#4 'Coal Thief' Marder II- COMPLETED

My favorite shot....   those tracks just call to me.

You've come a long way, this looks very good........  verrry good.

Wow, deafpanzer---that is a sweeeeet build...not only did it steal coal, it also stole my heart...

                            Great job on the Marder  II  Andy, I definately want to see this one with a crew. The skills and techniques you have learned and applied from the time you started hangin out here are paying off in the work that you put  into youy're builds.

                                               Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

Sweet work all around with this one Andy, definitely one to be proud of!

I'm a little surprised that Manny didn't propose.

A real work of art Andy. Love what you did with the radio and that overhead shot shows how effective your pin- washes were.

Hey Andy,

I knew from the early posts of the Marder Madness post that this would be a build to watch and how right was I?

The initial pre-shade worked perfectly, the overall finish is perfect, the scratchwork is great and generally I'm pretty blown away buddy!

If my Marder III M turns out to be anything near this good then I'll be very pleased.

I really like how you've kept her true to the photo by leaving that messy patch of cammo at the right rear kust like in the picture.

This definately a kit that I'll have to build as I'd like a complete family of Marders.

Really impressive x 10

Looking forward to more!

ATVB

Ben

Wow!  IMO just the right amount of weathering.  Fantastic detail, especially on the radio.  Great job.

One suggestion -- most panzer commanders wore their radio headphones over only one ear when they were not under armor.  That allowed them to hear radio traffic while maintaining situational awareness.

Disastermaster- Thank you for dropping by.  I might add chicken wire to it one day after seeing your work on M4.  Outstanding!  I admit I was not sure about applying mud because it was my first attempt or I'd ruin my whole work.  After reading Karl's article it helped...

Manny- WOW!  Your comment made my day!  Notice there's a heart shaped camo spot on the left side of hull near the rear.  Don't ask me why it was there but I was following the pictures.  That was for you...

Greg- Thats why you guys rock. Jeez, I lost count how many I owe y'all...

Bill- You have dropped by to see our work in Marder Madness frequently and you have been a big help especially with the radio wiring. That's another for you...

Tigerman- Another frequent visitor... don't worry about Manny.  Our agents are negotiating for a possible trade with one of his female figures for this. 

Ben- Glad you watched our builds earlier.  I couldn't stop wondering why in the world the camo work has gone bad on right side in the rear?!?!?  Maybe the crew had one too many .  Or maybe they were under fire?  Or one of the crew wrote 'I MOM' then he was ordered to cover it up?  So many theories...

Mike- I am always learning something new everyday here in FSM.  Will keep that in mind about keeping headphone over one ear.  I only wore hearing aids earlier in my life against my wish and it only did nothing except to bring me headaches.  Thank you for the comment!

Excellent work, I'm "Gobsmacked"...cheers....Kenny

Great job Andy, real nice!

Nate

nice job love the radio great pics.

Ron

A very, very nice build. One  to be definitely proud of. I really like the weathering, just right, not too much, not too little. Can't wait to see it with the crew. Again a very fine job!!!

Kenny & Ron- Thank you for nice comments!

Nate- What can I say?  You have been a big helper... remember the magic tracks?  And youtube clips of German radio sets?  Thank you for being a great fellow. 

Panzer88- Thank you for dropping by.  I didn't want to go overboard with weathering for this because according to the pictures Coal Thief Marder was in great condition except for the muddy tracks... not a dent or scratch can be found in the pictures.  I figured it must have been fresh out of factory but how can they have stripes for 18 kills on the barrel already?!?!? 

Excellent, love the work on that radio...well I love the work on the whole thing LOL

GREAt build and WIP... thanks for sharing, love all the detailing....   yes, the Marder thread is awesome, been lurking it for awhile. Plenty of reference stuff in here! cheers

ygmodeler- Thank you for compliment!   I am afraid I will not build another open top SPG for a while...

Jmart- Glad you enjoyed the Marder Madness thread.  We hope we can do it again... maybe Panzer III? 

Guys, I can't believe I neglected to tell you the scale of my Marder II.  It was 1/144... I was inspired by our friend Marc (wingnut) to build one.  You don't believe me?  Here's the proof...

Have a great day!

April Fools Day

                                               Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

Andy, that is one sweet little Marder there.  And some impressive Photo Shopping

deafpanzer,

That is a great reference picture you have there - and your build really delivers
The radio, the gun - so much detail in there that looks just right.

Congratulations on a great looking Marder II

As always
Boarder 

Andy,that is pretty exceptional work,nice job.

WOW, man--you slammed a home run on that baby!

It looks awesome! Glad to see the mud technique worked out for you. The weathering looks really good!!

That sure is some dang fine work Andy!

Freakin' Awesome (and in 1/144 scale too, you must be blind by now). Post some more photos when you get the figures done.

I will have to go back and read the Marder Madness thread, but that sucker is lke 35 pages now.

Greg- I tried... Happy April Fools Day buddy.

Marc- I wish I was that good at photo shopping but I don't have the software.  That was one of my boys large coin.  Boyd mentioned it earlier and it gave me an idea... LOL  I love your 1/144 StuG!

LIV- Thanks!  Couldn't have done it without help from those great guys in Marder Madness.

Anthony- Thanks for the compliment.

Doog-  I am serious... thank you for your toot on the mud!  It was a perfect timing for your King Tiger article to be published and it pushed me to try it on my Marder.  I added little Future to make look like wet & fresh mud.  Oh, you are not a fan of Future?   Owe you ... try Tuborg if you can find it in Sweden.

John-  That was the one I was talking about entering the contest minus the mud.  But I am glad I waited... maybe next year.  My wife knows I want one of those PE bending tool for birthday... only two months away. 

wildman- Believe me there is no way I can do 1/144.  I am not that crazy!  For Marder Madness, you don't have to read the whole thread.  Just go to the first 2-3 pages, it is where we posted our build updates.  There were great helpful tips or discussions shared during the whole thread. 

                               Watch out for the guy in the earmuffs and the fuzzy hat You have a great day to Andy.

                                                              Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

Just stunning work, she is beautiful, well done.

Terry.

Terry- Thank you for dropping by.  Like I said I couldn't have done without help from those great guys!

Greg- LOL  Dare you to wear earmuffs here where I am now... its 85 degree in Venice, Florida. 

I know this is 8 months later, but just wondering if you have done the figures yet? I just picked this kit up on e-bay with a different figure set and I might get these decals to do what you did. Really great work on this little Marder.

I sure did... it took me a while to finish the figures about six months later.   Sorry I forgot to post the figures as promised.

Figures were from Dragon Artillery crew but heads were replaced with better ones from Verlinden.  Used Tamiya infantry decals set on the collars for the first time and I really like them.   

Thanks... glad you liked.   Be sure to watch out for side hull fitting issue if you can follow my SBS in Marder Madness when you build yours.