The OFFICIAL Panzer III and Its Variants GB

PW, Ya missed me!!!LOL!!!

Rob,,     thanks,,  I agree,  the resin is a great asset for dio scenes or otherwise really.   true,   once you get the hang of it,   very easy to use.          The crackers are special ordered...       completing the required toilet-paperwork is a pain in the buttocks !

Bill , are those salted or unsalted craptors ??????

I prefer the salted variety....    keeps the aftertaste to a minimum

Well,     I believe I am finished with the micro pz / base

These pics are just shop shots, I haven't taken the base to the studio yet.    The idea still comes across though......

I added a little more mud to the tires on the schwim

Some highlights and lowlights to the patches of grass.

A few more tufts of vegetation and some edge of water reed-like additions

Position the micro pz.......

Added some more ground vegetation and blended the grass and dirt with some pastels....

Remove the border tape, add the plate ("Someone needs a tow") and call it, pretty much, completed

I'll get some better pics posted as soon as I can.

Hope you like the photos and as always,,  all comments welcome.

The GB was fun....  I'll be checking in on everyone's progress,,,,  some great stuff going on in here.

Bill

Guys- I am back from Utah... loved that state and I plan to go back again in few years with my boys and wife.

Bill- Great looking diomara especially with your micro Panzer!  Thanks for the information how to create water.  Thanks for joining... it has been great because of your participation. 

Chazzer-  Welcome back friend... your health comes first and I am glad you are feeling better.  Great stuff from the raffle win!  Looks like you got about $30-$40 worth stash of AK and Vallejo bottles!  Always wanted that 88 from Dragon... I have old Tamiya set with upgrade set but I am having difficult time locating aluminum barrel for it.

Great process on the stowage!   Tools look great!  Any chance you have MIG rust pigment so you can add to the mufflers to make it look more naturally rusted? 

I have to agree with you about the booklet... maybe next time it will left open. Just say you kept window open and it was windy that day so we saw all of the pages inside. LOL  Take it easy...

Stik- Welcome aboard my friend!  Perfect timing to start a WIP to keep this GB going because couple of builds were completely recently.  Happy to see another Imperial kit here.  Great process so far!

Bill, Wow that whole diorama looks fantastic. If only my 1/35s looked so good! Its been fun following the build of those small guys.

 Andy, Thanks. I'm doing a bit of weathering on the mufflers and I will be adding some more layers. Ill gladly accept any other pointers. When I went to that seminar lady luck was smiling down on me! That 88 is one heck of a kit. It comes with a couple metal barrels. When I build it you can have the spare if you want. That Vorpanzer is a very big kit. It has over 1000 parts! I think Doogs built that kit. I think I need more experience before I build something like that. The paints and the AK stuff are cool. The seminar was great. Rob Ferreira is a great teacher. I believe he is writing a book. I learned alot and hopefully can put it to use. I'm now doing the tracks and other odds and ends to the Stug B, and then on to another. I have a Dragon Panzer III H in my pile of goodies or maybe another Stug? I now have the A, B, C/D, E, and the F. A few weeks ago I couldn't say that. LOL See ya tomorrow. Well I'll post ya tomorrow.

Scott

Bill, Wow that whole diorama looks fantastic. If only my 1/35s looked so good! Its been fun following the build of those small guys.

 Andy, Thanks. I'm doing a bit of weathering on the mufflers and I will be adding some more layers. Ill gladly accept any other pointers. When I went to that seminar lady luck was smiling down on me! That 88 is one heck of a kit. It comes with a couple metal barrels. When I build it you can have the spare if you want. That Vorpanzer is a very big kit. It has over 1000 parts! I think Doogs built that kit. I think I need more experience before I build something like that. The paints and the AK stuff are cool. The seminar was great. Rob Ferreira is a great teacher. I believe he is writing a book. I learned alot and hopefully can put it to use. I'm now doing the tracks and other odds and ends to the Stug B, and then on to another. I have a Dragon Panzer III H in my pile of goodies or maybe another Stug? I now have the A, B, C/D, E, and the F. A few weeks ago I couldn't say that. LOL See ya tomorrow. Well I'll post ya tomorrow.

Scott

CHAZZ - Hey, good you made it back to the bench!  Sorry for the delay, did not forget ya just needed more time to go back and read through the post.  You have made nice progress.  The added stowage really adds to the used look, almost ready for its drive across Russia.  Well done on the mufflers.

BILL - Enjoy watching a diorama come together especially when so well done!  You have really done a grand job on these little guys and can only imagine the patience required to not only build the kits but also the landscape keeping to scale.  The trees and the water is what really stands out to me.  The  water itself is nice but the coloring and appearance of depth is very impressive.

Do you have your name / title plaques made somewhere or do you have the tools to make them yourself?  Have been searching for information on where to buy the equipment to make them myself.

Has been a pleasure to watch, thanks for sharing

CARL - Look forward to you starting back into yours.  She was coming along beautifully.

Bill , i like the dio scene . /Are you going to add any more figures to it ?

Rob , i did some more on the Ausf. M .................2 hrs of sanding pin marks off the indy track links .

And this one isnt getting melted !

Carl- I think of your little Panzer every time I see a powerful lamp... oh nightmares! 

Chazzer- Plenty of time!  We have about 8 months left for this GB.  I hope to build two... We can wait and see if there is any unbuilt StuG variant when end is closer.  I think I am in love with StuGs now... I have been thinking about filing for a divorce with my Panzer IV.  Don't tell her I said this...

Guys- I have been working on the figures since my return from Utah.  Sorry, I didn't bring home new wives... I'd rather to buy more kits.  I will post pictures tonight.  Promise you will love those figures from Dragon that were recently released and they look as good as those expensive resin figures but alot cheaper!

Andy , thanks for feeling my pain man .

Polygamy ? You been drinking to much of that beer ?

Carl- Polygamy?  I can barely handle my current wife... LOL 

Guys- Here's the figures... love those new figures from Dragon.  I have been thinking about adding one more figure...

Figure #1:

New figures set came in many pieces... check it out

Nice details on the accessories...

Figure #2: The Commander from Tank... resin figure.  $15 just for one figure.  Ouch!

The headset was a piece of cr@p... so I cut it apart and added PE from Dragon set.  

I think it looks alot better now...

Two more figures to come... thanks for looking!

Andy.........i understand  .................

I agree the Dragon figures look really sharp .

deafpanzer

Guys- I am back from Utah... loved that state and I plan to go back again in few years with my boys and wife.

Stik- Welcome aboard my friend!  Perfect timing to start a WIP to keep this GB going because couple of builds were completely recently.  Happy to see another Imperial kit here.  Great process so far!   

DP, thanks for the welcome! It's good to be here and working on the Mk III. Although I must admit, the kit is no piece of cake. So you enjoyed Utah? It is a very scenic state, so much beauty in the land there. As far as extra wives go... Hope your rich and can house them in different locales and have the time to travel and cohabitate, because one is enough to deal with under the same roof

Yesterday I made a bit more progress but this dang computer was too slow spooling up to get progress pics posted here.

anyways here they are today...

first up, I was able to sand smoothe the areas directed to being filled during construction so far on the corners up the upper hull. I had puttied them up a couple days ago.

And then I glued the rear plate in place on the lower hull (this pic was taken after the upper portion was attached)

and finally I glued the front part (Glacis area) of the upper hull in place. Due to some slight warpage in the upper hull part I only glued this portion in place using Plastruct Weld (a very "hot" fast working liquid cement). Now that this particular area is set in place seccurely, I will take care of the remainder tomorrow. I also attached the lower hull front bolt on armor plate. I like the look of the bolt on additional armor.

More to come over the next three days...

Stik , good looking kit and your construction is looking top notch also .

Thanks Shell, but being my own worst crtitc, this build is not feeling top notch to me...

Stik , ok , hopefully it will get better . Just dont melt it .....................

I dug out my Ausf. M thats been sitting collecting dust and touched up a few spots on the paint job which of course ended up being more involved than i had thought it would ..............

Anyway , that aside , here are some pics of how it looks today .

Do i smell hot plastic ?

STIK - I think she is looking really good.  Thats an old Imperial Series kit right?  Those can be a little more challenging but still turn out really good with just a little more work.  I like her.

CARL - AHHH, there she is...lokking just as good as I remember her.  I really do like the color, will have to go back and see what you used.  Believe it was MM Wood.

"Do i smell hot plastic ?"     Thats not even funny

ANDY - What happened, you got cut off on my last post   Yes the Dragon figures are excellent!  Yours are coming along nicely even if he doesn't have a head

Rob , thanks . I used MM enamel 75% Armor Sand (30277) and 25% MM Wood .

I have to make fun of the "melting plastic " , either that or let the disaster irritate me .

Stik- Thanks!  I am missing Utah... I wish I am rich enough so I better start buying lottery tickets.  Here's another picture from our trip... our first time walking in the middle of desert not far from Capitol Reef.  We only saw one vehicle passing by for the whole hour... glad our rental SUV was running good.

Your panzer looks great... very clean build so far! 

Carl- Happy to see that your Pz is back on your workbench.  Again, beautiful paint job you did!  I am afraid you will be telling us how much you love the smell of hot plastic in the morning.

Guys- I present you figure number #3...

German version of RAMBO!!!

Love the shown teeth... "Armed to teeth" you can say,  Two holes on the chest are for the straps which I am planning to add tomorrow.  And I just realzied I haven't added the belt bucket too. LOL

Y'all have a great week! 

Andy those are some sharp looking figures . Those are the Dragon figures , right ?

Hey Andy i agree with you about Utah being a beautiful state with lots of wide open spaces . My wife and i traveled thru Utah pulling our 29 ft travel traailer a few years back . Nothing like the experience of being way out in the middle of no where . We ended up on narrow dirt roads that it took driving several miles in order to find a place to turn around . Stayed out there in the boonies by ourselves ....well we had everything we needed in our trailer anyway .We were on the west side of the state nearer to Nevada in this pic .Great place .

CARL - Thanks for the Pz paint mixture.  Have written it down and will give it a try on some future build.

ANDY - That sure looks like a great trip!  Hope you brought plenty of beverages.  One must stay hydrated out in a place lke that

Those figures are awesome looking!!  They went straight to the top of my list to get for figures! (I have to many to get list )  With your figure painting skills, you got skills, you could have made them in a small dio on their own.  Looking forward to see how these come out.

Your PE on the commander was a big improvement also, much better

Rob , your welcome .

I finally put the indy tracks on the starboard side .

Some newspapers were stuck in between the tracks and fender . Sunday edition with advertisements has the most thickness ...........................

The sag of the trak after glue set up ...........sat down ?

Now onto the other side ........................

Had a rare early snowstorm here (Lehigh Valley, PA) on Saturday,,  so much so that we lost power until 5:30pm today,,,,,  totally ruined my weekend and a few of my trees...  what a mess.    About 150,000 poor souls still without power around here...    My wife and I and our pooch have been living in a 40 degree house for a few days trying to save food in coolers being cooled by snow-balls that I've been rotating to keep things from going rotten  ...   no fun at all!!      pissmeoff-to-no-end!      Anyhow, back in business for now anyway......

Andy,,   Much thanks, and even more thanks for the GB invite,, it has truly been fun. A SUPER bunch of guys  (you all know who you are) and a bucket full of great builds and general entertainment,,,  lots of fun for sure.  Your figures are looking very nice, I will be watching to see how they turn out.

Chaz / Scott,,,   Much thanks to you too,,  A pleasure indeed!

Rob,,     Appreciate the comments,,,   the water depth actually worked out well,,,,  with paint only too.

Carl,,     I doubt that I will add any more figures to the little scene. There are really so few in this scale. I am thinking to letting good enough alone actually. Plus, I am going blind working in that damn micro scale.     Your revamped Pz III looks like it has some great potential. Hell, it looks good already!

Stik,,   Your hull detail is looking real good...   I will be sure to keep track of your progress.

Thanks again guys,,,,,,,,,, For all the support and kind words along the way....    I promise to get some better pics up soon.    Especially now that my damn power has come back online...  sonsabitchessssss-power-companies.......

Bill

Bill , i read / heard about your heavy early snow storm back there . seems like that sort of of thing is going to happen more often .Best thing is to be prepared if you can .I have myself a generator , wood stove , chain saw , etc just in case . These days i think being without power happens far to often .

Anyway , off my soap box ....................I understand about the small scale being a pain . That resin sure came across as being water realllly well .

Take care my friend .

Bill, It sure was one heck of a surprise! Thankfully we have power. Almost 850,000 were with out power on Sunday up were we are in CT. Today (Monday) there are still over 700,00 people without it. The numbers without it are 4x as many as when "Irene" struck. However for this one there was less damages to homes and more to trees and such that were already weakened from the first storm. I really feel for the souls without power. We had lost it for more than 9 days with Irene but at least it was warm. People now have to contend with the cold. So far 4 people have succumbed to storm related carbon monoxide poisoning. When is enough enough! So much misery. Enough to wear down the strongest. We took some more damage from the storm. As soon as I was done with Irene this happens. Today an Adjuster came out to assess our first storm damage!( We disputed the first low ball offer ) Oh well thanks for putting up with my rant. Bill, Stay safe. And you guys are the best!

Scott

PS This is how I sometimes feel. LOL:

Thanks Carl / Scott

I've thought about a generator in the past. I've been in this same house for 17+ years and only lost power once for about 2 hours in a bad ice storm. Now twice in a few months (Irene and this stupid snowstorm). I may have to rethink that generator if this crap keeps up.

Glad you maintained power Scott. I have heard about folks up your way who don't have it. And our high 20 degree nights, here, have got to be better than your in the teens nights north of us.   Not fun at all.

Thanks again for the thoughts............

Bill, We have some chilly nights and there are still about a half a million people without power. No gas, long lines, MREs for people, shelters full, man it sucks to watch. It's times like this that I think about going "back on the line" with the FD. If my shoulder could hold out I would in a second! Still, I see so much good in people helping each other out. I hope it continues and brings people closer as a community. Anyway, stay warm. I'm hittin the bench tonight for a few hours. I can't wait. See ya later...

Scott

Well the power was restored yesterday and I got to work,everything is ready for painting and major assembly.The MB figure kit is real nice,they are bigger then the DML Germans that I have.Which is correct I don't know,but they are nicely detailed and posed well.I also did well with the indy tracks,although cutting them off the sprues and cleaning them up took forever.I imagine that the Magic Tracks already loose and cleaned up go much faster: