OFF TO THE THEATER! - African Operations of World War II - 2021 GB

PlasticJunkie, great job on your dio! I love the figures, and the fact that you have a lizard, too is awesome! I'll get a picture set on the roster! 

Thank you for joining this GB!

keavdog

Nice job PJ!  Appreciate all the extra details like the figures and the lizard.  

 

Thanks KD.

Nice job PJ!  Appreciate all the extra details like the figures and the lizard.  

modelcrazy

Stunning build PJ 

 

Thanks Steve.

Stunning build PJ 

Thanks crown. My entry is completed. 

The lads are bunking down for the evening after a very hot day out in the desert.

Even a lizard is included with the Dragon figure set. 
Feel free to use any picture for the completed page and thanks for letting participate.

Ernest. Thank you for your comments, those planes are looking clean and yes ready for paint. The Pz weathering looks stunging.

PJ. that looks fanstatic great job.

Crown - Beautiful P-40, congrats on a job well done!  The camo job is super and I like the base you put it on!    Thanks for sharing all your work on the GB!

  John 3:16 KJV. thanks I don't have a preference, your choice.

That's a beautiful plane you've got there, crown! Thanks for participating! Do you have a photo preference for the roster?

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Good work, buff! Trying new things can be challenging, but it helps us get experience! 

Trumpeter P-40B Tomahawk IIA. Out of the box build was ok.

Paints A/K interactive RAF camo series.

Tamiya clear gloss and flat.

weatherin Gamblin pigments.

John3:16 KJV . Thankyou for having me in this GB , thanks your all your comments and for watching.

John - I 've done both preshading and black basing, but I don't have a preference yet....still trying to determine which I like better!

Crown - killer job on the P-40!  Congrats on getting it done!

My little BF-109 trop is assembled....I filled in all the gaps, rescribed most of the upper surface panel lines, added a very fine brass mesh on the air filter and scratchbuilt an armored head plate for the canopy.  Waiting for primer/paint!

Starting working on the 1/72 Spitfire.  Unlike the Bf-109 this Easy Assembly kit has practically no cockpit interior to speak of....just a plain seat and a stub representing the control lever, all molded in.   yech!  Just too bare for me....so I scratchbuilt some details with whatever I had around; stretched sprue, Evergreen strips and sheet, bits of old PE, wine bottle lead.  I didn't worry about being too accurate, just wanted the pit to look somewhat decent. Missing from these photos are the control lever, oxygen bottles and battery which will be added after most of the interior painting is done.

Lastly, I plan on using the hairspray method on the Pz. I to depict the sand color chipping away and showing the original dark gray underneath, except....I've never used this techique before .  So I experimented on a couple of scrap parts to see what paints and colors would work best for me.  After several attempts I decided a custom mix of Tamiya Acrylic flat colors looked right AND chipped well.  Here is the final experimental result on a old 1/35 resin Pz. IV turret. (with filters, pinwash, grime & rusty weathering added).

I went kind of heavy on the chipping and weathering just to see how far I wanted to push it!  I expect the chipping and weathering on the little Pz. I to be more subtle.

Wow! Shout out to Tamiya for responding to my missing piece request in good time, for agreeing to replace it free, and for getting it to me quickly. I was prepared for long shipping, but it just came today. 

Thanks for the help, crown; and nice P-40! You did a great job! 

John 3:16 KJV. Those Testor clears are lacquer, I dont use lacquer based paint much any more, you can thin them with cellulose thinner / lacquer thinner.

nice wildcats!

Ernest. Many thanks. This  P-40 is pretty much done. final pics to come.

Thank you, Ernest! On the 1/48, I did the black-base method. 

crown - the P-40 is coming along nicely!  I like the way the spinner is looking!

John - sweeet work on both the Wildcats!  Not sure if that's preshading on the 1/48 or black-basing.....either way I'm sure the Blue-Grey and Gull Gray colors will look great with the undercoat!

Been working on all my GB models, but nothing major to post yet.  Maybe in a day or two!

Also, I'll post my updates:

The 1/72 Wildcat looks almost done, but there is more to do, including touch-ups, wheels, and of course decals:

Next the 1/48 Wildcat. Unfortunately, I lost an important piece for the engine area. I've contacted Tamiya, and they were great with responding quickly and offering me a free replacement. Unfortunately, it could take a while for the replacement piece to get to me. Otherwise, the build is going along relatively well--I mean, I never care for doing wheels, but aside from that. So, without further ado:

Wheel tips welcome!

crown r n7

John. many thanks I use Tamiya gloss and I thin it 60% paint to 40% tamiya thinner. Are you using testors enamels ?

 

Sorry for not responding sooner, crown. I use enamel paints on my models (unless their figures, in which case I use both acrylics and enamels.) I currently have Testors Dullcote and Glosscote. Not positively certain how to thin them (maybe enamel thinner, too?). Don't wanna run them through my airbrush before the thinner needed is confirmed. 

Ernest. Thank you, not much water for washing airplanes.

latest pic.

Starting to look suitably grungy & grimy Crown!

up dated under side pic.

Ernest. Thank you for your comments. Nice work onthose figures and the wash around the face very good. good start on the 109. The p-40 test looks good on both sides for basic shade it will change again with weathering.

I gave the P-40 a pigment wash of tan/brown/black. I used white oil paint to lighten up some pannels. The staining starts soon.

crown - I'm really liking the camo job on that P-40 with the AK paint!  Its coming along great!

 So here's an update on some of my builds (be warned:  long post!)

Both the Crusader and Pz. I are on hold.  Turns out I don't have the colors I want on hand for the paint schemes I have in mind, so I had to order some.  Should be here in a week or so.

In the meantime I've been working (slowly) on the tank commanders for both kits.  I'm not much of a figure painter, but I try to do the best I can!   Pics aren't too good using my cellphone, but I can't find the memory card for my camera so the cellphone will have to do even though a lot of the detail and subtle shading are lost.  Here's the Brit commander minus his arms!  He's about 80% done.

Here's the Panzer commander (what a scowl!).  Not much done, just basecoated the main colors.

Also been working on the Hobby Boss 1/72 Bf-109 Trop.  Its a very simple kit with few parts.  I spruced up the basic pit with some AM decals for the gauges and a little weathering.

The fuselage and wing assembly are each one molded part. 

Makes assembly quick and easy (hence the Easy Assembly feature) but does leave gaps that need attention.  What can you expect for a sub $10 kit?

Lastly I was intrigued by Crown's P-40 paint job and wondered if I have the right colors on hand for the Spitfire's desert RAF paint scheme.  After a check it turns out I have LIfecolor Acrylic Middlestone and Dark Earth, and Vallejo Model Air Azure Blue and also Dark Earth.  I decided to try these out on a scrapper P-40 kit I had lying around to see how the colors came out:

Lifecolor Middlestone with Lifecolor Dark Earth on the starboard side, Vallejo Dark Earth on the port side.  Lifecolor looks more accurate, but I do like the higher contrast of the Vallejo color!  

Underneath is the Vallejo Azure Blue....I think its a winner!  So I have the necessary paints for the 1/72 Hobby Boss Spitfire Mk. Vb!

John. many thanks I use Tamiya gloss and I thin it 60% paint to 40% tamiya thinner. Are you using testors enamels ?

Crown and buff, you two are doing great jobs! 

Crown, than Tomahwk's turning out really well. What do you use as clear gloss? Do you run it through your AB; and, if so, how do you thin it out of your AB? 

I have Testors clear gloss and clear flat, but I'm not sure if I should use them in my AB because I'm not completely sure what the thinner is that I can use to clean up afterwards. Do you (or does anyone) know anything about these clear coats?

The decals are on another misty coat of gloss clear and weathering starts.

thanks for watching.

used AK RAF dark earth/middle stone/azure blue with 1st misty gloss coat ( tamiya) . The decals for A.M.