SdKfz 234/1 Completed 5/10/12

Thanks for the compliments Bill and Rob.

It's almost ironic now when you look at that turret and think of the complaints that would arise if a modern vehicle was designed with a turret like that.

That is a really cramped turret, do like the addition of the figure.  Nice looking build

That last pic sums up the cramped nature of the turret on this guy very nicely! Good job all around.

Thanks Rambo and Bill really appreciate the comments. I guess the old adage of preferring to be lucky rather than skillful really is true. 

I added the rearview mirror and bolt cutters so here are the final completed pictures. 

Not all acrylic paints are as tough as others...so depending on how aggressive you were in the wash application, it's still possible for the paint to fall victim if it's not sealed beforehand. Despite that, it looks good from here...and sometimes the best results are the ones you can't explain or easily replicate!

did you clear coat before the filter? I think it looks great anyway gives it a nice worn look like it wasn't the 1st camo it has had on her

Thanks heaps Clay, I'm glad you liked it although I really must confess it turned out quite a bit different to what I had originally envisioned. I think I'd have a hard time replicating it if someone asked me to, but I'll still take it. Thanks again.

oh yea you nailed that camo Blitzwing really fun watching this one come together. i got jammed on my 234/4 if i'd get close to your's i'd be happy. again awesome buddy.

Clay

I finally got around to applying the dot filter and added the wheels and this is how it turned out. 

The dot filter did give me some tense moments though as I was under the impression that using an oil based wash wouldn't affect the acrylic undercoat, but it did eat through some areas of the paint. Luckly with hard edged camo, it was a pretty easy fix with a brush. 

I just need a few little finishing touches and hopefully I will be able to post some better quality pictures tomorrow.

Hard-edge with the AB is a challenge but you've pulled it off. Definitely agree there's no way you'd get a 2nd figure into that turret but having the one in there does give it some life.

Nice work on the camo!!!  You are almost there...

Now you have a great looking vehicle to go with thsoe uniforms.

I've painted the model and here it is. I used Lifecolour paints although they didn't want to behave for some reason or another but we got there in the end. This is my first attempt at hard edged camo with an airbrush. 

It's a bit streaky but I'm thinking of doing a dot filter to weather so it should add to the difference in tones. It's funny because before I got my airbrush hard edge camo was my bread and butter finish with a normal brush, but now with an airbrush I can really appreciate how difficult it is. 

The turret has been completed. Fat chance fitting another figure into this. 

Almost there. 

Ahhhh paint.  Looks good.  the uniforms really look nice too.

Nice job on the figs and the replacement antenna bin. Hopefully your crew will fit inside successfully without modifications...but you never know until you try to squeeze them in...not the roomiest of accomodations inside that turret mount!

Thanks for the putty suggestion Bill it seems to have worked a charm and like you said it's pretty much hidden by everything else once construction is complete. I've painted the lower hull and have dry fit the side skirts for this picture.

I'm going to do some line washes before attaching the sides and preparing for painting the camo on the upper surfaces.

The instructions ask for the wheel hubs to be sandwiched in between tire halves so for ease of painting I've assembled the wheel hubs and painted the side surfaces of the tires. Once the wheels are sandwiched in between, I can the work on the seam at the join if required and paint the tire tread.

Annoyingly, somehow I managed to lose the little tub with the antenna inside. I have no idea how something like that can go missing, but using an unused antenna and base supplied in the kit as well as some PE sheet from the fuel cans inserts, and some scrap resin sheet I constructed a new tub. I have no idea how it is dimensionally but it looks fine to me.

The figures are also finished although looking at the interior I am getting some reservations about the both of them fitting inside that extremely cramped turret.

That looks great! to bad it will mostly be hidden but the main thing is you know its there and you have the pics to remember it by lol.

Gun detail looks nice! As for the gap issue at the front, use some putty and sanding to correct it, that way you won't radically alter the join lines or look in the process. Use the putty to blend it back into where the join is correct and you should be ok...especially since 99% of it will be invisible once the fenders and other elements are in place.

Thanks Mike. All I did was paint the guns black, in this case I used Humbrol 33, and then just a dry brushing with Humbrol 53 Metallic gun metal.

Awesome work Blitz. Guns look sweet. Can I ask how you painted them?

Mike

This is the end result of the interior. 

And this is probably the most heartbreaking moment for all armour modellers.

Now unfortunately some gaps appeared at the join lines when I sealed the hull. While the majority of the gap will be hidden by the side fenders when they are attached there is a smallish but noticeable overbite on the top hull at the front. 

I want to sand it but wouldn't that change the lines of the forward section? How else can this be fixed?

The gun has also been painted and attached to the gun cradle and ready to go into the turret once the exterior is painted. 

Lovely looking build.

Nice job on the interior weathering! As for where they stored the ammo, interior layout/specs on the 234 family are hard to come by. What I can say for sure is that they had stowage provided for 250 rounds of 2.0cm ammo in 10 round magazines along with 2400 rounds of MG42 but where exactly inside the hull is a bit of a mystery.

Thanks for the comments Duster. 

Just a small update. The barrell has arrived and I've grafted it onto the gun. 

I've also done some weathering on the interior and am pretty happy with the results. I'm just going to add a third helmet and two Dragon DS jackets I found in my spares box and I think the interior will be complete.

Blitzwing

Out of curiosity, anyone know how they actually did store ammo in this vehicle?

 By that time in the war there wasn't enough ammo to store any extra?? - the German Barnny Fife syndrome -Sorry couldn't resist

I'm enjoying seeing your build and paint techniques and am fileing  many away for future use

Thanks for all the encouragement and feedback guys, I really appreciate it. I've been dry fitting some of the turret pieces and this is one heck of a cramped vehicle.

Bill: You are right about those ammo boxes, they don't fit in there so I'm just going to rummage through the spares box and see what else I can put in there.

Vonryan: That's what  I love about WWII German stuff, so much variety whether it is armour, aircraft or uniforms.

Treadwell: Sort of a reverse dry brushing, that's a pretty neat idea too but those seats are practically invisible once the turret is installed so I won't use it this time but it's a technique that is definitely going on file for the future. Thanks for that one.

Out of curiosity, anyone know how they actually did store ammo in this vehicle?

Spray the whole back of the seat the color you want the springs. Use a metalizer lacquer from MM. after that is dry (10 min) use a very dark wash and let it seep all around the springs (make sure it gets dark enough for your taste.When fully dry, just wipe the metalized springs with your finger tip or something small to get any wash residue off the springs.... takes longer, but it will look better than dry brushing....Wbill's way is the only other way...if you do the wash carefully you may not have to wipe at all.

good luck,

tread

Great process on your 234.  Glad you are going to include a figure... nice work on the camo too!

Making good progress! I think you'll find that you will have difficulty mounting the ammo rack anywhere in the hull due to interference with the turret and the hanging mount on the 2.0cm gun. Space is pretty tight inside the hull of the 234s as you've discovered! Swapping out the kit barrel with an AM one will provide some nice extra detail. Looking forward to seeing this one move along!