Winter Warriors GB 2008

Hey, thanks for looking boys!

Lufty - I don't know what "bodgerizing" is (sounds vaguely dirty, and british) but no, there was no way to cram that IP in there. It's actually as wide as the entire Hasegawa airframe, which leads me to wonder if the Has kit is a bit to thin, or if the Airfix one is way out of scale large? Ended up having to use the kit-supplied decal. Blah. Not nearly as cool as that True Details stuff, but no other option in such a short time. 

As for the standoffs, those were in the kit, courtesy of Hasegawa! Just one of their little add-ons, sort of like the one that comes with the panzerknackers.

Monkeys, huh? Like the beast, or the band?

bufflehead wrote:

Scott, your Pz.38 (t) looks great!  I love all the shading and highlighting, but isn't all of that giong to get lost when you apply the white wash or winter coat?

Thanks guys, and yes, a lot of it will disappear with the whitewash.  I figured this would be a good practice session learning how to pre and post-shade German Panzer Gray seeing as how the white wash would be very forgiving.  If I can pull it off right, the treatment I gave the gray will help with giving a bit more variation to the finish so it doesn't seem so uniform.  I just have to be careful and not go too heavy with the whitewash. 

Dupes - Very nice work on the Stuka!  Es ist sehr cool! 

You know dupes, you could try something I thought about when building the 109 but didn't try.  Shoot a pre-shade (post-shade?) on top of the standard camo colors for the winter whitewash.  The Stuka looks darn good.  For a G-2 built several years ago I didn't use the canopy express masks.  Trust me, you made the right choice.

Scott, nice progress.

Scott & Dupes-two very nice WIPs (Works in Progress)-I'm hoping that the snow has melted on the Eastern Front so my T-34 doesn't stand out like a sore thumb!

Made & added a little mud (Mr. Surfacer 500 & acrylic craft paint). Still need to finish the headlamps, taillamp (anybody got any idea what color(s) the lenses should be?), the machine gun and some chiping & worn spots.  Also, the exhaust pipes need a bit more work.  Anyway, as always, critiques & comments are always welcome. 

Hooo! Mud!

You know, I always wondered about actual lens color. Most kits just say to paint the back silver...Lufty - what color lenses did you use on your KV-2?

Looking at the background in your pic, Bob, makes me think that I should run Winter Warriors II from December 1st to April 1st next time...that's some pretty leafy green foliage behind that there snow camo.

arki30 wrote:

You know dupes, you could try something I thought about when building the 109 but didn't try.  Shoot a pre-shade (post-shade?) on top of the standard camo colors for the winter whitewash.  The Stuka looks darn good.  For a G-2 built several years ago I didn't use the canopy express masks.  Trust me, you made the right choice.

Heh. Believe me, it took long enough to do the pre-cut masks...I can't even imagine trying to make my own, or use metal foil, or...

Hmmm. I think I like this idea of the post-shade. I know pretty much for certain that the pre-shade is going to be obliterated - and it would look nice to keep that "look". Think I'm going to do it.

dupes wrote:

Looking at the background in your pic, Bob, makes me think that I should run Winter Warriors II from December 1st to April 1st next time...that's some pretty leafy green foliage behind that there snow camo.

Just another one of the advantages of being south of the Mason-Dixon Line...

At this point, I'm just happy that the dead brown grass and leafless trees aren't still covered in snow.

Oh yeah, did get the underside sprayed RLM65 a while ago, should be dry soon, heading home to hit the first of the two upper splinter colors.

Side note - I can hear something rattling around in the cockpit and it's driving me bonkers. What could it be? A seatbelt? Gunsight? Radio? Guess I'll find out when I open her back up...assuming whatever it is doesn't fall into the fuselage somewhere.

dupes wrote:

arki30 wrote: You know dupes, you could try something I thought about when building the 109 but didn't try.  Shoot a pre-shade (post-shade?) on top of the standard camo colors for the winter whitewash.  The Stuka looks darn good.  For a G-2 built several years ago I didn't use the canopy express masks.  Trust me, you made the right choice. Heh. Believe me, it took long enough to do the pre-cut masks...I can't even imagine trying to make my own, or use metal foil, or... Hmmm. I think I like this idea of the post-shade. I know pretty much for certain that the pre-shade is going to be obliterated - and it would look nice to keep that "look". Think I'm going to do it.

You'll have to go light on the pre-shade though.  Since the whitewash should be thin-ish to look "correct", any heavy panel lines could stand out too much.  It'll be tricky, but could look pretty cool if you pull it off.  

Good luck, we're pulling for you!

your t-34 looks rockin'. its exactly what i would expect after the spring thaws! For the head lights i would use Tamiya silver paint pen or Floquil old silver. either has fine pigments and good brightness.

I put the decals on last night.  After having a "discussion" about the use of Future on armor models in another thread a few weeks ago, I decided to try not using Future at all on this build.  The decals seemed to go on just fine.  I'm still trying to get the big yellow numbers on the rear of the turret to hunker down over the rivets.... just about there.  I applied some more Micro-set on the way out the door this morning and hope it will be ready to rock when I get home this evening.  I'm going to have to build another one of these, I love the gray scheme on the Pz. Kpfw. 38(t)! 

Whoah! I'm with you on the gray scheme...especially with those yellow numbers! They seem to have gone down just fine w/out the future from my end.

You'll have to let me know when you get around to doing your second one - we can do some sort of tag-team build. I've got the Maquette version waiting to be panzer-grayed and thrown down in Hungarian markings to start my big "Hungarian Armor" project...hope it builds up as good as this one!

dupes wrote:

Whoah! I'm with you on the gray scheme...especially with those yellow numbers! They seem to have gone down just fine w/out the future from my end. You'll have to let me know when you get around to doing your second one - we can do some sort of tag-team build. I've got the Maquette version waiting to be panzer-grayed and thrown down in Hungarian markings to start my big "Hungarian Armor" project...hope it builds up as good as this one!

You bet!  I'm either going to get another Tristar kit of a different version, or pick up the Dragon Ausf. G with the interior.  I love all the bolt detail which looks way cool with the gray scheme.   

Great work Bob and Scott.

Bob that Rusky hulk just looks the biz fella. Mud came out sweet too. Was that from my recipe? Still dont understand that camo scheme. It looks great but id like to know why the Ruskys did it.

Scott, that is soo sweet. Its tiny as well isnt it? Do you have something to compare the size against? That would be cool. Maybe when shes done.

Dupes, you Lycra wearing Bumpkin those lens's that i used come on a silver sticky back. I superglued the bak to the headlight and it came out nice. Have you sorted out an order yet?

...Guy

Got an order yet? Shoot, I haven't done much other than work on this Stuka!

I've been perusing Hannants and places like that (do you have a "local" Hannants?) to see what brands you can get a hold of over there that I can't here. But I'm going to have to wait until after this beast is done to get you any sort of an actual order. Heh.

After spraying the underside last night, came home to do the top when I realized I had to do the yellow wing-ends. So, hit them with some Tamiya tape and fired away...all was good until I pulled the tape back - along with a largish swath of RLM65! I swear it's these MM paints I'm using (just because they have "exact" RLM colors). Never seem to have problems masking Tamiya paint with Tamiya tape. Ugh. SO, in addition to spraying the topside tonight, I have a bit of touchup underneath.

Awww man, what a nightmare. I use xtracrylics from hannants. They dry in a semigloss finish which is great for decals after. Too late now though bud. As for a local Hannants, i have to mail order the stuff as its a bit far to travel. Its still no probs though.

...Guy

SAR & Guy-thanks.  Been a fun build-streching the boundries (and comfort zone) a bit.

Guy-The 'receipt' is similar-however, I used Mr. Surfacer instead of an acrylic based putty.  Seemed to like the acrylic craft paint though.  I do plan on picking up some acrylic putty though for future projects. As far as the camo scheme, I think it would make better sense if it weren't so badly faded.  The full blown version on the box art would give the illusion of 'tank tracks on the snow' from the air.....in Dupes Stuka...

Scott-Looking good.  Almost a shame to cover it with white......

Dupes-Looks like you are making great progress also.

Luftwoller wrote:

Scott, that is soo sweet. Its tiny as well isnt it? Do you have something to compare the size against? That would be cool. Maybe when shes done.

I'll have to do this comparison when the wheels and tracks are on, but this should give you an idea.  Here it is next to my "Das Reich" Tiger I early.  It looks puny next to the Tiger doesn't it? 

Awesome looking 38T espins!!!!!!!!!!! Those yellow numbers look sweet on the grey. You've done a great job with the paintjob too. You've done some wonderful work.

Dupes your stuka is coming along nicely. I've always had a soft spot for the stuka. Which kit is it, pro modeler? Can't wait to see the end results of both the stuka and the 38t.

Thanks guys. 

It looks like the numbers on the back turret have finally hunkered down over the bolts.  Tonight I plan on cleaning off the Micro-set residue and spraying the base layer of the white wash.  I hope to make it look fairly worn so that a decent amount of the gray is still showing through. 

I have a lot of work to do on the individual track links, which all need to be detached from the sprues and cleaned up.  Good mindless work in front of the TV with my wife tonight. 

Mmmmm...track cleanup. My favorite. (p.s. - Scott - what game company do you work for?)

Panzer88 - it's actually the Hasegawa kit. Side note - SMJ Modeler is in your neck of the woods today - said he was going to try to look you up if he had time.

dupes wrote:

Mmmmm...track cleanup. My favorite. (p.s. - Scott - what game company do you work for?)

I work for IGT - International Game Technology.  We're a Fortune 500 company (stock symbol IGT).  We are the largest slot machine manufacturer and data systems provider in the world for the casino industry.   Great company to work for! 

espins1 wrote:

It looks puny next to the Tiger doesn't it?

Everything looked puny against a Tiger . Looks like the Tiger could just run over it like a monster truck lol.

...Guy

dupes wrote:

Ahhh...slot machines. I was hoping video games. Heheheheh.

Don't I wish!   

Stay tuned though, you never know what's coming down the pipeline for future "gaming". 

Hey guys,

Just wondering how horribly out of my element and skill class I am, all I have left is to assemble the gear, drop the pit in, and start the mass-painting. I am going to get photos most likely tonight, and hopefully get the painting going tomorrow or Friday. I am curious if this is enough time to finish, and if anyone could spare the few minutes, could someone point me to the different coats, and what's involved in them? I noticed with dupes', you laid out the panel lines first with a dark (black?) shade, I am just wondering what comes after that. I really hope I can pull this off, I kind of jumped into it without realizing what's involved, but it's still fun trying!

Thanks in advance!

-Paul