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.

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

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...  

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! 

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

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

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

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 

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! 

Great. Look forward to the updates.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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}

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.  

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.

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

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... 

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!

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.

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!

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 

Thanks Steve.  My next KT with be naked from the waist down

Andy, a DAK PzII?  That could be cool.

Malone-continuing to come along very nicely-looking forward to seeing more paint on your Panther

Andy-excellent build, outstanding weathering, scenery & photography-you should be proud.

Marc-as always, your KT continues to look good.  Quick question-what type/blend of paint/colors are you using for your yellow?-thanks

Hey thanks Bob.  The paint is Tamiya and the mix is about a 50/50 dark yellow/deck tan then just a bit of white.

Thanks Marc-

I've got the Panther primed with red oxide-thinking about just adding green-based on research a red oxide primer/green scheme was common in the final days.  However, the yellow/green camo scheme is a valid option.  Will probably go with the primer/green option first-if I'm not pleased with it, then I can add yellow.

deafpanzer

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??? 

Andy, I think I would be up to an Afrika Korps GB after this one ends. Like you, I've been itching to become involved in one. I'm not sure why it didn't catch on. Perhaps I poorly advertised it. I have many in the stash that would apply. 

Steve, glad to have you back. I can't wait to see what you can do next!