More work on the Zvezda Panther D.

I painted the track dark gray. I have been using a rattle can dark gray primer for my base coat on tracks. It gives it a texture. Once dry. I dry-brushed the tracks steel, being a bit heavier on the guide-teeth. I'll give them a wash later and dust them.
Three shots of the tracks...two for the thrown side, showing front and rear.




Radiators and fans. Painted them red-oxide, though they look more brownish. I picked out the fan blade edges with steel.


Radiators mounted. I had been debating on adding an engine. I was actually a bit surprised the kit didn't come with one. I think the cross-arms for the sponsons might be why they didn't include one....the rear one is in the way of the engine tub.
I had an engine in the spares. It looks like an old Italeri Panther engine. The fit between the radiators was really tight and needed some "persuading" to fit. A little sanding it was fine.


The engine was painted dark gray with details picked out with a lighter gray and then steel. The air filter covers were painted white. The hose was black with silver fittings. The engine compartment was painted red-oxide. It's a pretty simple engine. I didn't want to use my last Tamiya engine set on this one. Except for the covers, you really cannot see much of it.


Periscopes and periscope covers added to the front. The rear engine cover, circular vents, and other rear details added.


And that's where I am right now. Assembly is starting down the home stretch.

Alex,
Nice work! Adding the engine was a nice touch.

Gaz

Looking good Alex!

Yes indeed,very nice progress.

Okay,basecoat done,camo applied,details hand painted.The inner row of roadwheels are done,I only did one side of the wheels since the other side will be buried under the next row.No sense painting what you can't see anyway.Next up decals and some light weathering.





I am not using the kit DS Tracks,I got a set of Spade Ace Metal tracks,cheaper then Fruils and pretty nice detail.

Paint looks nice and smooth. I see a Vallejo bottle; is that what you used for your two colors? I used their Gelbbraun primer on a Pz III I'm working on and it came out like yours but the Khakigrau (880) I used by them did not look right colorwise. What did you use for your second color?

The Vallejo bottle is actually the wood handle color.I used Modelmaster Enamels,8000+7008 I thought they looked closer.

Yeah, since I started moving from enamels to acrylics (Vallejo/Tamiya) I didn't complete a set of MM panzer colors - mostly aircraft colors - and never got anything for DAK vehicles.

I'm sure they (MM) have acrylic versions for those colors, right?

They probably do have them,although the LHS didn't have them.I actually prefer Tamiya or Vallejo,but I liked these colors and the enamel sprays nicely.

Very nice looking Anthony! Are those tracks held together by pins? I've been looking at the Easy Metal Link tracks. They assemble very quickly.

Yes,I bought some pins from Michael's to replace the stiff wire they come with.The pins insert easily and are easy to trim even.

Anthony,
Love the paint work! Tracks look nice, too. Are the guide horns hollow? It's hard to tell from the angle if light is coming through.

Gaz

Thanks Gary,horns are hollow,paid about $35 on ebay from China,well formed,and very little cleanup,the pins I bought went right thru.

Hello,

Thumbs up on the choice of color Anthony -- it turned out really nice!

Update on my cats. The Tiger I build is complete, and will have this lined up for the paint shop.





Started on the Sturmmorser Tiger I. I read that all had zimmerit, except for the initial / prototype so I thought I'd give it a try:






Need to work on that driver's vision slit.

Cheers,

Tat

Looking good Tat.

Thanks Dustin!

Whatever happens dont use ATAK Zim, bought one its terrible.

Tat,
Can't wait to see those two beauties with paint on em! What did you use for Zimmerit on the Sturmmorser? It looks like a nice material to try.

GAz

Thanks Ruberle, Gaz.

I used Apoxie Sculpt, a modelling compound that comes in 2 parts that you mix / knead. It keeps well -- the pair I have has been with me for years. To make the ridges, I used a small, jeweller's flathead screw.

The zimm's not perfect, but I guess it somehow looks the part

Cheers,

Tat

Yes very nice work on the zimm,are they 1/48 or 1/72 I probably missed it somewhere.

Thanks Anthony -- it's 1/72.

How do the Spade Aces compare with the Fruils? I'm used to Fruils and have just built a set of MasterClub resin tracks for a KV-1 project. I've tried ModelKastens but found them too fragile to be practical.

This set compared favorably,nicely molded,no cleanup,I used pins from a craft store instead of the wire,$35.00 from china on ebay,I liked them.Weathered nicely with the Uschi Fluid,and some additional washes and pigments.Pics soon

Thanks for that, I have just ordered some of the Uschi Fluid to replace my MIG fluid that is about worn out. What do the pins do for you over the supplied wire?

I got the decals,pinwash,and flat coat down.I also weathered the tracks with Uschi Fluid.The pins work well in this case because the pin heads are on the outside and they give the tracks a more finished look.I started on the next row of roadwheels also.I will do some chipping and som3 pigments,but weathering will be light.