Today's efforts were all about the tracks. I applied a wet mix of Mig Dry Mud pigments and let it air dry, then went to work with round and square stiff bristled brushes.

Tracks were installed and the sprockets fixed into position.

Will see if some adjustments need to be made tomorrow after it's had a chance to sit overnight.

Wbill: Very nice! Pastels, hmmmm that's another thing I need more practice with.

Tread: Wow, love the showroom fresh look, almost a shame to dirty her up. 

Tread ..................

Love the blue heart Tread. Really adds a bit of zing.

Nice work on the decals Tread! I'm pushing hard to get this one done between now and Sunday and the next round of the playoffs!

This is the last time you will see this Char this  ' clean '..she still needs matte coat, but weathering will begin this weekend

thanks for looking ,

tread

geez Bill you're a tough act to follow ... again excellent work!

tread

Today's efforts focused on the pigment treatment for the lower hull and suspension. I used Mig Dark Mud pigment converted to a wet mixture using ordinary tap water with a drop of liquid dish soap added to break the surface tension and make the application easier.

After that had air dried, I used some stiff bristled brushes to remove excess pigment and then set to work with both wet and dry ends of a Q-tip to remove more pigment and adjust the finish.

This was done to both sides and this is where things stand as of now.

Then to provide some layering and tone down the reddish effect a bit of the Dark Mud, I applied some Mig Dry Mud as dry powder with a stiff bristled brush to round things out.

Next up will be working with the tracks and then installing them as the final weathering step.

wBill,,   awesome weathering on that baby,,  very nice!

Thanks Bill. Perhaps my using oils and no future over the base has something to do with it. Sometimes it shows up pretty convincingly and other times not so.

Shellback: Thanks, I thought it was pretty colourful and cool looking.

Bill & Carl: Whoops! I had no idea about the Panzer IV J. I'll have to remember the road wheel method from now on...

tread, thanks for the kind words and using Terry's signature phrase definitely put a smile on my face.

Rob, glad you like the cupola, it's a trick I picked up from another builder (can't recall exactly who) some time back and had filed away. Tamiya clear paints have a lot of uses if you get a little creative with them. I've even read of one builder using the clear Orange as a filter over Dunkelgelb to get some interesting results!

Andy, no worries I figured that was the reason, you've got Pz III's on the brain big time!

satch, the clear blocks are a snug fit and it took some careful work with the tweezers to get them in position no question about it.

Eric, I always use enamel paints and not oils, so have to state that up front. Enamels behave differently even though they are also oil-based paint and so that could be one area of difference that is producing a different result. Future also isn't a true "gloss" coat in the sense that it does have some tooth to it, so if you are using a different gloss (or no gloss at all and just relying on an acrylic base without a sealer), that could also produce a different outcome. For Dunkelgelb bases I usually lay down a base overall wash of Raw Umber and then follow it up with the dot filter colors (depending on if it has a camo pattern or not) that include (all color names are for MM enamels) Flat White, Yellow (if plain DY finish) or un-lightened Panzer Dunkelgelb, and Raw Sienna. If the camo pattern includes large sections of three-tone colors, then I will add in Panzer Olivgrun for the green areas and maybe some Italian Dark Brown for the red-brown areas in place of the Yellow. HTH, it's something that I continue to experiment with all the time in terms of desired effects/results.

Gamera, glad the tips are helpful, it's all stuff I picked-up/borrowed as well from seeing/hearing how other modelers do stuff so I'm happy to "pay it forward" so to speak! You're right about telling the difference on the Pz III vs IV with one notable exception....the IV-J reduced the number of rollers from 4 to 3 in 1944. Carl's method is the most reliable...IVs have 8 road wheels (4 x 2) per side while IIIs have 6 (3 x 2).

Those extra wheels help to show the diff also, if the Pz. is wearing Schurtzen .

Gamera , i like your new avatar .

Bill: Great job! Again I have to say I love what you guys do to make vanilla grey exciting. I'll have to remember the tips of Futuring (is that a verb?) the cord for the tow cables and the translucent green paint on the vision blocks.

Some guy told me years ago the easy way to identify panzers is that in all versions the Panzer III has three upper return rollers while the Panzer IV has four.

I can't seem to get my dot-filters to turn out as good as yours Bill. I wonder if my color choices are part of it. Which ones do use for Dunkelgelb bases?

Very sweet Bill.  I could not for the life of me get those clear blocks in the holes of the inner cupola parts.

Bob, I used a dot filter too on my Pz IV but I don't future.  I use a Vallejo Polyurethane acrylic primer under Vallejo acrylic paints.  I mixed satin varnish in the base paint mixture to give it some gloss for the decals and to help the washes flow.  Then if you use an oil dot filter you don't have to worry about the thinner ruining your base.

When using a dot filter, don't be afraid of bright weird colors.  I used white, yellow ochre, umbers, blue, and dark red.  See if you can find the Doogs tutorial on dot filters.  I saw him demo it at a contest in Syracuse.  Just remember when you think you need one more touch, stop.  It's easy to overdo it like I did.

Satch

wbill76

Andy, my poor Pz IV keeps getting demoted to a III but I appreciate the comments all the same!

D'oh!  Being a host for my Pz III GB I am just being obsessed with that number III.  Again, your Pz IV is looking great.  Only one or two more hours then you have brought it across the finish line!

WBILL - Your PANZER IV is awesome  That dot filtering really nice.  Look forward to your pigment treatment.  I am still learning about the pigments so will be watching to learn and be inspired.  The tinted commander visors look great, love the effect it gave to the copula.

I think I am gonna cry.... freekin beauty bill....honest to god man...a beautiful build and so technically proficiant... I can say no more

my buddy Terry says 'gobsmacked ' at this point

tread

Andy, my poor Pz IV keeps getting demoted to a III but I appreciate the comments all the same!

I'm trying to take full advantage of the mini break I have between the end of one MBA class and the start of another to get this one across the finish line so more progress to report today.

Following on from the dot filter exercise yesterday, I added some depth to the model using a pin wash of enamel Burnt Umber. This was applied with a pointed 10/0 brush and excess bloom/wash cleaned up with the same brush and clean thinner where needed. I also gave the fenders another dose of the thinned Raw Sienna wash used earlier to build up the dirt/dust effects a bit more.

The rear hull received its final detail in the form of the tow cables. I used the kit supplied ends but not the braided wire as I find it too stiff and difficult to work with. I replaced the wire with some crochet rope thread dipped in Future and hung to dry. The Future dip accomplishes two things...it prevents the thread from "fuzzing" when painted and also stiffens the thread so it behaves more like a cable. Once it was dry, I used MM non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and dry-brushed some enamel Steel and installed the cables on the storage hooks.

Next I applied a dull coat using Testors Model Master Lusterless Flat in the spray can to seal everything in, remove any remaining hints of gloss from the Future coats, and prep the lower hull for the pigment weathering to come. After the dull coat had dried, I removed the blue-tack masking from the turret side hatch vision ports.

That also meant I could deal with the other remaining detail, the clear inserts for the commander's cupola. These were 90mm thick blocks of bullet-proof glass on the real deal, so I used Tamiya Clear Green to give them a slight greenish tinge to depict the thickness. The clear green was applied then removed using Windex and a clean brush until just a slight tinting was left behind.

Then the blocks were installed in position using tweezers and careful applications of liquid glue.

Next up will be weathering the lower hull and tracks with pigments. Getting very close to the finish line now with this one.

Tim- Great work on the early WWII camo scheme!

Bill- Happy to see your Pz III getting closer to the finish line.  

Tread- Great work on your Char!  I was leaning to that scheme too if I still have time to start my build.  Hope you got my message about Tenax... still have your bottles.    

Carl and Eric, appreciate the comments!

Bob, no need to be nervous! With the underlying Future coat, it's a virtually risk-free exercise. I always start on a small section first to test out the ratio of the different dot colors to make sure they will do what I expect them to...if I don't like the outcome, then some clean thinner and a q-tip will wipe it all up and you can literally start over with a "clean slate". It's a very versatile technique, lends itself to all kinds of possibilities depending on what you're aiming for in the final result.

PANZERWAFFE

WILDMAN - Great camo pattern. Look forward to the weathering. Are you going to include a figure? It looks like it with the hatch open.

I was planning on using the kit supplied figure, but after looking at it some more last night, I might have to find an aftermarket one. This Tamiya figure is OK, but not too detailed. A little work with an exacto knife to undercut the lapels will help.

 I have some Verlinden German heads, but you can't really match these with Tamiya figures, These heads are noticeably bigger, so you get a pumpkin-headed crewman.

Cheers,

Bill-very nice job on the weathering.  Dot filtering always makes me nervous but adds so much to the effect.

Glad to hear you got so much bench time in Bill.

That has nice effect Bill

I made good use of the MLK holiday today and have more progress to report on the weathering front as a result.

I applied a dot filter using dots of enamel MM Italian Dark Brown, a 50/50 mix of Light Gray/Panzer Dunkelgelb, and an 80/20 mix of Panzer Gray/Light Gray in combination with the already applied overall wash of Raw Sienna. The dots were blended together using repeated downward strokes of a square-tip blender brush lightly dampened with thinner.

This was done to the entire lower hull and turret working small sections at a time and while wearing a breather mask due to the thinner exposure. After about 3 hours of effort, the filter was on. I left the open hatches "clean" to show contrast between the interior and exterior exposed surfaces

WBILL - Nice progress, looking good Cant wait for the dot filter, that will really bring this to life.

WILDMAN - Great camo pattern. Look forward to the weathering. Are you going to include a figure? It looks like it with the hatch open.

TREAD - Have to agree, what a story there must be with your dad / Marauder. They never said what piece it was stuck in there?

Tread-I too would love to hear 'the rest of the story'....that picture would be a great start for HVH's 'On a Wing & a Prayer' GB that he's kicking off.  Thanks for posting it.

Now to go upstairs and paint the canopy.....

Tim, nice work on the paint scheme!

Tread, that's quite a pic of your dad's Marauder...I'm sure there's quite a story behind that one.