~ ! Clash in Tunisia ! ~ { Final Photos on page 37 }

Hey Adam,

First of all you know my affinity for freshly painted tires I can't get enough of them.  It's a crying shame what had to be done with the tires but necessary!  Looks great!  I like the method you used I will have to try that.  This is one beaten up soft skin.  Holy Bejesus but very believable.

You are doing fantastic work both in the building and documenting of this build.  I will be referring to this WIP for years to come I am sure!

I can't wait for figures!!!

Adam;

WOW! this is un-real man.  Every so often I have to start from page one and sit with mouth agape in awe.

Bob

This is incredible....

Buddho

This is incredible....

Edmund~  Your imput is always appreciated and you obsevations are 2nd to none. Likewise I cherish comments like that for all time my friend!!

BoB~ You a great man to have on my team! For sure... Im glad you are getting the most from the entire Blog, I am commiting this one to history for better or worse~~

Buddho~ Sometimes less is more. What a great thing to add, Thanks and it should even keep getting better.

Now thing start to really happen

I used them as practice for all the painting steps as well, to work out any color changes or bugs of the process, without risk to my model.The tarp covering stacked equipment(on the left) I used to try to get things to go wrong, testing the limits, as it we're, and the 'thrown-aside' tarp(on the right) I tried to present an example of everything going just right.

The finished tilt-cover, coming up in the next post, is in-between the two, but servicable. It's features we're just a little too complex and folds just a bit too deep for as Ideal a result as the tarp on the right. It is just about what I was after.

 

~Continued with the main event.....

You are most welcome Adam!

I agree the tarp on the left is primo and very well sculpted I might add but I probably won't! 

Looks great man!  I want to find the inventor of Milliput and give him a bone crushing hug! 

 

Again I worked with the 1st shade, with the finer gun, and then worked the darker shade into the deepest areas, though it was quite difficult aiming and required great care.

 

Here's the finished product, with soft-enough colour changes,and appropriate lack of hard-edges . Hey! Something else is finished! 

 

 

 

 
I'll allow the paint to fully cure, and apply a sealing flat coat before unmasking, becuse I want the tilt protected, but don't want the bodywork matted yet.

So you'll have to stay tuned to see the whole thing together(me too  )

 

 

Some of the colors used we're just right to base-coat some of the garmets on my figures, so work on them unceremoniously commenced on those......

 

Thanks for joining me.....tommarrow we'll have a look.......................... 

EDIT P.S> Thanks for that Ed. I see you squeeked in the comment in-between posts again! That's OK still valuable. Yeah--I got this post half-down and the FSM server went all fritzy again and I thought it was all gone......I had recovered half of it. Hopefully this looks like the post now when I push the little button !.

Did you modify and repose the figures?

I'm watching and taking notes, Adam.  I plan to use the tarp method to make some window shades for that wacky tractor I am working up, it came wiht some molded ones that look like a piece of sprue, and that will never do.

your cover/tarp looks amazing, really real, realistic!

Thanks for the detail, I love this thread.

PS:  batten down the hatches, we are supposed to get some makor rain starting tomorrow night.

Great work really great work!

Bill

Wow. The chipping on the truck looks real. I might have to try that on the project I'm working on now. The tarp looks amazing.

Indy:  the truck looks amazing. I really like the wear on the paint. Its set the bar very high for the rest of the dio. I hope you don't take this the wrong way...the tarp looks very good and it s ahuge improvement over any kit piece, but not as good as the rest of the truck. It may be the photos.  You can always do the old trick of checking it out in a mirror. If I am out of line saying this, please let me know, I really don't want to upset anyone. Keep it coming, its great seeing this come together step by step.

Still have to window glazing to get to, the stowage, and some add-on details like rear-view-mirrors, before final weathering

Before unmasking the painted tilt. I shot it with a few thin mists of my favorite , Testors Dull-coat. It killed the entire paint effect I'd achieved. I know people have had issues with Dull-coat as it's quite powerful ,being laquer---it's still my favorite as I've been swearing by it for decades....but in this case it filled-in all the powdery-dry paint I'd built up, obscuring the color-changes and graduation greatly. I had to go back in and add the shadows all over again, and after that it looked drained of all colour, And i knew something wasn't right with it....(actually it took some nudging from the Mrs. to go back and get the best I could out of the job!! I'm a lucky Man , to be sure)...She was right in doing so....... so resuming the mid-tone spraying, I repaired that color issue, and added a more subtle group of shadows and a few highlights, resulting in something I ended up liking even better than before!

The wood of the cargo-bed, though likely painted originally, needed to worn bare but show signs of paint along it's side-walls. For the 'deck', I dry-brushed up the grain with some Testors Enamels, first a cream color, then something more goldenrod. Then I made a few different filters essentially, from  Daler Rowney Inks,Yellow Ochre & Sepia in water, and put them down with a large liner brush going with the grain. I used another liner brush wet with water along the same lines to pull colour back up and get the splotchy wood-grain pattern. This will be largely ofiscated by stowage, but I wanted the 'deck' to appear to be wood where seen.

Afrika Corps insignia was added with fine Archer transfers, and chipped up a little, but by no means weathered yet.(Why didn't I get these for the last 2 builds!!) They are awsome, and worked perfectly applied dry in this case.

The licence decal is from the Tamiya kit, and will be well obscured by sand. later. The horseshoe is from the Verlinden Kubelwagon set(I always wanted to add one of these!)

I made 'an ad-hoc' bracket for the spare with some scrap P.E. brass and wingnuts & atttached the wheel with some gel C/A

~Still some fun to be had with this build...please hang with me..............

~Bill~ Thanks greatly for your excellent comments(never stop! ) It's a totally usable techique for the tarps you can get the hang of in a sitting. Yup it's dumpin rain! HUGE news here in So. Cal.!!

~Narayan~ No, Man, that's fine if that's your true observation. I value your eye, for sure. Truth is, things have been going along far too well on this thread for it to be an FSM blog  In this case though...I think it was down to it not being done---I like it alot better now ,than I did as it looked when you based that comment. .......At this point, I'd say t suits the truck perfectly, and I'm altogether happy with it. As for setting my own bar very high, I know that. I wouldn't have it any other way...I'm sure you relate to that .   True, once you set the bar, you must continue to produce only that which meets it, particularly  within the scope of a given  work.

That cover looks awesome.

Nice touch with that horseshoe as well  you continue to amaze!

WOW! WOW!! WOW!!!

This is fantastic work Adam!  I do not know where to start. The tilt is awesome!  I love MIG production's stuff and their Opel Blitz Half tilit is wonderful but this has so much character and is handmade!  Amazing! 

Now let's move on to the wood finish of the cargo area and stay there for awhile!  Very cool and well done!! 

The roof spare tire rack is also Killer and great touch for tonality and depth od the model. Adds visual complexity and height to the model.  LIKE IT ALOT!!!

Great job man I would be proud to have that on my shelf that's for sure!!!

Thanks Indy. It looks a lot better. Kudos. What I was also missing when I looked earlier (it took me some time to work out why I had that reaction) was some scale dust and sand to connect the battered tarp with the battered truck. Nice work. Its a bummer when varnish kills delicate matte finishes, but you really got it back.

You're not the only one who relies on your better half's eye!

Yeah, it's kinda crazy, but if I hadn' ruined the finish on the thing it wouldn't be as good as it is now!

~Will~ Super happy to hear that stuff, thanks.

~Edmund~ The best friend a guy could have  You are so sublimely competitive-you have to be the best at being a friend too!! Kiddin aside, you know how it is to be....you name it.. The guy getting feedback about your build for one thing---thanks you so much for all of those close observations linked with positive, enthusiastic compliments I'll be sure to feel encouragement from ! Cool!  That's a rare and apreciated thing hitting each feature of the post in turn. Oh Snap!I loved it.

~Narayan~  Right on man, no harm, no foul, glad you see clear to aproving at this point. Really there isn't any final weathering anywhere yet, Unless You can see as good as me  it fits at this point.    I'll tell you, life would have been simpler if I'd have just bought one of those MIG covers that Ed has pictured above(if it wasn't out-of-stock EVERYWHERE) I think the # Mig cast is a tiny fraction of the number of  4x2 3ton German Trucks Tamiya has sold----even still, I got something more unique, more thrashed,as I wanted, and saved enough to pick up somthing nice for the wifeand She deserves that and better cause She is the secret source of all my magic! cheers to her, and yours as well!

I only have one word to say,

WOW!

jetmodeler

I only have one word to say,

WOW!

That 1 word does nicely, Thanks!

~~~~~~~I'm in the "Selective Pin-Wash" Phase Taking my time with that & when it's done I'll get 'round to the sand & dust, windows, and the final small bits.....................update pending..........................

Hol cr*#!ola Adam.  Wow is not enough, but I cant think of a good enough word....Ahh....how about..

FREAKING AWSOME!

Bob

Excuse me Adam I don;t meant to step on your thread but I wanted to give Wayne the correct link:

http://migproductions-usa.com/

Go register and order there and you will deal directly with Rick Lawler.   I just received my first order from him today and it was a joy and he is as wonderful to work with as his models are to look at!

Back to the regular scheduled WIP!

Great Job Adam!!!  Woo! Woo!

~~Ha Gman-- mostly I like the storms--though I dont live in the foothills and fear the mud of course it was like a Typhoon at times--that WAS nuts.

As for where to aquire the proper supplies--pigments whatever--I get nearly all of it online. If you want to try the CMK pigments ,they are good and cheap at www.greatmodels.com  

The MIG pigments are great of course to and come in some of the best colors, get them from Rick @ www.migproductions-usa.com 

~~And yeah, now that that thing is done I can get this all together in short time!! Yeah!

~ED~Looks like we we're posting at just the same moment last time  "Great minds......"  turned into a bit of an information cluser. Oh well,, better too much than not enough"

~BoB~ A great big thanks Man--- great WORD!

update

Still have yet to add that window-glass at all, and put that classic dust onto the windscreen. Maybe a half-eaten shnitzle on the dash? Nah...

Looks a bit basic inside at this point, at least the popular bench seat can be seen, not much sign of the instruments any more however   

*****Back as fast as I can--I don't have alot of great things to say about this week--I know lots of you can relate to that for 1 reason or another----But progress MUST be made on this project without fail!!             Thanks for attending.............................Indy

This chap had to cross continents and switch theatres to see ths. So I needed to get that really dusty windshield look, and give a light over-all dusting, to unify my heavy weathering into something sensible....I used the same pigment powder mix Id made up for the tire tread to color some Vallejo Matt Varnish thinned with water. I tried mixing some paint to match, but none matched color as well as the powders, so I melted a little of it in the varnish to make a glaze.

 

 

Of course I had to mask of the wiper-pattern, which seemed easier than it was to get right, I just cut the mask again & again 'til I had some that worked. One tip for this I realized, is stack two pieces of tape before cutting, as you will need two identical or near-identical pieces(depending on the vehicle) and cut through both at once.

 

 

Yes, I went for a heavy effect(what's new  ) but I did it to avoid high contrast with the 'wiped' portion of the windscreen, which didn't look right. I also used a bit of the 'glaze' "over-all" to get a light dusting sitting on tops, and a bit heavier up the sides. You should be able to see how the dark 'chips' are somewhat blended now.

 

 

You can see out, not well, but you can. Gives the impression of being parked in a dusty spot a few hours at least--perfect to my Dio story.

 

 

The plastering  of sand was exactly what was needed.

 

~On the home-strech now with this one 

Adam I like them weathered and beat up but this one takes the cake and the coffee!

Your Opel looks like Tommy the Opel with his little paint mask eyes.  Maybe we could start a new toy brand that would be more manly than Tommy the Train!  What do you say we transport some vital was suppiles to the front kiddies!

Again i know I repeat myslef but the Tilt is the Cats Pajamas!!!!

Well done my friend well done!!! 

Its a MONSTER, Indy. Exceptional work. Tarp really looks amazing. And that wood grain is definitely eye-foolin'. The close up is remarkable.

Steve

Coming along nicely Indy, LOVE that weathering!

Well done, well done indeed!!!!

rb

Looks great. If you were to make one of those pic's a b&w photo it could really fool somebody. It looks so real.

This is really REALLY an amazing WIP. Every angle, every shot.

This one is like reading Hemingway, delicious all the way through, but then you realize, there's less and less until its done.

I want to see this complate, Indy, but I don't want it to end.

Bill 

WOW!   This is one of the best work I have seen so far... AWESOME!  I'd be tempted to write 'WASH ME' in Germany on the window... looking forward to the end! 

~ED~ You are the best---"Cat's Pajamas"  -lol- Thanks

~Steve~Monster! Yeah! thanks x3

~RB~Thanks tp you thats the good stuff to hear

~Jetguy~I like B&W...we will do that B4 it's over & thanks

~Bill~ What amazingly thoughtful & elegant words to find here, thanks my friend!

~Andy~ Thanks you for that , but don't write on my truck!

A rare photo of the actual "tactical withdrawl" of Rommel's forces (although, while kept Top-Secret, he was not among his men at the time!)