Thank you Armorsmith!

Chipping done.



The muffler looks like crap, but after the rust effects, it'll look good.




Cheers,
Dustin

You are correct, the muffler will look much better once rusted and weathered. Chipping looks ok. Especially like it on the turret skirts and the fenders. Not so sure about the engine deck and area around the front hatches. Will probably look much better once everything gets blended by weathering. Overall though good first effort.

Something for next time. Notice that your tow cable has lots of fuzz on it that is almost impossible to deal with at this point. Usual procedure is to replace the kit supplied string with either nylon cord or metal picture hanging wire. No biggie here. Sorry I didn't notice it before it was painted so I could give you a heads up then.

Thank you sir.

Yeah the tow cable is.. Well.. Not so nice. Lol

On the chipping, I figure the engine deck would have some chipping.. Perhaps because its flat on the crew would put things there or stand around there? Perhaps it's not chipped in the proper area. Thanks for the kind words.

Cheers,
Dustin.

Small update.

A few details painted, nothing major. But progress is progress.



Cheers,
Dustin

Looking good. Don't forget that the return rollers are steel and therefore the surface that touches the track should be a bit shiny(unpainted steel).

Its coming along nicely Dustin. The chipping looks good.

Great start Dustin!! I'm liking where this one is headed!!

Armorsmith,

Thank you for that info. I was wondering about that. I have some chrome silver, that should do the trick I would think.

Robert, Todd

Thanks for the kind words fellas.

More details and painting the tracks today. They've been in primer for a good 18 hours now.

Cheers,
Dustin

Cant wait to see more soon! As for the road wheels (edit...meant to say return roller), steel paint works well...you could also paint the edges black or dark grey and let them cure...take a soft #2 pencil and rub it on the surface...should give you a nice effect. I like woodless graphite pencils as they give a bit more luster. After that, there are several different steel effects pigments on the market today as well - Vallejo, AK, Mig, Uschi. They all work the same but give a slightly different coloring...depends on what your taste is! Something to consider for future projects...the pencil will do just fine, add more toys as you go!

Todd,

Thanks for that tip sir!

Can you clarify which part of the road wheels tourer talking about exactly?

So I should buy some "steel" paint and not use the chrome silver?

I'll look into the steel effects.

Cheers,
Dustin

Sorry...I mistyped 'road wheel' when I meant to type 'return roller'....the small round wheels under the top run of track. The flat edge that comes in contact with the tracks could have a burnished steel look to them from wear. Also, the outer ring edge could see some wear as well.

The outer edge of the idler wheels and tips of the sprockets get some wear too. All of these points, including the return rollers do not need to be too bright and shiny, just enough to show some use. Adding the contrast of the shine, add a layer of depth to the model. Sometimes, in the real world, they may appear like a clean dull steel finish or even dirty, but the contrast in scale add a nice point of interest.

I would give the pencil a shot first unless you wanted to grab some of the steel pigments if you hit the LHS. Again, they all work pretty much the same. I happen to find a shot where I was applying Uschi van der Rosten's Polishin Powders...



Typically you apply these effects near or at the end of the project as clear coats can dull the effect a bit.

To jump back and touch on paint, Model Master makes a decent steel finish you can buff to a shine...just another option!

Todd,

Thank you very much sir.

That looks great, and I'll be giving that a try!

I was going to ask you fellas about the tow cable. I want to replace it because the string looks terrible. What size copper wire will fit this scale?

Cheers,
Dustin

In my opinion your two best options are either braided nylon cord or picture hanging wire. Both are available at Michales. Don't know the exact size, you can just eyeball it unless someone else can give you the exact diameter. Nylon cord is easy to work with and shape but needs to be painted. Picture hanging wire doesn't need to be painted(at least I don't) and can be weathered as is, but can be a bit tricky to bend and shape. Neither are very expensive and comes in a quantity that will last for quite a few kits.

Armorsmith,

Thank you sir! I do think I have some picture wire at home.

I picked some sweet stuff at michaels, including a nice base that I can stain. Pumped about that.

A base is always a nice way to display your models, although they take up more space that way. If you are going to do some sort of ground work on the base(as opposed to just a stained/painted one) you will need to seal it with some sort of varnish before you apply the groundwork otherwise as the groundwork dries the base will warp.

Start by making some gouges and nicks randomly on the base where you will apply the ground work. This will give some "tooth" for the groundwork to stick to. then stain/paint your base and let dry thoroughly. For the clear varnish I like MinWax clear polyurethane but anything similar will do. I usually apply at least two coats letting each coat dry completely. The usual rules in staining/painting wood apply, sand, dampen slightly to raise the grain, sand again, etc. Basically all the stuff you learned in wood shop in middle school. Good luck.

Thank you for that info sir.

I definitely want do do some ground work, weather it be this time or down the road. I'm just unsure how to make it look real. I loomed at the "sand" baggies they had at michaels. They were $3 for a small bag of sand that definitely wouldn't cover this base. I need to watch more videos because I think I seen a video where they didn't use anything other than plaster I think.

I looked it up, it was a Miniart diarama base. Neat little deal.

Several options are available for groundwork. There are two '"plaster" like products. Hydrocal and Durham's Water Putty. Both come in a powdered form that you mix with water and allow to air dry. Typically these are laid over some sort of frame or Styrofoam, although they can be directly applied to the base as long as it is not applied thickly. Durham's is very light weight when it dries. Celluclay is a paper machie (sp) like product. I prefer this or the Durham's although Celluclay has a tendency to crack and does shrink as it dries. All three can then be painted and your dirt, grass, shrubs, etc. added. Watching video will definitely help you get an idea of how to go about this process.

Thank you sir. I'm sure there is a lot to learn, just like building an actual model.

I did some more today. After watching a video I purchased on here about painting/weathering a Panzer and after seeing Todd's Panzer I realized I REALLY like the worn, dirty, grungy look of a tank. It's what really gets me excited. So I did a bit more chipping today and painted the tracks with a base coat of MIG Dark Tracks. Still have a bit more to do before a coat of clear and on to weathering. I'm more happy how this is coming out.








The pics are a bit dark.

Cheers,
Dustin

I lightened this one up some.

Looking pretty good there Dustin!! Things pop when the rubber gets painted!! It's all coming together now! Biggest thing is it looks like you're having fun with it!! Keep it going!

Thank you sir! I appreciate it.

Liking the look. Don't forget to paint the tracks on the front glacis and on the side of the hull.