#12 Tamiya German Horch 1A mit 2cm Flak38 (Conversion)

Ed my brother....Looking outstanding as usual, truly a master.

Bob

Adam:  Popsicles for sale cheap!  THnaks Adam fo rth ekind comments and the support

Jim:  There you are my little friend I am glad to have you on board.

Dave:  OCD is not an affliction it is a gift!!

Bill:  Thanks you BIll you are too kind! 

Bob:  Thanks Bob!

Build Update:

I've been lurking this one from the beginning, and if I don't chime in soon, I'm going to explode:

HOLY COW MAN, are you KIDDING me?  Unbelievable.  Awe inspiring.  Superb.

OK, now that the pressure has been relieved, I'm going to slink back into the shadows until the finale... maybe...

  Hey Boyd!!

I am kidding you this has all been smoke and mirrors! 

Before you submerge here is a few pcs with the wheels on.  I need to put on the width indicators and I might have to wait for the wndshield after paint,

Edmund,

That is looking pretty slick.  Correct me if I am mistaken but, didn't the spare tire mount freewheel to allow the spare tires to rotate thus preventing the vehicle from high centering? Random info surfacing in the brain.  Just got off shift. Waaaaaay to long a night.

Dave

Nice work on the mud flaps and the underside Ed, making good progress on this one.

Very  impressive Ed, I dig that trailer and the flaps, too cool buddy. This is all going to look awesome when the paint goes on, which I'm looking forward to.

I'm surprised you didn't go with resin AM wheels Ed. No sense I guess if the kit one are ok.

Anyhow looks really nice buddy .

Rob

www.scratchmod.com

Dave:  Hey Dave I am not sure about having the wheels freewheel in their mounts. As an ex farmer that's not going to happen on anything I drive for obvious reasons.  I would like to learn more about that though  and their reasoning.

Wbill:  Thanks my friend you are a constant!

Rob:  Thanks Rob and I chose not to go with resin wheels on this on for budgetary and practical reasons.  The wheels are plastic not vinyl and should take paint well plus they are well molded IMHO.

Build Update:

I finally bowed to public pressure and primed the Horch and trailer yesterday.  I still have a few final fiddly details on the gun that I saved for last and then I will prime that as well.  I am choosing to mount a gunner figure in the seat which necessitates building the gun around the figure to some degree to guarantee a correct sit and feel.

Pressure, what pressure not from us.

Out freaking standing Ed, if it looks that good in primer then the actual paint is going to be killer. Very nice work on the gun by the way. I've stashed mine where it can't be seen, too scary with all those fiddly parts. The headless dude looks good too.

Rob

www.scratchmod.com

Ed once again your attention to detail far exceeds all expectations.  Your freaking amazing my brother and it is an honor to have you as a friend.  Again....your are a Master.

Bob

  Thanks Wayne, Bob and Rob!

Build Update:

Edmund that really looks fantastic.  I love it when a project gets that 1st coat of paint, be it base or primer.  Takes all the separate bits and pulls them together into a contiguous piece.

I missed my chance of being able to help.  I had scratched an ammo box a while back so I had all the measurements and refs all ready to go.  But your work paid off 'cause the box looks great.

  Hi Marc,

Thanks my friend but you are not too late I have three more of these trailers ready to be made in the near future so share away please! 

Edmund,

to what G said about cresting a dune and keeping the vehicle from high centering.  I've been racking my brain on where I saw the notation of the spare tires being able to freewheel.  Maybe it'll come to me later. Too many brutal hours at work tonight.  Maybe it'll come to me in a dream today.

Cheers

Dave

Edmund

I can remain underground only so long, and the stupendous (not often you see that word in this context, eh) quality of your work requires me to resurface and say: "Bravo, sir, bravo!!"

Dave:  That is what good old fashion Horse Power is for!  Thank God for Henry Ford!

Boyd:  Thanks Boyd you can submerge and reemerge on my WIP anytime!

Wayne:  I usually use Mr. Surfacer 1200 but for availability and budgetary reasons I started using Tamiya's Metal and Plastic Primer wish does a great job as well.

I am ready to start the the painting and weathering and because I want to introduce depth and color change to the model I am planning to paint and weather each subcomponent separately starting with the weapon.

I admit there is a lot of interpretation of what these guns looked like based otn the different paint schemes I have seen and of course there would of been some variation.  I have found a great walk through that I am going to follow minus 70 years of wear and tear.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://data3.primeportal.net/artillery/carl_dennis/20mm_flak_38/images/20mm_flak_38_13_of_36.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.primeportal.net/artillery/carl_dennis/20mm_flak_38/&usg=__xSzqkCrJKwXBMhdYU9HiYm3lAfs=&h=619&w=1000&sz=257&hl=en&start=111&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=qAiGcORmHwHUHM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=149&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSd.Ah.51%26start%3D108%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D18%26tbs%3Disch:1

Also i was watching Normandy The Great Crusade on The Military Channel today and I saw my conversion in action.  It was interesting to note that the crew had added a field mod to the front fenders like I did with the Jerry Can racks and they had also lowered the gun deck and based on my math and how close the gun shield is to the driver compartment it is a front facing orientation but that is conjecture it still is not that clear.  Here are a few pictures I took of my television!  I am such a geek please do not tell anyone!

I want to know where in the world you got the idea to shoot photos of your TV!

You can get shots no one has!

Nasty-lookin-goon-squad somewhere in Italy '43

SECRETS REVEALED! Dig that weathering on those ammo cans!

Thanks Wayne & Adam for following along and the comedy relief!

  Retraction:

What's the world coming to when an Ex Police officer and Ex Army Ranger loses a vehicle recognition to a Civilian Canadian!  Oh the shame it's time to beat my sword into a plowshare and go back to farming! 

I then sprayed two light coats of A Life Color Khaki color that I had left over from another project that I prefer to use for chipping effects because it chips quite easily with a little warm water and a stippling brush.

 

I then decided to add some aircraft and vehicle kill symbols to the front armor shield so I prepped the surface with two light coats of future and after applying the decals applied another coat of Future.  I then applied a final coat of MM Flat acryl to prep the surface for final weathering.

 

It was now time to pick out the paints for some oil dot fading which I prefer over fading with pigments because I feel like i have more control

After oil dot fading I tried a new product from MIG that I wanted to try and it works very well followed by some dry brushing with MIG Oil and Grease Stain Mixture which provides a nice metallic sheen.  i also dry brushed some Citadel Boltgun metal on exposed chipped areas.

 

How do I put this mildly.

It seems Schnobs has laid down the 20mm Benchmark

On this day, we are given a message....

Accept no mediocrity----model as if  nothing else matters. Attempt to get results like Sir Edmund

But if you do not.........do not dispair....

Fore Ed has laid down --------THE BLOG___---_____------______________________-----------------

LIVE IT           LEARN IT           KNOW IT     

Edmund, that gun is just truly superb--your weathering and painting are top-notch.I can't see anything I would have done differently, and would be proud to call that my own work.

If the rest of the model comes out anything like that gun, you're going to cement your place as one of the premiere finishers on this forum for sure. WOW. Fabulous!

Ed - Im waiting to see the pictures of the 20mm gun you built...not the real thing..............LOL

Holy cow Ed, JAW DROPPING. You freaking stun me every time with your outstanding work.

Bob

Looking very good there Mr. Ed! Can definitely see the heritage of the previous builds in your finishing approach as well as some new touches added. You know of course that now that you've started to show pics with paint that the forum won't tolerate any delays on the rest of the vehicle getting a similar treatment!

     Adam:  Thanks again Adam for your enthusiastic support it is appreciated on these long builds.

Karl:  Wow Karl that is very kind of you and thank you for the kind words.  I did get my come uppetence with the shell basket though.  After hours of PE torture I finally sprayed some CA Kicker to accelerate the curing process and called it good.  I do have some lessons learned for the next one though so it will be easiser going forward.

Bob:   Thanks Bob!

Wbill:  Thanks Bill and yes I have some lessons learned on desert weatheirng that is God help us developing into a style.  The trailer is next! 

Edmund

WOW!

I have to be honest with you - your skill set just leaves me speechless.  When I wonder how can it be done any better I know all I have to do is look at your next build to answer the question.  Simply amazing.

I also want you to know that you have inspired me to try to push my boundaries back a bit and add to my skill set by doing some significant (but not nearly so significant as yours) scratchbuilding on my current build (a Marder 1A2 Schutzenpanzer for the Winter Warriors GB).  (By the way, that means if I screw it all up, it's YOUR fault   )

Really great stuff, Edmund....keep it coming.  Oh, and as Bill said - where the hell is the rest of the paint??!!

Wow Edmund this thing is looking superb. Your skill level shouts out that youve been doing this for tens of years. Your scratch work is great aswell and i must say noone documents it in as much detail as you my friend.I have yet to do the hairspray technique or the salt one so i will be looking up your work for reference when i eventually get round to finnishing the old famo. Great stuff Ed.

Woah! With all the hairspray I figure you all must be 80's rockers sporting huge mullets!

Tried salt to a degree of success, will try the 'spray next time.

Excellent paint job on the Flak gun, just one Q:

The ground spade protrudeing into the driver's cabin. Wouldn't that piece be bolted onto the main frame? I would be tempted to cut it off and drill 4 bolt holes into the stub and paint Red oxide,  rusty steel.

http://i731.photobucket.com/albums/ww317/schnobs20/AFV%20WIPS4/TamiyaGermanHorch1Amit2cmFlak380-103.jpg

Amazing work you have done!   I am speechless... not mute!  I think you need to CORRECT your count from #12 to # 1-1-2.  It is just hard for me to believe you that this is only your twelveth build... with the skills you have shown us.  Looking forward to the finish. 

  I apologize for the late reply to your posts. I was bitten by the Flue Bug on Thursday night.  Correction I was attacked by the Flue Bug and the only medium I painted was Porcelain and I didn't use paint! 

Wayne:  I often ask myself the same question Wayne in the middle of a flurry of activity!  Thank you for the kind words and support.

Boyd:  Thanks Boyd!  Good luck with your scratch building and if you mess up back up and try it again!

Andy:  Hey Bodge you are so nice my friend thank you.  I would love to see your Famo finished.  One of those is on my build list with the trailer with a knocked out tank. 

SupressionFire:  Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment it is appreciated.  If you look back a few pages you will see the retention system i have planned which be rusted rebar.  I like the depth the spade provides deep into the driver compartment.  It is visually interesting to me but you have a great ideal though.

Andy:  Thanks Andy you are too kind!  I will do my best not to let you down!

Man I was planing on ordering one of these my self. An now after seeing the chassis of yours, I ordering one real soon. Thanks for posting your work, an to the other guys thank's for posting all the B&W photo. I see there's all types of way I can build one. "Outstanding"

Well Ed, after lurking and watching   It appears that it ALL has been said.

I have to say that this is definitely gonna end very well.....no doubt about THAT.