Winter Warriors II - The Wintering!

Jon - WOW! That came out great! Especially for not using your airbrush. There can be shortcomings working in such a small scale - parts like the one-piece spare tracks on the side - but if you give it a good enough paint job, you can make up for that...like you did here. Talk to me a bit about how you did both your whitewash and snow buildup? One final request - can you take a pic against a solid background? A sheet, or even a large piece of paper will suffice...just want to make sure we have a clear photo to put into the roundup.

Vance - not sure what the temp is today, but yesterday we topped out at about 14 degrees (Fahrenheit). Ugh.

Josh - I haven't built up any of the DML T-34's (yet), so I'm not sure what could have caused that gap. Perhaps if Wingy pops into the thread he can offer up some advice.

Good stuff, fellas! Keep it up!

Hey dupes,

Since the groundhog saw his shadow, do we get a six week extension??

Jon - that is a nice little Jagdpanther...  I've been dabbling with a 1/72 scale kit these last few weeks, so I know of what you speak...  Good work!

dupes

Couple of quickies for you guys...still not at the weathering stage, trying to add everything first so that I can involve all of the parts in the wear-and-tear phase.

dupes: Now I think you're just being a tease!!!...holding off on that weathering as long as possible just to keep us excited...SHEESH!

Thanks Dupes! I think 1/72 is easier to get away with not using an airbrush, as long as the paint isn't too thick. Good call on the one-piece spare tracks, have you built this kit before or is it that obvious? Any how, I started the whitewash as a mix of white chalk and paint thinner, but when it dried I didn't like the end result - too thin. So, I dry brushed model master white over the top, starting from the center of the panels outward, leaving the edges fairly thin. The snow build up was simple. I just used white oil paint and globbed it onto the areas I thought would collect snow. I mixed some more white chalk dust with it to give it a little more texture. That's about it. I tried not to go too crazy with weathering, since its so small, but I may have over done it slightly.  Oh and I will do my best to produce a clutter free photograph. How is the Type 90 coming?

[quote user="dupes"

Josh - I haven't built up any of the DML T-34's (yet), so I'm not sure what could have caused that gap. Perhaps if Wingy pops into the thread he can offer up some advice.

[/quote]

I've been buggin' the crap out of him via PM, lol. He's been an immense help.

Josh

LOL Josh... I'll let you know when you're bugging' the crap out of me

I also had the little gaps in the red square that I filled with styrene.  I think your problem is that with the bottom edge lined up the part needed to be rotate up a little.  I looked at mine and there isn't any step at the 2 halves of that housing.  But once you put some styrene in there and sand it smooth I don't think anyone will be the wiser.

I almost for got... The rim around the opening for the grill needs to be sanded/scraped off and the screen install on to pf that part, not from the inside as you have it.  Then the frame goes right on the grill. And I guess you figured out that i lightened the crap out of the pic so you could see the other thing better.

Josh - see? I knew Wingy was the one to talk to about that beast.

Wingy - are you coming to Al's show at the end of March? Or is that when Mosquitocon is?

Jon - your spare tracks are not that obvious, I just remember doing some past 1/72 builds that that was one of the first parts that jumped out at me being limited because of the scale. Old pic, but somewhat of an example:

Boyd - NO EXTENSIONS!

SMJ - my "holding off" on weathering isn't for teasing purposes - there was just a lot more detail painting I had to get done first than I originally thought. Front and rear tarps still to go, then they get painted, and then that should be it before the washes and drybrushing start. Will definitely post a "full assembly" before-weathering photo for perusal in a day or two.

Dupes I wish I could. MCon is 1st weekend in Apr and I am obviously committed to that one.  There is a show on Long Island that is just before or after Mcon that I can't go to

    Hey Dupes I finally finished my Pnzr 1and now I'm ready to join the party. A little late but the way things are progressing I shouldn't have any trouble getting done in time.

  Nice work everyone! I haven't been able to catch up on everything but from what I have seen theres some really great builds going on here!

 By the way Dupes your type 90 is really turning out great!

  Started working Tuesday night on the lower hull. First I had to fill all those holes left over from the days when Tamiya used to include motors with their kits.Had to let that sit for a day so I started on the MK tracks and the gun.

  This weekend I'll start cutting up the upper hull to remove all the vents and screens that will be replaced with the Eduard parts.  I just love performing styrene surgery.

Hey panzerguy!...good to see you're getting started!  Gotta' love those old Tamiya kits, heh?! 

Hey, I'm a late starter myself, BTW.  I busted out my new KV-1 (I switched to it from the High-Speed Tractor) last night and did a bit of research in the FSM stash and books.  dupes told me the kit is a one -day build and just falls together.  It's been awhile since I did a HEAVY weathered build (by my standards anyway), but nothing like Rusky Armor screams "beat me up, please!  I found a KV example picture that modeled it having COMPLETELY lost one whole side of it's fenders!  How about that with some thrown mud/snow?!  AND/OR I've always wanted to try ice build-up...like a car gets after a sleet storm.  Hmmmm...great stuff to chew on...

Oddmanrush – nice work! That scale, I am not doing it again unless it’s a Dora lol   The cool thing about keeping your builds in those containers, they can be stacked.. Ill take a pic this weekend. Nice finished product, congrats!

Dupes – yes, have some progress, as usual, need to pry the Dig Cam away from my brood.  I have some WIP pics I want to post and get comments. About that hexagonal camo, I recall an example in FSM some time ago.. I also remember a LOT of masking... one coat of lightest color, mask, next color, mask.. but dont take my word for it, its been awhile! Ill keep that in mind if I bump into it again.

p38jl – Great job in the interior!

Konigwolf13 – very nice job, congrats on the finish

About bicar(bonate) or baking soda… I remember Doog/Karl mentioning in a thread one of his early builds getting ruined with time to the alkalinity of the stuff…  Oh, and marc/Wingnut should show some of his 1/144 A/c, including one in which he frigging added engine WIRES to the build. He is a wizard <Insert I am not worthy emoticon>.

Tellis – Look forward to your build; that kit pops out on sale at LuckyModel, I am tempted to get it next time it shows.

JMart, I bought this one as it is an interesting subject but have been disappointed in the kit itself. I've heard Dragon makes this one, so you may want to try that. The Italieri one I have has had some fit problems, excessive flash and is not as detailed as I had hoped. But I'm going to have fun with it.

T Ellis

Ahhh there it is Panzer.

Watchin

Tony Lee

Managed to get some more done this weekend before the Superbowl.

  I added a breach assembly that I had from an old Marquette T34/85 kit that I plan on using for something else . Doesn't need to be highly accurate. I just need to give the impression that somethings there since the TC will be open.

  Fixed the cut out in the drive housing and added casting texture using squadron green putty.The middle hinge on the lower rear plate was removed(shouldn't be there) and a bolt head shaved off a drive sprocket from the parts box was added.

  Then it was on to the rear deck and cutting out all those vent screens and adding all the shiny bits.

Thats were things stand for now should have more soon.

      Steve

Fini.  I present my 1/48 Hasegawa Fw-190A4 in the markings of Kommodore Major Hannes Trautloft, JG54, during the Russian campaign.

Decent kit, fit issues with warped fuselage and engineering design by Hasegawa to maximize variants available from one mold.  Kit decals, a little thick but no major issues with them.

The winter whitewash is a little more...heavy and consistent than I had intended.  The aforementioned Floquil Reefer White paint issues gave me less control than I had hoped, but in the end I'm okay with it.  I've seen many Fw-190's with the whitewash consistently and throughly applied, and frankly I'm not fond of weathering my builds anyway.   Promodeller wash gives some depth to the panel lines.

I did screw up the wash on the decals.  I simply didn't get the wash completely removed from the decals, applied the flat coat, and then watched in horror as the spots showed up.  You can see the blotches on the crosses in the pics.  Not sure how I'm going to fix that major lack of focus.

Dupes, thanks for hosting this build.  I firmly believe this is one of the better GB themes here on FSM, and appreciate the opportunity to participate. 

Thanks for looking!

Cheers

Hey Arki,that wingy thing looks pretty darn nice to me.In fact I feel somewhat inspired to try an aeroplane.

Sorry for not checking in sooner fellas, but this is the first day I've been able to get on the forum since...Thursday I think? Limited internet access, and every time I tried to get on the website was toast. Ugh.

Arki - looks pretty darn good to me...and I'm glad to hear that you guys like the GB theme so much. So you're saying that sealing the Promodeller caused the spots over the decals?

Steve and Steve - about time you guys showed up.

Type 90 update - threw all of the non-finished accessories on for a quick photo shoot. Pics here:

As you can see, the tarps are in place but still need painting (should happen this evening). The stowage arrangement isn't final, still messing around with it's placement...going to depend a bit on whether I finish the ammo-loading figures or not. It's off to weathering by tomorrow!

Arki : nice looking snowbird!

Marc: that beast is looking sweeter each time.. ... !  ( where is Godzilla ??.. )  lol

I hope my M-10 looks half as good..

Looking good everyone. Love that FW190: winter wash + brightly coloured unit emblems - only the Germans!!! The tarp on the barrell looks good Dupes, how fragile is it? Seal it up quick I suppose. I'll have a look at the other pages/models that I've missed over the last week & get some pics of my own up soon.

(Question about Storch's included masks removed - I found out via the ipms usa website review that these must be cut out by the lucky modeler - I know what I'm doing tonight!!)

Dupes, finally got the improved pics done for you (no I didnt ignore you, I just took my sweet time LOL)

Dupes Said - " Refresh my memory on how you made the snow base? "

Snow is white glue mixed with bicarb and "spooned" on to how you want it to look, some shrinkage occures, but not much, and is easily covered up by the top layer. Yop layer was white glue painted on (a section at a time) and loading a brush with bicarb and stippeling (sp?) it over the glue. I mixed some some ultrafine gliiter in as well but I think I used to much glue, this was done to represent bright sunshine reflecting of ice crystals early morning.

All up I wouldnt mind reapeating in a larger scale with figures used as well

Andrew

Thanks gents.

Dupes, the Promodeller wash is clay-based so you simply wipe it off with a damp tissue or q-tip.  Apparently I missed wiping it off the crosses, but because it's black I didn't notice.  Spraying the flat-coat caused those missed blotches of thin wash to "cloud up" for lack of a better term.

Bottom line, make sure you remove all wash from where you don't need it regardless of what you use.  Law of Unintended Consequences.  Or Missed Opportunities.  Or Something.

The circle whitewash and tissue tarps are kicking some serious butt by the way.  Beautiful execution.

Andrew, what scale again is your diorama?

arki, its the airfix 1/76 tiger kit. The whole diorama sits on two CD's glued together for a base. I should make some edging and title plate for it guess.

Andrew

Arki, that is one fine looking 190! I've never seen one in that scheme before but it looks really great.

Dupes, lookin' good. I really like the figures you have there. You gonna put that on a base of some sort? It would certainly be an interesting piece in a small dio or vignette. Did you get a chance to check out the videos I recommended from before? If you didn't, no worries, looks like you didn't need many pointers! Good work.

Andrew, wow, I thought my Jagdpanther was small. You did a fine job on that little guy and base. Good idea with the CD's. I have a ton sitting around not doing anything. Now I might just have a use for 'em!

arki30: It's strange to see wingy things here!  Looks great from what I can tell! I'm not sure if it's the photo or is that your hand depicting the slightly worn look on that camo'.  I notice it around the cockpit and on the flaps...Nice!

Great work arki...and nice to see a little variety in this GB!

Konigwolf13: I think you got a nice Tiger and dio' going there...and from the pictures it look great!  I'd sure like to see some close-ups too though! 

Guys: OK...I'm getting going on my KV-1 now that my Pershing is done!  Here's my kit:

I have "restrained" my weathering on the last couple of builds but I don't plan to on this one!!!  She will be depicted as grissled veteran with plenty of combat hours!  I have done at bit of research and am off and running...

Thanks guys! She's still moving along...taking my time to get her right. Got some good ideas in the thread in the armor forum.

Vance - it's pretty sturdy. Good bit of white glue on there, not too worried about it moving. About your masks - the kit comes with them, but you have to cut them out? How is that a help to you?

Konigwolf - niiiiice! That second one there will be the update pic for sure.

Arki - clay based? Really? Any idea why? Or what advantage that gives you?

Oddman - I certainly hope to put it on a base...I think it's going to need it. I did check out some of those videos when you first posted them - unfortunately I couldn't save them to my laptop (anyone know software I can use to save Youtube-style files?).

SMJ - I have two of that kit in the closet sheerly to try to recreate the scene on the box art. Busted up fence, a wrecked cart, some figgies looking into the distance at the approaching German hordes...wanted to add a farm building of some sort to the dio. Can't wait to see what you do with it! Dirty it up!!!

He Dupes - cut out the masks myself?! I know, it sounds bizarre to me too, especially considering the top-notch quality of everything else in the kit.  The supplied sheet has the shapes printed for the masks, I just need a straight-edge and a sharp exacto knife. It will still be much easier than tape or masking film, although the circular shape for the rear turret is going to be awkward... I may just use some micro-mask on that, probably quicker than trying to cut a circle with a straight edge!

And to be honest, it's a minor complaint - just unexpected. (They had to leave something for the aftermarket crowd to sell!)

SMJmodeler

Konigwolf13: I think you got a nice Tiger and dio' going there...and from the pictures it look great!  I'd sure like to see some close-ups too though! 

SMJmodeler, There is stuff all detail on this kit to close up of, but tell me any areas you want and i'll try my best.

Andrew

Thanks, gents.  Steve, the slightly worn look is my hand and should have been more distinct.  Didn't quite work out like I wanted, but is still there.

Dupes, how exactly Phil Flory came up with the concoction I have no idea but the wash is ridicuously easy to work with.  Brush it on, wait 20-30 minutes, wipe it off with damp tissue or q-tip.  Being clay-based it's water soluble, so if you don't like the results simply use more water and start over.  After applying the wash you can leave it nearly indefinately before wiping away since there's no solvent to it.  Remove less and get a nice dirty look.  I do recommend gloss surfaces however, as matte surfaces will "grip" the wash and make it hard to remove.  I also recommend gloss coating the decals once down, otherwise if you apply the wash over the decal it will highlight the carrier film.  Or simply don't apply the wash over the decals.

Check out his site: http://www.promodeller.com/promodellers-weathering-wash/

He has a bunch of how-to videos, and kit builds.

arki30

Thanks, gents.  Steve, the slightly worn look is my hand and should have been more distinct.  Didn't quite work out like I wanted, but is still there.

arki30: NO, don't do a thing!  If it holds true for your pictures like most modelers, the pictures don't do it justice.  The real model probably has just the right effect!  Again, nice touch sir!