Pzkpfw II

As for paints, I prefer acrylics because 1.) They are non-toxic 2.) They dry really quick and 3.) They clean up really easy. For photo etch, you can go to www.greatmodels.com. On the left side, they have an option Cross Reference. Select that and you can use the drop down menu to see all German armor for WWII. Once there, select the SdKfz 121 Pz II and it will show you everything out there. Good luck and welcome to the dark side

This is a fairly basic but good kit. It is an easy build and looks good when completed. As far as aftermarket, Eduard makes a PE set for it and replacing the tracks are necessary for a contest winner. The inner surface of the tracks are smooth and only have token teeth for the center guides.

For the price of aftermarket accessories, you could buy the Alan Panzer II Ausf. C which is a superior kit all the way around and is usually found for $10-15.

But you ought to just have fun with the kit.

Thanks guys! What aftermarket track set should I get? And what color acrylic paints should I use? Thanks again!

Fruils and Modelkasten appear to be the tracks of choice by the experts. As for paints I like Model Masters Acryls Schwartzgrau. Tamiya is another great choice. I believe they have German Grey XF63.

Putting $35 Fruil or $30 Model Kasten tracks seems like a waste. I wonder if RPM or Maquette did Panzer II tracks?

for paints I like to use tamiya acrylics. I believe your color choices would be German grey or Desert yellow (or you can use dark yellow) for the Afrika Korps.
one thing I might add is that Model kasten track and fruils are both workable. Mks are plastic and fruils are metal.
Hope to see your finished build!

Hey Skippy. I've built that Pz II in ausf F without the stowage box. I used Tamiya acrylics German Grey and I built it out of the box. I think it came out OK. I'd go for Modelkasten tracks if you want to use aftermarket tracks. I have some for a Panther ausf A that I'm in the process of building. Good luck with the kit. Here are some pics of my Pz II ausf F. Hope you like them.

http://www.kitpic.com/is.php?i=442&img=MVC-001X.JPG

http://www.kitpic.com/is.php?i=1233&img=2004_0514PzkpfwIII0065.JPG

http://www.kitpic.com/is.php?i=3382&img=2004_0514PzkpfwIII0061.JPG

TigerII

If it's your first armor kit, I would not try to make things overly complicated. The kit's tracks may not be perfect, but adding (and spending so much money!) individual tracks will make things much harder on you. I'd recommend you get a cheap Revell-Germany kit in 1/72, with indi links and longer sections of tracks too to get you started in this indi tracks business! Once you get some experience on those, working on a 1/35 set of tracks in metal will be fine.

As for references, you might try Schiffer's Panzer II by Horst Scheibert, ISBN: 0-88740-674-2 or Squadron's Leichte Panzers in Action, ISBN: 0-89747-043-5. Both are about $10 each and about 50 pages of photos and color artwork.

Airfix do a nice little PzII (could have sworn it was Revell, when I built it long time ago) but my page says Airfix. Tracks look a bit dodgie so suspect it was Airfix. Have attached link to my PzII page.

http://hometown.aol.co.uk/gunnjff/PzII.html

Jeff, you must mean Matchbox, no??

Thanks for all the help everyone. I think I'm going to go with an Afrika Korps version so I assume I need Desert Yellow paint. What other colors will I need for details and/or camo? And what will I need for doing a wash and other weathered effects? What type of glue would be best? Thanks again!

I use Testors orange tube model glue for the plastics. If you use photo etch, you will need super glue or epoxy. Model Master Acrylic has Dunkelgelb (dark yellow) and Tamiya has Dark Yellow. Both are nice, but Tamiya has less of a greenish tint to it. If you have camo, standard colors are Schokoladen Braun (Model Master- it is very brown- add some rust paint to it to give it a reddish tint) or Red-Brown (Tamiya) and Panzer Olivgrun (MM) or Dark Green (Tamiya).

Okay, next round of questions. When should I start painting? Should I do some assembly first and then paint? If so about how much assembly should i do? Sorry for all the questions I just want to get this right. Thanks again!!

Skippy,

For the paint, I also suggest you use Tamiya acrylic. However, acrylic paint is best used with airbrush. Painting acrylic paint with brush may give a less than ideal result. Painting enamel paint with brush will give a better result compare with acrylic. If you use enamel paint, make sure you have good ventilation in your room, and use a respirator. As for the color, for North Africa front, IMHO I would suggest Tamiya XF-59 Desert Yellow.

QUOTE: Originally posted by SkippyOU110 Okay, next round of questions. When should I start painting? Should I do some assembly first and then paint? If so about how much assembly should i do? Sorry for all the questions I just want to get this right. Thanks again!!

It depends on whether you are airbrushing or handpainting or both. Generally speaking, I will get the hull together with the details built minus the tools and then AB the hull with the pre-shading and basecoat+camo if applicable, then add the wheels and tracks after, with the tools handpainted and added last.

There's no one magic way of doing it and each kit has to be given some consideration as to parts layout and how many nooks/crannies will be produced if you build it all first or build some, paint, build more, hand detail, etc.