Steve- Thanks man!  Glad you liked it!  I know... some people like and don't like rust streaks.  Did you look at Mig's work?  I am a big fan of his builds and I always liked rust! LOLOL  I did my best not to go too far... winter is about to end and it has been a long harsh winter in Russia so it has to have some rust.  

Thanks for the tip about snow!  It was my first attempt and I learned a great deal from this experience.  Can't wait to build another snowy base for my previous build StuG... 

Marc- No question Panther is much sexier than PzII!!!!  If time permits I will proceed with Panther first before Pz II.  Eric knows I have been itchin' to build something from DAK... I was hoping for North Africa GB but it failed twice.  Maybe we can do this right after this GB so I can make it work??? 

Greg- Thanks man!  Need me to send my wife over to keep you warm too? LOL 

wing_nut

And if it looks half what the Tiger does... forget the marriage... I'll probably just want a menage a trois with those 2 kitties.

HEY, WHOoooooA!? What the heck happened here? 2 months away from this GB and it's been reduced to a "cat house?!"...LOL

Hey Guys!,

Kinda' strange to jump back in here and read about a menage a trois, but hey, us AFV guys are a passionate sort!

I don't have the time to catch up on all the pages but it's great to see this GB cruising right along. 

deafpanzer:  That Tiger absolutely kicked my A**.  I am STUNNED!!!I  I am a HUGE fan of the winter camo' and you pulled it off SUPERBLY!!!  The figures are incredible too...I kind of recalll those being the ones with the great poses...nice!  Supreme work on that base too...I really like when the effort is made to create some context, well done!

If I have any critique...and BELIEVE ME I'm reaching to find anything...is that the rust streaks are almost all the same length and color...and there may be a bit too many.  I read T'man's suggestion about toning down the snow...and I must say I agree.  If the snow was that fresh/ clean it would fully cover the ground and even collect on the foliage.  Next time try a VERY diluted paint mix of your dirt color and use an eye dropper then drip it around the perimeter of the snow patches...it bleeds nice and tone things down a bit.

Again, Tour-de-force work, it was a real pleasure to get back here and open up to that bad-boy!

wing_nut:  4 builds for this GB?..are you nuts?.  Gotta love the KT though...at 1:35 too, nice.  You know what, I really liked seeing the pictuire with her without the skirts...I mean fenders...

Tigerman:  An extension, YES!!!...thank you .  I'm a bit spent after January...rough month both personally and getting my train hobby weathering done for the show in Springfield.  I was planning on taking February off as far as building is concerned and I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't be able to pull off another build for this GB by April...BUT...with an extension, no sweat!!!  I'm listed as a Tiger I Late as my second build but I'm still kicking around the idea of changing that to a Panther.  I think I'll break out both kits over the weekend and see if I get inspired one way or the other...

Great work everyone, I hope to follow along closely from here on in!

I hear ya Andy. After 4 "Steel Cats" I am jumping in the the FSM WWI airplane GB.  But when you get back to were you belong... as is in evidence by the smokin' hot Tiger... the Pz II is cute.  But a Panther?  Now that's just damn sexy.  And if it looks half what the Tiger does... forget the marriage... I'll probably just want a menage a trois with those 2 kitties.

Andy: WOW!  Your Tiger is...simply....breath-taking....stupendous!   Your vignette gave me chills - I had to grab my parka and gloves just to type this message!

Eric- Thanks again!  It has been fun... learned so much from you guys.  I am torn between Panther and Pz II as my planned build this summer.  I am really itchin' to build something for DAK so Pz II is a perfect candidate.  It always has been my goal since my return to the hobby is to build all of the Panzer variants first before I can build anything else.  Three variants I haven't built... Pz II, Panther and of course the King Tiger which I am saving for the last. LOL

I am taking a break from building armors now so I have already started building a rotary kit... love those helicopters!  Quick and fun build... 

Joe- Thanks man!  Appreciate it... always fan of GBs.  It keep me motivated... 

What can I say Andy other than your build is just absolutely superb. Your skills, techniques and finished build are jaw dropping excellent. I Thank You very much for sharing the GB with us.

                                                                      Joe

Magnificant Andy. It's been a pleasure hosting and witnessing some amazing work here. Love your Tiger I. Superb job on the fiddly bits and the weathering. I'll post a pic of your Tiger on the front page tomorrow.

I would love to see your work on a Afrika Korps vehicle.

Guys- Thanks for the comments!!!

Marc- Once again, great job with the camo!

Malone- Looking great primed!!!  Can't wait to see paint on it soon... 

Eric- You may marry it but you will need to have plenty of dowry. LOL  Thanks buddy!

Final pictures... 

Again, thanks for following.  Thank you Eric for being GB host.  It has been blast... I will be coming to check on your builds.  If time permits I may do second build later in the summer.  

WOW!   I think I've died and gone to Heaven.  It's a chocolate Panther......on a steeeek!   

{Jeff Dunham fans will get the stick reference}

I tried that name plate idea that Jack got from Don.  Works pretty darn well.  Will be even better when I paly with the printer setting.

Started in on the camo today. Need to do a little touch up on some yellow areas but the turret is done.

Jgeratic. Looking nice man.

Armor86. Nice work with all that pe.

Wingnut. Dude that big cat looks super nice man. Great skills man.

Deaf panzer. Simply brilliant man. Top notch. You should put it in black and white and put it through a photoshop treatment. Looks frigid.

Tiger man. Great idea extending. I was starting to stress a little. I'm itching to relax again with the big boys. I'm gonna settle down on the 1/72 for a bit.

I finally got some primer on. And am pretty happy. I actually didn't make a mess of things.

Got a question. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to use for the small cable that wraps around the rack behind the tow block. I'm having builders block on that one.

Andy, I love your Tiger and want to marry it.

Andy - likely using similar part trees - Voyager Model set PE 25061 is called out for Tamiya 35227 - DAK Tiger I Initial Production Africa Troop - I will have left over parts - however I think the set may have been shorted a couple Resin parts. While assembling the sub-parts I'm always having to double check placement - careful attention to bending the parts to form ....  - Armor86

Great. Look forward to the updates.

Andy that's just stupendous!!! The Tiger, the base, the figures- I think I'm going to bury my model now...

Armor86: Very cool, nice work on the PE there! 

Mike- Thanks buddy... glad you liked it.  What a fun build it was despite how long it took me... 

Armor86- Great PE work... those stuff gets me excited every time I look at. LOL  Are you using same PE set from Voyager?  They look pretty similar to my set...

Eric- Thanks!!!  I took better pictures using different setting with my camera and they came out better.  I will post later today... great job with this GB and I am damn glad I didn't drop out like last time. LOL 

Definite medal winner Andy. Great stuff. I will post a picture tomorrow.

Andy - looks real - like the light box arrangement ... enclosed a couple photo of front end with mud flaps assembled - head lights coming up next ... Armor86

Andy, that is competition stuff! VERY WELL DONE, I feel humbled to see a project carried off with such precision and artistry. WOW!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

This GB has been officially extended?  Oh boy, maybe I can try to sneak into second build... a Panther... no promises there.  But it is on my planned build this year... 

Guys- Thanks for the comments about the base... really appreciate it! 

Marc- I love primer especially its smell... is it legal I hope? 

Jack- No kidding about snow at your end!?!?!?  maybe I should add ALOT MORE snow to my base? LOL  Excellent color modulation work on your Tiggy.  

JMART- Can't wait to see your Panther II... always thought it has the best look!  

Guys again- I am officially calling this done... added mud & dirt to the tracks & wheels.  

Finally got me one of those photograph tents... it really helps with the lighting. 

For some reason my $400 Canon camera is not cooperating so I am using my iPhone again. 

I will post more pictures as soon as I get Canon camera to work properly.  Thanks for looking! 

I was starting wheel clean up on the cyberhobby (orange) Panther II, which is based on the old Dragon kit #6027. I actually found in my stash the original Dragon kit, which I won in one of the raffles at the AMPS - Danbury show a few years ago. I will also build that one, since the deadline was extended. Will build one as a nightfighter What If with the Great Wall Hobbies "German Infrared Night-Vision Devices" (3515). The other one will be a heavy weathered one in an urban setting. I am sure I will be asking a ton of questions down the road...  

Thanks jack. Appreciate the effort. Nice to see some paint on your Tiggy.

Thanks Jack-actually the front hull covers are not PE-they were on the same tree as some of the road wheels and received a coat of red oxide primer prior to assembly....and your Tiger looks good in gray.

Alrighty, here's the updated badge:

Eric,  the idea of the extension is good, certainly lessens the duress of getting things done on time, (well except for Marc - lol). The other night I was cleaning up just one half of the Tiger's road wheels, but man there is enough there to use as bingo chips.

BobB - nice to see your progress, interesting to see  the front hull hatches have  PE on the top covers.

Marc - sweet looking surface texture

Andy - your whole project is looking brilliant.  I think though, your base has some kind of voodoo magic going on - you added more snow, and at the same time my town had more snowfall.

----------------------------------------------

Question, does Mr'Surfacer primer help strengthen the  PE parts to stay in place?

I've rarely applied a dedicated primer, usually just use some shade of model paint.  In this case I had Tamiya's German grey handy, so sprayed that on.  This was followed with darker mix sprayed from an underneath direction, and a lighter mix from overhead.  Main colour will be Ral 7008.

regards,

Jack

Well I'm glad to see the enthusiasm. Let's go ahead and extend it for the full year until the end of August. Time has been flying by so far in this GB

Jack and Carl, if it isn't too much trouble, could you update the badges? If not, no big deal.

Thanks all for the encouraging words.

Andy-the added snow looks great.....your Tiger looks at home.

Marc-the texture on your KT is spot on....great work...looking forward to seeing some paint on it.

Eric-I'm all for extending the build....I might even get motivated to add another build...if not, I would just enjoy watching everyone else build.

Eric - would love to see the GB extend out for a year - could built a panther ... Andy, looking great. Armor86

Tigerman -- I would welcome an extended timeframe, I wanted to do a Jagdpanther in complimentary scheme to my KT, and the long deadline would make it more likely. I have recently embarked on a potential book project for a UK hobby publisher, so bench time is being apportioned accordingly -- and "tight" is the watchword, but I would love to be able to revisit late war panzers in the process!

The weather has settled a bit so airbrishing is back on the agenda, and the KT is still at the paintshop stage, I need to firm up the DY component, general touchups, spray the tracks and get to the shade/fade coats.

Cheers, Mike/TB379