Pictures of first model - hanomag sdkfz 251/1

Hey Panther---- GREAT JOB! (looks better than my first(an M-8 greyhound that shook hands with mr. E-100))
Keep postin!

Looking good Panther. I am looking forward to see what the finished Model will look like.
Mark956

Panther great start! Listen to these guys, they are really good. Makes me ever so jealous!! Bob

Panther, pretty good for a first build. I am building the same one right now. Great job on the figures be nice if mine could come out like that but I just lose intrest in them pretty quick. Keep up the good work and look forward to seeing the finished pics.

Panther,
glad it helps.
i have a bunch of Tamiya 1/48 figures waiting to be finished.
they are not my favorite part!

i agree w/ the figures: leave them as is on the seams.
put their best side toward the viewer (outside of shelf) and call them done.
because the uniform camo came out too good to try to do again.
just something to watch for next time.
(which i discover on my models every time i build one!)

i have gotten in the habit of shooting a bit of primer on to reveal the flaws in my prep-work.
trimming, de-seaming, sanding, filling etc.
nothing shows flaws like paint!

good work.
please post links for pics after the wash steps!
looking forward to the next one.

ed.

Looking good Panther. Is that the real old Tamiya kit?? I've got one in pieces setting on my shelf for the past 20 years. Your's looks a whole lot better than mine ever hoped to. I like the ambush scheme. I'd try to get the dots a little more random, though, and spread farther apart, like you already mentioned. I haven't been brave enough to try one of those yet. I, too, pretty much follow the "Erush Method of Painting Armor". Gloss after basecoat, decal and weather, then dullcoat. (Don't forget to dullcoat the figs, too!)

Looks terrific.

Welcome to the forums.

Bill

Wildwilliam thanks for the great tip for the eyes, you're right they don't have any, i wasn’t sure how i was going to do them, but with the pin or streched sprue it should work great

There are seams on a few of them, i might leave them as they are though - the color on the pants is one i mixed myself and i ran out, i didn't write down the ratios of paint i used so i won't be able to get a exact match if i do remove the seams and scratch off the paint.

I also did wash on top of the last glossy coat of future, i didn’t want to add yet another coat of something on top of the already numerous layers of paint considering i'll have to do at least one more, possibly 2 coats of dullcoat

Very nice first model! Heck, I don't think I even painted my first 20 models!

I like the camo. Can't wait to see it when it's not shiny anymore!

Nice first model!!!! I think everybody else covered improvments and such. That is indeed a nice first build!

Ron.

Looks like a good start for your first model Panther!! If you are going to use washes on the model, do NOT put a dull coat on first. I see you already did a wash from your last post but if you left it glossy you can remove as much as you want without too much trouble. If you put a dull coat on first you'll have a hard time getting the excess off the areas you don't want it. What I did on mine was paint the camo, future, oil washes, chipped paint & scratches, dull coat, then pastels. The dull coat helps hold the pastels on due to the rough texture. I put a real fine mist of dull coat on last but it will tend to smother the pastels so go easy if you do it.

{edit} I forgot to mention...don't forget to weather the inside of it too! Fighting vehicles get just as dirty, scratched, beat up, dinged, dented and generally abused as the outside does. Especially during wartime.

Keep up the good work and let us see it!

Eric

PantherLehr,
looking good!
my only suggestions:
1) not certain from the photos, but i think i can see mold seams on a few of the figures.
be sure to scrape them w/ the back of your exacto (#11) blade, because the paint will 'highlight' them.
(if what i thought i saw was just the angle of the photo combined w/ the molded in detail, nevermind!)
2) i can't tell for sure from the photos if the figures have eyes.
if you omitted them because you did not want to try w/ a brush, heres a few things you can try:
a) sand the point of a stright pin down a bit creating a small flat circle. dip it in brown or blue paint wipe off the excess, and use it as a 'stamp'. test on scrap paper first to make sure size, shape, amount of paint and technique are what you want.
b) you can also make a 'brush' like the pin w. some stretched sprue. (groans from the audience! "NOT STRETCHED SPRUE" they chorus)
just stretch a pice and cut it w/ your hobby knife where the diameter looks good.
c) if you are feeling really ambitious, my buddy 'dots' the pupils black in the center of the eye w/ a straight pin and black paint.
(on 1/32 pilots) [:0]

on a completely unrelated front:
try to determine what you will do for a color/paint scheme before you start assembling.
i have tried to change horses midstream a few times myself and created a good deal of extra work.
whenever possible, figure out what you want to do and then work out the best way to do it before you start.
you may discover a 'better way' to use next time you are working,
but you will avoid some mischief. trust me, i learned the hard way!
other than that, i can't offer much in the area of 'improving'.
the airbrush should help, but that is a pretty impressive brush job!

congrats on getting one 'on the shelf' (well, it will be done soon, right?)

thanks guys , i did some washes on it tonight with Windsor & Newton artists oils , probably went a bit too heavy with it, its going to be dirty! but that’s ok, i plan on putting some camo netting on the hood and possibly some rolled up netting hanging from the sides with lots of mud, more pictures when i finish these washes tomorrow.

i got to also say thanks to everyone, i think this might turn out really good for a first build, there's no way i could have done anything like this without the ton of good advice and tips everywhere on this forum, the t-34 should come out really nice, this kit is turning into filling, sanding and fitting 101, the pieces really don’t fit all that well together, other than that its a pretty easy kit, much easier than the 251/1

Nice work on the build. I echo what the others have said about using dullcote; I'm one of those that use it after the primary paint before I weather a kit.

Panzer Lehr nice job. Cammo is tough for me, much like the first paragraph to a story. Fortunately, there really isn't a right or a wrong. I think making it an ambush scheme is cool. The guys are right about the dull coat, so we'll see ya again when you finished weathering it. Good luck.

"It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it."-R.E.Lee

Well about the dull cote.

Some likes to use them before the weathering to protect the original finish of the model. It woud be easier to do corrections if necessary without posing a threat to the original finish. Some likes to use them after all the weathering is done (like me).

Some of the weathering procedures will actually harm the paint ... seal first, then weather, and then if you want, seal it again.

the white thing over the back part is just masking tape to not get too much future in there the first time i did it , i wasn't sure how it would go so i prefered to be safe.

Yep, I would also do a shot of Dull-coat.

I can tell you this, It looks much better than the first model I ever completed!

ahh i was going to do the dullcoat after i did the weathering to seal it in, is it better to do the dullcoat first?

looks good,
youve done a good job on the model and the base
and the dull coat would be good, ive herd about hairspray doing the same job but im not too sure

Looks like you're off to a fine start with this Tamiya oldie.

Just a couple of things that I noticed, glue your tracks down - if you look at some reference pics of the 251 you'll see the tracks running along the top of the road wheels. Second - give your model a coat of dull-cote before you start weathering, it'll protect the paint and get rid of the shine.

All in all you've got a nice build going.

Thanks for sharing.

Hi Panther Lehr,

Looks good. After the weathering, you might want to dull out the shiny portions.

Keep it up.