Thanks guys and good point there Jack, I think just the wash and a little drybrushing should look fine on the zimmerit.

Ben: Looks good, I won't even try to do something like those crazy little padlocks.

Carl: Love how the rough cast texture came out, great work!

Carl, that surface texture is looking way cool.

regards,

Jack

Ditto, Carl, it's uber-realistic!

I took the bull by the horns today, changed down to the fine tip and needle and cranked the pressure up for some fineline work. I did the DY first, then filled in the RB, both lightened 20% for the same scale-colour effect. I would say that after 33 years of airbrushing I have finally seen an airbrush produce fine lines, and while they are not all that visisble in the picture, they were surprisingly compelling as they went on. Of course I mis-cued here and there and got some blats of DY, I'll need to make up some more green and go round tidying up, removing the blats and general overspray, but the general effect is not too bad. I had hoped for a more scalloped effect, which might develop as the green is redone.

Here she is:

She feels "flat" at the moment, but the wash and drybrush process should make everything pop.

I also added the extra colours to the running gear, so after the final touchups there'll be only the tracks to spray, and the metalics for the tools.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Great camo's Cliff and Mike. Wish I had my camo on now.

Shellback

Andy , looks like you P.E. 'd all over the rear of your Tiger ......................

Carl- LMAO!  It happens when you drink too much beer or coffee...   Thanks brother!   Did I ever tell I loved the texture on your KT already?  

Hasen- LOVE the Zimm!!!  Now I have to do the same on my future Panther build... thanks alot!  

Ben- Those clasps on the storage box looks great!  Bet they were not that difficult, huh?!?!? LOL Fake nails... I didn't realize you wear those.  Please forgive me I wasn't aware it's a thing for men in England now. Thanks for the tip!!! 

Bish- You got more PE than mine... boy I better get busy!  LOL Looking real good!!! 

Gamera- Great job spraying the cam! 

TB- You are far ahead already!  Stunning camo work! 

Guys- Little update... thanks to lousy Colts vs Jets game it gave me more bench time yesterday.  Little more PE... replaced MG with RB barrel.  Halves of the hull has been glued together...

For the first time I am using a kit that offers two different tool sets... one comes without molded clasps so I am really enjoying this since I don't have to cut the molded clasps off.  

Still a long way to go... thanks for looking!

This GB has reached FEEDING FRENZY proportions!!!  It's hard to keep up with all the action! 

Shellback:  The textured bondo turned out great! 

malone duke:  Like that camo', was that sprayed freehand?

Hasenpfepper:  0 to 27 weld seams!?...I'd say your an expert now!  I feel your pain on the PE, worth the effort though!

Gamera/ T379:  Great camo' work!

JOE RIX:  jgeratic explained the dot filtering technique well and yes the zim' would limit its effectiveness.  if you're going with the dunkelgelb finish, no camo', just add the typical wash(es) and let it bring out the zims' details. ...go with a thin wash and use several applications if needed, it darkens the base coat quickly!

Thanks guys for  the comments .

Thunder , the camo is looking really good . Did you use acrylics ?

Andy , Man you are you really going to town with the p.e. details . That r.b. barrel looks cool . What set is the p.e. ?

Hey thanks guys! Still now I'm thinking I like how Mike's stripes came out better than mine! Great job there Mike.

Andy: wow, those PE tool mounts and the brass MG look fantastic!

Shellback

Andy , Man you are you really going to town with the p.e. details . That r.b. barrel looks cool . What set is the p.e. ?

Carl- Thanks!  Yes I am hooked to PE.  Your fault!   PE set is from Voyager... pretty good but very soft and fragile.  Think I brought it via evilBay for $20-$25 on sale.  

Gamera- Thanks buddy! 

Andy ....man thats a great looking fret .......ahh................ set ?

I may have to go to e-bay to get an R.B. models barrel for this King ..R.B.'s web site shows out of stock .

deafpanzer

Shellback

Andy , Man you are you really going to town with the p.e. details . That r.b. barrel looks cool . What set is the p.e. ?

Carl- Thanks!  Yes I am hooked to PE.  Your fault!   PE set is from Voyager... pretty good but very soft and fragile.  Think I brought it via evilBay for $20-$25 on sale.  

Gamera- Thanks buddy! 

I am useing a Voyager set as well, the first time i have tried one. The only thing i don't like is that the attachment points are not wide enough to remove the parts with PE cutters, but i have found that with Aber as well. I have also found the instructions a little confuseing, which doesn't help when i am doing a CH kit with good old Dragon instructions.

CARL, thanks, the KT looks very nice, i like what you have done to the surface.

Bish , thanks .Good to be here with you .

I attached the pe grills last night . They are stainless steel and i'm thinking that causes them to not adhere to c.a. glue . I'd put the 6 parts on and 30 min later half of them would be knocked off due to handleing . I got tired of this and attached the pe grills woth Grandt line bolts .

Going with my theme of a roughed up tank i bent  the grills by using an erraser to push the grills into the recessed areas in the grill grates and bending up some of the corners .

Carl-  Will this work?  AK-Interactive sells RB barrels too.  That's where I brought mine from.  Know its not wide selection but I do see KT Late model barrel on sale for only $9. 

http://www.ak-interactive-usa.com/product-35B04.html

Excellent work on the grills... I used something else and it poked a hole right thru so an eraser sounds better!  Thanks!

Bish- Glad I am not alone!  I noticed if you bend the PE few times it looses its strength quickly so I have to be very careful to do it once not to over bend.  Clasps are very fragile too.  So far I personally prefer Royal Model and Aber with thicket brass.  But Voyager was the only set available for early Tiger I and it was much cheaper too.  

Shellback -- yep, Tamiya Acrylics all the way on this job. I used Tony Greenland's recommendations, XF-10, XF-11 and XF-60. Not sure if I'll get to the touchups today, lots to do, but hopefully tomorrow I'll respot the green, possibly spray the tracks and get a basic dark dirt coat on the underpinning too.

M/TB379

Andy , thanks my friend

Thunder , sounds good . I'm thinking about trying Tamiya paints when i get to the final paint on this one . Thanks for the paint info .

Love the brass mg Andy. A definite improvement over the kits.

Up late so i made these wing nuts from .022 copper wire . I used needle nose pliers to crush and flare the end of the wire and then i used a # 11 blade to split the end into the wings .

jgeratic1

From what I understand, the dot filter method was created to "live'n up" a flat monotone surface - something you don't have when zimmerit is present, what with the light and shadows dancing across the surface.   Attempting that technique here would be similar to applying it to track surfaces, and I don't think anyone has tried that - yet.  Rain streaking, dust and maybe some rust streaks is plenty IMO.

regards,

Jack

Jack - Thank you for shedding some sensible light on that. It is along the lines of what I was thinking.

SMJ - Thanks for your reinforcement. A good wash should indeed produce the effect I'm after.

 An all around Astounding to everyone for the simply fantastic work here. I don't have a computer at home so by the time I get access folks here are painting awesome camo, demonstrating jaw dropping techniques and building PE locks that are incredible. I'm rather humbled by the break neck speed everyone seems to be clipping along at. Heck, some of ya'll are getting to the weathering stage while I'm finding snippets of time to nip off 100 track links for one run. Regardless, I am absolutely enjoying this GB and the amazing talent here.

                                 Joe

Great job all around guys!!!

Something has come up with my 86 year old mother so I'm going to have to put off my build for a few weeks, it's just one of those things in life that's going to take control for a while.

I'll keep checking in and try to keep up with the good work you all are doing. As soon as I can get back to the build I'll start posting pictures.

Colonel - Got you covered in thoughts and prayers. Godspeed. Joe

Shellback:  YOU ARE INSANE!!!...  Those wing nuts are along the line of wing_nut's insane level of detailing!!!  Tongue-in-cheek of course, fantastic work!  Nice technique with the eraser too...I'll remember that for the future.  I am going for the same effect (I couldn't image the grilles would be flush/ perfect when all the fenders on my tank are bent or missing)  I literally crumpled the grilles in my fingers then straightened them up enough to get the look I wanted...gluing worked fine with CA, I'm surprised you had a problem.   

BTW:  I dig your work on the bondo texturing...it's a little exaggerated compared to real life but I think that's absolutely appropriate to achieve the effect...

JOE RIX

Colonel - Got you covered in thoughts and prayers. Godspeed. Joe

Hope she gets well fast. Take care.

Carl: sctratched wingnuts? 

deafpanzer

 

Bish- Glad I am not alone!  I noticed if you bend the PE few times it looses its strength quickly so I have to be very careful to do it once not to over bend.  Clasps are very fragile too.  So far I personally prefer Royal Model and Aber with thicket brass.  But Voyager was the only set available for early Tiger I and it was much cheaper too.  

SMJ , I was thinking of Marc ...wing_nut.........when i wrote that post but i couldnt come up with anything sarcastic  . I'm not sure if the p.e. wouldnt adhere due to its being stainless ...i have fairly good luck with p.e. made of brass sticking well . So you crumpled your grills in your fingers ? Brave man !

I agree that the texturing is a bit exaggerated .i'm still going back over it and toning it done . In those pics i buffed the surface to give it a sheen to show the surface texture better ...................still , it needs to be more realistic .

Thinking of me and couldn't come up with any sarcasm?  You're slipping there my friend.  Those "me" things     you made are pretty darn sierra hotel.  You may consider that one officially "stolen"

Andy.... OMG... All that... PE.... it's like an apparition coming back to haunt me from the grave.  (runs off screaming into the night... well... early afternoon)

But wow guys... The work is this build.  Just wow.

Here's where the wing nuts will be used  , the rack that holds the gun cleanining rods . I cut off the cables and drilled out the holes in the rack and the end of the rods .