Gazzas Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 (edited) Hi Everyone, When not in an aircraft mood I've been spending some time on this. Today I finally have the running gear weathered, and will be able to attach the hull. After matte coating running gear and tracks, I dirtied them up with pigments to simulate dust and dried earth. Then I painted the bits worn clean by earth with Tamiya dull aluminum enamel and silver acrylic. The tracks are Tamiya's aftermarket workable tracks. PITA tracks. When plastic 'clicks' together, the tiny nubs that form the track 'pins' get worn. After an endless struggle I had all of the links together around the running gear. Note to self: Fruils next time. The Panther single-piece barrel was warped. Tamiya has an aftermarket barrel, but I bought a cheaper Aber Barrel from BNA. It was a tight fit requiring a bit of sanding. Tamiya makes aftermarket PE grills for the engines. Why they aren't included in the kit... who knows. I bought them from Hong Kong for 8 bucks. The Tamiya Commander's cupola is empty. So I fashioned some vision blocs from sheet styrene. It ain't pretty, but at least it keeps you from being able to look through to the other side. I also used a drill bit to make the walls of the smoke dischargers thinner. There are small gutters over the pistol ports that needed to be removed. The Turret's armor plate isn't smooth, so I used some Mr. Surfacer anywhere I wanted to avoid any kind of irregularity to show. Thanks for looking! Gaz Edited October 1, 2018 by Gazzas LSP_K2, Dany Boy, CANicoll and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Nice! Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Excellent Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Nicely done mate, Dabbling in the “dark side” has a certain attraction. I like the smoke discharger work, are you going to fill them? Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted September 30, 2018 Author Share Posted September 30, 2018 4 hours ago, Kahunaminor said: Nicely done mate, Dabbling in the “dark side” has a certain attraction. I like the smoke discharger work, are you going to fill them? Regards, Thanks, Kent! If I had the inclination to make the smoke canisters, I'd fill them. But I think trying to get them to look factory uniform would be a mood killer. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dany Boy Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 Tamiya's aftermarket workable track and vision blocs looking very nice. Is this Tamiya’s figure in the commander’s turret? I remember when good Panther Ausf D in 1:35 was hard to find, but now it’s different. This Tamiya 1:35 set is one of the most expensive on the market if I am not mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted September 30, 2018 Author Share Posted September 30, 2018 Dany Boy, Thank you very much! The figure is definitely the Tamiya kit parts. It's a nice, easy kit to build but I feel the engine screens should have been part of the kit. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 Oh yeah. I'm definitely in on this one. Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 1, 2018 Author Share Posted October 1, 2018 I did a little paint modulation before I add the decals. There has been only two seams on the model requiring any filling, the most obvious of which is the joint between the two bow plates. Five minutes ago I realized I could store my photos for free on FB. is there any reason I shouldn't? SWMBO says: "Welcome to the 21st Century, Darling". Thanks fer lookin! Gaz Dany Boy and mustang1989 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 Looking good Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 1, 2018 Author Share Posted October 1, 2018 HI Everyone! When researching Panzers during the period when the crew applied the camoflage paints, I've always been struck at the vague-ness of the colors. Where does one color end and the other begin? Interpreting the camo of these mid-war tanks has made me want to make my camo look less defined. So, as an experiment on this kit I distressed the paint with 3000 grit paper. There are a couple small spots where a little more paint came off than desired. I'll give them a little touch up. Gaz Dany Boy and LSP_K2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Dude that's some mighty fine work on that paint and camo Gaz!! I need to pay a little closer attention to the whole paint modulation and dot filter usage on these armor builds. Trying to pick some skills up that I might need. Gazzas and LSP_K2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Really nice job on the paint, and love the sandpaper after painting to weather the paint - great job!! Love the subject too - well done! Chris Gazzas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 Joe, Thank you very much. I find the main difficulty in paint modulation for armor is the smallness of the spaces involved. Tools and other features make some of the areas very small, so there isn't a lot you can do. Luckily the Panther's turret and skirts offer some spaces to make the dot filter method useful. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 2, 2018 Author Share Posted October 2, 2018 Thank you, Chris! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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