upper bow armor were airbrushed with Tamiya Earth in spotty patches
AK Earth Effects and Dust Effects were stumped onto the fender tops, fighting compartment, tarp, gear, etc. - It took me a little longer than everyone else to get use to these enamel products but I'm a fan now.
AK Earth Effects and Dark Mud were mixed with plaster and dry pigments MIG, AK and some odd brand AIM (don't use this, there are clumps of other colors not mixed properly and it almost ruined my mud) This mix was loaded on a brush and splattered with an AB on the lower hull. A thinner/lighter version was used on the upper surfaces. Before it set I used a brush with thinner to move stuff around and erase over spray.
I did this a couple of times with thinner & thicker, lighter & darker mixes.
I did this again with a little Gloss Enamel added to the mix.
Somewhere in all this mess I applied the pigments dry and piled them up on the lower hull sides and set with Pigment Fixer.
Let this whole mess dry for a while.
I then mixed up the same pigments with Heavy Matte Acrylic Gel with a little plaster and a little VMC Satin Clear to make a thick mud paste that was applied with a toothpick.
The second round of this was a little thicker/clumpier with snipped bits of dried sea weed fibers.
Clumps of grass and paper leaves were worked in with VMC Matte as an adhesive.

Now with more figures.

Figures are from PMC Minatures with a Dragon arm swap. They still need a little work to correct.

Very nicely balanced, great job.
- John

VERY COOL !!!

mil

this is dynamite! great work

With not sounding repetitious, a very well done stug. It has given me some great ideas. Thanks

Thanks for the warm welcome all. I appreciate the comments.

Figs just got their first coat of primer so hopefully everything goes easily here on out.

I realize i didn't answer the question about the track sag with the DS tracks. Here goes - I used small blocks placed on top of the tracks and placed a plate and weights on top to create the sag. I then set them in place to the return rollers with plenty of liquid cement. When these cured, I wrapped them around the drive wheel and idler and connected them under the road wheels. They were not glued to the road wheels to make painting a tad easier.

if i had your skills ...

greetz

geronimo / thomas

that really does look the business - just how a StuG should be - not clean and tidy!!

Excellent and inspirational work! Well done!

if I had your knowledge... ;-) Hopefully I'm on the right track.

Thanks everyone. Figures aren't my thing, so hope for the best.

Nice! I was actually hoping you were going to recreate the muddy mess, lol!