The OFFICIAL Panzer III and Its Variants GB

satch - looking forward to meeting you and seeing it in person! I'll be bringing the Vorpanzer as well, though I'm pinning my hopes more on my Spit and 109. Still working out how I'm going to get those bad boys to and from the show! Planning a run by Target tonight to grab some appropriate-sized tubs.

Fellas, I'm on my way to Austin, TX to meet DoogsATX and go to the show.  I have the crew painted on the Pz III and will enter it just for S&Gs.  I'm really taking just to Doogs can see it in person.  The wife is going to a local spa there while I'm judging.  Then Saturday night on 6th Street. 

Hope to see some of y'all there.

Satch

Carl- Glad you liked the pictures!   Wish I knew about this earlier before I built my Chaffee because I would have taken many pictures to be used as reference.  I plan go go back there without my boys so I can stay there longer and take more pictures of the tanks at closer distance.  They even have two M8 Greyhounds and I am planning to build the Tamiya kit sometimes next year.

From now on, if my wife complains about my collection of model kits even tho there are only 40 kits kits along with many figure sets in my stash, I will just remind her how much Ropkey wife loved him...

Thats a place i wish was a lot closer to me . Strolling down isles of tanks ..................Cool !

 

Carl- Consider it done!

Guys- Thought I'd let you know I posted a thread about my trip to Ropkey Armor Museum last Saturday. 

/forums/t/141458.aspx 

If you ever come to Indiana or passing thru, you really have to check this place out. 

deafpanzer

Carl- Minenraumer?  AHHH! That's one of few things we will probably not see built for this GB.  I'd love to build one if there was a kit.  Thanks for the free lesson!

Chazzer- You going to IMPS East?  You lucky b@stard!  I always wanted to go since most of friends here go there.  Maybe one day I will... have fun and be sure to take pictures for us. 

Wish I can help you with the magic track count.  I used MK tracks for my Tamiya StuG.  Instructions said 93 but I added two or three more for more shag.

Sorry I missed your question about using Vallejo paint.  I haven't tried it especially on armors as I only use it for figures painting.  But I am planning to switch to Vallejo and LifeColor completely one day.  If you feel that German Panzer from Vallejo is too dark, you can always add a drop of buff or sand to lighten it up during post-shading if you are not satisfied. 

 

 

Free ? Its not free ! You owe me another brew !

That camo is spectacular Malone Duke.

Carl- Minenraumer?  AHHH! That's one of few things we will probably not see built for this GB.  I'd love to build one if there was a kit.  Thanks for the free lesson!

Chazzer- You going to IMPS East?  You lucky b@stard!  I always wanted to go since most of friends here go there.  Maybe one day I will... have fun and be sure to take pictures for us. 

Wish I can help you with the magic track count.  I used MK tracks for my Tamiya StuG.  Instructions said 93 but I added two or three more for more shag.

Sorry I missed your question about using Vallejo paint.  I haven't tried it especially on armors as I only use it for figures painting.  But I am planning to switch to Vallejo and LifeColor completely one day.  If you feel that German Panzer from Vallejo is too dark, you can always add a drop of buff or sand to lighten it up during post-shading if you are not satisfied. 

 

 

I can't help with track count. I always wing it and just add or take away. As far as the p grey goes its fine for the base coat if you're gonna fade it. If not I would lighten it up a bit for the topside but leave it dark on the hull below the fenders. And if you have it I also add a tiny drop of blue. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the kind comments guys.

Is anyone going to IMPS EAST 2011? It will be my first anything regarding modeling. I'm hoping to pick up a kit and accessories. Well maybe a few kits. If any of you are going I would love to meet you. Like I said, I am going and will stay overnight...withOUT my lively wife.

No Andy no sleeping together!! LMAO!!!

Does anyone know the magic track count for the Stug? And lastly can anyone help with my paint question.

Thanks as always, Scott

John,,   Thanks, the tracks were enjoyable (mostly)

Malone,,    That camo is Smashing!.....   I really like that scheme,, great job

Chazzer,,   Nice progress on the Stug!....  I sure would not have wanted to be a passenger in that first pic,,,  made my back hurt just looking at it

That last one is a Minenraumer III .It was a prototype designed to have a boom attached to the  front to carry mine detonation equipment , i.e. large round rolling plates .

Chazzer- Great process on your StuG.  VERY CLEAN looking after its primer job.  Now it is ready for the best part... painting!  I like the aftermarket ammo set... I should get one some day. 

I dig your man cave and I want to sleep in there... not with you of course!

What the heck is this?  I think I saw it once but forgot what was the purpose for this? 

 

Hello all. I've got a few pictures of my build in progress.

First I took a trip to my LHS and picked up some goodies. The tools from Cyber-Hobby probably won't be used. I am really diggin" the Stug III ammo from Jaguar. I will use some of the oil barrels. Maybe one.

[I picked up some paint. The paint for the tracks are the owner of the hobby stores own recipe. They took really good on his finished works. It's acrylic.

I primed most of the Stug B and the tools with Tamayas surface primer.

This is a shot of my first weld bead. Done from modeling clay.I'm happy with it.

The man cave:

I'm starting the Magic Track Assembly. I don't know how many to use per side. Can any one help me? Also I have Vallejo German Panzer Grey. # RAL 7021. It's a surface primer but it can also be used as the tanks color. Has anyone used this and is it a good match? I'm still going slow and want it to be right. I have a tough time with the paint matching and mixing. It seems a bit dark.  Thanks for your help

I found a few more pictures.

First off:

WTF?

Last one

Thanks in advance for any help that you could provide.

Scott

 

Malone- Thanks for posting bigger pictures.  Again, great work on the camo!   Are you telling us you did it freehandedly?  Boy, you are that good! 

I think I am going to use your scheme on one of my future builds...

So as far as the build goes I tried a couple of new things on this one. First being the Tracks. I assembled them on the hull and was able to pull them off as a whole unit so I could paint And weather and still fit them under the fenders. PAinting is a bit of a hassle but so far so good. Also I installed the tools before paint as well. I'm finding it easier to fix paint booboos without glue Being involved. Also about the kit I hated drilling out holes in the fenders. No matter how Good I think my skills are I can't get those filled right so a little mud is in order. As far as paint I started with tamiya dark yellow and faded with buff. The green is ja green Darkened then panel faded with added buff. I started masking with blu tack on the hull and turret But the squigs wouldn't come out thin enough so I freehanded the schurzen and kind of amazed myself So I went back and was able to fix the rest freehand as well. Not bad for an old paasch h. The scheme came from a very crappy google pic I found. And the decaling I kinda just fudged From a couple of other pics so its not all that accurate. Hope to have more done and more pics by the weekend.

alright guys we'll see if these do better.

Great work on the figures Andy.

Coming along splendidly Ben.

Carl & Bill- Thanks guys!  I do enjoy figures painting as much as I do with the armors.  That's the main reason why I finish few kits every year.  

John- You are absolutely welcome to come over... you only need to bring a case of .  Deal?

First you paint base coat on the uniforms.  Then you apply little darker tone of same base coat by adding black or whatever works best inside the 'folds'.  Then you use light grey on German grey on the edges... dry brushing only.  Also you can use medium grey for black panzer and anything black such as belts & boots.

Then at the end apply heavily thinned base coat AGAIN on the whole thing.  It will make all colors blend... of course you will use heavily thinned raw umber or burnt umber oil paint at the last to bring out the details. 

Guys- I don't think I will hit the work bench tonight.  It has been a long day for me.  Just picture this...  me driving two hours and half each way with a DeafBlind subcontractor sitting on the passenger seat next to me.  My left hand on the steering wheel and my right hand talking with the DeafBlind guy using tactile sign language to communicate.   Now my neck and shoulder are screaming 'Medic! Medic! Medic!'

R.I.P. Odds & Ends... have a good one! 

Bill, you sure did a fine job on the micro tracks!

Ben, the camo turned out great!

Andy, I'm going to have to come up there and have you show me how you do those figures. They sure look great!

I'll second that,,,,  the figs look excellent!

The figures look great already Andy .

It felt great being at my work bench tonight after a week of no modeling!  Yes, I am starting to feel alot better finally...

Quick update on my figures... I know it has nothing to do with Pz III but I thought I'd let you know it is my goal to finish those figures this week so I can jump in here with my StuG III. 

Those figures will go with my recent build Pz IV... uniforms are almost done and it only needs burnt umber washes which I am saving for last. 

\

Those two are for my Marder II build which I completed months ago but didn't have the chance to work on those til now... there's Captain Morgan!  Thank you Doogs... now I think of him every time I work on it!

Painting the flesh and personal gear would be next... going out of town on a business trip tomorrow so I will not be able to log in til late.  

Have a good one!

Hinksy

Re the MOT Certificate: It stands for Ministry of Transport Certificate (I think) which basically means you have a thorough annual check carried out which costs about £40 and you need this to keep you road legal and to but your insurance and Tax. Last year my car flew through it, no issues, but you never know when they are going to turn around and say something big needs replacing!

Ben, only £40?  That's much less than what I paid for my wife's car.  We paid $330 for the first year and the rate goes lower every year based on its value.  My faithful 8 years old Chevy Impala fee was only $55 this year. 

I agree Ben,,, it is nice to be able to indulge now and then,,,  especially on that Tiger!

MOT, understood....  very much like our state inspections. Although not every state requires them. And you are right,, They can tell you that you need this or that, and unless you are a mechanic, how would you know.

Good luck with it.........

Cheers right back!

Ben - I've got that very Tiger I in the stash and am planning a similar Pz.III/Tiger dio. From what I've read they operated in concert - the Tigers going after Soviet armor and the Panzers "clearing the field" as it were. 

One thing - the DS tracks that some with the beast are actually rather good, and the way the suspension lays out, there's not much opportunity or sag. Unless I just can't get them to go down right, I'm planning on using the DS ones and just gluing them down to the wheel tops to keep them from floating.

I'm as big a friul fan as they come, but I'll also steer around shelling out $$$ for them when there's a good non-Magic Tracks/indy/link-and-length option available.

BaBill212

Ben,,   nice going on the sale and your purchases.     MOT,,  that is like our annual "inspections" in the States, correct?

I like the idea of the Tiger and your Pz III with same unit markings and along side each other...  very nice!

Cheers Bill,

I have had an enjoyable day today! It's nice to be able to have a spend every so often! I too thought the Tiger I would look perfect with Panzer III - both with the Leningrad scheme and markings. I've wanted to do a 1/35 Tiger I for ages now!

Re the MOT Certificate: It stands for Ministry of Transport Certificate (I think) which basically means you have a thorough annual check carried out which costs about £40 and you need this to keep you road legal and to but your insurance and Tax. Last year my car flew through it, no issues, but you never know when they are going to turn around and say something big needs replacing!

Cheers buddy,

Ben

Ben-  Now it is starting to look real good especially the rear rack!  The decals look great.  I think one of my kits have the same mammoth insignia and I'd use it for my future build.

I am tempted to get the Tiger kit too... it is on sale right directly from Dragon USA website for only $29.99. 

 

Ben,,   nice going on the sale and your purchases.     MOT,,  that is like our annual "inspections" in the States, correct?

I like the idea of the Tiger and your Pz III with same unit markings and along side each other...  very nice!

Hey guys,

I've had a pretty busy weekend so didn't manage to get a lot done apart from the Winter Cammo and Decals.

The cammo looked great and although tense at times due to recent decal problems, the decals went on perfectly! I certainly didn't want to tear that Mammoth symbol or the outlined 116 numbers as I have nothing in my decal spares to replace them! I gave it a full covering of Vallejo Gloss Varnish out of the AB  and put them on yesterday and gave the tank another single coat of the same today to seal them all in so now it's ready for weathering and pinwashes/washes next week.

I had a bonus as something I'd had on sale for ages (an old rifle and associated kit from my rifle shooting days before I started modelling) suddenly sold and within an hour of the pm on the shooting forum a chap came round and gave me £450 - cash worries over!

So, £300 into the high interest account for my car tax and MOT which is due in the New Year and anything else that might come up - that will pay for Christmas presents too. I popped up town this morning and bought a lovely new pair of shoes for the office, some perfume for Mum and some modelling stuff for me - see below:

So, I have now just ordered my Pz. III Winteketten Friuls, a Tamiya Panzer III Quickwheel Mask, 2 x 2m and 2 x 1.4m RB Models brass German antennae, a set of 4 1/35 metal shackles and some MIG Brown Wash

I love the Mammoth Unit insignia:

 

 

 

I was also reading an old magazine of mine last night and read a piece where the authour built Dragon kit 6600 and it looked amazing. It's the Tiger I initial Production with the same markings as this Panzer III so they'll look great side-by-side  I knew I had to order one so it's, well, ordered! Yee haa! No longer will my cabinet be without a 1/35 Tiger!  

Here we go - it's ordered and will by next WIP. I'm thinking Friuls, replacement barrel and lots of detailing - this will be my Christmas time build!

 

Cheers guys,

Sorry I haven't got much to show you but at least the decals are on, she's varnished ready for wases and the Friuls are ordered!

Enjoy the rest of your week fellas!

All the best,

Ben