Thanks, Clayton. I actually started out trying to follow Adam Wilder's very first ever tutorial on Missing Lynx, but since I don't have any of the enamels, I kind of broke formation at that point and did simplified mud effects with pigments. Plus, I wanted to keep the mud light on this one (in spite of the crappy kit road wheels), as I have tended in the past to go overboard on mud with Russian stuff.

Oh, and I'm still nowhere near Adam's results...

It's great seeing all the different subjects folks are coming up with for this campaign. I thought we'd have some el-crapo tank kits, but there are some cool airplanes going on, and groovy figures. Thanks to everyone for joining the fun. I can't wait to see what these all look like when they're done. All of you are proving that you don't have to go for the expensive big name kits to get a great end result!

@Mark - your T-34 looks cooler every time

My Gamma gets more shape now, standing on its wheels.
Still more filling and filing to do, but I'm looking forward to the end result

Good luck with your builds, guys

I'll be building ICM's 1/35 Panzerspahwagon P 204 (f). This is a French Panhard 178 Armored Car in German markings. The Germans captured a good number of these and they were pressed into German service. I will refer to this as a "Panhard" throughout the build.
I was debating between this kit and ICM's Zil-131 Soviet Military Truck. I decided to go with the Panhard. I had built the old Al-By offering back in the 90s and it was dated looking even then. At the time, there wasn't much French AFVs to pick from. This will be a good comparison.
Plus, this armored car probably will eventually find a place on what I am building for the I Really Want To Build This Kit Campaign.

Starter picture. The kit has a nice interior and engine. It comes with markings for four vehicles. If I do what I plan, I will probably go with an overall gray vehicle, probably serving as an auxillery vehicle in France. The plan is to have it recaptured by French Resistance....so FFI and the double-cross markings, probably "roughly painted by hand". As an aside, Vichy French vehicles would have had dual MGs instead of the 25mm gun and coax MG.


Vehicle floor and underside. Posed it next to the Al-By Panhard.


Vehicle floor, engine, and drivers' stations basically assembled. Very nice details. I prepainted as much as I could as I went. The cooling fan mount is a bit delicate.
The Panhard had two drivers' stations...one up front and one in the rear. Funny little note, for the actual Panhard 178 it took longer to construct the turret than it did the chassis.




Painting. The bulk of the interio was painted white. Engine compartment areas were painted medium green. The rest of the painting is basic. I drybrushed and dirtied up the interior.
Note the leafsprings are molded onto the hull side panels. This is a bit different, but it works well.



Started putting the body panels on. Fit was okay. A couple places will need some attention before paint.




Added the rear stowage boxes on the rear fenders. There is a metal piece on each front fender. They look like they could be used to store stuff.


The suspension and drive shafts are simplified. As mentioned, the leafsprings are molded to the side body panels. The differentials are quick and easy, but you'll have to note that the front axle needs to be mounted to the leafsprings first, then add the differential. Other suspension bits fit well.


And that's where I am now. I'll start on the turret next. So far, I am very pleased with this kt and how it is building up.

That's your basic speed build right there, Alex. Nice job on your interior. Very cool subject.

Thanks. It's smoke and mirrors. I started it at the beginning of last month and took pictures as I went. I save them up and then post.

I'm really enjoying the build. I like ICM kits and what they've been able to do over the past few years...they've come a long way.

Calling my done.



This kit was quite a little monster, but I wanted to focus on color modulation and some other weathering effects so I intentionally stayed away from heavy mud and white wash. Tried to go for the look of a vehicle that had seen plenty of time in the field, but not a lot of action.

Good luck to everyone still plugging away!

Hi Mark, well done. Congrats on completing the build

Weathering looks great Mark nice job

Very nice job on the T-34, Mark. Looks great.

Congrats on finishing 👍

Thanks, Fellas!

Now on to other campaigns...

Hi Guys, WIP update, finished and primed,this is my first Mini-Art kit as well as my first plastic figures they did need a fair amount of putty and filing.

image rucertificity.com

that looks like it will be an interesting little vignette!

@Mark - congrats to your impressive T-34, great job

I'm over the finish line, too. Here is my Northrop Gamma of 1934.

@Alex - lovely interior!
@Ken - impressive figures so far, will follow that!
Have fun guys!

Very nice, Peter. Did you use metal foil for that? Very impressive finish.

Peter nice build, I love the landing gear from that time

Thanks, Mark, and no, no metal foil, only handpainted Chrome Silver by Gunze and then polished.

@Ken - Yes, it looks cool. I like those planes of the 30s a lot

Very nice build, Peter. Beautiful finish.

Hello everbody,

I'm entering this one a little late with a Peerless Max 3/4 Ton Dodge Command and Reconnaissance Car (kit #3505). It's old, way back from the 1970's, but I've heard some good things about it. It should be on its way in the next week.

Awesome, Quentin! Looking forward to it!

Hello all,

For this campaign, I'll be building Panda Hobby Husky Mk III. I'm hoping to finish it as a machine used by the Canadian army in A-stan. I'm still waiting on my research ressources to get lo me but decided I could start building it, so I started onthe interior. I'm not sure we actually used this specific version, so I'll wait before getting it too far.



Cheers,

Chris

I'd say keep working on that beverage while you wait. Enough of those, and you'll find it really doesn't matter what version is accurate...

Don't worry, beer and modelling go pretty well together! My glass never stays full for too long! :-)

I'd be much more concerned about how long it stays empty!!

Some folks are "glass-half-empty" kinds of people, some are "glass-half-full" kinds of people. I'm more of a "Where's the next round?" kind of guy!

Back to work. Body assembly is mostly done. I prepainted the underside dark green...though the plan is to paint the vehicle grey. I'm going to do a couple of washes of dark eart over that. I figure the Germans probably wouldn't worry about repainting the underside.


On to the turret. The turret interior is basic, but I think the real thing was as well. The main gun is a Hotchkis SA35 25mm antitank gun and it has a 7.5mm Reibel MG mounted next to it. The MG has a neat look to it. The turret comes with periscopes. There are eyepieces parts in the kit but not noted in assembly. I used them...I'd rather have the added detail than periscopes without any eyepieces. I also added gears to the turret ring. I was going to use a zip tie to replicate the teeth. It didn't look right so I painted the edge and painted vertical lines to simulate the teeth. It worked.
Not shown is a seat assembly for the turret crew.


Here's an attempt to show the completed turret interior. For whatever reason, my camera could not focus on it. I took a lot of pictures and they all came out like this or worse. It's white, it has a weird shadow, and the seat assembly blocks everything...it's a mess.


Turret done and placed on top for looks. I left the hatches off. They will be open. I taped off the openings and the insides of the hatches. The periscopes are crooked on purpose. I wanted them to be posed like the crew was looking to the sides.


I painted it a cruddy coat of Testors Gunship Grey. I've been using this as opposed to Panzer Gray because I think it shows detail better under average light. There's a lot of touch-up, dry-brushing, and weathering to go. I'll add German cross decals and then have the French crosses "hand-painted" over these, along with FFI.



The plan is to have this Panhard captured by the Germans in 1940. With the Normandy Landings, it has been liberated by French Resistance, who are remarking it. I hope to pose this as part of a larger diorama using the graveyard I am making for the I Really Want To Build This Kit" campaign. If time becomes an issue, I may just make a vignette centered on the Panhard and its new crew.
For the Resistance, I went with MasterBox's Maquis French Resistance figures. I'll use the Sten gunner as the painter and the Bren Gunner just there. I have a few other civilian figures from various sets I may try to add. I am saving the female Maquis for another project but might break down and add her. We'll see how it goes.