G'day all

I have finished this little dio, apart from some minor things such as some flowers which I have to find/make. I'm in two minds with regards to figures, as this setting would really need a full crew, but then I don't want to over crowd the vehicle... I am toying with the idea to put some crew in the turret, but I'm not putting a commander in the cupppola, as there's to much detail in there to obscure.

Your critical eye and comments are appreciated, as there's probably a number of glaring 'why didn't I see that' moments in here..

Thank you for your time.

Enjoy







Cheers
Henk

i have nothing critical to say, my sight isnt good enought or its jsut to nice of a dio for soemthing to be wrong. nice weathering and groundwork. how did you make the terrain?

Frank

Thanks Frank, the ground work is simple, just a mix of PVA glue and ground coffee, thinned with water and collored with Acrylic. It has been dry brushed with various shades of mud (brown) and gloss. The effect is not entirely visible in the pic's, as the flash drowns some of it out.

Cheers
Henk

Henk i have been watching your other updates on this one and have been waiting for the finish looks real good i too like the ground work, i have one question where are the tow cables.

Very beautiful. I like the weathering.

One thing though. It would be nice if you could add a few figures and some stowage on the tank.

Very nice!

Angela

Cheers rv1963, the tow cable is on the back, this picture was taken without it. I also just noticed that the headlights are missing in these pic's, but the have been re -attached on the model.

Hi Angela, I don't know if I'll add crew yet, and the same for stowage. I don't want to clutter the model to much as it's more of a vignette than a diorama. My next model in the IV family will be the StuG IV, which will be extremely weathered, camouflaged and with a crew...

Cheers
Henk

The build can be seen in the following tread
http://figures.armorama.com/forums/40677&page=1

Henk

http://figures.armorama.com/forums/40677&page=1

live link

coffee and pva glue, wow, iam a new coffee addict henk.

Thanks, il sure give it a try!

Frank

Yes, coffee and PVA..... For me the main object is the actual model/vignette. on a 1:1 base coffee just has the right consistency for runny mud. Doesn't look aswel in photo's, but I build for the shelf, not the screen.

Think outside the box, that's what Van Gogh did

Henk
Outstanding job overall I love the way you have the bottoms of the tracks sinking through the mud What maker of tracks did you use?

Thanks Chad, the tracks are 'Ostketten' from Accurate Armour. A bit of work to clean the guidehorns etc. but very much worth it.

Cheers
Henk

Nice Finish Henk, The only thing I have to offer is the following. If the ground is that muddy, I think the roads ruts would be very deep, almost hull down, and the lower areas should have even more mud applied. Just MHO. Keep us posted!

Well, Henk, a Marvelous work

Only 2 things i could notice is a bit glossy (maybe its the pic) MG barrel and i think there should be some black powder arround the exehaust and around.

otherwise i cant find anything else i would change.

ahh yes, you could post a pic of the interior somehow?

Hi John, yes I have looked at the lower hull and I think it needs a bit more mud, just to blend it better with the base. As for the ruts, the ground is still supposed to be frozen, and only the top layer is slushy mud.

Sensei, how could I miss the exhaust? I have added some some black around there...and the barrel is indeed the pic, no gloss there.. I'll try to take a few pic's of the 'interior' but don't hold your breath as I only added a few bits and bobs to give the impression of an interior when you look through the hatches, when it's all finished the turret will be glued down..

Thank you both for your response

Henk

An awesome tank on great groundwork Henk, i'm definatly gonna try out the coffee.

Greetz Rob! (vanuit een koud en regenachtig Holland.)

Dankje wel Rob, vanuit een niet zo koud maar wel regenachtig Engeland.. :-)

Yes, the coffee is one of the best tips I came across lately. I can't remember who mentioned it, but it was on this site.. It creates a perfect texture when mixed with PVA and water.


Groeten
Henk

I LOVE YOUR MUD !!!!

Nice painting ! Congrats !

Thanks Pierre

If you go with no crew - then I would consider getting some more black paint inside where you have the driver's hatch modeled open. That's the AMS talking btw. :-) Otherwise it looks finished to me.

Hi Alex, yes it's good how a camera shows little things like that. I did paint the inside mostly grey when I sprayed the exterior,, but missedthat spot... I'll paint that at any rate, thanks


cheers
Henk

overall a really nice model,excellent work!keep it up!!!nice ground workl

Nice tank!
In wich perios is this?
One thing: just what Angela said, more stowage on the tank.

Its a great dio!

Greetz Hilbert

I think i missed this one Henk ?
Very nice it looks so mucky and cold a really miserable time for anyone
the winter camo faded and cracked up is awsome
and the mud is exquisite shes going to look ace with her crew! ! excellent job mate , no negative comments from me !

dank je wel Hilbert, the dio is 'somewhere in Russia, spring 1942 ". It's not really set in a specific spot or battle, it's more meant to be a generic spring time scene. I was not really planning on adding stowage, as I want the tank to be the focus. That's why I'm still not sure about adding a crew either. Thing is, with the small confined setting of the vignette, I feel the crew should be on or close to the vehicle and as there is no obvious reason for the crew to have wandered of, as this is supposed to be a kind of recconoisence party, I would have to add all 5 crew members, which would make it too crowded. But after all the responses with say that they miss the crew, I have thought about it, and have started looking for crew members which I can put inside the turret. I have already found some, and the new set from MB Ltd , the German Tank Crew # 1has just the figures I would want to add. There is one figure blowing on his clasped hands, as you would in the cold. Perfect..
I will probably add a spare wheel and some jerrycans, but no more than that. I think that to much stowage on a German AFV is not realistic, as Germans rarely had to carry all their supplies because their supply train was good enough to bring it up from the rear every night.

Thanks also for your kind comments Larry and Kenaz,

Cheers
Henk