Damn it Chazzer, you make me want to go full AMS on my Tiger as well. That's some very impressive work! I just hope you don't try to put all the stuff in the last pic on your kitten. There wouldn't be anything of the actual tank visible if you did

Are those gray bits from a dragon kit? The color looks familiar to me and I'm pretty sure it isn't resin. If they are, would you mind telling us why you chose to replace the kit parts?

Sorry for the last photo, I did alot of stowage following hand surgery and infection. More of that kind of stuff will be in the armor forum.

Scott

ps Hey Mr pusher, third times a charm. Thanks Brother!!!

Hey Guys, here are some wip of my Tiger I, tactical # 142 of the 4th Platoon, 1st Kompany, schwere Panzer Abteilung 501. This battalion served in Tunisia from November 1942 to March 1943. The battalion was credited with destroying more than 150 allied tanks. I've done a ton of research and this is going to be my first super detailed model. HOLY SMOKES! There is lots of work to do but it remains fun and calming. In my last post I listed the work that I have done or will do. One thing to add to my list is that I am not going to use the kit rubber band tracks. They really aren't too bad but I have a set of Friuls in my a.m. track stash, so I'll use them. I welcome any criticism or corrections needed. I am always trying to learn. Here's some pictures. I will post more often so as to not overload the site! I tried to put them in order but I had a few problems. I am too old school. One day I will get the hang of it. Thanks to the Stickpusher for his technical help!                                                              Overall view of my progress

http://i1344.photobucket.com/albums/p642/Scottchaz/810_zpsea6a5678.jpg

No expereince for either one of those kfz kits with me. I have only built the old Tamiya kits. And that is far less intricate than the Hobbyboss one here... Wow! I think on my days off this week I will do more work on my Italian jobs for this GB.

I would like tyo add one of these as well, I don't have any wheeled German armour at the moment. So I will second SS's question. I know Tristar kits usually get good reviews, but I know nothing about Bronco's. And even less about Hobby Boss kits.

Holy Moly, that 222 looks damn fine, Alan!

I still have to get me one of those little armored cars, but I'm not sure which one yet. I think I'll either go for the Bronco 221 (with the Pak) or the Tristar 222. Does anyone have any experience with one of them?

Lovely work there Alan, I think we are in for another treat.

HobbyBoss Sd.Kfz. 222 Panzerspahwagen

#3 The upper and lower halves have been fit together and it is becoming apparent that all the interior hard work will not be seen.

The underside - still looking good.

This is the gun platform painted Field Gray and weathered with Flory Black Dirt and Flory Sand washes. Let me say, this was a paint to put together. The instructions left a lot to be desired, especially the placement of small parts. There were several subassemblies and it was all but impossible to test fit. As it is, it’s wrong and I’ll have to modify it a bit to place the weapons and have it fit in the turret.

Here is the fixed gun platform with the weapons attached. The guns are finally level with the turret. They were painted Tamiya Gun Metal and dry brushed with Tamiya Metallic Grey. Not too bad. I left out a photo etched part that attached to the turret. Whoever designed it was a masochist. I just couldn’t put it together and finally cried uncle. It wasn’t going to be seen anyway. Still, it’s frustrating.

I think the Sd.Kfz. 222 is about ready to paint and that should bring us up to date.

HobbyBoss Sd.Kfz. 222 Panzerspahwagen

#2. The kit has you start with the undercarriage. The engine was painted a neutral grey and everything else was airbrushed with a flat black. I then lightly sprayed on Tamiya Dark Brown to give a look of wear and tear and rust. I then lightly dry brushed a 50:50 mixture of Tamiya Flat Aluminum and Neutral grey. I like the look.

The inside was painted white, as directed, and then lightly airbrushed with Tamiya Dark Brown to give a bit of a dirty look.

The upper interior was painted the same and then washed with a Dark Dirt Flory wash. The engine compartment was airbrushed black.

The instrument panel was glued in (decals over Tamiya Gloss Black) and a Flory Sand wash was applied. I left the copywrite info since it would not be seen in the finished model.

Here is the finished inside after the dry brushing and final Flory Sand wash applied. To bad none of it is going to be seen once the upper hull is in place. I should have opened the doors.

HobbyBoss Sd.Kfz. 222 Panzerspahwagen.

Since I finished the M3A1 Scout for this group build, I started on the 2nd build - the HobbyBoss Sd.Kfz. 222 Panzerspahwagen. I actually have it almost ready for painting, so I’ll bring everyone up to date in 3 posts.

#1. The Kit

The sprues are individually wrapped and the kit comes with some nice photo etch, rubber wheels and decals for 2 vehicles.

This is the paint scheme I’m going for.

Looking really good there, Ernest!

Ernest: Very cool, good to see you again and looking forward to seeing the Panzer I get some paint. The command panzer looks pretty cool too, I love those old Italeri kits and don't think they get enough credit, some good stuff there.

That's some nice progress ernest, I didn't realise Italeri had done one of those, should be fun to watch come together.

Looks like we need a bump!

I apologize to all for the long delay, but I'm finally getting back to work on the Dragon Pz. 1 Ausf.B DAK.

I had to go back to page 21, Jan. 6 to find my last update.......  wow   Anyway, I left off with the completed suspension so now its time to work on the upper hull.  I decided to open a couple of the viewports which means I have to do something about the inside of the hull, so I installed the closed hatches and inner parts of the viewports and painted the interior flat black.  Did the same with the assembled engine compartment due to the open slots on the upper deck:

Then glued the upper hull to the lower.

Assembled the turret and dry fitted the kit MG13s

And this is how she looks now:

I turned my attention to the muffler.  It has some molded on mounting bosses that are completely inaccurate and unnecessary so I carved them off with an X-Acto knife and then sanded smooth.

Last month I made the annual visit to the 2014 IPMS Hobby Expo in Petaluma, CA.  While I was there I came across this Italeri Kommando I B kit and for a mere $8 I thought it would be a cool addition to this build!  I was also thinking this could be the "test" build to experiment with the hairspray technique! Its the command/radio version of the Panzer I B and I believe the correct nomenclature is Kleine Panzer Befehlswagen I Ausf.B.  The kit decal sheet includes markings for a DAK vehicle!

I also found an Eduard PE set at the Hobby Expo that I thought would fit this so I coughed up another few $$.  I'm not sure how much of the PE set I'll use though.  I want this to be a relatively simple build.

This looks to be a bit easier of a build then the Dragon kit, but there are a few minor problems to address.  The kit's vinyl tracks HAVE to go.  Don't know if I have another Pz. I track set in the stash though.  The sprockets each have a sinkhole in them that needs fixing...shouldn't be too hard:

Take care all and have a great weekend!

Mike, beautiful Spit my friend. Always liked those desert  colors.

Many thanks, guys, it was a fun project and it looks great in the display case. The canopy problems don't show up well in the photos, and though I know they're there, I'm in no particular hurry to do anything about them, so I guess they're more a perfectionist thing -- I used masks and am used to getting clean, sharp edges, but now and then the dynamics are going to fall down a bit.

I'll get back to armour and am looking forward to talking the scratched details on the Pz. IV, so hopefully I'll have some progress shots before long.

Guess I better grab a badge, too!

Mike/TB379

tigerman

Thanks for the support guys and yes, it's been awhile since I completed the Jagdpanther.

Maybe we should stretch it until September? any thoughts?

I'm just getting back into the GB after a couple months absence.  Same problem here....too much darn work, too little time and energy!   Anyway, I just finished one of my modeling projects which I posted in the Armor forum so now I'm getting back to the Dragon Pz. IB DAK.  

Since your asking about an extension; I'm in favor of it!  Hopefully nothing will get if the way of the Pz IB, but you never know.....

Mike: Despite your issues with the canopy there she looks fantastic! Kudos sir!

Always nice to see a Spit or Hurricane in something other than the Euro scheme too.

Chazzer: Wow, that's a pile of work, looking forward to the photos.

Mike I'm having a difficult time seeing the areas along the canopy you think may be a problem, it looks like the masks fit well? Love the coloring and paint, I agree with the guys this is a very nice Spitfire.

Thank you for the link and information Jack. I presume that this would apply to Hurricanes as well.

Beautiful looking desert Spitfire, Mike!!  Everything looks great: the camo, the markings, the panel washes and weathering....top notch sir!

Lots of mistakes in my handling of the post. The pictures didn't post. I will fix it and re post

Scott

Hey guys, I've been busy. Lots of photos here and lots of text. The list of upgrades is a bit long. Most are complete, Some are partially done, or will be done.

Rather than caption all of them here is a brief rundown: I have decided to model Tigertank #142 of the 1st kompany, sPzAbt. 501. Unique to 142 is  :

Direct sight post on the left side turret roof (installed as a backup)

Spare track links mounted forward of the left and right smoke dischargers

Bucket hooked to the jack handle

88 gun is wrapped in camo netting

left side and rear hull also draped in camo netting

I did lots of scratch building and upgrades to this Tamiya kit (#35227) including :

replaced kit tools with Spares from my parts bin (Dragon)

Replaced the jack, jack block and fire extinguisher with Alliance Modelworks offerings

Scratch built jack mount

PE clamps tool mounts by Lionroar and Alliance

Aftermarket grills from Tamiya (They should be included in the kit)

Scratch built partial track mounts on bottom rear hull (not used by 142)

Sanded off molded on convoy light and replaced with partial scratchbuilt and bulb from Dragon from spares bin

Replaced kit MG with brass one from Alliance

Replaced plastic 88 with one from AFV Club

Replaced track tool box with one from spares bin and scratched the mounting bars underneith

Replaced loaders hatch with a Dragon hatch from the bin

Adding LOTS of bolt and rivet detail throughout using Ming nuts and bolts

Replaced hinges on the Turret tool bin with spare PE from the bin

Direct sight post installed

Reworking weld beads throughout with putty and Archer resin weld beads

Butterfly bolts from Bronco are used where approprate

Replaced kit smoke grenade dischargers with super detailed ones from Voyager

Here are some pictures of some of the details. I still have another month or two of work to get done.

Enjoy 

Sorry for some of the picture quality...time for a better camera.

I will post updates on my build more regularly so there won't be such a long post

Scott

Thanks, guys, and yes, I'll be doing some shots of them together -- I think I'll do a blog post on building to a theme, this one being the air war over the desert. Will post when I've got them. It feels good to have her finished! Now, onto the next! :-)

Cheers, M/TB379

I'm not a huge fan of the Spit either, but that is one gorgeous looking Spitfire you got there, Mike!

Now I am no Spit fan, but even I have to admit that's a thing of beauty. Great looking build Mike. Goes well with the 109, any chance of a pic with the two side by side.

Good call, Jack, and that's the configuration I've gone with. I figure if evidence comes along that radar was in use in-theatre I can always add the IFF wires at a later date, but for now she's in clean configuration.

I added the last parts, touched up as need be, dusted the running gear, did gun and exhaust carbon (I could go a bit heavier on the carbon, maybe), and some bare metal edges, though they don't really show up in the pics. The red gun excluder patches are unperforated, therefore the plane is hot-loaded ready for the next sortie. In keeping with being on the ground, the underwing rad outlet is in the open position.

Here's the evidence, and I'm calling her done:

My first Spitfire since I was a lot younger, and ironically enough, the last one I was working on then was Airfix's 1:72 Vc -- to be finished in Gleed's markings! I never got it finished. I did the interior painting for a Tamiya Vc many years ago, but never got on with it. So this elegant thoroughbred is my return to Spits.

The canopy let me down, I think maybe I painted too thoroughly over the masks and they pulled up alongside because the struts are so very narrow. I have some half-millimetre masking tape and if I lay out some strips and spray them RAF Middle Stone, I could possibly redo the spoiled areas. But that'll have to wait on me finding the tape...

Thanks for the GB and info, all, it's been a lot of fun, and I look forward to getting back to armour in the months ahead.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Mike - no problem.

Your call on the IFF wires.  Going by period photos, I can't detect any sign of them - that's not to say that at some point Gleed's aircraft could of had that configuration.

From what I understand, the IFF system depended on ground radar to read aircraft signals.  No doubt, there must of been a radar station(s) in Gibraltar, as well as on warships,(something that would of been quite useful during the Torch operation).  I've no idea if anything (portable or otherwise) was set up on Tunisian airfields.

regards,

Jack

Thanks, guys! Jack -- thanks for that info! I was rummaging among my research materials looking for antenna configurations and some of my older stuff seems to be inaccurate, there's a painting of Gleed's plane with the full rigging suite. The link indicates that aircraft of AB502's vintage should have had the internalised radio antenna, but the external IFF wires, certainly the photo of a Spit Vb at Gibralta has that configuration and is en route to North Africa. Now, can I muster the guts to poke attachment holes through the fuselage roundels and hope the elastic line goes on cleanly? :-) If not, all she needs is a few touchups, some dust and dirt, and she's done, and I can always rig the IFF lines at some time in the future...

Cheers, Mike

Dan: Awesome looking 232! I love the weathering!

Mike: I really like the finish on your Spit!