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 .

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.

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

Hey Bob nice work on the cockpit

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Rob,,  thanks               good hunting with the PE sale

Thanks guys....it's good to be building rather than watching....although watching everyone's builds has been both inspiring and humbling....great work all the way around.

Anybody have any spare Pz IV cupola hatches? 

satch,,       possibly,    what kit?

My Dragon Pz IV C.  Any early Pz IV or III hatches would work.  They had the same cupola.

satch,,    I'll take a look and see what I have available......

Well, the Panzerbefehlswagen I is basically complete. I have to get into figure-mode to put it to a base. I still have a couple of ideas floating around in the void I refer to as my head. All the ideas will be focused on a dusty French back road.

Anyhow,,  here are some shop pics. I will get some studio pics together later.

It was a fun build for the most part. I enjoyed adding the interior details. Unfortunately these photos don't really offer much of the interior.      I think the paint and weathering turned out on the plus side.

Once I get it on a permanent base I will alter the track sag to fit. I'll also add a bit more dust / dirt to the lower hull areas.

Hope you like.........

All comments welcome

Bill

That turned out wonderfully Bill. Tracks looks great as does the weathering.

Happy New Year.

BILL212 - Thats NICE   Have always liked this variant with that substructure and antenna.  You have made a beautiful rendition of it.  Tracks did come out nice and it now shows off the missing front part of the fenders   Did not notice that before.  Like that color of brown in the cammo, what color did you use?  It ties in real well with the weathering.  The other thing I like is the position of the MG, more relaxed and different from all the others that I have seen.  Even from the limited view of these pic's the interior really shows through and greatly adds to the look.

Very well done overall and look forward to seeing it on it's base.

Eric,,   thanks muchly...  appreciate it. Once on its permanent base the tracks will be toned down just a bit, which will allow more of the "metal" track-to-ground to be viewed. I use real dirt which I grind with a mortar and pestle. Afterwards I mix it up with plain water and apply. You can make it real sloppy or thin, depending on your taste. When secured [to base] I can touch up, add or delete, again with a little water.

Rob,,  thank you too... the camo brown was a mix I made up using a pantone match with a color reference of the disruptive scheme brown. At first I was not too keen on it, but the weathering helped it along. The relaxed MG was a fluke as I built the interior I didn't take into account the angle of the butt end of the MG on the inside of the tank (angled in a relaxed position). I redrilled the exterior ball mount hole which gave it the subdued look. I agree that it does look a bit different from most that I have seen.

Once I get it to my basement studio I will get some better shots (hopefully) of the interior.

Ahhh yes Bill yor efforts have accomplished a beautiful finished model The views of the interior details add interest . I like the dented muffler guard . Tracks are really dirty . What did you use on them ?  I'm looking forward to some more pictures . Tools are looking good , track sag is good also . Interesting how many of us built the smaller vehicles for this G.B.

Carl,,    thanks my friend. I used real ground up dirt for the tracks .        I have family members located all over the globe who send me little packages of native dirt.      One sample of particular interest is from a nephew (in the US Air Force) who gathered some dirt from a WWII concentration camp site while he was stationed in Germany.     So, I have a bunch of little screw top plastic paint type jars area labeled with ground dirt from all over the place..........    Pennsylvania, Texas, Kansas, Hawaii, West VA,  California,  South Carolina, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Qatar, Greece,  etc. etc.         (pays to have family all over the place sometimes...  ha)   

This ground up "dirt" application could not be more realistic (in my opinion that is).     It is simple, easy to apply and has many varied applications.        I did try to airbrush once, but met with less than favorable results. I pretty much stick to brush application dry or wet or a combination of both.

Bill- Beautiful work!   The tracks look alot better now after two links removed.  Sorry to hear about the issues but I hope you agree that they look perfect now. 

Will you threat it as 2011 last or 2012 first completed build?

Thanks Andy,,    With me,, there are always some issues here and there. I totally expect them with any of my builds.

I would have to say this will be my first 2012 completion........   I did put a number of final touches on today (1/1/2012).

Well boys, I'm taking this one off the bench on on the shelf.  I'm not entirely happy with the finished product.  I tried pigments for the first time and I think I broke my own rule and over applied the weathering.  I lost half the Commander's hatch so don't knick me on that one.  I also used the same figures from my Pz III build. 

Here she is, a Pz IVC of Pz Rgt 1, 1st Pz DIv, France 1940.

The kit is awesome but very complicated and demanding.  Paints were Vallejo German Gris and Tank Brown with Satin Varnish mixed in the paint.  This gave a nice semi sheen to smooth it out and precluded the need for gloss coat prior to decals.  The decals layed down very well over the hatch and on the compound curve on the rear of the turret. 

Along with the Vallejo pigments I used a oil dot filter.  Once again I think I kinda over did it.  It does look better on the shelf that it does in the photos.  Besides, I'm the only one that has to look at it!

Thanks for hosting the GB and a big thanks to Bill for his build log of this kit.  I don't know if I could have done it without you, Bill.

Satch

Bill your welcome . So ,family dirt from all over the world ..............................sorry ,couldnt pass it up

I should of had my USAF son do that ...maybe some Afghan dirt ? As far as airbrushing it i never thought of that . That'd probably be a mess though woudnt it ?That dirt from the German prison camp ...............whew !

Satch, I think your being hard on yourself. i would just even out the weathering on the road wheels and call it good.

satch,,   I agree with Eric,,  way too hard on yourself. There are loads of good points on your build...  seriously, overall it looks good.          I am headed to my storage bin (today) to see if I can find you that cupola hatch....   stay tuned, will let you know.

Carl,,  oh boy, the stories I could tell... (family dirt)...  ha.    No doubt someone in the family would turn the tables on me however. So I guess it best to button my lip.           When I tried to airbrush it kept clogging. Even with grinding into a fine powder I guess the pigments are still too much for airbrushing. My Qatar dirt was from another deployment by my USAF nephew. I

Bill & Satch-nice work gentlemen.....very nice.

RLM 65 & 02 are on the 109.....hope to get the 70 (I think) on today......I'm really thinking that I should have gone the German armor route rather than dealing with the splinter camo scheme....oh well....

Cheers

BaBill, the "family dirt" sounds like a great tradition...reminds me of the same thing in Saving Private Ryan. Nice job on completing the Befehlspanzer I!

Satch, glad to be of help to a fellow modeler! The Super Kits are complex and require more patience and yours came together beautifully. Hopefully the other Bill can supply you with the missing half of the cupola hatch so you have a complete set there. Aside from Eric's suggestion, the only thing I can add is for future build consideration, the Germans painted exposed interior hatch surfaces like the turret side hatches to match the hull exterior instead of leaving them in the interior color. This was to avoid creating targets for enemy gunners when the hatches were open both on the ground and from the air. Congrats on getting this one across the finish line!

Bill: Beautiful job! Looks like you got the treads just right. Looking forward to seeing the base with groundwork. BTW: If you ever need any good old Southern red clay I got plenty here.

Satch: Very cool! Really like the figures, I think they add a lot to a AFV and really like the candid poses.