Panzerjager GB (March 1st - June 30th, 2011)

Looking mighty fine Eric!

Thank you John.

Slow going today. I got the periscopes in, but they don't look as though they stick out far enough. i don't see how else to do it.

I weathered my tow chains and did some misc. painting. I'm scared to glue the top down for fear of making a mess. I hope i learned something from this build. 

I'm considering no markings for this. i don't see too many late war Panzers with markings. Would I be wrong on this?

tigerman

 

bobbaily:

 

John-Love the shields.  You did a great job with them.

Eric-tracks look great.  Hate to hear that you've got some 'creative modeling' to do with the periscopes.  I have a tendency to not follow the instructions in order and find out later that they are in order for a reason....these are the types of things that make us stronger....can't wait to see some more pics.

 

 

No, I'm okay stil Bob. It's just that I ALMOST glued the casemate on sans persiscopes. I'd be a up a river without the paddle if that were the case.

Glad to hear that Eric.  I've learned the hard way this build to put the tracks on in order of the instructions....got it done but it wasn't pretty....

Oooh, looking good there T-man!

Still plugging away on my Sturer...was there a decision as to what the "new official" end date is going to be?

Another teaser update. Mind you there is some touching up and the such on the camo, before I proceed to weathering and putting on all the other little things like tools and extra tracks.

WOW!  I love the camo... great job Eric!

Thanks Andy. I used a late war chocolate brown with olive grun. I'm okay with it. There are a few things I'd do differently, but I did want the yellow to be noticable. It's seems that (at least on models) the wheels were also painted to break up the outlines of the vehicle. 

Nice work on the paint scheme Eric-well worth the extra effort.

ERIC !!!!

Oh ya, that camo job is COOL !!!

What ever your taking the pics with has a great depth of field . I couldnt get the end of the gun barrel in focus along with the model with my cheap camera .

Thumbs up on this one buddy !

Thanks Bob and Carl. I'm fairly happy with it. I just hope i can weather it enough to make everyone happy. LOL

It's a Sony Cyber-Shot. I took the pics outdoors, but I can't seem to find the right settings. Stupid camera. LOL

Pis look great to me Eric !

OOOOOH Eric that camo looks GREAT!!  If you ask me, its perfect for that huge cat!!  When I finally build a JT I think I'll camo it just like yours!

Yesterday I finally tackled my FAVORITE (sic) part of the build.....indy links .  Actually I don't mind putting them together, its the cleanup I detest.....as anyone who has had to scrape, file, sand, trim, etc.  200+ links can attest to!  Once the 3-4 hrs of cleanup was done I used the "doog" method to assemble and install them.  I learned this from our fellow FSM member Karl "the doog" Logan:

Blue masking tape was taped onto a piece of flat cardboard, with enough tape (sticky side up) to accommodate an entire track run.  The links were laid down, link to link, and butted against a straightedge to keep them straight.  The kit instructions didn't say how many links so I Googled it and found one spec that said 96 per side, to that's the count I used. 

Then I applied Testors #3502 liquid cement to the entire run, using it quite liberally.  The doog recommends the glue for this method because its much slower drying than other liquid glues, but is still thin enough to get into all the nooks and crannies....I have to agree!  The longer working time give you plenty of time to get the tracks installed properly

After 45-60 minutes I gently removed the track run from the tape and wrapped it around the suspension.  At this point the glued track run is strong, somewhat stiff, but still quite flexible....like some cheap vinyl Italeri kit tracks!!    Note that none of the wheels or sprockest or idlers are glued on at this point.  After a bit of fiddling to make sure the track run was OK, it turned out 96 links was too much and I had to remove 3 links from each side.  Once everything was in place I put little wads of paper towels between the tracks and the fenders to establish the proper sag, taped the wheels in place so they wouldn't fall out, and set it on a flat surface to dry.  I also put a little weight on the hull to make sure the tracks sat flat.

Now all I have left are some tools and spare tracks.....whew!

Tracks look great Ernest. Your instructions on how to do them are much easier to follow then Doogs, but I did get the gist of what he was saying and basically eliminated the tape part. The tracks on the JT fit together pretty snuggly, so there was no shifting. I was afraid that the tracks might glue to the tape.

Thanks for the nice comments on the camo.

Nicely done Ernest .

Like Eric said i would be thinking about the glue going into the masking tape and making a mess of it all .

Wow Eric! That is really looking great!

Ernest, that's just about the same way I do my tracks. Looks like you're making good progress!

Well, this is where I'm at. Not real happy with the paint job. I've got to get a new needle for my airbrush as it wouldn't hold the lines very well. I guess I must have bent the tip a bit somehow. Lot's of work yet to do but I'm hoping to have it done this week sometime.

John-looks great from where I'm sitting....very nice camo

Ernest-I agree about the tracks.  I'm waiting for Dragon to 're-box' the Hetzer as an 'Orange Box' and throw in Magic Tracks.  I hate the 'cut-file-sand-attach and hope the glue holds' that Magic Tracks seem to eliminate.  Your build looks good-can't wait to see paint on it.

I used Doogs technique for the Magic Tracks on my Jagdpanzer and I took a moment and 'de-tacked' the 3M blue tape first-sticky side down on the table and sticky side up for the tracks.  After about an hour of Testor's pink, no problem.

ogrejohn

Wow Eric! That is really looking great!

Ernest, that's just about the same way I do my tracks. Looks like you're making good progress!

Well, this is where I'm at. Not real happy with the paint job. I've got to get a new needle for my airbrush as it wouldn't hold the lines very well. I guess I must have bent the tip a bit somehow. Lot's of work yet to do but I'm hoping to have it done this week sometime.

Looking pretty good John . What airbrush is it you use , Badger ?

I've had pretty good luck with my Harbor Freight cheapy . I did the camo on the 234/4 with it .............just sayin if you want to replace your airbrush

Thanks guys!

Carl, I use an Omni 4000. I must have bumped the tip of the needle or something. What I was wanting to do was make much thinner camo lines and I have in the past. The darn thing wouldn't hold a nice line and kinda splattered which made me just go for the broader pattern. It's still kinda crappy but I was able to blend it somewhat. When I changed colors I took it apart and could feel a bit of a burr on the tip. I carefully sanded it some. It helped a bit but I think I'm just going to get a new tip. They're only about 5 bucks so no biggie.

These are the kind of lines I was wanting with the red brown going along side the green. You might remember this one as the weekend build in 48 hours. Started on a Saturday morning and finished on Sunday afternoon.

I think you're being too hard on yourself John. Looks fine to me. I think more late-war patterns were broad like that anyways. The only time I've really seen those fines lines are Normandy. I tried that on my Pz IV, and like you, couldn't get it with my Badger 200

John .................ok , you know how i like my cheap Harbor Freight airbrush . I do remember that G.B. , cant remember what i built but i dont think i ever finished it . Camo looks fine on both .

I've had better luck shooting fine camo lines with Tamiya acrylics than anything else but they are still a pain . I think the trick is to move the brush fast and at just the right distance from the model , then there is air pressure , paint mix ratio ................blah blah blah and its still a role of the dice from one painting sesion to the next , even with the same air brush and jar of paint . Ok ...........

John- I am loving your work.  Camo just looks great!  You have to bring it to the show next year...

This is just an observation: I think modeler's camo jobs are too neat. Granted I like the neat look too, but if you check out books, many of them are half-arsed sprayed IMO. Just shooting and squiggling everywhere. So I think in most cases, we can get away with about anything.

tigerman

This is just an observation: I think modeler's camo jobs are too neat. Granted I like the neat look too, but if you check out books, many of them are half-arsed sprayed IMO. Just shooting and squiggling everywhere. So I think in most cases, we can get away with about anything.

I agree Eric . But its difficult to spray a half arsed camo on a well built model . Mine always end up too neat as well .I like em pretty . You know as well as i do that there are those on these forums that will not agree with the notion that we can get away with any scheme of camo . I found that out with the 234/4 . I still go with the idea that not every vehicle was photographed or recorded . So i say have fun and enjoy the many variations of camo that could have been applied , with in reason . 

Shellback

 

tigerman:

 

This is just an observation: I think modeler's camo jobs are too neat. Granted I like the neat look too, but if you check out books, many of them are half-arsed sprayed IMO. Just shooting and squiggling everywhere. So I think in most cases, we can get away with about anything.

 

 

I agree Eric . But its difficult to spray a half arsed camo on a well built model . Mine always end up too neat as well .I like em pretty . You know as well as i do that there are those on these forums that will not agree with the notion that we can get away with any scheme of camo . I found that out with the 234/4 . I still go with the idea that not every vehicle was photographed or recorded . So i say have fun and enjoy the many variations of camo that could have been applied , with in reason . 

I can appreciate a clean build although I prefer the 'well used' look.....don't think I'm going to take the time to weather this build though.  Nice thing about armor ....I can put it on the shelf and come back later and do some weathering.  I've got a Panther G that looks like it just came off of the showroom floor that may become a test bed for future techniques..

You call always say its a museum piece Bob .

bobbaily

 

Shellback:

 

 

tigerman:

 

This is just an observation: I think modeler's camo jobs are too neat. Granted I like the neat look too, but if you check out books, many of them are half-arsed sprayed IMO. Just shooting and squiggling everywhere. So I think in most cases, we can get away with about anything.

 

 

I agree Eric . But its difficult to spray a half arsed camo on a well built model . Mine always end up too neat as well .I like em pretty . You know as well as i do that there are those on these forums that will not agree with the notion that we can get away with any scheme of camo . I found that out with the 234/4 . I still go with the idea that not every vehicle was photographed or recorded . So i say have fun and enjoy the many variations of camo that could have been applied , with in reason . 

 

 

I can appreciate a clean build although I prefer the 'well used' look.....don't think I'm going to take the time to weather this build though.  Nice thing about armor ....I can put it on the shelf and come back later and do some weathering.  I've got a Panther G that looks like it just came off of the showroom floor that may become a test bed for future techniques..

Bob, I try to opt for used, but not abused. I prefer the detail to stand out myself. I find it hard to just bash up a good paint job. 

Carl, yes, there are certain guidelines and timelines for certain camo jobs, so to be accurate you must do your homework. I must admit that references for my JT were hard to come by. Then I remembered that age-old rule "have fun with it". Like I said, I prefer neat as opposed to book references. 

john - I know you're not happy with your camo scheme, but I think it came out pretty darn good for an improv scheme.  Too bad about your AB, but like you said, needles are pretty cheap.  I have a couple of extra needles for each of my ABs, still brand new in the packaging....just....in....case......

Finally!  Assembly is done!  I had to add just a few more fiddly bits to spruce up the build just a little more.....yeah, its an addiction (sigh)

I almost forgot to add the MG, the remotely operated "Rundumsfeuer" common to most Hetzers

some of the fiddly bits I decided to add on:  a spare antenna and its associated holder and bracket and the leather tow chain straps on the rear plate.

That darn jack mount that gave me so much trouble.  While installing it for the umpteenth time I noticed that it really isn't accurate.  Its supposed ot have the same clamp as the other tools, but I didn't have one in the spares and I didn't know how to scratch a new one so I just stayed with the older half-wing nut version.

Hey!  That resin jack block I cast months ago finally made it way onto the scene!

Tomorrow everything will be broken down into sub-assemblies and primered! 

Ernest-fantastic attention to detail....looks great..without paint!  Can't wait to see it with paint.

Whoo-ee Ernest. That is some major PE going on. What are the straps on the rear plate supposed to hold?

That sure looks great Ernest!