Nice job on the Panther it came out well. A lot of good advice here and more will be available if you ask for it.

One thing I will say is to be careful of your foray into the Sci-Fi realm. I did that about 2 years ago and have not been back in armor since, leaving a Sheman, M3 halftrack and a KV-1 crying on the shelf. I keep telling myself I'll get in and finish some of these projects when a new spaceship or vehicle catches my eye.

-Stephen

I have much to learn before I get this good. Daddy can I play now??? lol

Nice job AnalogKid.

AnalogKid

Some dark steel pigment can do the job for the worn wheels..

 Pigment isn't always the answer. I'm old school so new stuff isn't always the best way for me.

 Make it simple, yet very effective. Just use a #2 pencil, a soft lead carpenters pencil or a graphite pencil from HobbyLobby. Don't apply anything over it 'cause that'll kill the effect.

 You can also use those same items to create a good rubber color too, just overspray it with dullcote.

 I've done tires that way and they look great - no mess, paint the wheel area and then pencil it right onto the bare plastic area of the tire, dullcote it - 'ya can't flub it with a pencil. For proof, see below.......

 If you want to see more of this, then just type panzerbait into the "Search the Community" provision in the armor section.

Roy - Thanks for the continued advice. I knew it was different guns (although both 8.8cm) but forgot to realize the rounds would be different as well. I'll keep my eyes peeled for the correct ones. Thanks again.

Gamera - The best episode ever of MST3K is indeed "Gamera". I can watch that over and over and never stop laughing. Thanks for the kind words.

Looks very good! My second 1/35th tank was the ancient Tamiya Panther A and she didn't look a tenth as good as yours. Very nice work on the zimmerit and the weathering. 

On the other hand your avatar can bite me... 

The KwK L/71 of the Tiger 2 has different ammo than the Tiger I or the 8.8cm Flaks.  Tamiya (35189) - Tiger I Brass 88mm Projectiles (KwK36/L56 FLAK 36/37) is designed for the Tiger I and Flak guns, not the Tiger 2.

What you'd need are the longer L/71 shells.  For this, you want AFV Club (35098), 88mm L/71 shells.

Wow...thank you all for the continued compliments. And an even bigger thank you for the tips...stuff I would never have thought of. Some dark steel pigment can do the job for the worn wheels.  I will definitely keep that in mind for my next build. I'm taking a break from armor and trying my hand at the Polar Lights 1/350 Star Trek TOS Enterprise...with lights. But not to worry, a Tamiya Tiger II is on deck...I'm collecting the various aftermarket parts for it now and will probably start in on it in October, no later than November. I already have two Alpine figures carrying (I believe) 88 rounds as well as the Tamiya brass 88 rounds. Thinking about posing the rear loading hatch open and be able to see the rounds in their racks and ready to go.

the doog

disastermaster

tigerman

Very well done Analog. Other then the wash that you used, I would have also painted the inner road-wheels rims steel, as the paint would have been worn off by the guidehorns.

 Yep, those track guide horns, the teeth of the drive gears and the track contact area of the inner road wheels would have a nice bare metal shine on 'em.

                                  

Steve stole my comment! 

Other than that, a really nicely done Panther! And good figures too!

                                                            .......................

disastermaster

tigerman

Very well done Analog. Other then the wash that you used, I would have also painted the inner road-wheels rims steel, as the paint would have been worn off by the guidehorns.

 Yep, those track guide horns, the teeth of the drive gears and the track contact area of the inner road wheels would have a nice bare metal shine on 'em.

                                  

Other than that, a really nicely done Panther! And good figures too!

tigerman

Very well done Analog. Other then the wash that you used, I would have also painted the inner road-wheels rims steel, as the paint would have been worn off by the guidehorns.

 Yep, those track guide horns, the teeth of the drive gears and the track contact area of the inner road wheels would have a nice bare metal shine on 'em.

Very well done Analog. Other then the wash that you used, I would have also painted the inner road-wheels rims steel, as the paint would have been worn off by the guidehorns.

Hello!

Very nice build I like very much the figures, they look very real. I always admire people who build them this good, probably because Im "figure painting" handicapped.

I liked it overall, looks dirty and greasy. Just like I like them.

Way to go

"Enjoying myself like never before."  Bingo!  You win the kewpie doll!

Some of us old timers forget this simple goal!

Photographing your models is a good way to check for mistakes, misalignments, areas of unpainted plastic,etc.  The 2-dimensional image can be examined in ways that we can't process when we're looking at the real thing.  Mistakes or imperfections get lost in the "memory" of the image whereas looking at photos, you get to "see" your model for the first time, again.

What's next on your "to-do" list?  Share with us and likely, we can warn you of pitfalls of the kits or simple tweaks to make them more accurate.

Thank you all for the kind words…much appreciated. And also appreciate the critiques. As far as the wash goes I went with pure black, thinned oil paint. I like the dirty look but maybe a brown would have been better…or less of it. Still, the wash brings out the zimmerit detail which I love on German armor. The antenna was just an eye-ball guess/cut of brass wire. Thanks for the exact measurement; I have more snipping to do. Finally, the lack of grab irons on the hatches was a total oversight and I just double-checked the instruction sheet…yes, I missed that part. I need to go add those on there!  This is my third armor kit after getting back into things after a many-year hiatus. Enjoying myself like never before.

Nice job fore sure, and I do like the figures

Nice build, like the figures too.

Mike

It looks solid -- thnx for posting your pics.  The two things I noticed were 1) the aerial seems a bit too long.   It was 2meters or 57mm in 1/35.  It was a solid rod and not the "whip" antennae you might find on US or modern vehicles.  2) did you omit the handles on the driver's hatches?

Looks real good to me. Just curious but what color did you use for the wash on the Zimm? Looks a bit dark/stark for my tastes.