BILL212 - Those tracks really look good now   Everything that's good never seems to come easy....at least thats what I've found to be true.  Nice job.

Thanks for letting use know of the sale.  I'm going to look now, was some stuff I needed.

BOB - Nice cockpit.  She went together quick.  Look forward to the color coat.

Yeah, I saw that. Too bad I'm not a big PE guy and they didn't have my Semovente barrel.

Guys,,  I forgot to bring this up        ...   Dragon is having a PE sale. Buy one and get one free. I went on this morning and picked up a 38T main barrel and machine gun barrel,,   $9.95 for both (they were both $9.95,, one for free).

I believe the offer ends today...    some nice items available.

Thanks Eric,,,,  I believe I have the issue resolved

I sympathize with you Bill on the tracks. Hopefully you can get em fixed.

Bob, dashing start on the office. I look forward to seeing her get built up.

Carl, wBill,,    no worries my friends, , , I would not have been happy leaving them the way they were. Measure twice, cut once is a good idea to work by (even though I thought I had it measured correctly).  So with me I have to think, measure thrice and cut once, so to speak.

I always appreciate your feedback,,,,,,,,   and thanks again

Bob,,    the cockpit looks very nice.    Aircraft amongst all the armor is a nice thing.

Hey Bob nice work on the cockpit

Again, great armor builds by all involved....they all look great....and I can't imagine working with those tiny tracks..

Anyway, had some time this week and made some progress on the 109-interior is complete, fuselage & wings attached and primed.  Hope to finish painting by the end of Monday...we'll see..

Interior detail of the Airfix kit isn't as great as a Tamiya or Hasegawa kit, but still enough, especially with a closed canopy.  A little spare wire and some scratch building would add a bit.  However, it does have a 'rough' engine that others may want to leave exposed for viewing.  Mine will be closed up.

Fit has been pretty good-especially the wing/fuselage.  One minor annoyance is due to the nature of the kit-you can build an E-1/E-3/E-4/7 from the same kit so that generates some additional work for the different wing guns....and seams to be filled. 

Attachment points on the spruce are a bit heavy-you have to use care in cutting off parts and a little extra filing is required.

Overall, I'd build this kit again, especially at the price

Bill, I agree with Carl...sorry to hear about your problems with the track repair but the result is worth it IMHO. Much better sag presentation this time around.

Sorry to hear about the problem with the links Bill . I feel responsible because i recommended you remove a couple of them .  If it helps the sag looks spot on now .

Nothing is ever as easy as one thinks....    at least that seems to be the case with me..... 

Anyhow, figuring it shouldn't be much of a hassle (ha) I removed 2 links. Then added one as they seemed too tight. Then had another link disintegrate in the middle of one of the track spreads. Destroyed 2 links trying to clear up the busted link.. Then repainted / weathered where needed and a few hours later, got both sets back into place.

I think it will work out fine......        (fingers crossed)

I still have some tucking in and tidying up to do on them, but they should be ok.

(Whew!)

Jack,

You are correct, the use of the rhomboid plates was something that was used by the Panzer units at various times and the Battle of France period is one of transition to a whole variety of different numbering schemes that include the use of the rhomboid plate, use of large white turret numbers  and no plate, etc. The same is also true of the balkenkreuze...as some examples like the one you provide had the cross with a black center and some with only the white outline. There are examples in Trojca's Pzkpfw IV Ausf A-F At War of IV-Cs that sport all types of variety of markings and it can often boil down to the individual vehicle in question as to what is accurate or not.  

From a distance the rhomboid plate virtually disappears and it's only in close-up clear shots like yours that you can see the plate clearly as a distinct item. DML didn't provide the plate in the kit, just the decal marking, and I opted not to scratchbuild ones of my own because of the small size and challenge of the rhomboid shape (versus say a rectangular or square shape). In the markings sheet, DML does provide options that include the black-filled cross and also yellow and not white tactical markings on the black rhomboid. I opted for the white open cross and white rhomboid numbers as I felt they would "show" better in the weathering stages to come.  

Bill - regarding the black rhomboids with the tactical numbers - I've a couple old books (30+ yrs) in which they state these were metal plates.  Did you uncover some info indicating they were directly painted onto the hulls?

Noted military author Roger James Bender  - "The plates were removable and could be changed from a disabled tank to a replacement one.  Thus, the numerical continuity of a combat unit would be consistent."

I've also seen a few photos of the rhomboid plate used at the rear of the tank.

Turning into a "smashing" nice build.

regards,

Jack

Rob,,,  glad to have been of help

Bill ,gotcha on the water colors .

Rob , i dont know why the cat in my sig , other than i thought it was kinda funny looking ................maybe its something to do with the black cat on my stash .

JACK - Thanks much.  Glad to hear you like the figures and thanks for the advice on painting them.  Will defiantly be trying more figures and techniques on my next build.

CARL - What's up with the signature cat

BILL212, CLIFF - I have used and still do at times those same paints for weathering.  Easy to use and work well in the right situations.

BILL212 - Thanks for the comments.  Seeing some of your dio's helped motivate me to build this simple base.  Had originally told myself no more bases until my final move until seeing some of yours.

Look forward to your next Command Pz I update, not much longer to go on him.

Rob,,    the carrier is smashing,,,   all way round...  center-piece, figs and base / setting.    Wonderful portrayal indeed !

wBill,,    looking very nice. Great snag on the research part for the markings.

Carl,,  thanks, however they are artist water color paints (acrylic in a sense). I would say if you want to give them a whirl, try a small tube (the ones I typically pick up are .27 ounce) of burnt umber. This can be used for a variety of applications - - dirt stains, rust, oil, seam highlights, lower hull smears, etc.        Give it a go and see how you like.     And agreed,,   I am reworking the tracks as we "speak".........    will update

WBILL - Looking better every update.  Those markings really look good

CARL - Thanks buddy.  This is a rather small boring vehicle but it played such a huge role for the Commonwealth and the fact that it was one of the forerunners to so many other vehicles that I had to build one.  In the future plan on building the others, MK I and MK II.   I did have a darker shade for track marks had also pushed the grass down flat with my finger for the marks.  Lot easier to see them in person.  Those figs are a little pale.  Like you said though they are English / Canadian, sorry Jack  I do speak from experience though, my wife is from England

Rob .....that model looks just great ! Spectacular what you have down with what i usually concider a blah piece of equipment . All of the details really make the little fellow stand out ! In reference to Andy's comment about the track marks onthe grass it looks like you did some darker shading on the grass behind the tracks ...........or am i seeing things ? Figures look fine to me , maybe a bit pale , but they are Brits .

Bill , Nice touch with the acrylic paint spots . I never have tried that method . The tracks ........may be just a liitle to much slack . They look like removing 1 or 2 links would give you the correct slack . I'd try removing one link and see what that looks like .

Gamera, thanks for the comments! I expect Andy's self-preservation instincts will kick in shortly!

Continuing on from yesterday, I added the decal markings to create a vehicle from 6/Pz.Rgt. 11, 6 Pz.Div. in France 1940. The finishing guide is only partially helpful in the markings placement since it only shows the left hand side and the front.

It's the right hand side that poses a bit of a challenge. Vehicles in France sported a wide variety of markings arrangements depending on the unit in question. Fortunately I was able to find pics of that side of the vehicle for another company's vehicle (523) in the same Rgt/Div unit as a reference.

I used Solvaset on the decals to insure they snugged down tight to the surface and then applied a 2nd coat of Future to seal them in and provide protection from the weathering to come. This will sit and cure for 24 hours so will be a little bit before the next update.

Oh,,  and Andy                      keep your wife away from this GB page 127             ouch!

Thanks guys,,,  I have removed the tracks and am in the process of revamping. If I had not, it would have been one of those things that would have bugged me every time I looked at the build.

Jack,,,    you are absolutely correct, and thanks...     my apologies to all for the incorrect information (I think acrylic was stuck in my head for some reason).        With that said the same statements hold true as far as ease of use and successful applications.     They will work on or over any color or color scheme. I have used them in conjunction with many colors, light to dark.    As Jack also stated (echoing one of my previous points) is that they will basically be workable forever, so to speak, unless they are sealed.

I have used them for aircraft (panel lines, etc.), armor, watercraft with very nice results. They offer a wide range of colors and are very inexpensive to boot.      I've found it extremely difficult to mess up a finish as they can be coerced with good ole plain water.      Practice and seal afterwards......

Jack: Thanks, interesting, I wonder how they will show up on dark olive drab etc. Well as Bill said it's something to practice on the old paint mule with before hitting a new model.

Rob - wonderful job on the carrier and another great presentation.  I particularly like the sitting figure, some realy delicate work on his facial expression.

I'd like to address the paints posted by Bill:

These are not acrylics, but as the tubes show are water colors - something completely different.  They are inherently transparent, and as a result darker tones will always overpower lighter ones no matter how many layers you put over top.  (I have painted with them in art college and one really has to think about the process, working from lights first to progressively darker tones).   Even after they have dried, they can be reworked if exposed to water or any other liquid - hence the need to seal them.

regards,
Jack

CLIFF, DETAIL - Thanks guys.  Putting "Tea Time" in the title somehow is a great idea.

WBILL - Thanks!  After my last post went back and reread your post again and saw that you had already said that you were using MK tracks

BILL212 - That's what I call an update   The command Pz is really coming along nicely!  I like the brown used for your pattern and the weathering really ties things together.  Dented muffler guard is a nice touch but I think I would be afraid to achieve the dent as you did.  It did work very well though.  As far as the track, I would take out some of the slack but thats just me.

ANDY - Maybe I'll paint another figure and have him laying in the grass, can name him Andy.

Had thought about damaged grass myself but was hopping to be able to say, as you have, that the ground was dry and hard.  I had problems with the base of the ground work and did not want to try making tank tracks in it.  Was taking so long for the base to dry I turned to using a hairdryer to speed things up.  When I did this the filler of the base cracked and broke away from the wood frame.  Used 5 min epoxy to put and hold it back down.

The grass is pretty easy. First give the base a coat of dark brown paint.  I used cheap Delta Ceramcoat Spice Brown acrylic paint for this, let dry.  Then doing small sections at a time brush on Elmer's glue and apply the static grass.  The only hard thing about this step is not eating the glue  

I use a large holed dropper to add the grass.  By doing this find it easier to control where and how the grass goes on but mainly it makes the grass stand up.

After the sod is layed and glue has dried overnight, spray with Dullcoat which helps hold ever thing in place.  Careful to spray at enough distance not to disturbed the grass.  It's pretty solid after that but will become more rigid after paint.  In this case I used all MM enamels from the AB.

Raw Umber #2006 for a base,  Field Green #1712 in patches / general cover,  Green # 2029 sprayed at angle and just get the top areas,  Then dry brush with RAF Trainer Yellow # 2063.

It's actually pretty easy once you do it a few times.

Bill: Thanks, will have to give that a try, I like acrylics a lot more than oils. Will have to drag out the old Sheman paint mule again...

DP Andy: Ohhhhhhhh you're in trouble buster

Bill- Outstanding work on camo.  Another cool early German camo!  Now I am tempted to use that camo on my Char Bis...

I am with the other Bill... sag looks excessive in my opinion and it reminds me of my wife.  Oops!  I shouldn't have said this.   I did a Pz I earlier and the sag wasn't too much.  Remove one maybe two and see how it comes out?  Bet you a it will look better...

wBill,,    thanks for the advice                    appreciate the help

Thanks Gamera,,,  yes, the dot filters are acrylic. I use the artist acrylics for washes and filtering (all hand brush work of course). One of the nice things about these applications is even if you overdo them you can water thin, damp brush or blot them to remove what you believe necessary.

Practice on an old kit first....  and lightly seal after each overall phase.