Wow, that's beautiful PJ, I know it sounds corny but in some of your close-ups I'd swear it was the real thing!

PJ -- awesome build! The proof is in the realism and this one is compelling! A huge amount of work and it sure paid off!

M/TB379

Thanks Bish, Thunderbolt and Gamera. This small model packs tons of detail and is very well made. Eduard should make a few more armor models cause this one is a small jewel.

Thanks PJ!  And may I say that Hetzer absolutely rocks!  I have to get one of those.  Great work!

Eagle90

Hey Everyone.  I'm calling the Nashorn finished!  Had some issues with the decals last night. The estate sale decal curse struck again.  They fell apart after coming off the backing, so I grabbed some from a 1/35 Academy kit!    Sorry.  The scale is off now I  know, but it is all I had.  This being a 1/48 scale, I didn't feel like getting any 1/48 crosses and numbers.  I think this is the only 1/48 armor kit I have.  So, without further ado, here she is.  Thanks for looking!

Eagle90

LOL!  Sorry for the cheesy background!  

Eagle90

Thanks Eagle. Your Nashorn looks great, nice clean build.

Thank you PJ.  Bish is educating me on dirtying up the armor and different kits to get and try out for more detailing.  When it comes to armor, I'm still learning....but I really like doing armor now!  My next armor build will be for the Orphan GB....my first "big boy" tank!  A captured T34/76!  Thanks again!

Eagle90

Looks good Eagle! If I may nitpick again- paint those rubber tires!

Nice work on the Nashorn, Gamera beat me to it.

Hey Gamera!  LOL!  You know, I wondered about that and never asked the question to anyone!    Ihave seen them black in some pics, but when I grabbed the pics of the camo I wanted to do, they all had the wheels painted with the camo colors!  Some(o.k., most of the B&W pics are hard to tell if they were or not).  That's any easy fix.  Thanks for the help and checking it out!

Eagle90

Bish

Nice work on the Nashorn, Gamera beat me to it.

Thanks Bish!  Guess I'm proving just how much of an armor novice I am! 

Eagle90

Your Nashorn looks pretty good to me Eagle.  I didn't even notice about the tires.  If it makes you feel better, I'm an armor novice myself as this Marder is my first serious attempt at armor.  Great job!

silentbob33

Your Nashorn looks pretty good to me Eagle.  I didn't even notice about the tires.  If it makes you feel better, I'm an armor novice myself as this Marder is my first serious attempt at armor.  Great job!

Thank you sir!  Well, the Marder looks great!  I'm liking Tamiya kits for both aircraft and armor!  The tires will be painted soon, and a few other things that have been pointed out, but like I said, I would learn unless these guys teach me!  So it has been a great learning experience and I'm all the better for it!  Thanks again!

Eagle90

Eagle

if you rather not paint the tires then take some rubbing alcohol and mix some dirt colored powder and make a watery mix. Apply it to all the running gear including the track and let it dry. Once dry, you can go back and fine tune it with a dry brush, removing and blending up the debris.  The powder will hide the missing black wheel rim color.

plasticjunkie

Eagle

if you rather not paint the tires then take some rubbing alcohol and mix some dirt colored powder and make a watery mix. Apply it to all the running gear including the track and let it dry. Once dry, you can go back and fine tune it with a dry brush, removing and blending up the debris.  The powder will hide the missing black wheel rim color.

Hey PJ....now these are the cool tips I like to hear about and try!  So alcohol and powder?  Now I have some of that railroad scenery stuff, you know the bags of sand like stuff?  Would that work or are you talking about a talc type powder?  So then mix with the alcohol and apply with a brush.  It will stick since it is wet.  When it dries will it stay or do I need to do anything else to make sure it stays?

Sorry for so many questions, but I'm still learning these cool techniques that I never tried or cared for as a kid!  Thanks for the help!

Eagle90

Good advice there PJ, I've done the same on a couple of recent models- just cover the running gear with mud, dirt, and grime. I've been just airbrushing on some brown/tan paint so sorry I can't  help much with the newer techniques like powders, pastels, and pigments Eagle.

Gamera

Good advice there PJ, I've done the same on a couple of recent models- just cover the running gear with mud, dirt, and grime. I've been just airbrushing on some brown/tan paint so sorry I can't  help much with the newer techniques like powders, pastels, and pigments Eagle.

No worries!  I like to hear about all the techniques!  So what exactly is the brown/tan paint technique?  I'm interested to hear about all the different ways to dirty up armor.  I'm an old fart from the old school that never did this stuff as a kid.  Just threw the bloody things together and called it good!    I don't think I'll lose any sleep if it is not dead on accurate (as you can tell already!), but I do want to get more detail and be as accurate as I can.    Thanks!

Eagle90

Not talk but colored chalks or specialized weathering powders such as MMP or Tamiya that can be purchased at Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon. You can try your LHS and see if they have Mig powders.

The more economical way is to get a set of artist colored pastels at Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon and grind some of the sticks to a powder. Then make the soupy mix. Down side to this method is that this mix comes off very easy. The specialized powders like MMP sticks a lot better than plain artists chalks but it works either way.  

plasticjunkie

Not talk but colored chalks or specialized weathering powders such as MMP or Tamiya that can be purchased at Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon. You can try your LHS and see if they have Mig powders.

The more economical way is to get a set of artist colored pastels at Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon and grind some of the sticks to a powder. Then make the soupy mix. Down side to this method is that this mix comes off very easy. The specialized powders like MMP sticks a lot better than plain artists chalks but it works either way.  

Got it!  I have heard of the pastel chalk deal!  And Bish was telling me about the Tamiya weather stuff too!  Not lucky enough to have a Hobby Lobby here in Vermont, but we do have an A.C. Moore that I can check at this weekend.  I know they have the pastel chalks, but not to hopeful on anything Tamiya being there!  I wonder if you mixed in a little watered down white glue if that would help it stick?  Just a thought from a novice builder!  Thanks again for the info!

Eagle90

NO NO not white glue! It will dry with a shine and you can't blend it when dry. Tha's ok if you want to model wet mud but not dry dusty conditions.

plasticjunkie

NO NO not white glue! It will dry with a shine and you can't blend it when dry. Tha's ok if you want to model wet mud but not dry dusty conditions.

What are you trying to say!  LOL!  Sorry, had to do it.  Got it...only for wet mud.  Didn't think about it drying glossy!  See, I learned even more.  I would have just thrown some glue in there and went for it!

Wonder what makes the Tamiya stuff stick better?  Thanks again so much for the info!  I'm really wanting to try this out now!

Eagle90

Eagle: You're better off trying PJ and Bish's technique there- most award-winning modelers do it that way.

Mine is a kinda quick, cheap, and dirty technique. I just spray the running gear and lower hull with a medium dark tannish brown with Tamiya Dark Earth and then add some highlights with Deck Tan or something lighter and more tan to the places where the exposed dirt would dry more. It works by itself if you want a thin layer of dirt and/or thin runny mud. Or if I want more I'll layer on some 'stucco' paint to build up texture before applying the 'mud/dirt' paint.

As I said this is kinda a quick, cheap, and dirty technique- I really need to learn to use some more advanced stuff.

Don't see anything wrong with that technique!  Quick, cheap, and dirty is good!  Thanks so much for the pic!  I'm jonesin' to try this now!

Eagle90

Some amazing work going on in here!

Eagle: That little Nashorn look very nice!

PJ: I really love your Hetzer! The chipping on the interior looks spot on as does the overall weathering! I just did some dry-fitting on my Hetzer and the upper hull appears to be a very poor fit. If I glue the top armor plate in place it gets a lot better, but I'd prefer to just press-fit it so I can take it off on the finished model. How did you get the top half to fit properly?

SS

Thank you Sir, glad you like how it came out. Yes the top plate has a lousy fit and you have to play with the depth and width of the rabbets along the underside edges. I had to widen and deepen it on some spots. I also had to heat the plate a bit to make it sit more flush. I fits better if glued on but then all that interior will not be visible.

Wait till to get to the tracks. The smaller pieces are very tricky to get the right droop and meeting point with the larger spans.

Thanks for the explanation! The tracksaren't really concerning me that much. I hate those "link and length" style tracks so I ordered a set of Friuls to replace them.

BTW, which one of the pictures do you want me to put on the front page?

SS

The Fruils are gone look kick a$$ on that Hetzer! I would even keep the side skirt off or leaving one or two on so not to cover them up.

Please use the 4th picture on the base showing a complete view with the top plate off.

Drywall is up and painted so I got the Marder painted too.  I preshaded with streaking since I liked the way it came out on my LCVP in the Longest Day GB.  I still have to mist some dunkelgelb on to cut down on the contrast between the yellow and green.  I don't think it looks too bad for my first time airbrushing armor.  I'm not used to getting into all those nooks and crannies of the interior!

I also did some looking around in my spares to see if I had anything to use for a radio.  I wasn't finding anything until I opened up a box my dad gave me a couple of years ago that had some of his stuff from when he built models in the 70's.  I found something that will work for me.  It's not very accurate, but it will be hard to tell when I get the figures put in there.  And I also found a base that had a Panzer II on it, so I figure I might as well use that too.  No point in it going to waste.

Trying to post pics from phone