GazzaS Posted September 27, 2020 Author Share Posted September 27, 2020 5 hours ago, SapperSix said: Gaz, Excellent build man! Your current efforts and on the diorama are well done as always. -S Frank, Thank you! Glad to see you survived your last deployment. Gaz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 My second Dragon kit was their excellent Pz IV H Mid August 1943 production. When I got to applying the schürzen, things were a bit snug and stressed some of the CA joints into popping. I'm sure it was all operator error, but today I decided to ensure the same thing didn't happen again. I made sure everything lined up comfortably while the glue was still soft. The schürzen aren't glued in place. I'm not sure if I'll use the metal plates, or if I'll cut plastic versions. The tools are already cut and cleaned. But with all of the extra steel around I decided to add them after painting. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 The Mk III is one of my favorite German tanks along with the Panther. Lots of nice kits of both available. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnB Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 Duplicate post. Sorry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Looking good Gaz. I like the metal skirts a lot, easy said, I haven't done any. All my skirted subjects are safe and sound in my stash, including a Jagdpanzer IV with mesh skirts. I would have considered soldering, but that leaves the problem of slightly misaligned joins. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Very neat Gaz, IMHO Dragon PZ III & IV are very good..... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 7, 2020 Author Share Posted October 7, 2020 20 hours ago, DocRob said: Looking good Gaz. I like the metal skirts a lot, easy said, I haven't done any. All my skirted subjects are safe and sound in my stash, including a Jagdpanzer IV with mesh skirts. I would have considered soldering, but that leaves the problem of slightly misaligned joins. Cheers Rob Thanks Rob! I'm not really keen on soldering, though I have the gear to do it. I did do the masts of a 1/350 scale warship with it... but I had to file away a lot of excess solder. I'm going to try to anneal the skirts to soften them up. I don't know if my little hand held propane torch can get them hot enough, though. Ideally, Schurzen on a kit would be held in place by photo-etch frames. I just haven;t been brave enough to seek that route, yet. 20 hours ago, Bomber_County said: Very neat Gaz, IMHO Dragon PZ III & IV are very good..... Thanks Phil. Except for the orange box kits which I think are reboxings from somebody else, I haven;t met a Dragon kit yet that wasn't superb. Wish they'd crank out more large scale aircraft. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 14, 2020 Author Share Posted October 14, 2020 Two builds going but not much progress in either.... Due to the schurzen, pre painting and pre camo are a must... and I wanted to make sure I got the backs of the side hatches done... before I glue them to the turret in an open position. The schurzen brackets are only dry fitted. And I went a bit down the rabbit hole on the front end... There were supposed to be two runs of kit tracks across the front. Inspired by a pic in my collection of a Totenkopf IIIM, I used some small pieces of aluminum to make track brackets and added a third run. None of the runs is attached, but dry fitted while the CA solidifies. Anyway... thanks for looking! Gaz 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Looks good Gaz. The extra track on the front looks fine too. So many crews added extra tracks as armour it won't be out of place. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Gaz, looks great, I found this sometime ago....... Never seen spare track carried here, I clipped this from a documentary.... another take on spare track and protection...images for reference only...... 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 These racks look great, can't wait to see the III with camo and Schürzen. Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 15, 2020 Author Share Posted October 15, 2020 Thank you, fellas. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 16, 2020 Author Share Posted October 16, 2020 On 10/14/2020 at 11:36 PM, DocRob said: These racks look great, can't wait to see the III with camo and Schürzen. Cheers Rob Your wish is my command effendi. Of course, there is a lot of weathering to do before the Schurzen are on the kit permanently. I annealed and sanded the schurzen, and they are consequently very soft. I used SMS lacquer for the green. It took me quite a while to get past spitting and tip dry. I reckon it has to be thinned 50/50 with Mr. Levelling thinner to get to a point where you can actually do something with it. Still, it seems to cover better than MRP. Thank you for looking! Gaz 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 Camo is looking bueno Gaz, I'm always afraid of these freehand paintjobs. I may have to train that with a soon to start project. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 Steady hand Luke......or Gaz ........looking good without the weathering....... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 16, 2020 Author Share Posted October 16, 2020 10 hours ago, DocRob said: Camo is looking bueno Gaz, I'm always afraid of these freehand paintjobs. I may have to train that with a soon to start project. Cheers Rob Thank you. When I freehand I try to remember I'm only 54MM tall with a 2-4 pound weight in my hand. I'm not always successful. 7 hours ago, Bomber_County said: Steady hand Luke......or Gaz ........looking good without the weathering....... Thanks mate. I'd love to have steady hands. I really feel like I'm squeezed with every stroke, trying to get the opacity and pattern in a very limited time. Now... I have to distress the green a bit. That is... the areas I can reach without endangering raised detail. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 Nice job on the camo Gaz. That could be the warm-up for a C.202 Folgore if you want to get adventurous! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 16, 2020 Author Share Posted October 16, 2020 2 hours ago, GusMac said: Nice job on the camo Gaz. That could be the warm-up for a C.202 Folgore if you want to get adventurous! Thanks mate. Have done... 1n 1/48: And the paints were much worse. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Very nice Gaz. Never had the confidence to try something like that. Just imaging getting a big blob if you hit the airbrush trigger too hard. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 7 hours ago, GusMac said: Very nice Gaz. Never had the confidence to try something like that. Just imaging getting a big blob if you hit the airbrush trigger too hard. My friend... it's not by any particular skill, or finger control. it's technology. Using this little knob, experimenting with air pressure, and thinning your paint to very thin will enable you to do just about anything you want. Not saying you have to buy an Iwata. But this little control on any airbrush will save you from those embarrassing paint spiders. I wear a rubber glove on my free hand, and test on that before spraying on the model. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Hi Gaz Yeah, my H&S Evolution has a trigger limit as well but it's just having the trust in my own abilities. It's just a confidence thing as I've always swayed away from anything too risky like that. Each new build though I try and push myself to bring in a new technique or skill. I'll get there... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Fantastic work Gaz, step by step to perfection, love it ! Cheers M. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 20, 2020 Author Share Posted October 20, 2020 5 hours ago, Martinnfb said: Fantastic work Gaz, step by step to perfection, love it ! Cheers M. Thank you Martin. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 I've been doing small bits of work on this III... mostly with oils and paint brush... So here we go.... I started with the tracks... The outer, lighter metaled bits are where the teeth of the drive sprocket engage. The Guide teeth are also a lighter metal shade. Oils will follow to give the the parts rubbed clean buy the rubber wheels a more steel look. Then I started chipping. There was only three places for the crew of the M to egress. And I have seen a couple close ups in books showing the area around the cupola looking pretty chipped up from hobnailed boots. These are the outer doors of the turret schurzen. instead of swinging to the side like the PZ IV, they drop down and form a bridge. Comments on the chipping would be very welcome. Personally I think the effort looks very heavy handed. I need a finer tipped brush, and my hands don't have muscle memory for chipping, yet. I also cut masks for the markings. I used an off white which is half white and half RLM 02. This is a Totenkopf tank, so the three bars used at Kursk are painted with a slightly greyed black. The large rivets around the tail markings will call for some touch up. You can see the blue tint on the rubbed still portion of the tracks. Still need a bit of brown washed over the blue. And finally the marks for the Turret Schurzen. The zero markings are only .3mm wide. I'm not sure about the center line. i've seen them painting numbers on some historical footage, they used a stipple brush and a cardboard stencil. So... I'm guessing that the rivets got in their way sometimes, too. Anyway... comments and hints appreciated. I really wanna improve my game. Thanks for looking! Gaz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Gaz, this is looking stunning, on the cupola just adding the lens and scuff marks brings to life. The insignia etc looks far better as masks, going to have to look into them. Are you going to weather this one up......... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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