I started working on this big boy a couple of weeks ago, and I would like to enter it into the campaign:

I will use all of the Voyager PE upgrade set, and only two of the Miniart figures, one slightly modified.

Welcome aboard Marcos. I'll be interested to see the figures too. I have Meng's set of 4 and will be using two of those in my SPZ 2000. It will be interesting to compare sets.

Some pics of the build:





I had to finnish the underside first because the side armour has to go in place and will complicate painting.





After painting and setting the tracks in place I covered all the underside, to start working on the top of the hull.

Hi Ryan,

Your build, as with all the others, is coming along nicely, . Are you going to display the vehicle on a scenic base?

That tray looks useful for keeping things tidy, but what are all the small square-ish blocks for, are they part of the kit, or are they magnetic?

Cheers, ,

G

Hi all
I managed to get some paint on the beast. Sorry for the poor pics. The model is so long that my photo booth can't be used. I'll try to shoot better pics later.

My Bundeswehr Vallejo set was a nightmare to use. Maybe it was too old but the Black and the Green were not at all cooperative so I ended up by using Tamiya NATO Green instead and paint brushing the Vallejo Black and Brown. Not fully satisfied of the result though. The gloss varnish is to help the decals adhere with no silvering.

I had two issues with the add-on armor. The first one is the part D28 leg (in front of the driver station) is too short for the add-on armor block to be fitted. I had to remove the part and add a spacer.
The second issue is that the clearance between the hull add-on armor blocks and the turret bottom is zero so when you manage to get the turret installed don't play with it otherwise you may damage the tiny "rods".





Olivier

I applied off white primer then did some modulation with the base sand color mixed with dark brown, then over that applied several very thin coats of sand.





Then I did some highlights with the base sand color mixed with white-





Then I applied some of Mig´s masking putty to apply the next color.

It looks great to me Olivier. I find Vallejo and AK paints do not have the usable life of Tamiya or oil based paints. Several barely used ones had to be thrown out as they turned to lumpy gel. That may just be due to the climate here though.

The add on armour is one issue I won't have.

Coming along very nicely Marcos.

Done with second color on the hull. The masking putty is great stuff! Simplifies things a lot. You just have to take it off with care so you don't pull off any of the Voyager PE details.

Olivier, that's wonderful!

Marcos, Looking good!

What are the colors you've used on the hull so far, Marcos? I've got an ATF Dingo 2 I'm going to be painting soon.

Thanks for the comments.
Richard your colors are great. If they were more user friendly I would highly recommend the Vallejo colors which are spot on for the various desert schemes.

Olivier

I have heard from several other model builders that they have problems with Vallejo Model Air. To be honest, I can't understand that. I love them and my airbrush loves them. For me they are easy to apply and I love to work with them. Over the last couple of years they've become my favourite paint brand. Their range is hard to beat by any other company. Only once I had problems, but I think it was just an "unhappy meeting" of Vallejo and Gunze on my SAAF Saab Gripen. The 2nd attempt with both went well - love at 2nd sight so to say ....

Marcos, that masking putty looks .... ugly .... to say it friendly but the result speaks for itself. Is it reusable? Any tiny residuums?

Torsten
I bought the Bundeswehr set for the desert camo colors and from the first try I didn't get a proper result. It seems that the pigments decided to aggregate whatever the amount of thinner (of the brand) I use. It is impossible to airbrush. I can admit that my set is a poor one or maybe a too old one when I got it. However I guess that if Vallejo are still in business this is because not every modeler is unhappy of their products.
You're right about the large range but I mainly do modern stuff I don't need so much paint references.

Olivier

This is the set of colors I am using:

It does look ugly, like a silly putty from hell! haha!
Yes, it is reusable. This is the third time I have used the same putty and works perfectly. I guess if you keep the tin tightly closed it should last for a long time.

I painted the green:


Next I am starting with some oil filters:





Also starting to do some pin washes.

It is a good product if you follow some basic rules. Just like silly putty, MIG's stuff moves and levels under gravity. The warmer the weather, the faster it moves, so it is not a good idea to leave it on for long then spray a 3rd colour as you may end up with edges of the original colour where you don't want them - view Jesper's AB 43 camo and comments in the 'Got Wheels" or "20/20 in 2020" group builds.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/282424&ord=&page=6

Also it can creep under parts and either pull them off or make cleaning it out difficult. It is best removed as soon as possible after paint has cured enough or, I have heard, putting it in the fridge (or freezer) may harden it enough to stop the bleeding out.

In the very hot summer climate here, it turns to thick treacle…...

It also helps to use thin layers of the putty, specially on the sides, where it tends to flow the most.

Thanks, Marcos! The Dingo on the box is the exact model I'm building!

I already built one like that and posted the build here if it is of any help.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/227833#1920177

Hi all
I managed to get the paint step complete. It's time for weathering now. The muzzle cover has been painted orange and a mix of flat aluminum and white. The tracks are 95 links long when Meng requires 98 links.







Olivier

Great work, Olivier! If it was mine, I would leave it this way now ....

Anyway, I have to take my planned kit out of this campaign. Over at Aeroscale, Michael Satin proposed the "60 years Phantom II Campaign", so I'll switch it over there. Which doesn't mean, that I leave this campaign now! Of course not! Since a few years I have the "Schwere Feldhaubitze M 110" in my stash, which was introduced to the Bundeswehr in 1965. So it would be kind of pre-pre-predecessor of the PzH 2000 .... But in fact it is not, because the M 110 belonged to the Field Artillery, not to the Tank Artillery.

While my Leopard 2A4GR is in the paint shop already with its nice 4-tone camo, I need something easier to paint afterwards. I'll start this build maybe even this weekend and it will get that early Bundeswehr camo of Gelboliv RAL 6014. Hope it's okay for you, guys ....

Here's my starting pic ....

Great looking 2A7 Marcos. One small question - wouldn't it be easier to temporarily place the armour pieces around the driver's hatch while painting, rather than try to match it up later?

Sensational paint job on the muzzle brake cover Olivier. That is a very nice counterpoint to the camo job.

Thanks for the tip on the tracks. I have just started assembly. I must say, the jig for a run of tracks is all but useless. I find you can only do one a time and I have to keep checking the direction of the parts to make sure they all run the same way. Q. Did you just click them together or add some glue. I think they are okay without any glue so far.

Happy for you to swap any time Torsten. Glad to see you are still in the build!