The OFFICIAL Panzer III and Its Variants GB

Andy - Lifecolor, eh? Unfortunately I'm loaded up with Vallejo stuff and didn't really want to tackle yet another brand of paint...but I'm liking the colors you've got there, and if they come in a nice little 6-pack of everything I need...hmmm.

Looks like I better get a pic up of where I am with my StuG III Ausf. A before Chazzer gets started in on his!

Andy – Those figures look gorgeous!

Bill – Your micro Pz work has been fantastic.

Ben – Fruils look great.

Chazzer – Nice start and mancave!

I will post pics of the starter materials this weekend. I opened the Voyager set and screamed like a girl. 120+ pieces of PE some that are either invisible or very very small. Good someone else is doing the same build, since I am an armor newbie :)

cheers

Shell, I believe you caught the album on the chair. OOPS!! LOL.......Scott

PANZERWAFFE

BEN - Friuls are awesome.  Love winterkitten!  You said you were using track black right?  Not blacken it.  Your Pz is really taken shape look forward to the next update.

Hey PW,

Cheers for the on my tracks. They do look the business even if I say so myself!

You can't get 'Blacken It' in the UK (as far as I'm aware - I've looked everywhere) so it was lucky that my buddy Tim who I met on the MilMod Forum in the UK started selling something that is designed for white metal called 'Black Trak' - it works a treat but won't cover CA so go careful how much CA you use on the track pivot holes!

Here's the link to his site - I reckon he'd ship to the states if you asked him, just say you know me:

www.tihobbies.co.uk

Chazzer - look after that 'Wittman' StuG of yours. I built it as my first ever Dragon build. It was featured in a recent magazine I bought and apparently it is long out of production now. The author of the article painted it in the very early panzer grey/brown colours as a pre war training tank (which is what the 'A' was originally designed for). He added lower hull escape hatches and added weld bead details as the escape hatches were apparently welded shut on them seeing as they were designed for training. Iirc the kit comes without them? 

Ogrejohn - I used the Friul supplied wire this time but I normally use 0.5mm dia copper wire which is a lot firmer and pushes into the holes a lot easier without bending.

Update later!

All the best,

Ben

Andy your figures ............look great ! And finger nails !? I dont remember seeing that done before .Top notch !  Well , excpt for that guy with the weird left eye . Maybe he needs one of those monocles that were popular back in that era .

Chazzer .....................A+ on your man cave !!! Lots of research material .

Thanks again guys,,,  

Andy,,   I will be sure to post some pics of the micro pz III upcoming scene.....    and,,  your figures are looking fine           No worries on the manicure,,  mums the word

Rob,,    I apprecieate the very kind words. I had thought about not including the commander as well,   but, I am pretty sure I will need him for what I have in mind coming up

John,,   Thank you kindly, I will be checking in on your progress

Chazzer,,     If I had a fridge in my shop, I'd only come out for provisions!     Nice setup

Bill, the micro panzer sure turned out great!

Ben, your winterketten run looks great. Did you use the supplied wire to pin them with or did you use something else?

Chazz, nice progress. I really like the set up you have for the man cave.

Andy, those figures are a treat!

BILL - The little Panzer III just looks GREAT!  I know I've already said this but you could really fool someone one on the scale.  The work and detail you put in this little fella is way more then one would expect.  VERY WELL DONE!  Now my honest opinion about your commander, think you did an exeptional job on painting this little guy but I like the Pz III better without him.  It looks good with him too so not trying to be a party pooper.  Do like his headset wiring also.  It has been a pleasure to watch your build happen in this great GB.

BEN - Friuls are awesome.  Love winterkitten!  You said you were using track black right?  Not blacken it.  Your Pz is really taken shape look forward to the next update.

ANDY - The figs are very NICE!  They are some of the best ones I've seen in a while!  Like the PE slings a lot.  If you dont have PE in the future you can also cut small strips of paper glue on and paint to make slings also.  Thats what I usually do.  Also do this for all of the gear and packs, etc.  Still love that Marder!! 

Guys- Quick update on my figures... I am satisfied with most of my work on the eyes except for this one.  Sometimes it is hard to tell but it really helps to take pictures and look at the figures from your computer.

The loader for Dragon Marder II... PASSED the eyes test!

The commander for Tamiya Panzer IV Ausf H... FAILED the eyes test!  I will go back and add little more skin on the left eye. 

 Please do me a BIG FAVOR?  PLEASE DO NOT TELL MY WIFE I GAVE THOSE GUYS MANICURE...

 If my wife ever finds out, she will make me give her manicure for rest of my life... LOL 

Dupes-  Thanks buddy!  Glad you liked the figures... they are almost done so I can finally start my next build StuG III here.

Meet my best friends...

 LifeColor... a must to have for figure painting!  I have few sets for both German and American uniforms.

I used Field Gray 1 for the tunic and Grey 2 for the trouser as base coat.  Then I added a drop of darker paint for folds and a drop of lighter tone for edges etc.  Then I used Vallejo med grey and light grey on top of edges. 

Ben- Jeez, Fruil tracks look very good.  Can't wait to use it for the first time soon!  Looking forward to see your next update...

Bill- Please do not hesitate to post pictures of your WIP on the base for the Pz III and Schw!  Again thanks for being great!

Chazzer- Be sure to save some for me!!!!  Now I am going to ask my wife I want a mini-refrigator...

Great stash you got from the show!  You will love that Dragon Marder II... I build one last year for Marder Madness.  It was a great kit except for the turret wall as it was uneasy task.  Feel free to holler for help!

 Your StuG is really looking good... I am not joking.   I dig the guards you scratch built for the lamps.

Hey guys, I forgot this picture and a few more...

For my fellow man-cavers and napers..

The newest addition to my domain.....

See ya after a few beers and a nap. LOL

Chazz , nice work on the model and the tools . Now then , about your sleeping arrangements .............i want that settup !!!!

Hello guys, I've been following along for the past few days and I have time this weekend to be able to post. The models coming out of this GB are awesome! I am learning from some true Masters. I want to say thank you! There are so many of you that have done some great work I can't name names for fear of leaving some out! So to all of you WOW!!!!

I myself have been doing a bit of modeling. Heres the pictures.

I decided not to use the brass rod for the wiring. it seemed out of scale. I use some strands of picture hanging wire as they simulated the wire much better. I added brush guards and bent them up a bit. In my research I found alot of the tanks with brush guards and they were all different. I guess the crews might have made their own or customized them.. Some didn't have any at all. I also made some wire hold down clips out of some spare PE parts.-

I started the tools with Vallejo Wood. I thinned it down with Vallejo thinner. I also gave some other tools a wash of Vallejo Oily Steel. I like the way the paint flows with the Thinner.-

I painted all the rubber on the wheels. I used Testors rubber in the tiny bottle.-

I made up a rust wash for the exhaust. This is the first coat over the primer. I will continue with other washes and pigments.-

Thats it so far. Thanks for your help and any comments are welcome.

I picked up some kits ant APMS EAST. I think I would like to do the Stug A If I have time. Here are the Pict's. The kits I bought were $20.00 each. With the exception being the Matilda and the KV-II. They were $15.00.

Here is the organized AM parts I bought also.-

I picked up this stuff BEFORE I found that hoard!!

Lastly here is the room.-

And the new addition-

BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scott

Bill its been a pleasure being in this G.B. with you ! 

Thank you Gentlemen for you gracious accolades... 

Carl,,    Andy has just bestowed that honor on me, thanks. And thanks for your ongoing support

Ben,,   I  thank you as well.... great suggestions and insight...       Your Friul "sag" looks spot on to me...  too much more would give it a very loose look,, in my opinion.

Andy,,   Thank you my friend,   I was on the fence on joining the GB and you gave me the kick in the asce to get in....  and I am glad you did, It was fun,,,,,  loads of talent amongst the group, and all are a great bunch of fine people,,,                  I was glad to offer something within the group... as well as a few laughs, etc.     

The "tiny badge" cracked me up,,, very funny,, ha!            I will be sure to stick around....     I want to see the rest of these marvelous builds,,,   I'll also keep you updated on the pz III and Schwimmwagen scene,,  (going to try something a little different,,  for me anyway)

Thank you all again,,,           a fantastic group (build)

Bill

Hi guys,

First off - BaBill: what a great job on that micro panzer. I know you put a lot of effort into turning thst kit into something decent and you've done really well. Nice one

My Saturday wip update: I've been working on my Friuls today and oddly enough I only managed to get one run completed in the 4 hours that I had to myself this afternoon! Usually I can blast through them but these were really slow going.

Nevermind - the first run looks great I also painted over the Jack Block with Burnt Sienna Oil paint and worked that off with a stiff brush and that made a big difference - I've also put it into the correct spot above the tow hooks.

Tomorrow I'll get up early and blitz that second run then start on some light washes and I need to decide what to do with the spare wheels i.e. do I leave them as they are and rust them up or do I add some covers onto them - not sure?

I can't fit the tracks yet as my Black Track Solution hasn't arrived yet so I'll do them next weekend. See what you think of the Friuls and please let me know if you think the the sag is just right or needs altering. I used 91 links on this run iirc.

Here you go:

Thanks for looking chaps - update tomorrow!

All the best,

Ben  

Andy - those figures look great! What are you using for the base color for the "tanker green" (for lack of a more accurate term)?

That Deutsche Soldaten book seems pretty awesome as well...I don't have any decent uniform references like that, and you can snag it from Amazon for about 30 bucks. Hmmm.

Outstanding work on the figure especially at this size!   I admire your courage to use the kit figure.  I would have dumped it and ordered an aftermarket figure.

Bill, I really enjoyed following your WIP since day one and it has been a great pleasure having you aboard.  Hope you will stay around because we have enjoyed your company too. 

I hereby award you micro sized Panzer III & its variants GB badge...

Be sure to wear it with pride!  It made sense for you to have micro sized badge...

Bill , great build ! The figure came out great . I like the idea of the gray roadwheel .

Dont forget to pick up your copy of the G.B. Badge .

Well guys,,    for what it's worth, I give you the micro pz III m       Nitto 76th scale effort...

While it was a pain in the asce, it was also fun too         sort of a sweet and sour type of build.     The tank in itself is basically complete. I still have intentions of a scene with the, same scale, Schwimmwagen. I'll work on that adventure in the near future... 

Anyhow,,,  I hope you enjoy and I do value your comments...

Two shots from the workbench    with the workbench camera...   it just needs the antenna, commander and a little weathering

Here are some shots with the better camera in better lighting... with the additions mentioned previously....

I painted one roadwheel in pz grey just to offset the colors a bit...  also to give the effect of "borrowed" materials. 

Limited detail, loads of innacuracies...    but for the most part, things went together and it is actually engineered well (for a circa early 70's tiny-tank)

I'll be sure to keep track of your builds and will keep you updated on the micro pz III / Schwimmwagen progress....

Thanks kindly

Bill

Makes sense Andy,,,   good luck with the eye painting

Thank you John!   Are you are still planning to come over with over the weekend so I can show you how to do this?  LOL

Those figures just keep getting better and better Andy!

Carl & Eric- Thank you my friends!

Bill- Thanks buddy!  I haven't worked on the eyes... planning to do tonight.  Wish me luck!  About the slings, not too bad as I used Loctite then I applied fast drying fluid to make it strick faster and stronger.  They can fall off if you get careless and bump it hard enough... that's why I do the slings at near end while I do on the eyes and dark washes.

Those PE slings are very cool. 

Thank you too Carl....

Andy,,  the figures are looking Fine....    I like the slings.      Are they easy to attach?        How did you make out with the eye-painting?

Geeze Andy , those figures , weapons with the slings added  are really done well !!! I like your method of painting them . Makes the details stand out . Great looking .

Thanks Andy!         And you are probably right,  all the khaki green and brown,,, no excitement there. Would still like to see something in that arena though.

Doogs- Thanks for the tip!   Very tempting but I have to decline this time.  Having more than 40 kits in stash, I am doing my best not to get more until Christmas unless you see a M16 Quad gun Dragon #6381 on sale let me know!

Guys- Quick update on my figures... I have added slings to the MGs.  They are from Verlinden I bought at a show last year for a good deal.

Slings will be primed first before I can paing them.  Thanks for looking... TGIF!