Turetless AFV....Jan 1st 2010....now open!

I just want to chime in and let everybody know that what I've seen so far looks great. And now for a short update,most of the work has been centered around the lower hull with pieces of the verlinden engine compartment being permanently fitted. The Verlinden engine compartment I purchased used on E-bay and it was not in usable condition. The radiator and fan support was warped and cracked requiring a scratchbuilt replacement. Sorry the photos do'nt show this. The lower hull was primed and the exterior painted in my own blend of dark yellow. any questions or comments are welcome.

Finally...Took me 2 months for this. I am teling you, babies and modeling are a hard mix

Cheers...

Ahhhh....Thank you Castelnuovo

Bob

They are on the first page, just scroll down. I like them both...I don't know...chose one.

Cheers....

How we looking on the badges?

Bob

Hi dioramator, wellcome to the thuretless club. I have added you to the list.

Cheers...

Hi Guys, mind if I join in?

I have a 1/35 Dragon StuG III Ausf. A, Michael Wittmann 'LAH' Barbarossa 1941. (really long kit name).

I'll be building basically straight out of the box, with Wittman at the helm, and basic grey paint.

this is actually part of a larger diorama project, marching beside the StuG will be the Dragon Wehrmacht Infantry Barbarossa 1941, and I will be building the MiniArt Polish City Building as a backdrop. (I'll try not to bore you with the details of the rest of the diorama for the group build, but they may pop up in WIP photos, every now and again).

I have just washed all the sprues, and they are currently drying as I type.

Brett

Andy - Hey I can always update the avatar again...............LOL  Im working on painting some figures that I had put together about a month ago when I got all my Vallejo paints.  Didn't like them so I stripped them down and started again after gettng my third set of Vallejos today.  This will be a good break and then A wingy thing while I kick the dio theme around in my head for the Stug IV and the figgies.

Bob

Beautiful!  How come you are holding a M-16 instead of M1 Carbine... you traitor!  LOL  What are you planning to build next? 

Well Gents shes done.  What a joy to build.  Here ya go.

Well that wraps up the GB for me and I have enjoyed it.  I cannot wait to see everyone elses build come to fruition.

Bob

Good work gentlemen. Love the Stug and the Jagdtiger in 1/72. I have never built something in that scale. Hopefully I'll finish my Jagpanther in few days.

Cheers....

Gygax – looks very nice, I really like the base.  Decal looks maybe on the thick side? Sometimes hard to tell from the pics. Look forward to the whole assembly.

M1 – nice camo pattern; those MIG filters seem to work really well. I have the winter set and will try them out for the WWII GB. I am not an expert, but your vehicle looks spot on.

Deafpanzer – I have the same problem.. AB booth in an unheated attached garage, cant/wont AB IN the winter (I use enamels). I DID flirt with a ceramic heater once lol.. problem was, paint was too cold out of the AB, got splotch patterns.. then you end up having to heat the paint. Too much of a hassle, so I just build and box kits and make a queue: one waiting for primer, one for flat black, etc.  works for me! : )

oddmanrush - looks good to me! I tried 1/72 and came rapidly back to 1/35. My eyes could not deal with it.... detail looks nice. good job all around.

Bob, that is a great looking Stug! I especially like the weathered side skirts - how did you create that effect? Well done.

Sorry I've not been as active as I'd like. I finished my build in a matter of hours, so the speed at which I worked made me over look WIP pics. I mean, its a 1/72 scale piece so I could basically sneeze in the same amount of time to put it together. But I'm just cutting my teeth on 1/72 scale armor, this is only my second one ever so please, be critical as it can only help to make me better. Its not much but here it is:

Its all brush painted, mainly because its simply too cold outside for me to want to airbrush out there. So, not really a finish I'm happy with but I'll live with it.

So, what do you think?

Thanks

Andy - just be caerful......................lol.  Thanks for the kind words.  Im looking forward to seeing your painted PUMA.

Bob

Hey Bob!  WOW!  Your Stug look better every time you post and I am loving it.  I hope you are happy because I decided to take your word to flirt with the disaster by airbrushing my 234/1 finally in the freezing garage next to a little space heater last night! LOL  I added another item to my wish list... a BIGGER space heater to keep me and paint warmer!!! 

Ok gents; Im almost at the end.  Here are some more shots. 

Tracks are drying and some tidbits but the next set of pphotos should be the finally.

Bob

Andy - flirt with a little disaster.....put a space heater next to you in the garage..............................LOL.

I have to hop over to that GB and check some progress of the other builds.  All are looking beautiful.

Bob

Hi Bob!  Thanks for your quick response.  I believe I already have MM Panzer Dunkelgelb 1943 already.  Was thinking about using MM Italian Brown but yours looked more reddish than what I have.  That's why I had to ask...

Yup, still working on my 234/1 for 8 wheelers GB.  Airbrushing job stalled because it is still too cold to do it in the garage.  But I might have a shot this weekend. 

Andy - Thank you.  The colors used were:

Base coat = MM Panzer Dunkelgelb 1943    #2095

Camo blotches consisted of:

Red brown = Tamiya XF-64

Deep green = Tamiya XF26

dry brushed with:

Armor sand = MM    FS30277

Thats what I used buddy.  Are you in the 8 wheeler GB??

Bob

I like your fat spots camo!  Which paint do you use because I like the colors and I want to use it for my 8X8 GB... most of times I use MM because it is easily available at local hobby stores here in Indy.

Ok well a lot more progress has been made this weekend.

Got the filter applied:

after i let that dry for about a day, I jumped on some pin washes and dry brushing:

Tomorrow some more will be completed but for now break time from the bench.

Bob

Good evening all.  I got some of the camo pattern on and the extensive weathering process will begin shortly.  Here are some of the latest shots:

Now back to the bench for more relaxing enjoyment with the lovely sound of Strauss echoing through the room.

Bob

Well, I have been working on this quite a bit...my first build in 6 years.  As you can see, the bright yellow base is pretty mush gone due to the grime and dirt I applied.  I forgot how much of a bastard plastic tracks are.  Struggled a bit putting the left side on.

I'm still going to add a few things here and there, and a figure. 

Also, I am working on the base of the display.....Italy 1944.  Prolly put a few infantry walking next to the Brummbar as well.

Looking forward to seeing other turretless builds.

Have fun.

Mike

Hi Jmart,

you are welcome to finish your Stug here. I added you to the list, the lucky 13th memeber. :)

Got the base coat on. I differed from my usual Tamiya acrylic desert yellow and tried some MM Panzer Dunkelgelb.  It went on nicely, plus it was just sitting in the enamel drawer.:

More later as I figure out what camo pattern I am going to use.

Bob

Thank you Jmart, I appreciate the kind words. 

Bob

Greetings…  I see you accept partial builds; how far advanced in build to still get accepted?

I started a Tamiya Stug IV awhile back, I recon the building phase is about 25-50% done, no painting. Ok with crossovers? Was going to also put it in for Armorama’s Tank Killers GB. Yes ,I need a lot of motivation to finish this one.. lol.. I have to actually undo some of the build, since I now have the Eduard Zoom PE set for that kit.

Castelnuovo – nice start; have no clue about how to make the pics fit, I am still working on having my post not disappear when I post them!

Mike/Thunderbolt – Nice start; good to hear that the kit is not bad. I love the looks of that “tank”, but heard mixed reviews about the Trumpy offering. LuckyModel has some modest offerings in PE/AMs (and rarely Eduard, usually LionRoar, Legend ,etc) and many times they ship free AIRPOST. My own solution for “shine” is Future at various dilutions, but I use enamels, so it wont work with acrylic bases L  I have no clue about the exact color of the S tank.. but between scale effect, weather effects and our failing eyesight, I recon no one would know the difference ;)

Detailfreak – really nice job on the suspension.  Ditto on the “waffles” ;) 

M1Carbine – Nice start; I am doing (possibly) the same kit… you are about the stage I re-boxed it two years ago : ) . (I am reading after the tires/wheels, dry fit of the chasis). Look forward to your build and the reviews by Mike.

I will re-start mine once I finish Winter Warriors. Cheers,

TB- Looking great especially different shades of green.  Can't wait to see it finished! 

M1- You are a machine!  I have the kit and I am sure it will be fun to build than those complicated Dragon kits. 

Thanks DF....Its been a fun build.

Bob

Not to shabby M-1.For an old Tamiya it looks like it came together very well.