Urban Armor GB, May 1-Dec 31, 2008

dupes:  Thanks for the heads up on the badge, it's handled...and thanks for the help Hermesminiatures. 

mg42gunner:  I put you down for the Panther G Late, but to adhere to the rules (please re-read), I'll need some photo proof of your urban setting.  There are a lot of pics' available...see what you can find.  Glad you could join in, I look forward to seeing how you weather that beast!

...By the way, I'll be doing the Panther A for this GB.  I used my current Big Cats GB entry, the Panther G Late (Tamiya kit) as my "guinea pig" for this GB.  I was REAL happy with the dark yellow paint job...here is how it came out, and what I hope to duplicate for this GB:

How'd you do on those AP tests?!

mg42gunner:  No, the paint job on your build doesn't have to be the same.  The photo is for proof of your urban setting/ inspiration only.

By the way, the paint job on my Panther was actually pretty easy...time consuming, but easy.  Let me know if you need any info on how I got the look, OK?

SMJmodeler wrote:

By the way, the paint job on my Panther was actually pretty easy...time consuming, but easy.  Let me know if you need any info on how I got the look, OK?

Very nice job with your pre and post shading! 

Thanks Scott!...by the way, what the heck is the difference between pre-and post-shading

Here's what I did:

First I sprayed the whole model Dark Yellow, XF-60 (no primer).  Then I lightened it and sprayed the center of each surface/ detail.  Then, I lightened it even more and sprayed/ accented only the horizontal surfaces where the sun would bleach it the most. Finally I came back with the first lightened color and re-"shaded" where I oversprayed the lightest shade.

Is that the same shading technique you mentioned?  It's neither here nor there,  I'm just trying to get my teminology correct.

SMJmodeler wrote:

Thanks Scott!...by the way, what the heck is the difference between pre-and post-shading Here's what I did: First I sprayed the whole model Dark Yellow, XF-60 (no primer).  Then I lightened it and sprayed the center of each surface/ detail.  Then, I lightened it even more and sprayed/ accented only the horizontal surfaces where the sun would bleach it the most. Finally I came back with the first lightened color and re-"shaded" where I oversprayed the lightest shade. Is that the same shading technique you mentioned?  It's neither here nor there,  I'm just trying to get my teminology correct.

Ah, that's all post shading. 

A pre-shade would have included spraying a dark color (flat black, dark brown) along all the panel edges and wherever there would have been more shadows to darken the basecoat in those areas after you spray the base coat.

Post shading is spraying the base coat, then adding increasingly lighter coats in the panels just like you mentioned above. 

That 1st one is particularly sweet.

Going to do the dio version of that one? Huh? Huh?

Man, I really have to get started on my SU-76 for this GB.

Didn't realize how far behind I fell, by not checking into this site and posting for the past few months. Anways I hope to get started on my SU-76, today.

Ok, it's official.  For this GB, I'm going to build my Dragon 1/35 King Tiger w/zimmerit as one that served with the 503 Schwere PanzerAbteilung attached to the Feldherrnhalle division in the defense of Budapest Hungary.  Here are a few inspiration photos.  I'll have to dig through my Tigers in Combat books to see if there are any other good, relevant photos.  

Scott - if you're interested, I'm going to ask my Grandmother what she remembers about the fighting in Budapest in '44-'45 - she was 15 at the time. She and my Grandfather (now deceased) both lived there at the time before moving to the US in 1949. I'm willing to bet she has some interesting stories if I can get her to talk about it.

Great batch of pics, btw.

dupes wrote:

Scott - if you're interested, I'm going to ask my Grandmother what she remembers about the fighting in Budapest in '44-'45 - she was 15 at the time. She and my Grandfather (now deceased) both lived there at the time before moving to the US in 1949. I'm willing to bet she has some interesting stories if I can get her to talk about it. Great batch of pics, btw.

If you can get her to talk about her experiences then you've got to post them! 

SMJmodeler wrote:

espins1:  Nice photos!...I'll go ahead and change your build info...hey, how about adding a figure on the end of the barrel like that one pic'

Thanks guys.  I'm leaning more towards the pic 2nd from the bottom, #233

Rookie question, hope someone can answer it for me.

I plan on doing my first wash for my armor for this GB after I finished the painting. But I know you have to prepare for it. So are these basically the steps you have to take:

1) put a layer of Future on the armor      2) put on decals     3) put on a layer flat-clear gloss   4) do the wash/weathering

For step 2, I was wondering is their anything special you have to do to decals for them to stick to the Future, or do apply decals just by putting it on the Future.

Oh and for step 3 do you have to thin the gloss for use in a airbrush or is it fine straight from a bottle.

So long as you give it enough dry-time (24 hours is sufficient), your decals can be laid down right over the future. For step 3, I think you mean a gloss coat, not a flat coat? After your decals are dry, you can use another coat of future to seal them in pre-weathering. Some people dislike the added gloss layer and head straight to the flat coat to seal them in, although certain washes behave differently when applied over a flat vs a gloss.

Did that help? 

dupes wrote:

So long as you give it enough dry-time (24 hours is sufficient), your decals can be laid down right over the future. For step 3, I think you mean a gloss coat, not a flat coat? After your decals are dry, you can use another coat of future to seal them in pre-weathering. Some people dislike the added gloss layer and head straight to the flat coat to seal them in, although certain washes behave differently when applied over a flat vs a gloss. Did that help?

Helped out a ton, but do you have to thin the gloss or flat coat? Oh yeah one more thing can you do a wash right on top of the paint without a coat of Future or a flat coat first?

Well, it depends on what gloss or flat coat you're using (great answer, huh? ). If you're talking about future, you can shoot it straight out of the squeeze bottle. Personally, when I use the Model Master Dullcoat (or whatever they call it) I put a few drops of thinner in there, but I'm not 100% sure it's necessary - just seems to help it mix a bit and lay down a bit smoother.

As for the wash right on top of the paint, you shouldn't have an issue putting an OIL wash down right over acrylics (or an acrylic wash over oils). If you're trying to do oils over enamels you MUST seal them in first with an acrylic (or I think a lacquer) coat first or you run the risk of your thinner in the wash eating into your paint.

Here's pics of some work I've done on my SU-76M:

Front Hull pieces went together nicely but some sanding was needed.

The suspension arms had MAJOR problems with fitting into the hull. So the hole for the suspension arms had to be enlarged.

Upper hull panels were snug, but that wasn't something a little trimming & sanding couldn't fix. 

The gun still under construction, you probably could tell I did some drastic trimming and sanding to the top of it, because it dosen't fit into the outside armor covering. One of my many useful tools, along with a roadwheel I was testing some color on.

An example of some of the flash I have to deal with.

The level I was using to make sure the suspension was perfectly articulated.

The grill on the SU-76 and it's replacement the black mesh/screen. Or in other words what I'll be covering up the original grill with.

For those wondering the black screen/mesh is simply the stuff you use in screen doors to keep bugs out.

Finally the tracks, it took quite a while to cut each one out. And some were faulty, they were molded badly and they simply cracked, so those had to be glued back together.

All comments, suggestions, and questions welcome!

My work is still continuing on this model. The fenders are finished and some details are done.

Some problems arose because I was missing a muffler/exhaust piece. I don't think I lost it to the carpet monster, but I couldn't find it after an exhaustive search. So I decided to make one out of wax. Made a mold of the piece needed in the Silly Putty, poured in the wax, let in sit for a few hours, then cut off all the extra wax. Took a few molds to finally get one almost perfect.