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

Thanks, Greysnake, and good work on your tank!

John, the Wildcat is looking good.  After watching Midway again for the 20th time, I keep resolving to get one and a Dauntless.

GreySnake, I recall building a Dragon Panzer IV the last time there was a North African GB.  It is still sitting on my shelf of doom missing the tracks and decals.  Just couldn't get over that hump.  You are well on the way though!

I did finish the decalling session, glad to report the kit decals went on just fine after 20 years!  (print year was 2001) 

Tracks have also been installed, even though I am not very happy with the etching fluid results.   

I botched my R's by not aligning them.  Did not realize it until after the Micro Set had done it's magic.  Even soaking it again with the solution didn't work, they are firmly in place.  Oh well, it will just be going on my shelf.

"Perfect is the enemy of completion."

Glamdring - the Pz. II is looking good with paint and markings on!  I don't think I would've noticed the positioning of the Rs if you hadn't mentioned it!  Those tracks are a HUGE improvement over the kit vinyl tracks 

greysnake - I'm totally jealous of your tank commander!  I need that dude for my Pz. I...perfect figure for a DAK tank!

John 3:16 KJV - loving the 2nd Wildcat addition!  Keeping an eye on this build as well (yep, I have the same kit in the stash!!

So assembly of the Crusader is done, but I'm too tired to set up the photo booth and take some pics.  Maybe tomorrow!!

Glamdring, the R's don't look bad to me! Congrats on the finish! Do you have a photo preference for the roster?

[PS- It truly is the secret of modeling to accept acceptable rather than to be a perfectionist!]

 Thanks, buff! Congrats on the Crusader! 

Thanks guys!  It's still a work in progress, have to dirty it up some and get the "tank dummy" aka the commander in the hatch.

bufflehead

greysnake - I'm totally jealous of your tank commander!  I need that dude for my Pz. I...perfect figure for a DAK tank!

greysnake - thanks so much for the link!  I've always wanted to get a few of those Tank figures but could never find a good source!  

Here you go!  The Italeri Crusader Mk.I is fully assembled.  Sorry to say I never took the time to get some WIP photos until now.  Oh well, at least it didn't take me a whole year to assemble this kit!

Built pretty much OOB except for the figure, tow cables, antennae and the resin stowage.  BTW the wheels, side skirts, tow cables and stowage are all just tacked in place.  I'll disassemble these for painting.

And here she is with the Pz. IA.  Both will heading to the paint booth very soon!

Those look awesome! Great work!

Totally cleaned and revamped my paint/photo booth today!

Primer is on!  Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black (spray can) for the Pz. I, Tamiya Fine spray primer for the Crusader:

And since these two are getting closer to completion, I've decided to enter two more kits in the GB:

Both are 1/72 Hobby Boss Easy Assembly kits:

The choice of the BF-109 was inspired by keavdog's 1/48 Tamiya kit that he completed earlier for the GB!  

Those look like they're gonna turn out great! I'll add your new models to the roster, too! 

Thanks guys!  Your kind words are inspiring! 

I used the Black&White method on the Pz. I since it has a Panzer Grey undercoat. Used AK Interactive Real Colors for most of the painting here, Flat White for the pre-highlights, Dunkelgrau and Flat White mixed 3:1 for the Panzer Grey.  The Real Colors Dunkelgrau is very dark, so I lightened it with the white.  I will do some hairspray chipping and I don't want there to be too much contrast between the grey undercoat and the sand coat that will follow.  

Reverse technique for the Crusader.  Black preshade (Tamiya XF-1) first, followed by a mix of Real Colors Light Stone mixed with Flat White (3:1).

Going to let them both dry for a few days while I work on some other projects!

Great work on those tanks...

update on P-40.

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

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

thanks for watching.

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?

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

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!

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.

up dated under side pic.

Starting to look suitably grungy & grimy Crown!

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

latest pic.

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. 

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 - 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!

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

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.

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