Thanks, Clemens! The dust is suggested by the paint rather than being an application of pigment, and its kinda neat it worked that way!

M/TB379

Mike & Stik: Both your tanks look magnificent! I think the weathering on each of them is spot on, including the dust (something I always have problems with)

Beautiful work! I am the opposite of you with this kit, I built a gray one many years ago, but now after seeing your work here I want to build a DAK one...

Thanks, Jack and Gamera, it's a kit I've wanted to do for many years and a project that's been on my agenda for years since I got TG's book. I must do another of these in earlier trim for the blitzkrieg period, I've not done a Panzer Grey project yet...

Cheers, M/TB379

Mike: Great job, she looks all dusty and weathered without being overdone.

Mike - outstanding work, great colour!

regards,

Jack

Hi guys -- well, I'm calling her done! The last few items of stowage were a fiddle but I'm delighted with the way the crates came out, they actually look rather like wood!

There are a few differences from the TG original -- he battle-damaged the fenders, which I'm not up to yet, added some hinges/pins to the front fenders which I missed, and of course he got a wider variety of stowage, added the flag and pinned the tracks to create a looping effect. And a bucket hanging on the rack, which I'll add... I'll keep an eye open for stowage items, and take a shot at the flag, just not quite yet.

My sister did the photos using the new HS-50 digital camera she got for Christmas, and a lovely job it does too! I colour-balanced, cropped and sized the shots through Irfanview.

So, without further ado, here's the evidence. Tamiya Pz. IVD, classic kit, with Tamiya acrylics, homebrewed, decals by Archer and Armour Decals, stowage by Italeri, Tamiya and Verlinden, rack scratchbuilt along with the laminate armour, grab handles and extra boltheads.

There we are, then -- the GB has been a lot of fun, I'm glad to have completed three projects for it (my badge is for those, not this one!)

Many thanks for looking, and I hope this project has been worth the wait. It's my twelfth completion for 2014.

Cheers, Mike/Thunderbolt379

Thanks! It was a combination of all... Wash, flat top coat, pigments, etc.. It all toned down great... Than you can see how the natural light and flash give different looks to the color.

Looks fantastic, Stick!  The vehicle colour is a lot easier on the eyes now too - lighting change or was it the weathering that reined in the strong mimetico colour?

regards,

Jack

Well I finally got this one completed. It is a conversion of the original issue Tamiya M13/40 Carro Armato into the Carro Comando command tank. I did lots of scratch work including a partial interior.

now to finish up the Miniart crew figures for a display

Mike: Looking forward to photos!

Today I worked on stowage, still trying to get the crates right, and drybrushed the mines and other items. Canteens and grenades in progress now. I finished the helmets, including the Archer decals, using the "wet method," and sealed them with Micro Flat. The lights are all done now. If I could get a decent run at the remaining stowage items, she'd be finished but for those items I've not yet identified/obtained, and of course that flag...

M/TB379

Going old school. be interested to see how it comes out.

Bish -- the plan is to use TG's method. The base is textureless kitchen paper of some sort, thick and absorbent, it gets painted with dilute whiteglue to plasticize it, then the design is sprayed through stencils. The paper is wetted from the back to restore some flexibility and pressed gently into the final shape of drape and wrinkles, and when dry is shadowed with pigments.

M/TB379

What are you using for the flag Mike.

Thanks Eric and Bish -- I'm making a push to get as much done as possible and I should be able to take a pic with everything on that's going to be, minus the flag, pretty soon. The flag is a total experiment so I'm not going to count it as part of the build proper. I'll have the stowage in decent shape shortly -- the oil drybrushing should be dry by now so I can get to the next stage on that.

M/TB379

stikpusher

Well, as usual I got one of my silly ideas to make things better. Since my Carro Comando has some nice open hatches to see into, and I added the radios on Friday, I decided to come up with some interior details for this baby. I used my Tamiya Semovente as reference and set about raiding my spares bin. I spent more time sifting thru there for items that looked about right than anything else. A few hours later I have come up with this. Not perfect, exact, or whatever, but no longer just empty space...

and what you can see of it thru the open hatches...

[ime]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/stikpusher/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpse7227302.jpg[/img]

now for those Miniart crew figures and a base....

stikpusher

Well, as usual I got one of my silly ideas to make things better. Since my Carro Comando has some nice open hatches to see into, and I added the radios on Friday, I decided to come up with some interior details for this baby. I used my Tamiya Semovente as reference and set about raiding my spares bin. I spent more time sifting thru there for items that looked about right than anything else. A few hours later I have come up with this. Not perfect, exact, or whatever, but no longer just empty space...

and what you can see of it thru the open hatches...

[ime]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/stikpusher/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpse7227302.jpg[/img]

now for those Miniart crew figures and a base....

Looks great their SP, nice effects around those rivets and edges. Looking forward to seeing your base.

Thanks Tigerman... I need to get one more thing finished before the year is out...

Haven't checked in here in a while. Thats looking really nice there Mike.

I didn't know people were still working. Very cool Stik and TBolt.

Hi guys, a little progress to report -- I've been working on stowage, I sprayed the mines and MG magazines and such, and have done some oil drybrushing, and have worked on the crates in oils also. The gas mask containers are drybrushed to bring up the grey, and we'll see how they look when dry. The jerry cans are now washed for rust and into the rack, so another session or two and I might be calling the stowage done. re the flag, I think I know where to get the right textureless heavy absorbent paper -- the hand-towels in the bathrooms at the hospital where I change busses might do the trick! I'll check them out when I'm through there next.

I've been working on my Jagdpanther for the Hunters II GB, there's only a few days to go but I've got her into base DY, sprayed the tires and hubs as far as base colour, sprayed the tracks and just did some wash work on them. I have a smidgeon of air left in the tank and might be able to do the shade coat under the sponsons before I'm out. I'm really wringing every last bit of work I can get out of it!

Cheers, M/TB379

Thanks Gamera, Stik and Clemens. Dust is the ticket, I guess, thus the sprayed dustcoat on the tracks and the shade colour behind the running gear. I have a Mig pigment for deserts too.

Re the stowage, it seems to be a tour of the sort of things available 25 years ago, and it's one of only a few models in TG's collection with stowage as a principal element. Re the helmets, in that area of the turret there is a hinged flap with a bullet splash guard around it, and a ventilator to the right, and my guess would be that the engineers tacked on some tie-down loops to pass the helmet chin straps through, or bored them through the splash guard. TG's research used to be exhaustive so he would have made the best choices on the available data, and likely saw this configuration somewhere, though I admit I've not seen it in primary sources myself. In several of his other models you find helmets hung from hangers in other locations.

I sprayed the helmets and gas mask containers today, after cleaning up the resin stubs, and would have gone on to clear coat them in prep for the decals but the AB needed a clean, so I'll try to get to that tomorrow afternoon, as Christmas lunch is digesting. I should do some oil dry brusging to bring up the grey content.

The large crate I have is clearly too large for the available space, so I'll be on the lookout for something smaller, as well as some kitbags that might do service. I'll get the jerry cans done in the near future too, then there's a bucket to sort out, it hangs from the rack upright on the left. I'll try to make it look reasonably busy!

Cheers, and thanks again,

Mike/TB379

Thank you Sparten. I think that it looks the part. With the holiday madness now upon us, I hope that u can get back on my projects on Christmas Day, or the day after at the latest!

Stik: That's some nice interior detailing work you got going there!

Mike: I love your Pz.IV! In my opinion it actually looks quite a bit better than the one you based your build on!

Looks real good so far. I think the weathering you are shooting for is good, but I would not follow that stowage too closely. I seriously doubt any tankers would leave loose grenades, landmines and MG ammo drums laying about loose like that. Helmets are usually seen handing from lifting hooks and grab handles by their chin straps rather than left on the top deck where they will vibrate off in travel.

But yes, in the desert- dust, dust, and more dust...

Mike: As usual looks good! I'd guess a tank in the desert would be mostly dusty so she seems to look 'right' - wouldn't think you'd get a lot of mud in gunk where it's arid and dry.

And oh gosh yeah, I wish Superscale would go with a different colour label for their bottles- I've done the same friggin' thing!!!

Okay, guys, she's nearly there! I forgot to paint the headlights, tail light and convoy light, plus drybrush the outer edge of the tracks, before I took these pics, but you can get the idea.

I spot-sprayed the trouble patch under the rack where I did the oopsie, and it's an invisible fix -- I was even able to use the same decal I had already wetted on the day! The MGs are mounted, the radio mast is on, carbon round the muzzle, some extra wash in a few places, minor repairs done.

Next is the stowage and I'm thinking of soldiering on with the air recognition flag. Here she is at the moment, plus the page from TG's book showing what I'm working from. She looks fairly clean, but the original did not feature heavy weathering as far as I can see, so that's what I'm following.

Cheers, M/TB379

SP: Looks good to me, sometimes it helps to just have something in there- anything to fill up the empty space.

Well, as usual I got one of my silly ideas to make things better. Since my Carro Comando has some nice open hatches to see into, and I added the radios on Friday, I decided to come up with some interior details for this baby. I used my Tamiya Semovente as reference and set about raiding my spares bin. I spent more time sifting thru there for items that looked about right than anything else. A few hours later I have come up with this. Not perfect, exact, or whatever, but no longer just empty space...

and what you can see of it thru the open hatches...

[ime]http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i181/stikpusher/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpse7227302.jpg[/img]

now for those Miniart crew figures and a base....