Shellback

SMJ , I was thinking of Marc ...wing_nut.........when i wrote that post but i couldnt come up with anything sarcastic

That is hilarious...LMFAO!!!

Shellback

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 .

Shellback: NOooooooooooooo   Don't misunderstand...I think the "extra" texture is GOOD!!!  At risk of bringing up a controversial topic I think in order to depict an effect when reduced 35X we NEED to exaggerate/ take a bit of artistic licensce...personally, I like the bondo as is.

Hey Carl - Cool wing nuts. I may have to employ this method as I've already lost 1 or 2 from my build. This is also the first build with my mini drill - don't know how I got on before. You can really do some cool stuff just by making holes, eh?

Mike/TB379 - I'm really digging the look of that cat's stripes!

Andy - Great job on the PE. Those bends are way more crisp than I seem to achieve. Are you sure that's a RB Models MG34? I'm not sure they make the (armored) tank version. Maybe Aber or Armorscale? I really like the detail it adds... It's gonna be gut check time since that little MG would likely cost as much as my main gun. 

Quickie update from Sunday evening: AA MG mount. Added some detail. Of course, now that I have the thing attached I can think of a few more cool things to make it even better. Don't know if I'll go for dismanteling this one, but will keep the lessons learned in mind for the future.

Dave

Heck yeah! So much awesome stuff on this thread I'm really feeling inadequate....

What the hey, I said I was going to build her straight-outta-da-box and that's what I'm gonna do!!!  

Dave, RB do make tank MG barrels, the MG 34's are item number 35B 38. Armourscale don't actually make barrels. They use the RB barrels. They package them as their own and often add resin mantlets.

Hey Bish - The MG34 barrels you reference (35B38) are coax. They are not nearly as long or detailed as the barrel Andy has. So, if Armorscale doesn't make their own barrels, then they must get them from some other manufacturer (MG34/armored jacket)?? Anyway, makes sense since using the Armorscale instructions for my main gun (RB) worked so very well.

Dave

Sorry dave, i didn't realise you were talking about the hull mounted guns. Your right, RB don't do the barrels for the hull mounted guns, from what i can find.

Marc , glad you like Yup , i just couldnt come up with anything clever ...well , not printable anyway .

SMJ , ok .i did go back over some of the deeper cuts already . The next time i do something with a cast hull or turret i'll use this method again .

Hassen , i cant work with out my micro drill bits anymore . Sure is irratating  when one of them little things breaks .......

Gamera , you sure about building OOB ? So much fun adding this and that to a kit .................

If you guys want me to post some pics of the Marc...........wingnut making method i can do that .

Carl: Lol, I did rip off the skirts and replace the front fenders with aluminum sheet so I could ding them up. And I think I'm going to try your technique with the eraser to ding up the engine deck screens. Other than that outta-da-box then

Gamera , your easing into it . Today a fender .tomorrow a gun barrel ...............

Yep, Carl, tell me about it. I broke #71 by setting the pin vice down a little too hard... KIA.

I understand completely Gamera. I've tried so many time to just build OOB. I always end up adding something. The last Pz III I built I ended up doing one side OOB and the other with whatever left over odd & ends I could find just to see the difference... LOL. Anyway, I couldn't leave well enough alone... and added more detail to the AA MG mount. I think I'm happy wih it now. I also couldn't stand the 1st try at the commander direct sight, so I made a new one of those too. What was that about a "Dark Side"?

Well the kit did come with a turned metal gun barrel for the 88.

That looks great HP- love what you've got there!

Carl, a few SBS pics is never a bad thing.

wing_nut

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)

LMAO!  You should be happy... every time I was about to call it quit but I REMIND myself about Marc or Tony's builds!!!  Your fault... LOL

Hasenpfeffer

Andy - Great job on the PE. Those bends are way more crisp than I seem to achieve. Are you sure that's a RB Models MG34? I'm not sure they make the (armored) tank version. Maybe Aber or Armorscale? I really like the detail it adds... It's gonna be gut check time since that little MG would likely cost as much as my main gun. 

Hasen- First of all stunning work on the turret cupola!  

My brain is fried right now and I am not sure if I actually used a RB barrel for the MG34.  I will look into it when I return home from Orlando.  In the past nearly all of my barrels are from RB because they are cheaper and easier to find.  

Carl- Like what you are doing with the steel cable.  Can't wait to see the result... 

Hasen , and them little things are expensive ! Only place i can find them micro drills is at Micro Mark .Your detail on the MG rack looks great .

Gamera ,Aha ! I thought i heard a metal barrel in the background of  your post ...............

Marc , ok , maybe tomorrow i do that .....if i have time ........i'll check my schedule ...........

Andy , thanks, i may not run a cable thru the hangers on this .

Guys- I just remembered that I took picture of the MG barrel in its wrapping along with other aftermarkets earlier so here's the picture I posted earlier.  Hasen was correct that it is not from RB but its Aber.  I probably brought it at a local model show because I still see the price sticker on it.  And I can't believe I paid $12 just for two barrels unless it was on sale... shopping spree can be dangerous you can say.  

Yup , those are different from the Rb's . Those RB' mg 34's are $2 on AK's site .

What's the link Carl?

Great work everyone. I wish I could get home earlier to get something built, but I'm too tired. 

Andy - Thanks, man! And believe me, you did very well to pay only $12 for the two Aber MG34s. From what I remember that's about half of what they go for. (Why I am so reluctant to buy them!)

Carl - I think what you percieve to be a wing nut is actually the gun cradle. It's folded downward from it's normal position. I did add some hex nuts that I had lying around... two at that attachment bracket and two where the main mount would attach to the swivel base. You have to look really close since they are light gray (and tiny). That's why I tried to post some pseudo macro shots.

Eric - Don't get too excited about paying $2 for sweet looking RB MG34s. (Note my convo w/Gamera earlier.) RB only makes the coaxial version which is pretty much the very tip of the barrel. They are ~$2 and still make a cool addition... but a far cry from that super sweet Aber barrel Andy has for his ball mounted MG.

Ok thanks Hasenpfeffer. I thought that price was too low.

Eric , yeah , it would be nice if you could get more time to be here .

Here's the link for bow m.g. 34 . These are at AK interactive .

http://www.ak-interactive-usa.com/product-35B38.html

Here's the barrel replacement for the turret mounted m.g. 34

http://www.ak-interactive-usa.com/product-35B39.html

Here's the pics of them .

Bow m.g. 34 .......RB35B38

Turret ring mounted t.c.'s  m.g. 34 .......RB 35B39

Hasen , ok , guess there were too many wing_nuts on here yesterday .............sorry Marc .

Coming along Deafpanzer - lots of details, I'm starting the P.E. stuff on Sunday - going with son on a boy scout camp out  ... have not had a lot of bench time - working on surface texture detail ... Armor86

Looks Great ... didn't get much bench time this week ... getting stuff packed for camping trip this weekend ... Boy Scout camp out ... likely have some time on Sunday ... working on texture detail and applied grey primer paint upper hull ... lots of P.E. details - Voyager Set ... Armor86

Thanks Carl. $4 isn't too bad for the barrel.

My head has finally cleared (as much as it’s gonna) and I am pretty much caught up work wise after 3 days in Chicago for my nephew’s wedding.  And you know what that means… BENCH TIME!!!!!!!!!!!

I started off by drilling out a few of the extra track links to insert connector pins.  After experimenting so many times with different wires at time over the years to makes cables, the overall look wasn’t too bad there was also most always little bumps or kinks in one of the strands or different sections twisting at different rates.  I have a spool of .01” lead wire I use for detailing and found that this twists very smooth and evenly.  I think I could have even gone a bit tighter.  That's 3 strands.

Before I went to Chicago I put some little metal and rubber bit in a window box and moistened the soil with oil.  Look at the pretty buds I got!  And no… I am not smoking bud.

After priming and base coating an empty milk jug I spent a looong time practicing some freehand camo.  Here’s the end result of the red brown.  Look too dark to me so I think I will go over it to tone it down.  What do you think?  Green later tonight.

And here is a “tip” tip.  I pulled out my Grex since not only is it the best AB I have, the trigger grip keeps my hand from cramping up during a long continuous session.  The tip of the needle was bent.  I laid it down flat on a little jeweler’s anvil and held a small block of wood tight on top.  Slowly twisting the needle as it is pulled out and it was perfect.

I took the pics after I realized this worked  but now you can see how straight the tip is.

Marc , good to read things have finally cleared up for you .............. Was the emotions of being at the wedding that messed you up ?

Nice detail pics . Those tracks must be small on this scale . Cables look good also . It looks close on the twist of it . Good to see the needle came out staight ........tell me , how the heck did you bend it ?

Camo looks fine but will probably look better after you lighten it .

Keep em comming ..................ormaybe

Marc -- the camo looks great! Yes, the RB looks a tad dense but that's okay. My own technique at this point would be to add the "fade coat" which is a misting of well-thinned DY on the top surfaces, which serves to both lighten the second shade and "tie the paintjob together." You'll have a spectacular result, I'm sure!

M/TB379

 Marc here the SBS

I shall try this again ...........I had this half way done and then Photo Bucket froze up my laptop .................

I use .0225 diameter copper wire to make my wing nuts . A #74 micro drill bit is the correct size for drilling a hole for this wire .

I crush the end of it in needle nose pliers .

Here's how it looks .

I cut the flattened tip down to about 1mm length .

With a # 11 blade i split the flattened end into 2 wings .

And then i spread the wings apart with the blade.

I trim the wings further to make them even .

Here's the result .

Here's some more

Oh , i use this piece of marble from a pharmacy as a hard surface to cut on . I Think it was used as a surface to cut up pills and divide them up for prescriptions .

Carl, thx for the tutorial on the wing nuts - looks pretty straightforward but at that size not sure how easy it would be.

Marc, the brown camou on your panther looks fine to me, perhaps the dark yellow is a tad light making RB too intense?  As mentioned, weathering will lighten it, and maybe some filters can darken the yellow base.

I took the liberty of switching your photo to b/w and comparing it to a fresh factory made panther,  assuming it too has already been painted dark yellow.   Of course there is also lighting to consider in the comparison.

Again everyone, great work.

regards,

Jack