Well, thank you very much Joe, its much appreciated. Its taken me quite a few years to get my weathering to how i want it and to be able to vary it from build to build. I try and do each one differently depending on the history of the unit and the vehicle, wheter its spent months rolling across the Russian steppe or its fairly new out of the factory. But its really all donw to what i have learnt from others on here, people like Bill Plunk, SMJ, Karl Logan and otehrs. So if i can pass some of that on on to others, i think it helps to pay the debt i owe to them.

And i look forwardto seeing you build some armour especially those 251's.

Hey There Bish, Well, I might be a bit belated but, I still need to heap a load of accolades on you for such a marvelous piece of modeling.

Your 251 and anti tank gun look terrific. Your weathering is extremely well done. It's actually along the lines of how I would like to weather my armor kits when I get around to building them. I really like the effect you have achieved with your pigment technique.

Your figures are very impressive to me. You've certainly got a sound knack for painting them. 

As for your base and overall presentation, well, it is simply fantastic. Not only is the base itself very well done, the setting and presentation work perfectly.

You have yet again set a rather high bar for quality technique and skill. It always a pleasure to watch you builds as well as getting some outstanding information and insight. Thanks also for piqueing my interest in the 251 half track. I now have a couple of AFV Club kits as well as a couple of Squdron/Signal books due fully to your amazing build.

Thank You Very Much Bish. It's been a real pleasure.

Cheers, Joe

Thanks modeler, hope you liked the end result.

Really nice build so far, The streaking looks great :)

Cheers Josiah. They are deffinetly worth picking up if you get the chance.

Cheers guys, much appreciated.

Mike, i know the feeling. I am always trying to recall ideas i have seen other do.

Another stellar effort Bish. Love the groundwork and the figgies. 

Another example of what I must attempt to emulate.

Your work is really inspiring Bish. I've learned some techniques from this thread ... now if my memory banks will just hang on to the information ....

Thanks guys, your comments are very much appreciated.

Great job as usual Bish! Above and beyond the great work on the halftrack, AT gun, and figures I love your bases. They really set off the subject without being so busy they detract from it.

What a great WIP and finished result. Always enjoy seeing your posts, Bish. Thanks for the effort it takes to include us in your work!

Mike

Cheers guys, thank for following along and all the support.

The trick with the dust is to mix with a little water and just lather it on. Then once dry removes what you don't want. It leaves a dusty look all over and unless you get into all the little nocks and cranies will leave piled up dust.

Tip i picked up from Bill Plunk.

Bish, as always, it looks great!  The figures and vehicles combine to tell a story of hard work and hard use!

Bish, you never disappoint! Oustanding build and presentation! 

Great work on the 251 all around the scene you created is fabulous. The weathering on figures the 251 and gun match the scene to a T.

Hey Bish, I can see why you a pleased with the result.  Pigment  gives an excellent dusty effect, and the dio pulls all this together nicely.  Overall, very well done!

Thanks for sharing the WIP.  This was a very interesting build, and I like being able to see your process.  Your results are always excellent.

Time to wrap this one up. Last job on the halftrack and gun was some pigments. There were applied wet and then once dry the excess were removed. This leaves a build up around hinges, vision blocks and other areas.

And after that i got to work on the figures and all the other parts of the scene. The trumpeter figures are not the most detailed, comparable to older Tamiya figures, but the poses were spot on for this dio. There were painted with vallejo, Tamiya and scale 75 acrylics. The lower limbs were gioven a flory wash and gave each a light spray with AK dust effects.

And then time to bring it all together. For the terrain i found some pics of 1st Pz Div Pz IV's in Greece in 1943. These show the unit in training. The Div had been moved to France at the start of the year for re-fiiting, pulling out from Russia. This means that most of its kit and a lot of the personel were new. So training would have been vital. This pic shows a scene familiar to anyone who has been trained on AFV's, a vehicle recovery lesson. Not the group of crewman at the side and the muzzle covers on the barrels.

But this one really caught my attention. Note again the muzzle covers. But also note the ground to the right of the image. I thought the 'step' in the terrain was very interesting and decided to include that.

And this is the scene i have come up with, with the crew conducting live fire training posably as part of an anti invasion excersise.

Thanks all for following along. Thgis is my 5th completed 251 and i am really pleased with how its turned out.

Bish

 

 

ManCityFan

 

Bish

Cheers Dwayne, i am really pleased with it.

I have to ask, how did the wife react to this revelation.

Theres a lot of halftrack kits out there, though there are not that many subjects and most of them are German.

 

 

 

 

She asked me if I had a wish list.  I replied "Oh yeah.  And it's pretty big".  She just laughed at that.  She did, however, remind me that I have more than a few kits that have yet to be completed.  My response was a grunt. 

 

 

 

 

 

You should have just said you can never have enough .

How big is prety big. I would guess there are 40 or more 251 kits around on their own.

 

She wouldn't buy never having enough.  I have warned her, however, that I will likely be buying a bunch of kits at the end of the month when I go to a convention.  

ManCityFan

 

Bish

Cheers Dwayne, i am really pleased with it.

I have to ask, how did the wife react to this revelation.

Theres a lot of halftrack kits out there, though there are not that many subjects and most of them are German.

 

 

 

 

She asked me if I had a wish list.  I replied "Oh yeah.  And it's pretty big".  She just laughed at that.  She did, however, remind me that I have more than a few kits that have yet to be completed.  My response was a grunt. 

 

 

You should have just said you can never have enough .

How big is prety big. I would guess there are 40 or more 251 kits around on their own.

Bish

Cheers Dwayne, i am really pleased with it.

I have to ask, how did the wife react to this revelation.

Theres a lot of halftrack kits out there, though there are not that many subjects and most of them are German.

 

Cheers Dwayne, i am really pleased with it.

I have to ask, how did the wife react to this revelation.

Theres a lot of halftrack kits out there, though there are not that many subjects and most of them are German.

Hey Bish, really nice job on that kit.  The weathering is really well done.  Looking forward to seeing it on the base.

As we were driving home last night, I said to my wife "I don't have any half-track kits.  I have to fix that."  Definitely have to fix that after seeing your work. 

Cheers Bruce. The base is just about done actually, just letting it dry off in the shed for anotehrday and i'll add the vehicle and gun. I have put an interesting featurein that i saw on pics of 1st Pz Div Pz IV's in Greece in 43.

G, i have hearda lot of you guys useing that, but can't find it here other than on Amazon shipped across the pond. And i can't seem to find an equvalant over here.

Bish,

Looking very good. I can't wait to see the base you'll be putting this on.

Thanks Bish and Joe, I thought there was a different term but had forgotten what it was. 

I've been using the Mona Lisa brand which is supposed to be milder. No idea if you can find it across the pond. So far no issues (crossing my fingers). 

https://www.amazon.com/Mona-Lisa-32-Ounce-Odorless-Thinner/dp/B002646NBS