Winter Warriors GB 2008

Dupes-your Panther is looking good.  Nice work on the winter white coat-nice shading.

edit-Here's a quick pic of my first Indy Track experience.  Again, I think (actually, I know) that I have one, maybe two treads too many but seeing where as the fit was less than good and they are CA'd together, I'll learn to live with it.....but next time....

Alllllllright, here's what I got done this weekend.

And a pic of the photo I'm working off of - don't have the exact markings, but pretty close. Using this to get a general idea of the condition of the whitewash + weathering. Page 20 of Panthers In Action, if you're interested.

chewybr wrote:

could you add me to the group build i have a Tamiya 1/35 King Tiger (Ardennes Front). It been half build for over a year now. but im going to finish it final.

Chewybr - would love to have you in the build, but if you check the first page you'll see that this one requires unstarted kits. If you think you can bang something new out in 51 days, let me know and I'll certainly add you to the list!

Detailfreak - looks great! I dig the look of the ost/winter ketten, whichever kettens the are. I think it's the colorblind part of me kicking in here...any chance I could get a pic or two against a solid colored background? The brown-on-brown is killing me!

Bob - well, I have mixed feelings about the PE zim. It does look nice! That's the good part. As for drawbacks, it's very difficult to get the edges of the PE to blend with the kit pieces - despite my best efforts, there are some small gaps that don't look so hot. Also, despite the thin sheets, it throws off the fit of some of the kit parts, requiring a lot of reworking. Finally, unless you're willing to reaaaaaly pile on the CA, you're inevitably going to knock a piece or two of the PE off. Meh. Timewise, I thought it would help out, but I seriously think I could putty or solder a zim finish in about the same amount of time. Live and learn! I did want to try it out, see if it was easier/better than the usual methods...I'll stick with those! 

Oh yeah, Photoshopping and uploading pics of this weekend's progress. They'll be up soon.

Scott-detail work looks good.  Keep it coming.

Dupes-good looking Panther.  How do you like the PE Zim?

OK, here's my "Lesson's Learned" for the week.  I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and prime the indy treads while they were still on the spruce.  Well, between poor fitting treads and the glue (Testor's & Tamiya liquid) not adhearing to the primer, I had to use slow drying CA.  The poor fit means that the tracks have a "one tread too many" look to them, along with some nasty gaps.  I'm going to paint and then try to 'enhance' the treads with some mud.....Live & learn....

Hey fellas, looking good! I've also made a LOT of progress on the Panther this weekend...don't have a current pic, but this is what it looked like on Friday night:

Will have an update on Monday morning with a ton more done, including the base + camo coats, winter base coat, wheel and track assembly...and whatever else I manage to get done tomorrow.

Looking good Bob! 

I finally got some time to spend on my work bench.  The front visors are assembled, those little PE brackets were fun......  Now it's time to attach the visors and the rest of the gear that goes behind the front plate. 

tellis-nice work on the M36.  That is a kit that I want to add to my 'to-build' list.  Very good job on the winter camo scheme too.

I've repainted (once or twice...or maybe it was three times...) and finally decided to stay with the 'tread' camo.  Did a raw umber was this evening.  Will be doing more weathering in the next week or so, schedule permitting.  Also I need to build the tracks.  They have been removed from the spruce and sanded where needed.  Just a matter of taking the time to glue them together.

btw-that's the engine & chasis from the Stone, Wood & Cook AA/GS Willys sitting in the foreground-not a secret Lend/Lease engine swap for the T-34....

Hey fellas, as I was updating the front page for Tellis I realized I had missed a few finished builds. If you guys get a chance, shoot over there, make sure I have your correct kit, and status if it's already finished and I just spaced it out.

Keep 'em coming, fellas!

tellis wrote:

Ok winter warriors, I'm calling the M36 complete. After the whitewash cammo scheme, I applied a wash of dark umber, followed by some dry brushing of burnt umber and some heavier weathering to the road wheels and tracks. I used up a dilluted mixture of dark umber artist ink, some turf and dead grass from the model railroad scenery to apply to the tracks and suspension.  Again, the project depicts an M36 that is relatively new to the ETO, having been issued to units in October of 44. The crew applied a whitewash in vertical patterns to help blend into the forrest during the month of December '44.  This was my first GB and has been very enjoyable, thanks again to dupes for organizing it.

Hey Tellis! I'm digging how this one came out. Is that a bit of leftover seam in the barrel, or just reflecting light? Any chance we could get a shot of the interior? Any problems with the build at all?

In the future if you could just add your pics to your latest post that would be spectacular...those of us stuck on dialup have a veeerrrrrry hard time reloading past pages with tons of pics on them. I know about 99% of you have broadband, but think of your modeling brothers stuck in the boonies.

Snag that badge sir! 

Though i'd post some wip pictures of my 1/72 T34/76. Nothing special, though hopefully it will be good when done. The kit is really nice to build but the instructions are awful. 'Armour PRO' seems to be a Dragon excuse for producing substandard instructions. They are vague and often part numbers are completely wrong or have left and right mixed up.

Mostly Built

Black base coat

Basic painting and clear varnish applied (hate how garish models look at thsi stage) 

Corvettemike - I'll add you to the front page. Glad to have you!

Fyuri - can't wait to see some pics. Always liked the lines of the MiG-3.

Hermes - I hear you about CoH. If you don't already have this map, go to planetcoh or something like that and look for "Operation Ground and Pound". By FAR my favorite user-made map...2 on 2, lots of building and chokepoints. I think if I just had that and The Scheldt on my desert island I'd be pretty happy...

I will be a bit more active with this build within the next week, I almost have the interior for my MiG-3 finished, I'll post photos as soon as I figure out how to get some decent ones. I was pretty impressed to learn that the Classic Airframes kit I got includes both PE parts and resin as well. I look forward to hearing your comments in the near future.

-Paul

Hermesminiatures wrote:

I think I need a model-you've-been-avoiding GB.

THAT is a GREAT idea....  You might be on to something here, Hermes!!

P.S.  I have not done c^&p on this GB yet.  Hope to get my rear in gear soon!

I sold the Ferdinand on eBay for $300, and the Panther was a commission project from a guy who pretty much writes me a blank check and tells me what he wants
 

I hope to get some work done this week on my M18, but my modeling room is a disaster right now, so I'll probably have to do some cleaning first. I should probably finish my other two commissioned projects sometime this year, too....I think I need a model-you've-been-avoiding GB.

I could have cleaned last night, but I was tempted into playing Company of Heroes for three hours instead

Holy flurry of activity Batman! You guys all appear to have had VERY productive weekends...I'm sad to report that after fiiiiiinally getting my PC back together (replaced the mobo) after 2 months of downtime, I ended up putting myself into a video game stupor to help end my withdrawal symptoms...all instead of building. I feel both good and bad at the same time. Hehehe.

Hermesminiatures wrote:

Not that I'm too sore about it. I already have piles of awards, including a best of show from that show two years ago, and I'd rather have the $750 I got for my Ferdinand and a Panther G than I would two more plaques on the shelf

SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY for two kits?!?!? Holy crap! I really dug your Ferdy, but I don't think I could pay $375 for it. WOW. Who do you sell to? And how do you arrive at prices? Dang, good for you Hermes. Talk about paying to stock the stash...

Good stuff guys! Keep it up!

Oh man, Buffelhead that looks great. Your in the same boat as me. Tank on the bench ready for paint. With me theres not enough hours in the day. Cant wait to see yours painted though.

...Guy

Whoa!  I can't believe its been a month since I last participated in this GB.  My last post was on Feb 1...right before that killer cold/flu knocked me out for 3 weeks!!  That and working in a different office 90 mi from home!  I did manage to pop in very briefly a couple of times to see what was going on, but I've missed a WHOLE lot!

Wow!  There are lots of great builds lately!  detailfreak's Pz III, bobbaily's T-34/76, panzer88's Sd.Kfz.251, Luftwoller's KV-2, dostaco's M8, Slightly Altered's Tiger I, Arki30's Bf-109, Jthurston's T-34/85, Plastic Cross's M7...awesome work guys!!  I know some of you aren't totally done yet, but awesome just the same!  Now that I'm back at the main office and feeling WAY better I should be able to participate more.  When I left off I was getting ready to paint my DML Pz. IV Ausf G "Kharkov".  Well, its still not painted yet, but here are a couple of photos of the almost finished assembly.  I was facillating back and forth on what basecoat to apply, but I've decided to go with dunkelgelb.  Yup....well, at least for now that's what I've decided...maybe tomorrow I'll go with dunkelgrau.  OH, photos....

Built OOB except for this little box that many of the LAH Pz IVs had during the Third Battle of Kharkov.  Just a little scratchbuilding with cardstock and aluminum.

I wanted to paint it today, but had too many chores, so I'll probably be painting it late this week or on the weekend. 

dupes wrote:

dostacos wrote:  Here is my M8 completed, I tried to match a paint job from the Squadron book, not super pleased, but I think I will do another an try to follow the tutorial Dostacos - do you have a scan of the pic you were working off of? Maybe if post what you're shooting for, someone may have a bright idea to help you achieve that look. When you say "I'll do another", do you mean another M8, or another winter build in general? Hermes - did notice your conspicuous absence. How'd the show go for you?

Well, I sold my two best models a couple weeks before the show, so my only entry was my mostly-complete Tasca Firefly. Being an IPMS contest they're all asthetics and not really into accuracy, so although the Dragon Firefly that took first was missing weld seams left and right and had the hull length uncorrected, it was washed and drybrushed to IPMS-accepted "perfection".

I need to go to AMPS....these IPMS guys are rather ridiculous.

Not that I'm too sore about it. I already have piles of awards, including a best of show from that show two years ago, and I'd rather have the $750 I got for my Ferdinand and a Panther G than I would two more plaques on the shelf

dupes wrote:

dostacos wrote:  Here is my M8 completed, I tried to match a paint job from the Squadron book, not super pleased, but I think I will do another an try to follow the tutorial Dostacos - do you have a scan of the pic you were working off of? Maybe if post what you're shooting for, someone may have a bright idea to help you achieve that look. When you say "I'll do another", do you mean another M8, or another winter build in general? Hermes - did notice your conspicuous absence. How'd the show go for you?

I am doing another couple of 1/48s a SU 122 tank destroyer and a T34 I want to see if I can get that almost all gone look with the white wash.