Hey guys - super work! I finally have some pics to show the progress I've been plugging away at. But 1st:

Jack - Nice work on relocating those periscope holes. You've done a great job. That's the kind of thing that can take a lot of time and may go unnoticed, but is some of the most rewarding stuff you can do on a build.

Andy - 0.05mm eh? Holy Schnikies! Anyway, you've seen how in awe of you guys I am with the PE skillz. You're gonna get bored of me saying it. 

Ben - Your Tiger is coming along fantastically. You can't beat the burnished Friul look. I love it. (Takes a lot to do it to these sets of monster tracks too.) And of course, for some reason, we are about on the same schedule.... See below...

Well, progress has been made over the last couple weeks. I haven't had the camera handy to take too many in progress shots - I apologize. I had to take a couple quickies just to be able to show you this. I'm rushing to get this in as tomorrow morning and work are approaching quickly! I finally got the wheels and tracks on this beast. They are Friuls as well. I still have some "Blacken It" that I purchased a year or two ago before AK came out with the same stuff. The AK stuff is probably easier to obtain, or at least you can add it in with some other model goodies to defray the shipping cost. Anyway - did the same thing as Ben, and then added some MIG pigments with a stiff/rough/old brush. I used Dry Mud and Russian Earth in about a 2:1 ratio. I mixed that with mineral spirits and brushed it on on a dabbing motion. Let dry and cleaned it up a bit.. sanded down to the metal again on the cleats and random extras. I've also done a little weathering (but only just begun) and a little chipping, etc. Take a look.

The other cool thing that I found screwing around on Friday was this... I was looking at the photo in the book where the color plate for this tank was inspired from - basically this one:

Then I looked at the map of where 3SS was in July 1944 and surmised it was near Mokobody or Siedlce. Low and behold, a quick search of Siedlce, Poland on Google maps and I found the actual building 111 was parked in front of all those years ago! Neat! It happens to be the post office. Check it out.

Thanks for looking fellas. I hope to get some bench time over the holiday. Like Andy, I'm gonna try to sneak off to the man cave whenever possible...  

Andy ,  cute niece .....makes miss my grand daughter ........I skype'd with her last night but that aint enough !

Your peset looks really cool ! Is it all Voyager ?

Eric , we have rules here you know ! Just kidding my friend . M o j o must mean something b a d in another language ?

Ben , you were talking about that round escape hatch wer'nt you ? Dont think that would be open normally  .maybe for ammo , maintenance or ....escape ?

Hasen , "holy schnikies" for sure ! Thats becoming a beaut of a build you are doing ! Cool you found that historical building and the Panther i front .

Jack , Tiger looks great . Those are some nice fixes you did . As far as i know the periscopes could be lowered and the top of them would seal the hole flush with the reast of the surface .

Bish , thanks for the color info back there a page ago .

This place is moving tonight .

bobbaily

Andy-the PE looks great-you are in route to a fantastic looking build.  Are you using a PE bending tool and if so, which one?

Shellback

Andy ,  cute niece .....makes miss my grand daughter ........I skype'd with her last night but that aint enough !

Your peset looks really cool ! Is it all Voyager ?

Guys- Thanks for the comments!  Appreciate you taking your time to comment. 

Carl- WOW!  What is happening to me!!!  That niece is my NEPHEW!  I stayed up so late and slept for only few hours so you can tell. LOL  Thanks for the nice words.  Yes I think about 99% is from Voyager and few were  from the PE set that came with the kit.

Hasen- Once again another typo!  Meant to say 0.5 rod... not 0.05!  I don't think they make those. LOL  I am heading to bed now... no way I am staying up for another late night.  

Love the camo work on your Panther!  That's what I want to do on my Panther one day... 

Ben- Wanna know my secret?  Drink few beer first before you work with PE... 

Your , nephew ????  Oh , a kid that young , boy or girl ,  can be cute .

Butt head , embarassed me you did !!!

BIsh, it's very nice to see your work. I don't think I've seen your builds before.

Dave, love that Panther. Your weathering of the lower hull is very well done.

Andy, crazy awesome PE work.

Marc, glad to have you aboard my friend. This will be a unique build to the GB.

Put me down for a late model Jagdpanther, I will convince the better half to get me this for xmas! Thinking along the lines of 9th SS Div in ambush camo?

Just wondering is anyone doing a Panther of Grossdeutschland? Would love to see one with the "disc camo" that would be awesome

Hasenpfeffer, love the Totenkopf Panther. Just out of interest do you freehand the totenkopf on the zimmerit or do you have some sort of stencil?

Thanks, guys. Glad you like her.

Ghost - I wish I could freehand that! They are stencils as you surmised. The two crosses on the front hull are the only decals. I made a stencil for the turret numbers/triangle and used stencils from Alliance Modelworks for the cross and Death's Head on the rear stowage bin and front glacis. This is the first build I've had the real estate to fully utilize them and they work perfectly. I believe I purchased them at Sprue Bros.  last year sometime.

EDIT: Added Pic closeup of stenciled division symbol and Balkan Kreuz.

Yow guys, I think I'd better go hide in a hole somewhere, I can't come close to matching the quality of the work here! 

Dave: Awesome on finding the building, amazing to see it today. 

Oh well, I've got the treads about halfway done now and mostly happy, I'll see about getting them posted since I could use some tips on getting them right. And the figures are almost done, sorry I've been a little slow on the photo updates. 

tigerman

BIsh, it's very nice to see your work. I don't think I've seen your builds before.

Its been about 2 years since i built any armour, and all my builds were for GB's, so you may well have missed them. Glad you like the work.

Andy , when i said i used colored pencils on my weathering it was mostly the black and red pencil i used , I drew lines and smudges all over , mostly to break up the plain surface and to show the primer along edges , but not overly obvious from a distance . At least thats the idea . I'm thinking there are small marks all over a tank if you look at it up close .

Carl-that turret is amazing-the texture looks spot-on and the weathering with the colored pencils works well.

Dupes-Welcome aboard!

Jack-your Tiger is coming together very nicely-good to see a Tamiya build in the mix.  Also nice to see a Tunisian Tiger being built-something not seen much around here.

Dave & Marc-thanks for the info on the Vallejo-think I'm going to try some-I'm getting tired of getting inconsistent results from MM acrylics.  With the HobbyLobby 40% off coupons its worth a shot.

Dave-your Panther looks great-very nice job on the camo and weathering. 

Andy-thanks for the info on your PE bender-I'll be adding a "Bug" to my wish list. 

Hoping to get started on the Panther after lunch.

Carl: That looks great to me!

Awesome Carl!  You know it's good when it looks so perfect in those close up shots. Very well done to get it looking so life-like. It's gonna be a real treat to see that baby completed. Very much enjoying the ride along. 

Carl, that is looking sweet.  Count me as one of those that can't wait to see this one done. 

regards,

Jack

Carl- Lovely work at closer shot!!!  Now I want to marry your KT when it is done.  Sorry I still don't want to marry you.  

Again, thanks for the great tip about using color pencils.  Have a good one!

Hey guys,

First off no problems Wingy! No apologies needed!

Andy - I can't drink beer to build PE due to my killer heartburn!

Carl you mentioned my hatch (see below):

"Ben , you were talking about that round escape hatch weren't you ? Dont think that would be open normally  .maybe for ammo , maintenance or ....escape ?

The main idea for that being open as it is is simply to add an extra splash of colour. I like to take every chance to do that! When it's on the base I'm going to have a few spent scale Brass rounds on the floor and a few on the rear deck like the hatch has been used to chuck some empties out of. It should work ok I hope! It's fixed now anyway so it can't be closed and the interior is totally blacked out so that won't be a problem. That splash of interior 'off white' on the door will break things up nicely.

Does anyone know what colour the sliding bar should be - it obviously engages up/down to fasten the hatch when the two handles are turned. Should that be a bare metal colour or off-white too (but well-worn)? I want to get that painted spot on!

Bob , Cliff , Hasen , Jack ...............Andy , thanks for liking the close up guys .

Andy , does this mean i have to have a case of Polygamy by myself ......Polygamy beer that is ..............

Gosh , that RB barrel looks great !!! I hate to paint it .......................

Ghostt180, nice to have you and your Jagdanther aboard. We are the only ones building one. BTW, is it a Tamiya or Dragon kit?

I agree that a disc pattern Panther would be cool.

I'm with Gamera about the builds. I feel so tiny.  

Dave man that looks awful... awful freakin' awesome!  And that is very cool find the setting for the wartime pic.

Carl, man you are killing me with the work you are doing.  I may just cry when it's all done   That's a loooong barrel but sadly yes, you must paint it.

Hasen , great close up pic , the detail looks great close up !!!

LOL - touche... and thanks. Of course, when I look at it all I can see is the zimmerit sheet separating from the side hull... and the mold seam in the center of the retaining latch hook... digital photography is great, isn't it? 

Dave,zimm looks really good !!

Thanks, Tojo.  I can't take credit for it completely as I just glued it on. ATAK zimm from Poland. I don't think I could have pulled off that grid pattern quite so nicely. (And of course ATAK makes like 4 or 5 different patterns for Panthers, so that means I have quite a bit of work ahead of me! LOL)

Dave , you got that right about the digital phtography ! I greatly appreciate the close up pics we can take .

Marc , i finally bit the bullet and painted it . I'm doing this one as a replacement barrel in primer gray ...........actually its panzer gray .

Dave: Really, the zimmerit looks great! Since I used to do my own with a razor saw and green putty, I've never tried the waffle pattern. The resin stuff you used looks great!

Carl: Please stop pointing those things at me- they might be loaded! Seriously, nice work!  

Cliff .LOL !  I think the safety is on ..................