The Ostfront (eastern front) GB 2010/11

No less than 19 finished builds at this point! You guys make me proud to allow me to host a GB with all these quality builds

Ofcourse there is going to be a second year of such a succesful group. I will start up a new thread the day after this GB ends.

The one thing i thought of myself i can do to change a little thing is to post the finished picture with each build and on what page it is to be found, like our gracious NMF host Vetteman does in his group

Any other suggestions you guys would like to see implemented in a second term?

Richard

Trey,

Well done my friend! Outstanding and clean build. I have yet to tackle my first biplane but i will keep this kit in mind for sure. I will mark your build as finished on the first post ASAP. Really lovely model!

Vetteman,

I will remember that tip once i start mine Randy. Thanks for the heads up. And yes....this GB rocks!

Deafpanzer,

Your panzer is sooo gonna explode offa my screen once it is finished. Excellent building, painting and these transfers do look great!. How do you actually apply these dry transfers? Just rubbing?

Well guys, i have a bit of news myself...

This morning while at a local toystore with a small modeling section (only RoG boxes) i bumped into this one:

Wanting to build a panther i took the gamble and purchased it Coming home and studying the parts and instructions i found out this is actually a wolf is sheeps clothing (revell armor kits arent usually very good mind you...). An ICM rebox!!:

I started reading through some reviews online and found out that, with a few minor fit issues and a little bit of flash here and there these ICM Panthers are actually supposed to be really nice That is why i decided to share it in the GB. Hope i wont dissapoint you boys and girls...

Decals are there for two early type D tanks that served during the Kursk battle:

Ofcourse i am going to try the three tone instead of an all yellow one...

Wips to follow soon people!

Richard

Trey- I know this may sound weird... I dream recently flying in a bi-plane.  Jeez, in the past it is usually in a either Mustang or Junker...

Guys- Finally an update.  I have to say I like Archer Dry Transfers alot!  I didn't have to worry about the silvering on the Zimm this time. 

That one was the easiest part.  I also put a transfer on fire extinguisher.  It would have been easier if I didn't glue the extinguisher on the fender...

Putting on fragile skirt wasn't that easy... one of the rods snapped when I did the job.  I wasn't too worried about missing outlines because they will be painted solid with white like shown in my reference pictures.

Now they are solid white numbers...

I know the numbers are little bigger than what we are seeing in the actual picture.  I will live with that...

Off to camping... of course I have packed plenty of this time to fend off the heat wave.  Have a great weekend!

Great build TREY, love it

WOW!  You have turned this bi-wingy thing out beautifully!   I am afraid you are such a bad influence because I didn't have any interest to build planes but I end up buying two kits because of this GB and now I want to get another one...

There's one more thing I would do to your build... apply flat clear to tone down the shining on the tires.  

I better hurry up and finish my Panzer IV...

I'm sticking a fork in it and calling it done

I did wind up scratching gun barrels from brass tube ,all said it was a fun build without too many fit problems. This continues to be a great group build keep 'em coming fellas! Again thanks for all the support and kind words from everybody.

Maxfax personally I like the ICM kits I have assembled, they are tricky though because of the lack of locating pins. What locates things like the fuse are the cockpit and engine. so with this kit I dry fitted the cockpit floor and got locations for the truss and IP. Glued in the truss to both sides and cockpit floor to one side, let them dry then fitted the fuse halves together again to locate the engine which is also located by the exhaust stacks and a plate on the nose. Most reviews I have read on this kit have complaints about the stacks being too long, what I found is they also help locate the engine as they should be pushed in and glued to the engine heads that way they are a perfect length and like I said hold the engine in place. As far as detail goes I think they are as good and in some cases better than Tamiya kits but nowhere near what you could call shake an bake builds. Also the plastic is very soft making it easy to work on one hand but tricky when trimming and cleaning up the very few and small mold lines. The only bad thing I can say is the decals are a total nightmare to work with. They are very thin and delicate so they have a tendancy to explode or shatter. Man that was long winded for me sheesh.

Kermit I have had trouble with the mold release too after soaking in soap over night I wiped the parts down with denatured alcohol and that seemed to do the trick. And to be honest I skipped the small delicate parts and had no problems with paint or glue.

Trey Oh goodie its sooooo close

Thanks guys for your kind words, the encouragement and and enthusiasium in this group rocks !!!!!! I am hoping to get the fuse closed up this evening, right now paint is drying. Things should move right along after that.

Looking very nice TREY. I want one.

Looking great Trey. You're almost there.

Vetteman thanks ,still trying different preshade techniques this one seems to stand out a tad more than my earlier attempts thankfully. The Yak is looking great so far,ICM kits are a challenge as I've found out but it looks like you've got it well in hand, keep up the great work!

Andy thanks here they are ,not the best decals (rather thick) but not too hateful after some micro sol they did finally melt in some.

Richard thank you!

Decals in place ,should be wrapping it up with some weathering and the last little tweaks next.

I've got ref pics that show it with and without antenae wire running mast to tail,anybody know which would be correct?

Vetteman,

Very interesting kit and top notch work sofar my friend! That ip with it's PE goodies do look small... And i know all too well the Mig 3 is going to demand some attention and concentration. I have had it in my hands countless times now and am looking forward to start my first ICM adventure. Say,... how did you get rid of all the mold release on your kit? I soaked it in dishwashwater overnight but theres still some left...

Love your work sofar Randy, keep at it

Richard

Deaf,

Those are outstandingly painted and weathered tracks!

Trey,

Lovely paintwork there, i concur with Randy on the preshading; excellent!

Kaysee,

By all means jump right in! I love to see figures being painted and i found out recently myself its alot of fun and very rewarding. I will put you on the rollcall right away!

Richard

Trey- Your plane is looking real great!!! Looking forward to see it with decals on next...

Vetteman- Oh sure you can use my method.  Wait a minute... I learned about this method here at FSM so technically it is 'OUR' method. LOL  Good to see another Russian plane WIP... we need more to shoot down Trey and Richard's planes!

Kaysee- Sure, why not!  I don't see any problem for you to jump.  We still have a month left... I almost bought this figures set few weeks ago! 

Hey Vetteman!

Looking nice! I kind of get hung up on the brand of the model I get- they are always the "big" names, and I have never built a kit from any other maker. You made note of lack of locating pins, but how is the detail and fit overall?

Rob

OH MY....OH MY, just found out about this GB 

may i still please join?

And can you put me down for figures....i don't see anyone doing that?

Its a new 1/35 set from DML called "OSTFRONT WINTER COMBATANTS". Stock # 6652

PLEASE LET ME KNOW.....its my only 2nd try at figures but i'm so confident I'll do good 

THANKS!!!!

Deafpanzer those tracks look real man ! Hope you dont mind if I try your method when I finally build my first tank. sir.

Trey the preshading worked great man ! Those wings do look like they are fabric covered and the clear coast will make it show a bit better. Very well done indeed. I have always used flat black or a dark gray for preshading but as I see in your pictures a much darker base color works very well. think I may try that on my currant build.

Mr Kermit sir and guys I finally have some WIP pictures of my build. The ICM Yak-7A, but first box are and sprues.

There is some PE too very small and or fiddly stuff too that I will attempt to use all of

The IP looks funny in the picture I think because my batterys are too low to allow me to use the close up macro. Sorry bout that

The basic kit engine, I am still trying to decide if I want to detail it or not.

On these ICM kits I have found you have to think way ahead in the build so I do a bunch of dry fitting. At this point I have the cockpit glued to only one side, and made sure then engine fit where its suppose to. In the morning I will pull the fuse apart and fit the IP and other goodies making sure they all fit and are located correctly. You see this kit has no locating pins at all, anywhere. Hopefully I wont drop anything so I have to start all over again, geeze, did that once already.

Richard the MiG 3 has the same problems

I 've almost got it ready for a clear coat for the decals

Andy thanks,the only decent hobby store that has a good selection of plastic is at Colonial photo & hobby on Mills and Hwy 50 near downtown. They have a real good stock of paints ,glues and tools too although pricey by net comparison. The tracks look very nice,got some real depth with the technique you used nicely done!

Update on the Hs123,basic preshading

did some shading on the fabric surfaces on the bottom but does'nt show well in pics

basic paint was rlm 71 then on the lower wing and areas that would'nt see much sun I brightened the color up a bit to give it some hue depth

Tracks look perfect Andy.

Trey- Your bi-wingy thing is looking real good.  I dig the yellow nose paint!  It is like screaming 'Hey, please shoot at me!" 

I see that you are from Orlando.  My family and I are coming to Orlando a week before Christmas to visit those amusement parks.  I have to ask if there is a good hobby shop that I must check it out while I am in town.  I googled and saw many results but most of them seems to be into R/C stuff only. 

Guys- Finally update on my Panzer IV... remember I build at snail pace!!!  

I am still waiting for the aftermarket decals to arrive.  First order from Archer Transfer has arrived but it was the wrong set. The vendor is going to ship the correct one and they told me to keep the wrong set for free.  Nice?  Great customer service as they replied to my email on same day yesterday on a Saturday...

While I am waiting for the correct decals set, I worked on the tracks... first it was primed with flat black using can rattler from Walmart.

Then it was painted with thinned MM Metalizer Gunmetal...

Couple of washes using MM Burnt Umber was next...

Mixture of Europe dust, industrial and very little rust MIG pigment was applied...

Brushing off excessive pigment and very light coat of MIG pigment fixer was applied.  Then I used ol' faithful graphite pencil to mark the tracks where contacts are usually made.

Voila'... the tracks are ready!  I will not put them on until at very end because MK tracks are so fragile they fall apart if knocked. 

Can't do anything to my panzer until the decals arrive so I will resume my work on the figures.  Thanks for looking...

Looking great TREY. Deffinatly getting used to expecting good things from your builds.

Richard, whats the score for Ostfront II. Are you going to start it on the 1st Oct.

Thanks vetteman got the rlm 65 on forward progress is being made

hope to get the top color on this weekend,but I've a 1to1 scale Harley to paint as well so we'll see if I can squeeze it in

Richard- STUNNING work on your Heinkel!   I just love the faded winter wash over the camo which is still visible.   I had fun following your build despite the fact I am not really into wingy things but now I have two kits in the stash. 

Deafpanzer glad you were able to solve that problem with the tracks, problem solving is half of this hobby ya know. Keep on tankin buddy.

Kermit WOWZERS !!!!!!!!!!! Both the model and the airbrush have been offically Kermified !!!!!!!!! A wonderful job on the camo, the winterization, and the exhaust stains ! A masterful job to say the least. Not a bad job of model construction either But seriously Richard one to be very proud of and I hope its is sitting on the front of your shelf man Can't wait to see your first mottled paint job

Trey man from the looks of that cowl those seams musta been a nightmare, well done sir. Keep the pictures coming.

Richard outstanding looking He!!! The wash came out perfect really looks the part ,great job on the weathering and exhaust stains as well. Yes the model companies do get it wrong a lot with the markings  unfortunately.

Andy glad ya got the track problem sorted a full rack looks a lot better,and the top speed of the Hs 123 is stated as 214 mph in my reference book so unless you have a Bugati Veyron the old bipe is gonna out run ya;)

I'm almost ready to start priming ,the engine cowl slowed me way down getting all the seam lines out of the blisters

I think markings is one of the areas that many model companies are more likely to be wrong than any thing else in there kits. I have doubts about a few in my stash And i guess its an easy slip between a 2 and a 3.

But ye, its still a great build. You should be very proud of what you have got here.

Bish,

I owe you an apology sir. After your post just now i started googling around for this particular unit and commander and appearantly my instructions are wrong indeed. Dont know how revell AG aquired its data. One would say a german manufacturer of kits would know a thing or two about luftwaffe gear.... Also my assumption that this aircraft saw action over Leningrad is probably wrong as the unit was most notably active in the Karelia region more to the north.

But uhm.......i still like the Heinkel.....

Thank you for your insights Bish. I do appreciate it.

Richard

Thats one beauty of a build Richard. You have done a great job, made even more so by being your first white wash.

Just one thing on the unit. S7 is the code for SG 3, carried over from StG 3. SG 2 carried the T6 code. Not sure if this aircraft may have been borrowed, or moved units and not had its code changed. I never realised that these units used He 111's, you learn something new. Kuhlmey was also Geschwaderkommodor from April 43, when it was still StG 3 until Dec 44.

Richard, well done the He-111. That is pretty sweet and not in a normal scheme.

Andy, glad you fixed the problem.

Deafpanzer,

Good to hear that the amazing and helpful community on here pitched in and helped you realize the solution of your problem was nearer than you imagined at first Stunning looking panzer btw

Well,...

My Heinkel is done! This particular plane, according to my instruction sheet was the personal aircraft of OberstLeutnant Kulmey, commander of Gefechtsverband Kulmey, part of Slachtgeschwader 2. Based in Immola Finland June '44 this aircraft most likely saw action in the skies over Leningrad:

And the sepiatone i always include:

A real delight to build. Little to no difficulties, great fit, great price..... and like Bish pointed out only half the price of the Hasegawa boxing, same plane in a blue revell AG box. Only the guns aren't really to my liking as they are basic at best.... Still i am most pleased with the outcome myself. Hope you guys enjoy watching the pics

Your humble host,

Richard