GazzaS Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 Merhaba, Efendis! Today I made a base for a friend who couldn't find one the size he needed. So, I decided to work on the base for my panzer. I decided to model a cobble stone road. I mixed some poly fille, poured it onto a sheet of baking paper, then scored it with a knife. Then, about an hour later I chopped it up with a knife which resulted in a lot of different sizes and shapes. I glued them to the wooden base with PVA... and they're drying. There are a few steps left before they're ready. The Tank will sit like this: Of course.... work continues on the Kommandant. I finished painting the uniform last night in various shades of dark gray, trying to bring out the details. Then, after letting him sit overnight, he got three black oil washes to unite the shades. Also, I did three dust washes on the tracks. Each dust wash was a different shade of dirty gray... but the pictures came out poorly. One problem with the figure... He's an early war guy and he's already got the Iron Cross 2nd Class, Wound badge, and Knight's Cross with oak leaves. And my research shows that the first Knights Cross with Oak leaves weren't awarded until 1940. Happy modelling! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Great progress and figure painting Gary! Are the oak-leaves really that visible in 1/16 scale? But I would ask myself if anyone looking at that beautiful model would realize that he‘s wearing a Knight’s Cross with oak leaves which doesn’t correspond to the time when the tank was in operation. I would leave it as it is! If you really don’t like it I would grind it away carefully. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Gaz Terrific paint work on your figure - looks fantastic. I would never have even thought about the medals being incorrect timeline wise - way beyond my knowledge - It’s the overall look that is so impressive. nice start on the base - looking mighty good Keep ‘em comin Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 10 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said: Great progress and figure painting Gary! Are the oak-leaves really that visible in 1/16 scale? But I would ask myself if anyone looking at that beautiful model would realize that he‘s wearing a Knight’s Cross with oak leaves which doesn’t correspond to the time when the tank was in operation. I would leave it as it is! If you really don’t like it I would grind it away carefully. Thank you, Kai. I've left Knight's Cross and Oak leaves in place. As well as the other decorations. Removing them cleanly would be too difficult and time consuming. 8 hours ago, Peterpools said: Gaz Terrific paint work on your figure - looks fantastic. I would never have even thought about the medals being incorrect timeline wise - way beyond my knowledge - It’s the overall look that is so impressive. nice start on the base - looking mighty good Keep ‘em comin Peter Thank you, Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 Herr Panzer Kommandant is matte coated... and therefor... done! 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 WOW, great work on the figure !!......harv 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 2 hours ago, harv said: WOW, great work on the figure !!......harv Thank you, Harv! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 Well.... there's more. Despite watching 3 or more hours of modelling videos looking for informative as well as entertaining... I made some progress. I gloss coated the upper hull and turret, painted the cobblestones, grouted them with a mixture of poly filler and gray pigments, and worked on the tracks with acrylic paints. Although we're used to seeing muddied tracks from the Eastern Front, much of the time, tanks were on the roads. Road speeds were faster, and the bridges were on roads themselves. One of the failings of the German plan that led to the Battle of the Bulge, was that on the secondary phase, they were supposed to drive northwards whilst many of the roads trended more east to west. Walter Schuck, Luftwaffe Pilot wrote in his biography something to the effect that the pilots followed the roads to avoid getting lost... that even the vast number of aircraft wrecks were to be found along those same roads. For those reasons, I've elected to put the panzer on a road and weather the tracks appropriately. So, throughout the pics you will see shiny metal facets. The same facets you've seen on a hundred documentaries. Areas of blue steel where rubber has scrubbed away dirt and oxidation (red arrow), and dust and areas where the sprockets have polished the metal white (yellow arrow). Tomorrow, hopefully I will use brown and blue washes to make the dark steel look more steel like. As you can see above, there is an area of contact between the guide horns and the metal parts of the road wheels. On some historical photos you can actually see the rims polished to a high sheen. I'm still trying to reconcile myself to trying to make perfect, shiny metal circles, or leave them alone. I know that there are some who dislike the idea of all of that white metal... but if you look at pics... and watch documentaries... you cannot deny that they were there. Anyway... there is a fly in the ointment. My base warped. The water in the PVA glue caused warpage. It doesn't matter, really. ...chalk it up to experience. But here are a few pictures to show you how things will look: Despite the fact that the Pz I was the smallest of the German tanks, it had the largest commander's hatch. I didn't paint the interior a light color because I didn't want to highlight the lack of equipment in there. Happy Modelling! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 7 hours ago, GazzaS said: Herr Panzer Kommandant is matte coated... and therefor... done! Lovely Panzerkommandant Gary ! Looks absolutely realistic (even with the Eichenlaub…)! Especially with the added earphones and cables! And the tank on the base looks absolutely gorgeous! Not often seen and even not in this scale. I can fully follow your arguments regarding the tracks. I would do it the same like you do: If it is visible on fotos I would replicate this on the model. Now your close to the finish line Gary! Wish I had half of your modeling speed… BTW: your base with the stones looks awesome. Great idea ! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 32 minutes ago, Kaireckstadt said: Lovely Panzerkommandant Gary ! Looks absolutely realistic (even with the Eichenlaub…)! Especially with the added earphones and cables! And the tank on the base looks absolutely gorgeous! Not often seen and even not in this scale. I can fully follow your arguments regarding the tracks. I would do it the same like you do: If it is visible on fotos I would replicate this on the model. Now your close to the finish line Gary! Wish I had half of your modeling speed… BTW: your base with the stones looks awesome. Great idea ! Thank you, Kai! I only have speed because I am on holidays. I should have much more done... but I have lazy times, too. I take a month off every year to mentally escape obligation and the alarm clock. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 Great work on the commander, I like the skin- and black tones in their variations. On the tank, I especially like the wheels and rims and the different dust tones enhancing depth of the undercarriage. Cheers Rob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 Thank you Rob! Speaking of dust... I started dusting the upper works today... These photos only show the first layer/coat/color of dust: 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Gaz Awesome painting and detailing on your commander ... looking mighty good. After reading how the wheels would be ‘polished’ by the tracks , the weathering looks quite realistic. As far as the base goes, the warping actually looks quite good and adds to the Vignette. Keep ‘em comin Peter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Absolutely realistic Gary! Did you do it with the airbrush or with pigments? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 21, 2021 Author Share Posted June 21, 2021 6 minutes ago, Peterpools said: Gaz Awesome painting and detailing on your commander ... looking mighty good. After reading how the wheels would be ‘polished’ by the tracks , the weathering looks quite realistic. As far as the base goes, the warping actually looks quite good and adds to the Vignette. Keep ‘em comin Peter Thank you, Peter. I fear I'll redo the base... it's kinda driving me crazy. 5 minutes ago, Kaireckstadt said: Absolutely realistic Gary! Did you do it with the airbrush or with pigments? Thank you Kai. Oil paints, my friend. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Didn’t think of them Gary (It‘s Monday morning…). Would have also used them for this job. They are my favorite for weathering. Curious for the next update… 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Gaz Just box out the base, it really looks so good Ke30 ‘em comin Peter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 Thank you all for the great and positive responses. Today I only achieved the second layer of oil dust: 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Gaz Some gorgeous weathering - looking fantastic Keep ‘em comin Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Stunning progress on the weathering Gary! This simply looks like the real thing. These oils really offer a lot of possibilities. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 22, 2021 Author Share Posted June 22, 2021 1 hour ago, Kaireckstadt said: Stunning progress on the weathering Gary! This simply looks like the real thing. These oils really offer a lot of possibilities. Thank you, Kai. The thing about oils, is that you can control what your effect will look like, and have time to add to, remove, or change before they dry. Pigments on the other hand are dependent upon light, and harder to manipulate. White pigment is especially undependable. I've given up on them, except to tint earth effects. 1 hour ago, Peterpools said: Gaz Some gorgeous weathering - looking fantastic Keep ‘em comin Peter Thank you Peter. The real question is: "Where to stop?" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Amazing, how the oils tie everything together. your progress is looking great Gaz. I discovered oil colors for varying effects over the last year and can't tell you, how I lived without them before. I plan to paint my PZL P.11 only by brush, using oil colors as an experiment. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted June 23, 2021 Share Posted June 23, 2021 Gaz Got ya. It’s hard to know when but she is looking so good Keep ‘em comin Peter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted June 24, 2021 Author Share Posted June 24, 2021 On 6/22/2021 at 10:43 PM, DocRob said: Amazing, how the oils tie everything together. your progress is looking great Gaz. I discovered oil colors for varying effects over the last year and can't tell you, how I lived without them before. I plan to paint my PZL P.11 only by brush, using oil colors as an experiment. Cheers Rob On 6/23/2021 at 2:56 PM, Peterpools said: Gaz Got ya. It’s hard to know when but she is looking so good Keep ‘em comin Peter Thank you, fellas! The model is still gassing out. That's when I know it's not ready for it's final matte coat. If it stinks. Hopefully tomorrow. So, I went all in on the base. I bought a slab of 50mm (almost 2 inches) thick foam board. A bag of plaster of Paris and a 250ml bottle of PVA glue as well as an aerosol wood sealer for the edging. The edging I burned down from some pine I had on hand with a home-made bench saw. I then neatened it up with my AEG Plunge router. I have drop saw for cutting precise 45 degree corners. Then I put a different bit into the router and added a bevelled edge. Then I mixed the plaster with water and spread it out over some baking paper. After half an hour I scored it one way with a knife. Then, half our later I chopped the drying plaster with an Ulu, using the curved blade to avoid having to lift as I separated the cobbles. So, here were are with everything drying. Except for the cobbles, everything is dry fitted. And everything needs to dry overnight. Happy modelling! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Great looking model base Gary and thanks for the tutorial how to build it! This will be a perfect presentation when finished. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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