my halftrack isn't part of the GB though i guess it could be to get another shelf queen finished. work continues on FLAK 43. everything is primed and i may be looking  for a german ww2 truck since i'm building this one in travel mode. dark yellow base but i haven't decided on a camo pattern as yet. leaning toward spots for practice or thin lines simulating growing wheat.

OOPS forgot to use rich formatting. pics to follow

jibber, no problem. It sounds like you have a great Dio in mind, look forward to seeing it. And if you feel like entering another build, you can do any time. We are only a third of the way through, so plenty of time to come back.

wayne, nice work on that Halftrack.

Gamera, stop teasing and get this one done. Can't wait to see it.

Bish, can you please remove the Befehlsjager from the GB. I've decided to keep it dark yellow and put it in a diorama, and to my knowledge, there were no yellow Marders at Normandy. Everything I've found is that these were very fragile vehicles or al least almost every photo shows them with a lot of damage, missing or dislodged plates etc, so I'm placing it in a scene where it's distressed and receiving repairs. It's actually more work making them look that way instead of "nice" camo patterns. Thanks.  

Jack: Those are great photos, the wearing of the temporary D-Day bands on the front of the wing make perfect sense but I never thought about it before!

Wayne: Nice work there on that half-track, I've looked at the Dragon kits but the only one I've built so far is the ancient vintage Tamiya model.  

I am in a holding pattern at 99.99% done... I applied some sand coloured pigments to the running gear and can't get it to turn out how I want it, guess I should go ahead and just post the photos instead of fooling with it forever. Maybe some of you guys can help me with it... 

Wayne: That would be me. Thanks for sharing those pics with me!

I building a half track but its a Tamiya 1:48 German

hey ww2

is it you building one of the dragon half tracks? here are some pictures of 1the M21 mortar carrier i started 4 years ago. IIRC each halftrack suspension system is 32 parts. obviously most of this will never be seen.

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

My local Hobby Lobby carries Model Master enamels  and  arcylics (a few select colors in acrylics), Vallejo, and regular Testors enamels. They also have Tamiya Putty and Primer spray paint whcih surprised me. No Tamiya paint bottles though. :(

Funny thing, I usually print out multiple coupons and try to cash out each item separately. One time they did do it, last night they couldn't because it only honors 1 coupon per person per visit. So I went to another cashier to use my other 40% coupon. I bought 2 items - cashed them out going to 2 different cashiers. Hey, it worked though... LOL!

VonHammer would be extremely proud of you!

Jack, excellent detail photo of the Spits!

There are some who take into consideration scale effect when applying paint colours, so in that regard using an off-white is correct.   To balance this out, you should, in theory, do the same for anything else that has white, such as the national insignia.   

As others have mentioned, weathering can address the brightness of the white stripes.  Another method is to wait till after the build has the main colours on (as well as the decals), and spray a thinly mixed mist over the whole.  This works great at toning everything down, and pulling things together.

A few more shots of the Spitfire invasion stripes.  The modern colour photo is interesting too.  Likely due to an overcast setting, but the stripes particularly on the fuselage look off white.  Importing the image into a paint program and using the eyedropper tool, it reads the grey virtually identical on the fuselage stripes compared to that of the white portion of the roundel, even though (to my naked eye anyways), the roundel looks brighter.

edit - the b/w photo Spitfire could possibly be an example of six weeks (or more) of wear on the stripes.  None are present on the topside due to an order released on July 6 declaring an end to their application  on both wing and fuselage tops.

regards,

Jack

My local Hobby Lobby carries Model Master enamels  and  arcylics (a few select colors in acrylics), Vallejo, and regular Testors enamels. They also have Tamiya Putty and Primer spray paint whcih surprised me. No Tamiya paint bottles though. :(

Funny thing, I usually print out multiple coupons and try to cash out each item separately. One time they did do it, last night they couldn't because it only honors 1 coupon per person per visit. So I went to another cashier to use my other 40% coupon. I bought 2 items - cashed them out going to 2 different cashiers. Hey, it worked though... LOL!

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

 Looks like I gotta print out another 40% coupon for Hobby Lobby and get it. LOL!!!

Ah Hobby Lobby... they also have a mobile app for the coupon... no printer needed. I went there yesterday and picked up some Mona Lisa thinner based upon the recommendation of a couple guys in AMPS/IPMS. Low and behold they are now carrying Valejo paints and bunches of Tamiya finishing products. 40% off and I will be going to the new local Hobby Lobby quite a bit in the near future I think. They wont replace the LHS for many things, but they are giving competition in some...

I just use artist oils and turpenoid for streaking effects.

Just put a small dot of undiluted oil paint where you want the effect to start and then dampen your brush with turpenoid and wipe the paint back. That should produce a nice streaking effect when applied over a gloss coat. You want to use dark brown and black oil paints mixed together in various shades of black brown. The effect should start at panel lines only. keep it very light on the uppersurfaces and try to achieve a stronger effect on the lower surfaces and where hinges and other oiled parts are on the real aircraft.

My thoughts exactly SchattenSpartan. Looks like I gotta print out another 40% coupon for Hobby Lobby and get it. LOL!!!

How would you go about adding streaking/staining to the stripes? I do have MM's Black Detail wash which works wonders for now. Is there a video or sorts that I can learn from on how to do it? Post it if there is. Thanks.

Off white is perfect for painting white areas. Normal white just looks too clean and bright, so try to avoid using it. You might want to add some streaking/staining to the stripes depending on the amount of weathering youbare aiming for

Having decided to paint the Invasion stripes on my P-47 'Bolt, there's something about using flat white that makes me think. They seem to look too white to me. So a trip to a local Hobby Lobby store was made. Knowing they carried Vallejo paint, one particular shade of white intrigued me - Vallejo Off White. I took a tiny dab on my fingernail to get a good idea of what the shade of white looks like.

I'm tempted to buy it as it looks more appropriate as a slightly weathered white for the D-Day Invasion stripes on the fuselage and wings. Thoughts?

Also - can I use Testors Universal Acrylic Thinner as a thinning agent for airbrush use? I'd  hate to waste my money on Vallejo thinner if I can get away with using what I have on hand.

Thanks SP, now that you mention it I believe that's it exactly. One of Shep Paine's I believe. 

I thin k that was in a book "How to Build Tanks (Or Armor Models- or along those lines)". It was a Mk. IV from 12SS Panzer Beofre the Normandy Campaign, and after its' capture during the campaign.

I remember seeing a photo somewhere with a Panzer IV driving out the front all shiny and new with the skirts and everything perfect and then a second photo showing her after a week or so in action with most of the skirts gone the brackets bent all up and the fenders all smashed to blazes.

Yes it was not uncommon to see Mk IV's with just the hull armor mounts and the plates gone.

I'm going to have the braces that the skirt armor was hung on, but no armor. I could just set them on there, I'm sure that was a possibility.

Some ideas for branches on the Panzer IV, it's a youtube video I've been looking at, but from the Canadian Firefly perspective that I'm building.  It's when they met elements of the 12SS, both were on an offensive mission - but there is some great shots of the Panzers starting at about the 6.00 mark:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZYr1M5CLXw

Clearer film can be seen at the British Pathe site, but no sound.  Added bonus, there are some captured stills as as well:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/d-day-from-german-perspective/query/german+perspective+dday

regards,

Jack

One common way was to jam branches in anywhere that they fit and would not interfere with hatches, optics, weapons, etc. another method is to string commo wire from various points along the vehicle and jam the foliage into/under that wire.

Thanks guys! Everything is together except the tracks, ready for paint. I'm thinking of putting some branches and stuff on the tank like I've seen in pictures. Does anyone know how they were kept on?

hey gamera

i'm with you about building brackets. i also tend to keep the tools wood and metal instead of painted just for some contrast, especially with a single color vehicle.

WW2P: Yeah you could just leave the spare wheels out if you want there. Even toss a couple of wine bottles or a helmet in the empty bin. The bracket you could just put in the bottom of the bin like the crew has just tossed it there, or I guess it's possible it got lost so you could leave it off.

Wayne: I've heard the same thing about infantry 'borrowing' tools. Again building brackets from scratch or fooling around with teeny PE ones are such a pain I just go ahead and stick the tools on there.

i have read, maybe on FSM that a lot of SHERMAN crews carried the tools inside so the grunts wouldn't steal them,especially the shovels. my thought on this, camo, and extra storage is "if this wes my vehicle how would i paint it and what would i carry?" this is coming from a former tanker who was used to having a 50 ton rucksack.

I was going to leave the extra wheels out of the box thing they are carried in.

www.rlm.at/.../hydro_06.790x525.jpg

On the kit, it has a bar going across the top of them to keep them in place, doesn't in that picture. Can't  figure out a way to put the bar on but leave the wheels off for painting then somehow get the wheels in again.

You can barely make out the bar in this picture.

www.tamiya.com/.../top.jpg

If you leave stuff like tools off you probably want to leave the clamps that held the tool on though. Generally it seems more work to build the clamps than just to leave the tool on though.  

another question, I know model kits make everything you need including the spare wheels that are carried, how realistic would be to leave some things off?