The OFFICIAL Panzer III and Its Variants GB

Very nice indeed.....   !!

How is everyone doing with the Hurricane?  I really hope everyone stays out of danger and all goes well for you!  Just be careful and DO NOT UNDERESTAMATE these storms!  Have lived and worked in them all my life and you never know what they will do, BE CAREFUL!

BILL - Your added details are making a big difference!  At this scale, do not need to have everything but putting in a few of the bigger details realy make it look the part.  Very nicely done

DOOGS - Your camo is looking Great!  I really like the tone of the two colors you used.  Have never used Gunze but can say they look great.  Did you figure out a color for drybrushing?  On olive drab builds, have used different greens, yellows and browns as you have explained but the gray have always lightened the base color with light gray until achieving the shade wanted.  Will be intrested to see what you come up with. 

CARL - That does look more yellow and a lot better!   Never thought of using Wood.  Look forward for more.

CHAZZ - Be careful not to build to compare to what you see on here or other sites!  Build at your skill level and truely enjoy yourself instead of just saying you are.  Then your skills will improve with time, dont force it!  I remember my first builds did not please me at all but I enjoyed building and learning about them and all my following builds I would always strive to improve something from a previous build.  Sometimes looking at others work can put pressure on you making the build become unenjoyable.  When that happens to me, I turn off the computer, books, pics, etc.. and just build for me.  It's your build and not ours so build what you feel or see in your head.  We are here for support and guidance when you need it.  We also sit here and hope to see yours and others so that we can share in YOUR enjoyment and to learn from you.  We (at least I do) learn from all builds!  Look forward to your pictures!!!!!

Base coat is on.

Hard to see in the picture but there is a light pre-shade also.  Used MM Chestnut for the pre-shade and it blended in with the base color to much, should of used black.  Next will spray some lighter shade of the base color on the top sections of the vehicle.

One other thing was still looking for pictures of the Notec light wiring.  After finding some more pics of the wire and some close ups of the mount, dont believe there was a hole in the glacis plate.  Think the wire was maybe put in through the hatch or pluged in somewhere when needed.  The light was only mounted when needed (supposely) and does not seem to have a permanent wiring location.  Almost possitive there was no hole through the vehicle anywhere.  Will try to post some pics of this latter.

Rob,,   Thanks for the comments on the micro pz III. I am getting ready to prime it and move on from there.

Your base coat looks good. I can absolutely see the shading.... great start on the painting.

Hurricane - here in Allentown / Lehigh Valley, the rain bands are just now starting to roll in.... nothing severe yet. I have tied down and secured most everything I feel could fly away. I used to live coastline in Florida so I do have an idea of the impact being met, more or less, head on with one of these storms.           Yes,,,  do take precaution. It is always better to be safe           than sorry.

Work here's looking great gents!

I really want to drop in and reply and comment in more depth, but it's the weekend, and I get dirty looks from the wife when the computer comes out. And I know where dirty looks lead.

So in the interest of peace and tranquility - well as much tranquility as can be had with a 3 year old and a 15-month old in the house - I've been laying pretty low today.

But I'll chime in later this evening for sures!

Here's a big thanks to all for your kind comments ! and if you didnt comment , well then you owe me a beer................or pizza !

Good looking start on the camo Doogs .

Rob , i dont get it . how the heck did the color wood make it come out yellowish ? I was looking for a browner tint . Ow well . maybe its dunkelgelb nach muster ? Your paint looks spot on!

Nothing further done on the model yet . Just came in from working in the heat and had to have a few brews . Nap time now ....................later guys .

Carl, think your color looks great!  Maybe yellow is a rough word?  To me, and I got a second opinion from wife, looks like a desert yellow/tan, AKA light dunkelgelb, NOT MUSTARD!  I guess I'm refering to the hue, with the wood added it has a warmer tint to it.

I LIKE IT!

Rob , if your wife says it looks good then thats all i needed to hear ! Tell her thanks for looking , i'll leave it this shade then . Thanks Mrs

Rob, you hit the nail on the head. I needed to stop trying to "force" my build and just enjoy. I've gotten a bit more done and will post the pictures when I can. I'm not sure what the night will bring. The hurricanes eye wall will be passing over Connecticut sometime this morning. The rain has been coming down at the rate of 3 inches an hour and were expecting between 12 and 24 inches of rain tonight and tomorrow!! The meteorologists say the winds will pick up tomorrow around four a.m. with sustained winds of around 75 mph and gusts even higher around 85 mph. We are expecting lots of damage and flooding. My house sits on the peak of our road so we'll be OK, we own a small beach and it won't take much to destroy it. A mandatory evacuation order was just announced but my wife and I will ride it out. We feel secure in our home and its seen its share of storms.If we feel threatened in any way we will adapt and respond appropriately. We won't take stupid chances. Anyway, it is a certainty that we will be out of power for an extended period of time. I will post Pict's of my build and of any damage when I can. 

Take care Chaz ! Expect a full Sit Rep when this is over .

Chazzer-  Be safe!  I am asking you to send us a message first thing in the morning or I will send Team Six to rescue you and your wife!

Rob-  Absolutely I can see the shades from here... great job there!

Can't wait to see the washes result... it will make Zimm pop! 

Guys- I guess it is good timing to break news that there has been a new addition to my family today... we are going to call him name 'Bos'.  His actual name was Boston.  Unfortunately I hate the New England Patriots and Bruins so "Bos' it is! 

Border Collie... a year and half old... got from the rescue group.  House broken, neutered and all shots given. 

Now our dog Buddy has a play mate! 

Chazzer - Be safe! Hope the hurricane doesn't provide your kits with any unintended "weathering"! One thing about stressing over builds - I'm not sure if this'll help you, but I've found it immensely helpful with my own builds - alternate between an "easy" build and a build that has one thing about it that freaks you out. I'm mostly a plane guy, so I think about things like "rigging" or "exposed engine" or "impossible to recreate paint scheme". But in armor...something like whitewash, or schurzen, or maybe trying new aftermarket tracks for the first time, etc. Then go back to something nice and easy (Tamiya Shermans always get my vote!) to recharge. Then dive back in. Again, this works for me...but maybe not for anybody else!

Carl - I really do like the new color! To me it doesn't look more yellow so much as just more saturated over all. 

Ben - If I were you, I'd be doing sausages! My L's scheme just cried out for freehand, but yours is I think more structured.

The Gunze Offwhite is a really slick color. I always seem to have problems mixing my own, and it's this perfect slightly dirty white. 

Rob - I've got a few spare wheels that I painted anyway, so I'm going to try three things for drybrushing. First - MM Panzer Schwarzgrau. It's slightly lighter than the Lifecolor. Second - MM Dunkelgrau. Per Karl (the doog), drybrushing tan can help knock down the bluish cast (which I can definitely see going on already just with the white added). Third - a mix of the two. I'll be taking pics to see what everyone thinks.

And I must say, excellent base coat sir! The preshade work looks perfect to me...it's easy to go overboard in that area and I think yours is restrained, but evident enough that it won't vanish beneath weathering.

Andy - Border collies are awesome dogs! Very high energy, but awesome! My best friend growing up had a brain damaged BC. His dad was a ranch foreman and the dog was a cattle dog until it got kicked in the head by a cow. After that he chased balls in the backyard, every so often got "stuck" turning left to where you had to pick him up and spin him rapidly clockwise to "reset" him, and tried to herd his own reflection.

Good looking dog Andy . I'm a dog lover also . Good for you for going the rescue route . We have 2 here sharing our lives  . A rotweiller mix and a red golden retreiver . My son has a Border Colly also and she is one smart dog . They are number one on the dog I.Q. charts .

Doogs , thanks for letting me know the color is ok .

I've been working on a storage box to set on the engine deck . A picture of the vehile i'm building shows a storage box similar to this one i'm making . Still much more work to do on this so this pic is a preliminary look at it .

Glossed areas of the Panzer tonight in prep for decals. Trying Vallejo Gloss Varnish for the first time and WOW, love it so far. I always seem to have trouble with gloss out of an airbrush, but this stuff works great.

Also got one of the friul runs pinned together and started filing down the other. Thankfully the guide horns on this side are flash-free, so that's one massive headache out of the way!

And finally...drybrush experimentation! Tried MM Panzer Schwarzgrau and couldn't friggin' see it! Tried it lightened and, meh. Tried Dunkelgrau and BINGO. It looks tan in the bottle, but it looks dusty-gray when drybrushed:

Doogs- Dunky?!?!  Never thought it would do the trick!  Looking forward to see updated pictures.

Thanks for the story about your friends Border Collie.  He has been great since we brought him home yesterday. 

Carl- The storage box looks awesome!  Did you scratch build the whole thing or just the hinges? 

I am relieved that Irene wasn't that bad...

Hey guys,

I've made some good progress with what little time I've had available today

I've decided to leave all of the tools off until after painting as I really struggle to paint small parts effectively when they are fitted and I think some well painted tools will add some nice contrast to the mainly dark grey base color. I've put on the spaced frontal armour, Notek, spares box, headlights, rear lights and antennae seating/mount, spare wheel mounts, PE grill covers and conduit wiring to the Notek from the left headlight the upper and lower hulls are good to go! Everthing else will be painted by hand, off build and fitted post painting.

The day is pretty much mine tomorrow so I'll be getting the turret assembled which is actually pretty involved for a Tamiya build! I've got smoke grenade launchers so plan to wire them up too.

Unfortunately due to a long month full of unexpected expenses I won't be able to order my Friuls until pay day which is the 21st September

In the meantime I'll be detailing, trying to assemble that rear rack and looking at stowage (Several Jerry cans, a sack or two and making a crate like Shellbacks - that's cool)

Painting will happen at some point but I'm really taking my time on this one. I think I'll get the rear rack on made from Styrene pieces and scraped to give a woodgrain effect first - after that the painting will commence and hopefully I'll have my Friuls by then.

Again, there's not much to see yet but progress is being made - slowly!

Thanks for looking guys.

I'll post a couple of pictures ot the turret tomorrow. 

Take care,

Ben

Hinsky good progress .

Andy , all scratch . I'll hae an update later .

Yes , good to know Irene wasnt as terrible as the news forecast . Still bad enough in some areas. How's the new Bos ?

Hinksy - you attached the spaced armor before painting? 

I guess this brings up a bigger point. I'm seeing all sorts of stuff attached (spaced armor, turret skirt armor, etc) that would give me fits if I was trying to paint it effectively. 

How do y'all do it?

DoogsATX

Hinksy - you attached the spaced armor before painting? 

I guess this brings up a bigger point. I'm seeing all sorts of stuff attached (spaced armor, turret skirt armor, etc) that would give me fits if I was trying to paint it effectively. 

How do y'all do it?

Hey Doogs,

It depends. The spaced Armour is no trouble - nothing a gentle air brushing and a small brush won't sort. It's pivotal to my paint scheme so needs to in place. It's no biggie.

I just leave off the tools, wheels and tracks whenever I can as I like to give these 'special treatment'!

Ben

Hinksy

 

DoogsATX:

 

Hinksy - you attached the spaced armor before painting? 

I guess this brings up a bigger point. I'm seeing all sorts of stuff attached (spaced armor, turret skirt armor, etc) that would give me fits if I was trying to paint it effectively. 

How do y'all do it?

 

 

Hey Doogs,

It depends. The spaced Armour is no trouble - nothing a gentle air brushing and a small brush won't sort. It's pivotal to my paint scheme so needs to in place. It's no biggie.

I just leave off the tools, wheels and tracks whenever I can as I like to give these 'special treatment'!

Ben

I guess in my case I was worried about getting back in there with decent coverage. Especially considering how fickle Lifecolor can be. 

I painted the base color with mine removed (and painted the insides at the same time), then attached, shot the outsides, then moved on to the camo. 

Doogs, I see you attach the fenders before painting.  How do you get the tracks on the upper run?

Satch

Carl, nice work on the stowage box!

Rob, the base coat looks great!

Andy, sure looks like a good doggie!

Ben, nice progress!

Not a lot accomplished this weekend. Got the winterketten cleaned up and assembled for the main runs, I'll do the spares later. Managed to get a bit done on the upper hull.

John , nice progress .

Some more on the storage box . I scratched this hasp and lock eye  . Fun .

Andy,, Nice addition to the family (Bos)... good lookin pooch, and his pal. Nice to know people take the time to rescue these wonderful animals.... being a dog man myself, sort of goes without saying - - dogs rule! (nothing against cat folks,, just my preference)

Carl,, Your storage box(es) are great! You even did the hasp? jeeze.... and did you add the grain to the sides? In any event, looking very good!!

Matt,, I would not have guessed that Dunkelgrau would have brushed out that nice,,, great effect!

Ben,,,  Moving right along and looking very good too....   I am starved for detail like that

John,,  The tracks and hull are looking good. Can't wait to see those tracks in-action, so to speak

Hope everyone on the east coast made it through Irene alright!

Andy:  Good looking pooch you got there!  Congrats on the new addition.

DoogATX:  Just wanted to let you know the story of your friends Border Collie about made my wife send juice through her nose.  Too funny!

Carl:  Nice scratchwork.  The color adjustment looks just right.

Rob:  Looks good.  I think I might have to do the same with the manlet as you did.  I didn't think ahead enough on that one. 

I was able to make some progress yesterday and today.  It doesn't seem like a lot but it was a load of tedious work.  It should be ready for some cleanup, the superglue wasn't my friend today, and then I'll get some primer on it tomorrow. 

The rear deck stowage racks are in place and the MG shield is mounted.  I spent yesterday finishing up all the pioneer tool brackets. 

One of the difficult culprits that will require some cleanup.  The shield itself wasn't bad, but where the shield is hinged to the fighting compartment roof was.

And for a break from all the PE suff I worked on the base.  The groundwork is now in place and the sidewalls are painted.  Will add some trim where the sidewall meets the base.

Comments and criticisms are always welcome!

Ogrejohn:  Looks good so far!  I'm interested in trying a set of those tracks on something in the future.  They just seem to add something to the finished product. 

ANDY - Fine looking addition to the family.  Good of you and family to get from the Rescue.

CARL - Love your box!  All the small details are awesome!  You'll have to send me one.  Believe you have inspired me to try to make one myself.

DOOGS - The Dunkelgrau drybrushong looks great.  Thanks for posting this!  I will use this color for my next Pz Gray build for sure.

BEN - Nice progress.

JOHN - Nice, love the winterketten

BRIAN - Still doing beautiful work with the PE   Thats a better angle of the torn up fender, really like how that came out.  Racks look great, was debating if I was going to try to make some myself.  Will just watch how yours go for now.

It was not to difficult to grind down the gun.  I used the smallest round head Dremel carving bit and just went slow and careful.  Just make sure you hold on to the top part of the gun so that it does not break free inside off the mount.  Will be nice to see your STUG at home on the base.  Looking forward to see how it goes.

Was a slow day today.  Gave the top portions of the STURM a lighter coat to help creat different shades and shadow.  Should work well once the weathering starts.

Then cleaned up and painted the pioneer gear and other misc. gear.

After painting decided that did not like the molded on tool latch handles so cut them off and found some PE ones in the spare parts box.  Think they look much better ths way.  The little piece on the top right of the shovel in the pic below was what is left of the cut off molded piece.  Did not think to take pic of them before cutting.

Beautiful guys. Keep it coming.

Carl, nice scratch work on that box.

Rob, how you paint the wood on your tools? I tried oils and it looks better then the wood on my Jagdtiger, but not quite there.

Hello folks,

Lurrrvly work - top marks guys!

Panzerwaffe - loving the wood effect on them tools, brilliant I mentioned in a previous post I had a load of Dragon PE so I'm going to try and make some clasp handles too. Definately looks far better imo. The StuG is looking perfect btw. Like Tigerman asks - how the hell do you manage that woodgrain effect? I've tried scraping dark oil paint down the handles with a thin, stiff brush with only a few bristles on it but it never works?

Shellback - I so want that box dude! I'm sorry but I think I'm going to have to shamelessly copy your design

Ogrejohn - I'm putting Winterketten Friuls on my build aswell. I haven't used the w/ketten Friuls before - how were they?

I've got the turret to knock together today which looks pretty straightforward then I'll probably look at starting this rear deck racking. Basically I need to stretch this build out until I can afford my Friuls on pay day (damn living expenses, the price of petrol and head gaskets  ) but it's no problem as it's all the more time to expend on detailing and getting the stowage sorted out.

I'll post a photo of this turret later on.

Cheers guys,

Ben

Gosh, so many great updates yesterday!    Glad everybody is OK now but we haven't heard from our friend Chazzer yet.

Ben- Looking good so far!  I am with you about leaving tools off.  I painted tools glued to Marder and Panzer IV recently and it took much longer so I will go back to the old way. 

John- Thanks!  I won't be surprised if you will meet him one day... your interketten tracks look real good.  I am thinking about ordering those from Fruil for my next build StuG III F/8. 

Carl- Did I ever tell you that you are one real sick man?   Scratch built hasp and lock eye this time!  D@MN!  I loved it... I have to try that one day.  I'd like to know how you did and what materials did you use?  I assume brass wiring was used for lock eye...

Brian- More brass... your build would be a great candidate for 'Pimp My Tank'.  Bet it will look great after its primer job! 

Rob- You hit home run with the lighter coat!  Agree with Ben... the tools look way too good!  Wood block is spot on!  I am glad you upgraded the clasps.  You just made me realize I should do the same to my current build Panzer IV...