This weekend's efforts were extremely productive and focused in on getting the detail paintwork done for the interior and assembling the fighting compartment. I rotated around amongst the different elements as I worked with different colors since there was so much detail work to be done, so the pics that follow also show the various elements weathered prior to their installation.
Rather than repeat for each element what was done with the weathering, I'll just list it out here. I stippled some Burnt Umber to simulate scuff/scrapes and then applied an overall wash of Raw Umber over that as a general dirty/grime effect. The wash was applied without any underlying sealing coat since the enamels had fully cured but care was still needed not to apply too much thinner or the paint would lift entirely. I then dry brushed the 50/50 Light Gray/Panzer Dunkelgelb base color mix in varying degrees to blend the wash in and add variety.
For the lower hull tub, I added some "fresh" dirt/mud wear in the form of stippled Raw Sienna for some extra variation. The lower hull tub also received 14 rounds of 10.5cm HE ammunition courtesy of the TMD set. The rounds were painted with my custom mix of "field gray" using 50/50 Russian Armor Green/Panzer Gray and their fuse caps painted with MM Non-buffing Metalizer Steel. The rounds were carefully glued in place with CA gel and then the lids added to the ammo bins in the fully open position.
The leFH18 also received its share of detail attention largely in the form of detailing the excellent TMD resin gunner's sight and the breech. The optics of the sight were painted with non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal using a 10/0 brush and the rubber leveling base painted with enamel Gunmetal. The adjustment wheel was painted with Metalizer Gunmetal and lightly dry-brushed with enamel Steel. The ranging wheel bands were painted with Metalizer Steel to complete the sight. The gun breech was base coated with Metalizer Gunmetal and then dry-brushed with enamel Steel followed by a light dusting of black pastel to mute the Steel and tie it all in together. The breech block and round chamber were painted with Metalizer Steel as were the contact rails on the recoil tray.
The right side of the fighting compartment came next. The stowed MG34 was painted with Metalizer Gunmetal and lightly dry-brushed with Steel while the butt was painted with my own special "wood" mix followed by dustings of burnt umber and raw umber artist pastels. The retaining strap for the MG34 ammo can was painted with enamel Leather and the brass cartridge cases from the JB Models set installed into their bin. I used tiny amounts of Gator Grip glue to secure them in place and then added the Eduard PE retaining clips with CA gel.
Continuing with the interior, the left side was up next. I carefully disengaged the solder wiring on the radio and removed it from its dry-fit location and detailed it by hand. The radio itself received the same "field gray" color as the ammo rounds earlier and the various knobs and plugs were painted with enamel Gunmetal. The dial face was painted with Light Gray and then the radio was reinstalled in position permanently and the wiring "plugged" back in. The MP40 was painted the same as the MG34 on the other side and installed into its bracket. The open cartridge case received its complement of brass parts as well to round things out on this side.
The engine deck portion of the upper hull was also weathered and allowed to be a little dirtier than the rest of the fighting compartment due to its tight quarters and proximity to the engine. The rear fighting compartment panel wasn't going to receive any additional detail but it too was weathered and given some extra scuffing particularly on the "gate" portion.
With that out of the way, it was time to install the gun. This was done as directed in Step 10 of the instructions with care taken to insure the gun mount cold still rotate properly. I also installed the engine crank starter, modifying a spare DML kit part by cutting it down in size and re-gluing together since the Tamiya kit doesn't include one, in its clamp and detailed and added the First Aid kit courtesy of the Eduard set. This particular element could only be added after the gun was permanently installed due to the clearance needed for the base of the mount to slide into position.
That brought me to the all-important Step 11 which joins the upper and lower hulls together and also adds the lifting eyes to the fighting compartment. The fit was generally good and I used a rubber band at the front to insure a good join along with finger pressure at the rear since the mating surfaces inside the fighting compartment weren't that large.
Once that had set up, I added the fighting compartment sides and rear using a combination of regular glue and liquid glue. The sides were installed first and the rear last. I also needed to adjust the angle slightly on the open ammo bins at the rear to allow the gun to fully elevate and not have the end of the recoil tray snag on the open lids. This has the added benefit of course of making it slightly easier to see the ammo inside, a plus all around! It also gives you a pretty good idea of just how cramped the interior of this thing was...barely enough room for the gun and two crewmen to stand and that's about it.
Next up will be the remaining details for the exterior and fenders and then it will be time for the exterior paintwork to commence.