The OFFICIAL Panzer III and Its Variants GB

Ok, getting back into stride here. Yesterday before work I was able to apply all seven decals- three crosses, three turret numbers, and the 3.Panzer Division insignia on the front....

After shift last nite I hit the turret numbers again with a good dose of Solvaset. They probably could use one more dose.

And then this morning I was able to paint the stowage tools on the fender....

At this point I am looking thru my spares bins for other stowage items- jerry cans, boxes, helmets, etc. Almost ready for washes and dry brushing now.

Nice work Stik; great pics!  Decals seem to have set fine, good job

Tamiya Pz III Ausf L

 The kit is the old Tamiya Pz III Ausf L

Got it in Ebay couple years ago, had the surprise of finding the Eduard PE set in the box:

I had purchased the Voyager set (one of LuckyModels Christmas specials from a couple years ago.

Suffice it to say, the Voyager set is a lot more comprehensive and overlaps most of what the Eduard PE set offers. The Voyager set has a lot of details for the inside of hatches so I am considering leaving a few hatches open to show the detail. I don’t think it is very “historical accurate” but oh well….

Completed the lower hull:

The escape hatches are to be added to the lower hull. I got some AM escape hatches at the Danbury AMPS show couple summers ago. I think I may do some surgery on the lower hull to place the open escape hatch. This is the hatch:

I mentioned before how the MM Dunkelgelb is very greenish; I switched to Floquil Armor Up (for trains, still enamel), this is what it looks like. Coverage is so-so, I will have to prime everything and probably do multiple coats.

Did I mention the Voyager detail set is massive? Several frets, 200+ pieces of brass and a complicated instruction booklet.

See all these pieces?:

About half of the PE parts needed for the smoke discharger, which you can barely see. It includes a working lever system that you CANNOT see since it is INSIDE the smoke discharger…. 

Good thing I have my trusty Gator Glue to deal with all the PE!

Any and all comments, including technical, historical and accuracy issues are more than welcome :)

Cheers

Carl- I wondered the same.  I have decided not to add CA this time.  I will let everybody know if the dress pins continue to move out or not after its painting job.  The tracks were primed tonight...

86- I like what Carl called you.  Nice interior details!  I am glad you are keeping side hatches open...

Stik- Nice work on the decals... one step closer to the finish line. 

Jmart- Holy cow!  I really like what I am seeing... lots of PE and an old Tamiya kit.  Must have been a nice surprise to find the PE inside the box!  You lucky...

Agree with you about MM Dunky being green.  I use wbill's mix formula... 50/50 Dunky & light gray and it came out good.  200+ pieces?  NO WORRIES... we have plenty of time until June! 

Been awhile since I've checked in and what a nice surprise!

DUPES Beautiful Stug  Like the wear in the white wash.  I too would like too see some more pic's please.

ANDY - Those tracks look awesome!  The winterketten always makes them look tough.  You said there was no clean up needed on the links, sweet.  The Fruil's I did, I used wire and after cutting the excess off, used needle nose pliers and squished a flat head (crimped) on the two ends.  Used no CA.  Was a pain to do and messed up a few links but made a completely workable track and had no problems with dipping them in the Blacken-It.

How are those figs coming out?  The commander looks great.

STIK - The mud effect is pretty convincing, I like it   Those decals look like they took very well even the ones going over the turret visors.  Those can be a pain but you make it look easy.

86 - Nice looking turret.  The crew hatches open will look very nice.

JMART - Nice too see you start up.  Great find of goodies in the box   Really look forward to the open escape hatches!!!  Have always wanted to do that.  Did not know of the AM hatches.

PANZERWAFFE

STIK - The mud effect is pretty convincing, I like it   Those decals look like they took very well even the ones going over the turret visors.  Those can be a pain but you make it look easy.

Thanks PW- my first attempt at the mud went very well on my recent LAV C2. It looks most convincing under a coat of paint. As far as the turret decals, I think part of it was luck, and part was three simple steps:1) gloss base color, 2) liberal amount of decal set under the decal, 3) copious amounts of Solvaset after the number were in place.... that stuff rocks! On a gloss paint base color there were no worries about the "clouding" issues that happen with Future.

Sign me up for the Su-76i since no one else seems to be doing one. It will be based on the old Tamiya Panzer III M/N kit; scratch built superstructure and details.

Rob- Thanks buddy!  I really like those Winterketten tracks.  I will not hesitate to buy another set or two if I see them at model shows.  My time at workbench has been very limited so there hasn't been much work on the figures.  I hope to resume modeling as soon as I return home from Florida where I am now for Christmas. 

DaveB- First of all WELCOME to FSM!  Yes that would be great!  Two new guys signing up this week... it is a great sign that this GB is still alive and kicking!  Promise you we will be watching your Su-76i build with interest because we don't see this often.  

Guys- You know any good model shop here in Orlando?  I plan to stop by one... google showed few results but which one is the best so that way I don't have to drag my family to several shops.  

Andy,,  not sure of the model shops in Orlando.....      sorry pal               have fun otherwise!

Andy: Thanks, nice to be aboard. I don't often do a scratched conversion but after reading about the Su-76i, I decided I had to give it a try.  It's an interesting vehicle. After the fall of Stalingrad, the Russians had hundreds of captured Panzer III and Stug III's on their hands. Impressed by the German SPG's but short on  similar  vehicles in their own inventory at that point, they converted a lot of the Panzer III and Stug III chassis to the Su-76i.  The one I'm modeling will be in German markings since it came full circle...captured by the Russians, converted and re-captured by the Germans.   

I've been working on it for the past couple days so will post some in-progress photos later.

I've gotten a good start on the SU-76i conversion. There are a surprisingly large number of photos (and even a set of 1/35th scale drawings) on the web so there's a lot to work with. I hope to do the model without using any aftermarket products. The gun and mantlet will come from a Tamiya T-34/76; everything else will be scratched from styrene and/or cast in resin.

[View:/themes/fsm/utility/

The superstructure is .040 sheet styrene.

Molded-on details (rear tow cable and boxes on the fender) have been removed.

Starting to add some detail

ANDY - Have fun in Florida...Merry Christmas

DAVE -Cool.  Was really hoping someone would build this one.  Very interesting and unique vehicle.  Looks like a really good start, will watch with much anticipation

                              Stikpusher- old 531 is looking pretty good,like your use of mud.

                              Dupes- Your stug conjures memories of the Winter Warriors.

                              Andy- Seems like it would be tough to get much building done in Fla.

                              And to all the other participants,its very enjoyable to watch the progress.As for my panzers,I have not done alot to the Berge but the Ausf.N he will be towing is progressing just a bit.I have painted the turret interior and added the supports for the rear fenders.

                             Merry Christmas to all and am very much looking forward to seeing all the entrants completed.As always any questions and or comments are welcome.

                                                                Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

Greg- Hey buddy!  NO kidding about being unable to model here in Florida... I am starting to miss modeling but it will not stop me from doing some shopping online to get those great deals. LOL  My wife and boys at the pool in Orlando... no need to tell us how white we were.  We plan to chill out today again after a long day at Universal Studio yesterday.  They loved the World of Harry Potter park.  Merry Christmas too!  Hope there's plenty of snow out there... I recall it makes you happy. 

 Your Pz III is looking real good!!!  Never thought about leaving primer paint inside the skirts.  Are you planning that way? 

DaveB- Great process on your Su!  You made it sound very easy!  Looking forward to see your next update...

Rob- MERRY CHRISTMAS TOO!

Guys- I think I forgot to post this before we left for Florida... I had the Friulmodel tracks primed using Krylon primer.  I think it is what our friend Greg (detailfreak) uses.  It worked just great!  Normally I use black primer for the tracks but I completely forgot that I was out of those and I had Ruddy Brown Krylon primer in stash so I gave it a shot.  Figured the tracks had more rust because of the snow & ice... it should work better.

Greg,looks good,lotsa "details"

Andy,glad you enjoyed your vacation

Lotsa good stuff going on here........       great work guys

Andy,        the Harry Potter stuff wasn't there the last time we went           did you try the dueling coaster yet?  When we went on that thing, one of my sneakers almost flew off,,,,  now can you imagine,, walking through the park, whistleling, having a nice time, eating an ice cream cone,,,  and WHAP,,, getting smacked in the mush with someones sneaker at about 30 mph?    HA,,,, 

Thanks Andy.  With the holidays approaching I haven't made much progress but the time situation should improve soon and I can get down to "business".   I have had a chance to go through older posts though and am really impressed witht the quality of the builds everyone is doing.

Guys- Merry Christmas everybody!  Hope you had a great day... maybe couple of kits addition to your huge stash? I got more three kits... all Dragon kits. 

Now I am back home from ten days trip to Florida.  It was great but it is good to be home!  Flew today and you won't believe how empty the airports were which was nice. 

DaveB- I am glad you were able to enjoy the past builds.  Those guys were great and we are looking forward to see more especially yours and mine.

Bill- No kidding about the roller coasters at Universal Studio... they were fun.  My boys and I rode on those Dueling Dragons but we liked Hulk the best.  Have you done that too? 

Good to have you back Andy and great that all of you had such a great time   Which kits did you get?

Jmart, I like your Tamiya L. I have always wanted to get one so I will be watching your build.

Dave, your conversion of the old Tamiya M/N into a SU-76 looks very cool! More please!

Detail, your N is coming along great! I always like those snub nosed 75s...

Now that the Christmas model building "cease fire" is over, I was able to get a little bench time in before work here today. I was able to get the pin wash areas applied with Burnt Umber. Tomorrow I can do clean up on it.

Update photos on the PZ III Ausf J initial version (Dragon smart kit 6463) ... found a photo of a captured Ausf J initial on WWII Multimedia Database. Cemented turret pieces together with just the commander top hatch remaining, see photos below. 

Turret top view 

Attempt to show Command position / seat detail

Front hull detail 

Rear view 

Stik,,    will be watching for the after-cleanup..   looking good!

86,,   nice details,,   and PE   

Andy,,  yes, did the Hulk as well. After the dragons my wife didn't want to try the hulk though (sissy girl that she is), so I rode it myself,,,  both were great!             Glad you had a good time......

86- Outstanding work!  I can see the details inside.  Nice details on the front hull too!  Looks like it is ready to be primed or painted next?

Stik- Looking great as usual!  Looking forward to see how it comes out today.  Just realized how it may have been difficult for you to apply decals on the turret sides... did you have to cut decals in different places to make it work? 

Bill- My wife is just like your wife but she did ride with me on Hulk... she didn't want to ride on those Dueling Dragons.  Maybe next time we all can go together so our wives can shop while we ride?

Rob- Christmas was great!  Spent whole day with my in-laws yesterday.  Here's what I got for Christmas... orginally I was expecting two kits but had to get one more... DAMN Sprue Brothers and its big sale! 

The  best gift is obviously the Achtung Panzer #6 for Tigers... finally got it from eBay for $40.  Now I have all six books of the series excluding the first one which I plan not to get. 

I'll be doing the cleanup here soon. I will post pics then.

DP, no cutting of the decals was needed suprisingly enough. I thought for sure I would have to, but the three applications of Solvaset on its own seems to have done the trick.

Looking for suggestion on base coat - final coat will be German Grey (2nd Panzer Div - Barbarossa) ... I have use Red Brown as a primer / base coat with vehicles used in N. Africa. armor86

86- Alot of guys here like to use Tamiya paint... that would be German Grey TS-4 or #85004.  I like Model Master because of its enamel paint.  I use MM Panzer Schwarzgrau heavily thinned to work well after a preshading job. 

I used Gunze's Field Gray 1 on this Mk III. It does not have the bluish hue that Tamiya's German Gray has.

Well here is my Mk III after cleanup of the pin wash. Almost done... I still need to dry brush highlights, airbrush suspension weathering coats, and add stowage and add the MG barrels and antenna.

Only minor progress for me today. I was able to get most of the stowage base painted. Next up is attachment, washes, and detail painting on the stowage.

Stik- Pz looking real good... now details are coming out after the clean up.   Now you have me curious how will you be able to appky weathering coats with the mud already on.  Should be interesting!  Everybody does it different which makes our hobby fun...

Pz III Ausf J initial - Preparing for it's first primer coat - dark grey hull / turret ... the road wheels have already been given a coat of red primer on the inside half and the outside halves are ready ... bench photos ... Tamiya paint is hard to come by still ... however I have a large stock, and have gather several Vallejo Model Colors - German Grey and Dark Grey, Panzer Aces Dark Rubber (Road Wheels), Tamiya Color XF-64, and some paint by ModelMakerZ Airbrush Ready Paint Dark Grey .... I have used the Vallejo Model Color with thiner and works well. Armor 86