After a couple of earlier unsatisfactory putty sculpting attempts on the Sd.Kfz.10 folded-down top, I decided to go with this method instead:

First, I framed-out the top with Styrene rod and sheet material, then I sanded-down the outside edges.





Next, I covered the assembly with facial tissue and coated it with Gator's Grip Glue, followed by pushing the tissue inwards with a toothpick.



Painted.



And the finished ragtop!





I'm actually pretty happy with the result. Let me know what you guys think.

—mike

Hey Mike - I'd be happy with the results too! Looks very good!
Cheers
Nick

Mike, great concept for this and you're really making it look good!

Nick, Guy, thank you!

Today's progress: Months ago, when I assembled the tracks, I somehow miscounted the links by +2 on both runs ... lots of cussing and swearing today @#$%&!!!

MagicTracks, paint, Super Glue and my fingers ... not a good combination!!! Got 'em on and running in the right direction though — whew!

In addition, I added some rifles and scratched a figure-8 link needed to tow the Pak 38.







1:1 Pak 38 figure-8 towing link reference.



Cheers,
—mike

Hi mike,
you tell me something !!!

Nice progress by the way , i like the color tone on the vehicle.

Looking forwards !

Cheers

Kurt

Tracks for the Panzer today ... whew!





Okay, back to work!

—mike

nice Project, Mike. Like the way you´re tackeling this photo (altough your last two pics aren´t visible)
You´ve got the entire jack the wrong way round, that´s why it looks that odd. I had this struggle with a different Dragon Panzer III aswell, the cank has to rest on the fender support rod, just in front of the air intake.

Fabian,

I already spun the jack around and stowed the crank on the fender ... it was driving me crazy!



Thanks for your comments!

—mike

Hej Mike,

that ragtop is already a huge improvement on the plastic one.
If you allow me one remark...(I own an MG convertible), canopies do not show flat folds length-wise like that. They are way too stiff for that.
Apart from these narrow areas, the thing looks just great!! So put something over it (a Zeltbahn f.ex., or a blanket) and it will be perfect!

You are quite a vehicle builder Sir!!!

Cheers

Romain

Hi Romain and welcome back!

If you're referring to the folds on top, I think I see what you mean. It's just dry fit for now, I can still fix it

Thank you for the compliment and the helpful critique!

—mike

Bucket List!

PE buckets from Eureeka XXL at The Scenic Factory





—mike

You have done a great job on the buckets , beautifully done for sure! You really have ''fingerspitzengefühl'' .

congratulations mike!

Cheers

Kurt

I'm with Kurt....you have "Fingerspitzengefühl"

The bucket on top of the tank is superb!!!

I'd rather see it in a russian Pampa then in a dry desert though!

Well done Sir!!!

Cheers

Romain

Hi Mike, very nice job so far. I'm following because I have the same demag D7 in progress...

Nice detail the windshield: I'll copy the same...

Hi Mike,

You're making excellent progress, nice work.

Al

Thanks guys!!!!

@ Kurt: "Fingerspitzengefühl!" My new favorite word and what a nice compliment — greatly appreciated!

@ Romain: There's that word again! ... Thank you, Sir!

@ Giovanni: I'm glad you like it! Which kit do you have? Make sure to post your build.

@ Alan: Thank you! Progress seems slow on this end. I keep finding these little excuses to avoid the weathering process. However, last night, I courageously went forward and did some minimal chipping to the Pz III.

—mike

The vehicle looks great but that bucket is really primo!! Wow.
J

Glad you like the bucket, Jerry!

After all of that monochrome base color staring me in the face, I felt the urge to dirty something up!

—mike

Would you mind describing the method you used on the bucket hanging on the gun?
J

I've been using white sewing thread (the kind that has the least amount of fuzzy hair). It's still a little thick so I pull-out one strand. After which, it curls like crazy, so I dip it in Woodland Scenics, Scenic Cement or very diluted white glue — squeeze, twist and straiten it out with my fingers until smooth and dry — a hairdryer is helpful. Since I was using white thread (tan actually looks pretty good right off the spool), I soaked it with Vallejo European Dust Wash (76.523) — thinned paint will also do the trick.

I find it very difficult to tie realistic looking 1/35 scale knots, so whenever possible, I hide and glue the ends down! Still experimenting with all of this — lots of room for improvement.

I thought of using the wire method but it seems difficult to control on the model and after painting it, handling becomes an issue.

HTH

—mike

hahaha that was my biggest typing blunder yet on the web. What I was trying to ask was what kind of paint and technique did you use on the first bucket?
J

Yeeeash! ... I knew it! Got side-tracked and never revised my spew! Had waaaaay too much coffee today! At least you got a good laugh out of my blunder!

The answer in brief: Paint! Haha!

But seriously:

Red Bucket: Tamiya rattle-can Fine Surface Primer (light grey), Vallejo Light Rust (70.301) base coat, a little Vallejo Dark Rust Wash (76.507) pin-detailing and Vallejo Dark Rust (70.302) for the stains.

Grey Bucket:
Tamiya rattle-can Fine Surface Primer (light grey) as the base coat, Vallejo European Dust Wash (76.523) pin-detailing and Vallejo Dark Rust (70.302) for the stains.

Handles: Vallejo Grey Green (71.055) and Dark Rust (70.302).

Vallejo Matt Varnish (70.520) for both.

—mike

Still pickin' at the small stuff. These will be hanging from the front and back of the storage box on the Sd.Kfz.10. I need to clean them up a bit and come up with a suitable hanging method. Any ideas?



—mike

I thought something like this might work but the cabin is too crammed when the four crew are seated. Maybe just two helmets in the middle and the rest dispersed on top of stowage.



—mike