Yeah, storage looks good SP, looking forward to seeing her all done up.

Stik: The wash looks great. It really makes all those surface details pop!

Stowage added to rear deck...

Just gotta add decals and final weathering now...

TB, Testors makes the proper paint Field Gray in their new Model Master releases, Feldgrau RAL 6006, in both Acrylic and Enamel. It is a different shade than their Uniform Feldgrau.

Gamera, it's strictly trial and error on my washes. If I take off too much or did not put on enough in the first place, I go back and do it some more.

But I am quite happy with how this one is coming together finally....

SP: Looks great to me! Even got the gonzometer setting right up there!

I meant to say pin wash when I spot wash, it looks ok but I still think yours looks better than what I've been getting.

Ernest: Lol thanks, but I finished my lil Crusader some months back, one of the few GBs I finished with time to spare!

Mike: That sounds really cool, looking forward to some photos.

For the tracks I would not suggest rust so much as a burnished metal look. Rust only is on tank tracks that do not and are not moving for prolonged periods of time. As soon as a tank starts moving, the dirt, dust, sand, etc. of local terrain scours the rust off. But they do tend to pick up the hue of the local terrain, even when scoured clean by sand and such.

Okay, shade and fade done, For the fade effect, I used a 10% glaze of Buff, and for the shade I mixed a darker version of 8020 and again thinned it 90% so it went on as a mist and built up on behind the running gear. It's subtle, I'm not sure how well the effect will photograph, but I'm happy with it at the moment, and oil wash and dry brush should go okay over it. I'll be into those rounds tomorrow, and as this is not a heavily rusted subject, I'm hoping single rounds will do the trick. If so, I could be into final assembly by Sunday, and if I can get the rust wash done on the tracks i'll put the dust coat through in the same round of work as spraying the stowage. I need to do some experimental mixing to develop the shade for the faded wooden crates, and decide what I'm doing with the rest. German helmets and gasmask cases sure look grey in pictures, and the shade Tamiya sells as "Field Grey" is, to my eye, definitely a green -- in fact colour charts list it as an acceptable match for Russian aircraft "factory green!"

M/TB379

Thanks, Stik. It's one of those odd cases where first guesses prove out. From the first time I thought of the project, that was the mix I had in mind, and though I tried a few variations and ratios, that was what I came back to and my anticipated ration was close to right in the end.

I'm getting the return rollers ready for spraying their hubs, plus the smoke grenade discharger rack, and there's a bit more 8020 needed on the idlers, then I can take a crack of the fade and shade coats. I'm looking at an ultra-thinned Buff for the fade effect, and can dust the tracks with the same mix (though I think after they have been rust-washed, to suggest dust on top of rust.)

M/TB379

TB, your Mk.IV's RAL 8020 looks really good. Interesting mix to get there.... Flesh and Red Brown? Very simple. I eyeballed a mix of Tamiya colors 2 summers ago on a project, but have no idea of colors or ratios anymore... probably Desert Yellow, Buff, and Deck Tan, but... go figure...

Lookin' good, Stik!  Buff, join the last wave of action! Yep, we have a final stir of finishing going on, so join in!

I'm in from work at mid0-afternoon and am going to do my best to finish the airbrushing on the Pz. IV, though the stowage will take a few more shots. I got the tracks done in yesterday's session, including the tracks for the Jagdpanther for the tank hunters GB, which is also due by the end of the month.

I'm hoping to be onto final assembly and stowage after this weekend.

cheers, M/TB379

Yes you should Ernest... misery enjoys company...

"I don't feel tardy..."

"Its ALIVE!!""  

Man I thought this GB was over, but I see that there are still a couple still working on their builds!    Great work there Stik and Gamera!!  Maybe I should resurrect the two Pz. 1 builds that are about ready for paint....?!?!?!

Drybrushing of highlights done... tracks on... antennas added....

almost there...

I work on a section at a time and mostly do pin washes. First I dampen the area with thinner to help the wash flow, then apply the pin wash. Let it dry and go back and clean up later. I am still very new to oils, and while I do like their forgiving nature, there are times I do not care for their extended drying times. Enamels are a happy in between compared to acrylics and enamels.

Hmm, I've been using oils so far, guess I should give enamels a try. Lately I've been doing the ,spot wash' thing and had much better results with it than 'the flood the whole model' method.

I am no expert on washes. But I do prefer enamels or oils for washes. I have only used oils a couple of times so far. Those give you more "play time" for lack of a better term regarding the clean up phase in removing excess wash. Acrylics are far less forgiving. One big thing is to use dissimilar layer surfaces. Apply your enamel/oil wash over either an acrylic base or sealant layer. Otherwise the thinners in the wash will attack any enamel base.

Wow, great job there SP! I need you to teach me about washes since I always seem to make a mess out of them!

I got some photos done today before work. I will try to get them posted on here after my shift tonite. The wash sure made all those details pop!

Mike: She looks great! Looking forward to seeing her together and weathered.

SP & Clemens: Sounds cool, really looking forward to more progress from you guys.

Looking good, Mike. And that's really a nice rack you got there!

I really should get my own Pz.IV onto the bench again and finally start the detail painting and weathering on the interior parts... I just don't have enough space at the moment...

Hi all,

As promised, progess WIP -- the RAL 8020 is homebrewed in Tamiya acrylics, XF-15 Flesh plus XF-64 German Rotbraun (4:1) plus 1 part X-22 clear Gloss to add depth. It's not quite as orange as the shade Bovington had the original painted in back in the 80s.

I made up a big batch, there was enough to do the primary coat overall, a secondary coat to pick up thin spots and details second time around, plus do the wheels. The idlers might need a touch more, and about three quarters of the roadwheels are waiting for their reverse sides to get hit, plus the return roller hubs, so that's another mixing for tomorrow. I'll try to get the tracks done too, plus maybe tackle the fade and shade aspects of the hull.

I'm eager to get this project off the bench, there's three weeks of the year left and my stack of projects is almost cleared. ideally I want the bench free by January 1st, so I can fill it up again with next year's selection!

Cheers, M/TB379

Well I got a wash on my Carro Commando over the past few days, so now all the detail really pops! I will see if I can get a few photos up in the next day or so... And then maybe... just maybe... try to get it completed before this Saturday's AMPS meeting... Yeah right... Lol!

Progress -- well, I mixed my RAL 8020 and it came out pretty good, quite close to what I see Tony Greenland mixed in his book and acceptably close to AK's colour chip. I made up plenty, I have some left to tackle the wheels as a separate job. I have a detail or two to address, separate off the wheels and clean up the sprue gates, then stencil the hubs into colour (the rims were done a way back) and touch up. Expect photos!

M/TB379

Thanks Stik and Gamera, it's always nice to have one's rack appreciated...!

Target for today -- add a few fine detail parts, do some experimental mixing to find an acceptable RAL 8020 and get the main colour coat on, possible get some paint onto elements of stowage and/or the tracks.

M/TB379

I don't tell many men this Mike, but you do you a very nice rack there...

And the rest of the Panzer don't look half bad.

Yeah-I've got the SAS Jeep that is 85% complete...but now I'm thinking the shade of yellow isn't quite right....grrr....

Hah! I am happy to see that I am not the only one who got sidetracked along the way to the finish line here and missed the end date. I pulled my project off the sidelines late Saturday night and began the final steps as well....

BTW, very  nice work on that rack!

Hi guys, sorry to resurrect an old GB, I know it's been done for quite a while but I thought you'd like to see my entry finally come together.

I was building Tamiya's Pz. IV D as a tribute to one of Tony Greenland's classic models. I got hung up in scratch building the jerry can rack, and I cannot tell you the mental hurdle it was to get that stupid bit of plastic and steel strip done. If it had fallen apart, the project would have been over until I could fabricate a new one, and I still might build a new one at a later date if I can source some very fine strip brass, but for now I'll run with what I've managed to assemble, especially as the rack will be mostly obscured by the stowage in it.

Here's how I did it -- laying the rack as built way back down on some paper with ruled guides, and laying a strip of plastic into place with minute drops of CA:

For what it's worth, it worked well enough to pass for a field lash-up (though I'm sure the German mechanics were more precise than this!). Next I mounted it to the hull, using a support strip hidden under the rack platform:

There are a couple of cosmetic support strips to add, but structurally she'll hold herself up as-is. Finally I got her into primer, the desert camo being a lot lighter than the original kit plastic. I tried AK's grey primer but I think I'll need a bit of tuition or practice in using AK products, and instead used Tamiya XF-19 Sky Gray, a close match for US Neutral Gray:

Primed, she has a distinctly Dragon-ish look...

Next up, experimental mixing to work up a decent RAL 8020 match, and on with the colour...

Cheers, sorry to be so late!

Mike/TB379

Great work Dan and I'm sorry I took so long to add it to the wall.