If you were gawking at them, you may have noticed the unpainted tires. They were originally ceiling queens when I had my 21st Century Toys collection OOB and on display, so I just put the gear in the flight position and didn't bother painting them. Have to rectify that someday. They themselves are actually 21st Century kits of their prebuilt toys that I got an amazing deal for a case of years ago; something like six for $20. They all came with figures, some of which I used in my He 111. They are done up as Italian, Bulgarian, and Finnish birds.

After a few weeks back in the States, I finally found some time to make progress with my build.

Mark,
Love the camo on your Elefant!

Gaz

Shell,
I got so lost in the excellent paint jobs on your 109's that I didn't even notice the wheels.

Gaz

Shell, nice to see Annie is coming along. Fits in nicely with the armoured carriages behind it too.

Mark. I agree with Gaz, the camo work is very nicely done.

Mark-Nice work! Looking forward to seeing more. I have the same kit in my stash so I'm very interested.
Take care,
Don "Lakota"

Thanks for the comments guys.

Making more progress. The road wheels and rear drive sprocket are attached. Decals have been added, all three of them.




Work has started on the Friulmodel tracks. One side is complete.

Mark,
Looks great! I certainly wish the Elefants and Ferdinands had more color and marking options.


Gaz

Orderer radio set has arrived today. Three different radios with accessories, PE fret and super thin decals. Very nice indeed and now I can finish my M3 scout model.

They look very nice Damian. What is the casting quality like - no bubbles, etc?

Damian,
The radio set looks nicely detailed! I bet it will enhance the model a lot.

Gaz

Hi everyone,

Three big zimmerit sessions have allowed me to complete three sides of the fighting compartment. I tried a new method this time. Instead of spreading the putty on to as many rows as possible, I did each row individually. The goal was to eliminate a raised ridge between each row of toolmarks.

I started with a base row, and locations where interior angles dictated as places to start.

Once a row is dried, the excess is scraped away leaving tool marks approximately 4mm wide.

This is what the rows looked like before trimming away the excess. There were places where a new row would cross over an older row. I would use a water moistened paint brush to clean up the error. But because the putty is always water soluble, it has to be done quickly, and gently with as little water as possible.

The Result... I still have to back side of the fighting compartment to do as well as the driver's armor.


Gaz

@ Peter & Gaz
Resins are very clear, especially precise one like radio sets. They require very minor cleaning, but with care not to damage any details. No bubbles and warping noted. As I mentioned before two radio sets will be installed - SCR 506 at the rear of the cabin with an antenna on the top of the box containing radio set, and SCR 510 mounted on the left side floor with an antenna mount at ammo box over the rear wheel. Only thing I need now is to read the manual from mini CD attached to the kit. Unfortunately, my Mac hardware is not compatible with

Gaz,
That zimmerit work on the superstructure looks fantastic!!! Your build is coming together very nicely.

Principle construction is now complete. I haven't decided on what weathering I'll do.

Mark,

Sweet looking Elephant you put together. I don't think you have to do to much weathering as these vehicles had a very short life in Italy.

Mark

Mark,
Looks great!

Gaz

Gaz, I know you wanted to avoid the raised ridges but I don't think you wanted to leaves the gaps between each column either:

Shell,
Thanks for the photo. I hear what you're saying as the gaps bother me as well. It may be something I never master. I tried another variation today, which while it looks a little better isn't perfect.
The raised ridges left before were too rounded, and wide. What a guy needs is a substance that's firm yet easily conforms to shapes and capable of hard edges.
Then there's drying time to consider. I'll show the results of my new technique on the next update. But I won't be going back to make changes as the new technique is even more tedious than the previous technique.

Gaz

Gaz-You're doing a great job! You make it look easy-that always scares me. How about a tutorial of your techniques some day? I've always tried to stay away from zimmerit because it looks so hard.
Take care,

Don "Lakota"

Thanks Don,
It's not as difficult if you have the right materials and tools. I need to make some more tools.

Hi everyone,
This is just a small update. I am now populating the outside of the sturmpanzer with bits of plastic.






Gaz

Love the Elephant mark. Can't wait to see what you do from here.


Great job on the Zim Gaz. Nothing beats the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

Gaz, that Strumpanzer is looking great. Looking forward to seeing it painted.

I've declared my Elefant complete. I just gave it a light coating of dust to give it a flatter appearance.

AMark,
Congrats on completing your Elefant! It looks great! I don't mind some gentle weathering, and find that often my own methods go too far.

I'm also interested in that Pz III. The camo is intriguing.

Gaz

Congrats on finishing Mark. Well done.