Winter Warriors GB 2008

A lot of great work being demonstrated here folks.  You guys are setting the bar high.

I did a little work this weekend-not terribly happy with the results, but I think I can weather it to get the look I'm going for.  Also, I chose to hand paint the 'tread tracks' rather than use the kit decals.  I kinda think that they didn't use stencils out in the field....

If all else fails, there's always the Castrol SuperClean bath......

bobbaily wrote:

A lot of great work being demonstrated here folks.  You guys are setting the bar high.

Absolutely, Bob, and that goes for yours as well!

I'm hoping that my Airacobra shows up in the mail soon. Can't wait to be able to contribute to what is turning into a great GB! Cool idea, dupes!

Thanks Ruddratt.

Well, I decided to do a little dry brushing sooner than I normally would and it made me feel a lot better.  I think some oil washes & more weathing will complete the work (along with putting on the treads....)

Thanks guys.  Yeah, the treads had me a bit concerned until the first pass at weathering, which was some dry-brushing.  Hopefully even more weathering, i.e., oil washes, will help.

SMJ-Using a past issue of FSM for a tutorial-the one with the winterized KV-1 on the cover.  I did bookmark your tutorial though-I need to review it before I move on.

Looking good guys!

Bob - that's a pretty difficult scheme there. Isn't there some sort of decal included in the kit for that "tread" part? And what the hell were the Russkies trying to simulate with that pattern?

Four more days to the halfway point!

I think that I'm going to call this done!! Thanks DUPES for a great group build!!!!! I'll be watching and admiring everyone's finished builds and progress regularly. Alot of great skill here. Here she is, you probably can't notice the little things that I did in the pictures but I swear I did do something. Added some more base color chips and drybrushed a little more and few things here and there. Keep up the great work gentlemen.

Ho ho! Very niiiiice!

Panzer88, she certainly looks the part... I still like the faded field-applied incomplete whitewash. Just feeeeels right.

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dupes wrote:

Bob - that's a pretty difficult scheme there. Isn't there some sort of decal included in the kit for that "tread" part? And what the hell were the Russkies trying to simulate with that pattern?

Dupes-The pattern probably isn't all that difficult....I just didn't give it enough thought prior to application.  I am going to try to 'straighten it up a bit' with some faded green.  If that doesn't work, then I can always tape it off and do a coat of green and then some white.  I didn't want to use the decals 'cause I didn't think that they (they being the Russians) would have used decals or even stencils out in the field.....as far as what the Russians were trying to simulate, I've read (and I don't remember where) that the intent was that the tank would blend in to the surface showing only tread tracks when viewed from the air.  dunno...

Panzer88-Great job on the 251.  Very realistic apperance.

dupes wrote:

Panzer88, she certainly looks the part... I still like the faded field-applied incomplete whitewash. Just feeeeels right.

  I think you hit that point of just enough, panzer88.  Nicely done.

dupes thanks for the compliments on my build. I just wondering, when are we going to see that panther. I love panthers , I have more than half a dozen of more my shelf.

Bobbaily, glad you like the 251. I'm patiently waiting for your T34 to be finished. Looks like it's going to be a looker.

panzer88 wrote:

Thank you very much guys!!!!!!  This was my first group build and definitely not my last. It was great to try something new and have it work out .  arki30 seeing your build has perked my interest in possibly building something on the wingy side of things, ssssshhhhhh don't tell anyone on the armor side of things. Thanks again guys.

Muuwhahahahaha!  Yes, young apprentice, come to the light side...

Since we've temporarily (we hope) lost Wingnut to the dark side, I'd say it's fair to balance the equation a little.

I think this T/34 is coming along beautifully Bobbaily. Good choice to freehand the "tread" pattern instead of using the decal. Don't figure the crew would have had a stencil either. Anxious to see this with your washes and weathering.

Dale 

Always had a soft spot for the 251, and you nailed it Panzer88!  This looks fantastic with the subtle color variations peeking through the whitewash. Love the kill marks on the barrel.

Dale 

There's some really cool stuff getting built here!  I just wish I had time to build a new model.  Nothing I have int the stash could be done in a winter scheme.  But The other week I did make a winter base for a dragon T-34 (1:72) that I completed some time ago.  I thought I'd post here to share with you all.  I also posted pics of it on the dio forum.  I sort of had this winter scene in mind for a litle vignette.  I was imagining a patrol of T-34s skirting the edge of some trees by a grassy pasture.  I hope this portrays the idea accurately. For the base I used modelling clay which is a pain in the a$$ because it shrinks and cracks.  I had to fill a bunch of the cracks before I painted it.  I used acrylic dark brown.  I then added the trees which is cuttings from a potentilla bush.  I think they make great 1:72 trees!  I then added the grass which is a whole bunch of clippings from a length of hemp rope.  I think it looks pretty realistic.  Lastly for the snow I added white tempura paint powder, sprinkled in place. 

Let me know what you think, don't be too gentle, I've got pretty thick skin

Thanks for the comments guys.

Jay-nice T-34.  The base looks great and adds to the winter scheme.

Detailfreak-the Dragon kit came with the decals-"1st Guards Tank Brigade of General Katukov, Moscow area1942, in the famous "road ruts" white over green scheme".  While digging up that info, I see that the decals differ from the box drawing, which I prefer.....hmmmm, may have to repaint and start over.....

Hi all, finally put the finishing touches to my KV. It has eduard skirts, CMK resin mantlet and barrel and fruils. I bought the kit from e##y and it came with the mantlet and barrel and i had the fruils in my stash already.

I went with a Heavily worn whitewash for a tank in the thaw. It was a real enjoyment for me and i loved trying the different weathering techniques. I liked the way it came out. I was even happy with the figure. LOL.

Heres some pics, Comments and critisisms welcome.

Oh and after my recent post, requesting info on how the spare tracks were attached, heres my scratched reproduction.

...Guy

Sorry it took me so long to get to this one Lufty...had to leave my PC on overnight to download all the pics. Heh.

VERY nice! Lots of things I really like here - PE work came out really good, especially like the underside of the hatch and the machine gun mount. Is that 2-man saw part of a PE kit? Or is that scratched? Friulies look real nice - I always think they're more worthwhile on a build where you can actually see the tracks. Boots/jacket - again, are these scratched? Oh, digging the bullet impacts (and subsequent rust streaking) as well.

Only criticism I have is that your road wheels on the port side appear to be inconsistently weathered compared to the rest of the overall build and the ones on the starboard.

Please be sure to grab your badge and display it proudly!

Bob, Panzer, Lycraman. Thankyou fellas. I really enjoyed this build. I have wanted to do a winterised KV2 for ages and when this GB came up. Woo hoo. Your right about the weathering on the wheels. I did one side and just forgot the other. Its right now though lol. The accessories in the stowage locker were the rubber jacket and boots that came with my Tamiya halftrack and the saw was from the PE set. Glad you liked the figure Panzer. thats the one part of modelling that i really dont have a lot of luck with. Luckilly im mates with 'Bodge' from the armor, dio, figure section and he gave me a few tips that i tried that seemed to work. Did you like the anti ditching beam? That came straight from my backyard from a bush of some strange origin. I painted it with my van dyke brown wash and pastelled it. Not bad eh.

Great GB Dupes, its been real fun and there have been some serious quality goods being produced.

...Guy

Hey guys, I just bopped over here to see your stuff--lots of EXCELLENT stuff being done here!!!

I just wanted to give you all a "heads up"; I did a snow tutorial over in Dioramas that you might find useful if you wanted to put your tank/plane in a deep snow scene--easy, and cheap to make. Check it out at your leisure!

Great work all around, guys!