75th Anniversary of 1944 Group Build (World at War)

Quick question- Is it ok to enter my Piper into another GB when it’s in this one, too?

Hi! I’m currently building a 1/48 P-47 Razorback “Touch of Texas” from 1944-45, and I’d like to join your group build, please. Ya got any openings? Thanks!

Bish:  The Condor I had decades ago came out in the mid '60's.  It was written up in the old Scale Modeler magazine.  I remember they printed a kind of dramatic photo of the thing, bombing a ship on a sea of tin foil.  It was kind of neat.

As I remember, the parts fit was comparable to Revell's B-17 and Avro-Lancaster, also originally released in the mid-'60's; which is to say:  not too good.

 

Mine is the new tool from 2006. Before that they had a range of different versions which was last done in 95.

I have been wanting to do a Condor for ages. I always wanted to do a C-3 but Revell didn't do one so i opted for the 8. I have since got the Trumpeter 3 but thought i would do the Revell one first. Not often you get the chance to do a German subject with 4 engines.

Not a problem, Tomcat.  I changed the scale on the front page.  

Glad to have you starting off with the first year of the war.  I've added your Heinkel to the '39-'40 build, too.

Looking forward to seeing how everything goes together.

Just a correction, then Tigercat is 1/72nd scale. Opps, sorry about that. I'm going to start building year by year beginning with '39-'40 build. I'll post on that thread which model etc.

I've updated the build roster with the Condor, Bish.  Great to have you doing another plane.  Looking forward to it.

I had a 1/72 Revell Condor decades ago.  Is this the same kit, or has it been updated?  

That looking nice Eric, and some nice instruction on the weathering, really nice post.

Check, i had though about doing a series of 80th anniversay builds after i did the 70th one. But i think that would risk over doing it as these WW2 anniversary GB's have now been running since 2012. Maybe in 20 years we can run some 100th anniversary GB's

Perhaps as Eric says some more specific GB's would be an idea, the last few years seem to be been a lot of more open builds.

But for this one, can you put me down for the Revell 1/72nd Fw 200C-8. I checked my decal sheet and the subject i am doing is from 44. Probably be starting it in August, all going well.

Anyone interested in acrylic filters or washes should also check out Vallejo acrylic washes. They're thinned versions of Model Air paints - they come in about eight colors but black and sepia will get you a long way. They're different from Com.Art but you get to similar destinations. There's a very good Mig video on YT called "Acrylic Weathering Techniques." It's in four parts but was originally on one DVD. At the time the idea was to show how people who didn't like enamels for health reasons could do a great job with acrylics and pigments. Highly recommended.(They even work in Vallejo water colors. Now Vallejo, AK and Wilder are all putting out more acrylic weathering products - methinks there are a good number of folks that would pass on enamels if possible. Might point out that Vallejo started as an art paint company long ago. Check their web site - it has a portal to modelling products and a portal to art shop stuff. If you like Vallejo Model Colors the same paints are there in both portals - except that in most places art paints are about one half the cost. Blick Arts sells 4 oz bottles of Vallejo Fluid acrylics for about $6 or mediums (very good matte, satin and gloss) for $3 for 2 ounces. Blick does sell Vallejo "mixing" colors with very expensive pigments that you'll never see in their modeling line - they cost more but are invaluable if you learn color mixing. Frankly I prefer Golden to Vallejo, but Vallejo is cheaper and the mediums are excellent. Eric

Good instructional, Eric.  I've been thinking about filters using acrylics (on 1/700 ships), so your presentation here is very useful.

I appreciate your earlier comment about the 75th anniversary WWII GB's.  I left them open for anyone who wants to participate along the way.  The earlier ones are pretty inactive, so they don't take much monitoring.

And if anyone did start up an 80th anniversary GB, I'd probably join in.

As noted earlier I'm going to try to weather the SU-76 entirely with acrylics - even going to try to skip oils this time. (I will use pigments - they're needed in all of my builds. They complement well "black basing" aircraft when a heavy weather look is desired.)  I don't claim this is ideal, but if the results are good, it would be reasonably fast and very easy for clean-up and lungs. (Oils are not really bad that way, especially when using the mildest mineral spirits. Oils are far easier to deal with than the various enamel products which I won't be using again because my build rooms are too small and lack a spray booth.) I use water based paints only also. And as none of my stuff will ever see a competition, I like to do something different on every build just to stay alert - approaching tasks from a different angle does make one think things through and that can't hurt. And if something works badly, I'll know that too. OK.

First weathering step (after decals which went on easily - I used Tamiya's decal solution and it's very good) is application of filters. Filters come in enamel form from companies like AK or Wilder. (Gotta hand it to Mig and Adam Wilder. They make good money creating products that can be easily made from scratch - or refining another one of their products. If somebody buys a brown enamel wash, thin it down and you've got a filter.) Lately I've been doing oil filters. Today it's acrylic in the form of Iwata Com.Art paints. Com.Art are made for paper specifically, and are very popular with airbrush artists. They will work just fine on plastic too if the surface is right. (They spray so well, that some day I'll try to paint a model with the stuff - fun to try. I have used them for winter white wash because they can be "revived" for some time and are easily removed gradually with a damp brush.) A few years back I found out that model railroaders use it for weathering and bought a "Real Deal Weathering Kit". Com.Art paints are either transparant or opaque - I weather with transparant. That makes them good for filters (cut with water), washes straight up and are really nice for panel lines if you want an understated effect. As we'll see later, they're great for grime. So despite Com.Art being made specifically for airbrushes, I only use them by hand. Filters should be applied to a matte surface. I'm using Tamiya's lacquer clears for changing surface texture so the acrylics won't wash into earlier layers - just as I'd use acrylic clears if I was using oils and mineral spirits.

Filters are subtle - if you wanted a major color shift, I think I'd use dry brushing or a light misting with an airbrush of a different shade. For the SU-76 I wanted to have another addition to an uneven surface color - but not as much as black basing the effect of which is muted here a little. I used three filters - but the colors differed depending upon the surface. On horizantal surfaces I wanted to lighten the hue - so I used a very light brown, light olive drab and blotches of heavily thinned opaque white. On the vertical surfaces I used a darker brown, a forest green/yellow and blotches of a darker green. Note I used blotches of light or dark colors - this is to keep things uneven. You do get "tide marks" on blotches, but I'm figuring that those will disaper after streaking and pigments. This is all pretty subtle and I hope you can see it. On the pic below note the small vertical surface on the upper left where a corner of the fighting compartment which has a periscope - there's an even smaller one a bit to the right. On those you can hopefully see the light shade with light blotches. Compare it to the darker colored vertical sides of the fighting compartment - there are darker blotches there too. The light piece on top of the fighting compartment also matches the horizantal surfaces below covering the engine and driver.

Filter1 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Now we apply a Tamiya clear coat and get ready for washes and panel lines.

Eric

Checkmate I don't want to suggest other people tend to more bother, but yet...I'll do it. The 75th Anniversary sequence is a good idea, but I'd be very surprised if many people are participating in the earlier years now. Just thinking - this year is the 80th anniversary of 1939 - and next year will be the 80th of 1940 etc. The number of Group Builds is not very large now, and I don't WWII losing the attention of modelers any time soon. Maybe we'll see some more subject oriented stuff - Battle of Britain, North Africa, Guadalcanal etc. Hope so. Do appreciate what you've done on this series. Eric

Tomcat:  thanks for the information; I'll add it to the front page.

There is a separate thread for each of the 75th anniversary WWII GB's.  Below are links to each one.  And of course, you already know where the '44 GB is!

You're more than welcome to take part in any or all of them.  There is a different badge for each GB.

1939-40 GB

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/161378.aspx

1941 GB

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/168803.aspx

1942 GB

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/173219.aspx

1943 GB

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/177276.aspx

I had hoped that the addresses would come through as live links that you could just click on, but it seems they didn't.  You can copy and paste them, and that should get you to each one.

Thanks for your interest!

Embarrassed to say, I haven't made much progress on my kit for '44, so I plan to get busy on it very soon.

checkmateking02

Tomcat and Armor:  good to have you join the GB.  There is plenty of time to do up a build.

I'll update the build roster, and put you, Armor, down with a "TBA."

Tomcat:  I put you down for the F7 and F6.  I'll also include the manufacturer and scale if you let me know that information.

Thanks for joining up.

And a shameless plug:  I'm also still running group builds for each year of WWII, and they'll all be open until 31 December, 2020.  That way you can complete a kit for each year of the war from beginning to end. 

 

Both the Tigercat and Hellcat are Monogram 1/48 scale. Looking over the stash, I am pretty sure I have enough to cover the war '39 thru '45.

BTW, are there seperate build threads for each year? Or, are they all under this one thread? Just so I know where to post pictures.

Just returned from a ten day trip to North Carolina.  Oldest daughter is living in Concord, near Charlotte.  Had time to visit USS North Carolina at Wilmington, and the Moores Creek National Battlefield Park.

Very nice finish and paintwork, Eric.  That's a great effect and turned out well.

Tomcat and Armor:  good to have you join the GB.  There is plenty of time to do up a build.

I'll update the build roster, and put you, Armor, down with a "TBA."

Tomcat:  I put you down for the F7 and F6.  I'll also include the manufacturer and scale if you let me know that information.

Thanks for joining up.

And a shameless plug:  I'm also still running group builds for each year of WWII, and they'll all be open until 31 December, 2020.  That way you can complete a kit for each year of the war from beginning to end. 

More progress - if that's the word - on the SU76. Last pic showed the kit built and primed black. I primed it that way to employ "black basing" on the model which I've found an excellent technique for aircraft. (Anyone not familiar with it should search "black basing" on YouTube and watch Doog's 8 minute introduction. Doog has made a five hour course on the subject, but the 8 minute does fine. BTW Doog is a really good modeler.) I use this instead of "modulation" or "gray scale" shading. Those techniques work pretty well (check any armor build on Andy's Hobby HQ on YT - Andy owns a hobby shop and specializes in armor - very fast but quie good builds) but like preshading on aircraft they are too regular in my eyes. Chemical changes in paint, fading and the direction the sun hits any object works against visual order. So with black basing you start with a "Mottling" coat - thin squiggly lines all over the place of a lighter color suitable for the eventual base coat. In my case I used three shades of light olive green. Then you apply the base coat very well thinned (I use maybe 3-1 thinner/paint) and very slowly. Too much and you get an opaque coat which makes the mottling (or preshading) pointless. What you want is an irregular coloring with blotches of different shades. This is going to be weathered a lot more, so the effect will moderate as the colors change. Did this with my "go to" Golden High Flow acrylics which are the best water based paint I know of for an airbrush. You have to make your own colors, but that's fun for me - I just check my recipe book for a suitable color and futz away. A lot like finger painting. This color is a little darker than a new Russian 4B green, but I think it will look fine by the end. From what I can see just about any kind of olive green works for Soviet armor. There's a near web site dedicated to this one color - 4BO.com - and I profited from their observations. Anyway, here's the mottling followed by the tank with the base coat on. The blotchy appearence is quite notable - but that's part of the plan. Not sure how this is going to turn out really - you do so much weathering on armor that evidence of blackbasing may disaper. On this kit, I'm going to try to use all acrylic weathering - pigments and maybe some oil fading excepted. More later.

Eric

Mottling:

Mottle by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Base Coat

base2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

base3 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

I will definitely participate, just don't know with what yet. Got a HUGE selection of kits in the stash which would fit the 1944 time frame.

If it's not too late, I'd like to add a F7 Tigercat and possibly an F6 Hellcat, later this year.

Good job, Nick!

Thanks gents Im done with this figure. Thank you for your comments..

Nice work on that Eric.

Very nice work on the figure Nick, that SS camo came out really well.

Good progress on the SU-76, Eric.  Looks good!

Very nicely done, Nick.  That's pretty complicated camouflage, and you carried it out really well on the figure!

Eric thank you for your comments I didnt want to do the dots but oh well. The SU-76 is coming out well.

Bish many thanks again Im working on some figures for the tank due to the rains.

Nick, very nice job on the Tiger, the scheme has really come out well. Looks really nice with the bike.

Nick: v good Tiger II. Ambush scheme is very odd really, but it was widely used. German armor in the West had so much foilage on it, that you wonder why they bothered about such elaborate camo - no other country found the need. But I suppose the quality vs quantity equation they chose probably made them very picky. I remember talking to a war game designer (SGI) at the Pentagon in the late 70s. He said that the Tiger II was very close in quality (when it ran) to tanks of that era - M-60s, T-72s etc. (The Abrams generation was not in service.) At the time, it was probably a very bad weapon to produce with German industry straining and losses so high - maybe not the time for a Cadillac. Panzer Group Peiper got some Tiger IIs - probably the worst possible vehicle for wandering around the Ardennes. We probably didn't knock out many - but they guzzled gas and many ended up stranded. I'm sure the Rooskies didn't like them though. For the 1945 GB I might build a very late war Tiger II. I was going to buy the new Meng, but heard some horror stories about assembling the suspension. So I kept my Tamiya and bought individual tracks. We'll see.

Back to the SU-76. More on the vehicle and the astounding 1944 annihilation of Army Group Center in June-July 1944 later.

There probably is no more sincere Tamiya fanboy than yours truly. For the most part this kit has been typical of the breed - basically perfect. But when you get used to "shake and bake" you can get lazy and that's asking for trouble. (On the first time around I botched the suspension on the Panther just completed - 100% driver error, but easily fixed.) I got trouble on this one. Tamiya gave the kit "link and length" tracks - complete with jigs to get the correct top sag. I've done Magic Tracks several times and found them fine. I was expecting no trouble here. Wrong. The problem is that the SU-76 was based on a very small tank - the T70. Obviously the SU-76 is small too - about the size of the PzII - ten tons. So get this - the drive wheels have no sprockets on the inside. This is actually serious. The jigged top run of the tracks goes on pretty well and sag is pretty accurate. (I've seen pics of the thing with sag all over the place - some with almost no sag at all.) But now you've got to assemble individual links and anchor them on essentially one half of a drive wheel - which is very tricky. It didn't help that Tamiya supplied zero spares - a dumb error considered how easy it is to lose those things. It also didn't help that the fit between the fenders and the tracks is very tight on the kit - and several pics show it in real life. What this meant was that I had glue everything in - fenders included. This took half the time I've spent on the kit. It also means that I can't remove the tracks for seperate painting. In my view this kit would have been perfect for Tamiya's very good vinyl tracks. I could have gotten a perfectly good sag and popped the wheels in after painting. Fortunately because of the serious pigment work I do on the lower hull, precision isn't vital. But I'm not happy. I did leave the tools off and glued some of the rear with white glue so I can remove a piece and paint the fighting compartment. (Might add that Andy on the very good "Hobby Headquarters" YTube series did this kit and also found the tracks below Tamiya standards.)

Before priming I roughed up the surface with Vallejo plastic putty - because the SU-76 has such thin armor you don't see the pock marked finish of larger Soviet vehicles - so the acrylic putty, pretty subtle, worked well. I used Stynelrez with my Iwata HPC and finally found out why so many modelers like the stuff so well. The lighting isn't very good but the color is a nice flat black. I think I'm going to "black base" this kit and see what kind of irregular finish I can come up with. I black based the Panther but it was a complete waste of time as was much of the early weathering because of the winter camo. This one should be different. I plan on a base - but I also plan on two more kits this year, so we'll see. Here's where we are - done and primed

Eric

primed by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Thanks, Nick.  I replaced the front page photo.  Much better; you can actually see your work now.