#3 Tristar Panzer I Ausf A *COMPLETED*

Tony- Thanks for dropping by!  I bought mine for $11... I didn't care how much as long as it is a lifesaver!  Used it twice last night and I kept telling myself why didn't I get it long time ago.  My wife just paged me... she is on her way and she gave me plenty of hints she wants us to rake the leaves today.  To my temporary lifestyle of three days bachelor... good bye... you have done a good deed to my models! 

Ben- Thanks for the PM.  Will get back to you later today.  That base was my wife's grandma who passed away three years ago.  My wife found those while she was going thru boxes last summer and she thought I could use those for my models.  How thoughtful of her!  I use it for WIP pictures...

Next time you hear from me I will be a married father of two little boys... good bye bachelorhood! 

Hey Andy,

Looking good matey!

I've just dropped you a pm saying I'm looking forward to seeing your build with base paint and decals on!

The figures look great! One day I'll be able to paint figures too!

That wooden base that you have there - that is what I'm after now I've got rid of that photo frame base! That would be perfect! I like the 'lazy boy' stirrer too

I can't believe the size of the shops you guys have over there - my God I think I'd feel faint. My LHS armour section is no bigger than my bedroom (which is pretty small)!

Keep us posted!

ATVB

Ben

Yeah those sure beat a tooth pick. I got one from Micro Mark (no name brand) for $8 last year,love it.

Your Panzer is in the short rows now.

Tony Lee

Rob- Lesson learned... gonna do better next time I will airbrush very little paint at a time and blow air like Tony suggested.  It has been fun anyway!  I will try to clean the exhaust cover but I wasn't in mood for last two days.

Tony- Thanks buddy!  Will try that next time... Mauder II of course! 

Dave- LOL!  Looks like most of us are lucky to have supportive wife... she returns home with the boys tomorrow so tonight is my last night as a bachelor for three days! 

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Guys, here's update...

I airbrushed future floor wax on Panzer I last night so I can apply decals so it looks shiny just for now... will tone it down during the weathering stage.  Decals have been applied... only seven decals. 

 Wheels have been installed finally... gonna paint one of the wheel caps next.

I will have to fix one of the decals with white paint because I accidentally damaged it while working on the wheels.  Being impatient I didn't allow the decals to dry completely.  Like I said tonight is my last night as a bachelor I am trying to finish as much as I can...

While working on the decals, I took the liberty to apply decals of rank insignias from Verlinden on the crew of 234/1 I built earlier.  I thought it came out great but it needs to be toned down... flesh painting is next which is not my favoite part...

While a coat of future was drying for atleast 24 hours, I painted the MK tracks following the steps I learned from you my friends...  1- Primed with flat black paint a while ago.  2- Airbrushed coat of MM Gunmetal and MM Metalizer Gunmetal  3- Painted thinned burnt umber.  I think it needs another coat...

Best thing happened today... being a bachelor I took the liberty to visit a local small hobby shop 30 minutes away here in Indianapolis I have been hearing about. I was so glad I checked it out...

I thought I died and went to heaven!   There were so many great kits and they were ALOT cheaper than HobbyTown USA and Hobby Lobby where I have been going for last 2-3 years!!!    Those two stores will not see much of me from now on unless I only need a set of paint...

Believe it or not I didn't buy any kit this time... doing my BEST to control myself but I managed to buy three reference books from Squadron, DML's recently released German figures set (you gonna love those) and the best purchase was this tool...

Stirring paint is a breeze now... no more stirring with toothpicks or whatever I can find. 

Thanks for looking...

Buy me a ? Heck, not only will I but, I will have no recollection of that ever happening.  Done!  

The important thing is that she supports your hobby. Definitely a keeper.

Cheers

Dave

First off I just mist the screen until colored but if I should clog up the holes I blow a quick puff of breath on the screen and knock the paint out of the holes.

The wife says i'm windy anyway.

Tony Lee

Very nice work, painting looks great  I was also admireing those MG barrels.  I also had a problem with dryed paint in exhast covers.  I did a combination of what W Bill and Wing Nut had said.  I dampen from the back with thinner and scrubbed with a stiff brush and all came out with no problems.  Back on an even earlier build I tryed soaking in thinner and the paint turned into a big gummy mess and never really got all the paint off.  Try scrubbing gently, not to damage the PE.  Really happy you are back too building and posting, have been waiting

Rob

wbill, thanks!  I will not use the pin... I thought it might work. I will try to locate the brush and clean from inside.  Can I use the same kind of brush w/ metal wires that we use to clean guns or will a standard toothbrush do the job? 

Looking forward to your next update on Sunday!

Andy,

Nice work on the paint job!

DON'T USE THE PIN approach to cler the guards...the DML PE is very fine and it's very easy to push the pin tip in too far in an effort to clear the paint. Use the brush approach from the inside...possibly even dampen the underside with a little thinner first as well in order to clear the mesh.

Dave- LOL  If I can buy you a , will you ?  Thanks for looking... my wife do support my hobby but she isn't crazy if I spend too much $$$. 

Jetmodeler- You betcha!  Worked on my model for 4 hours til 2am and I had to get up early for work this AM.  Guess it happens when wife isn't home to drag me into our bed! 

Ben- Thanks!  I know I have been absent for last three weeks... many things going on but I am back for good and I am on a roll now.  I plan to include figures but not sure if I will have time to build a diomara for this and two previous models I built.  Thanks for the tip about using fine thin pin to poke holes... will try tonight. 

DF- Thanks buddy!  Lesson learned... gonna stock up replacement parts for my Iwata airbrush that Hobby Lobby doesn't sell.  Even HobbyTown USA don't stock Iwata parts...

Marc- Thanks!  Will try very fine thin pin first... if not, stiff brush would be next.  If it doesn't work, will a cup of paint thinner remove the paint completely?  I doubt it cause I used primer too.   In my reference book, I see many pictures of damaged muffler guard so maybe I can go for this if nothing works.  It is my third build and I am still learning...

I really appreciate your taking time to make comments... this hobby is the best thing! 

Andy, before you redo the guards try a stiff brush from the inside to poke out the holes.  If it doesn't look good you are no worse off since you will just end up doing 'em over again anyway.

Appears that the airbrush repair was worth the wait. This is looking very good!

Hey DP,

Looking good - the shading looks great! Don't worry about the muffler guards. I had the same thing happen to me on my Panzer PE guards but a LIGHT blast just after the paint had been put on via the AB cleared it fine. Always spray from from inside the muffler guard outwards or obviously the paint job will suffer.

I did this before on my Panzer I Ausf B and was planning to let the paint set and poke clear the blocked holes with a fine pin. I got bored of doing this after about 2 minutes so I took a Phosphor Bronze brush that we use for beaning our 12 bore shotgun barrels and rolled it around over the muffler - it worked perfectly.

I wondered where you had been - check out my WIP as I'm nearly there. The Magic Tracks are on and are painted base 'Gunze Steel' and I've drybrushed the raised areas on the tracks with Tamiya 'Flat Aluminium' (nice colour - not too shiny but just right imo). Tomorrow I've a bit of pigment to add to the running gear - not much as there wouldn't have been much dust around in a freezing cold Norway I imagine!

I've also got to fit and paint the MG barrels, maybe add some stowage and she's complete. I'm then going to make a small base using a picture frame, it will be a basic base covered in grass with snowy areas (I'll make snowy areas using Vallejo Snow & Foam that I have - I'm planning on having the tank positioned toward the background and in the foregound I'm going to make a puddle and am hoping to make it look frozen (I'll use my Water Effects stuff for the puddle) and am going to place a couple of 1/35 balsa wooden boxes as stowage effect and I'll also find a few thing to scatter about (maybe).

What have you got planned - a base or anything?

I'm hoping that this build will be all but complete by Sunday evening - woohoo! As it's my birthday on 4th November the kit my parents are buying me is my next WIP (Dragon kit # 6228, Sherman IC Firefly) so if I do finish I going to get all of my models off of the display shelf and tidy them up and improve the figures - roll on my Birthday! 

Keep us posted on your build DP - I'm looking forward to seeing these tracks on and the build weathered!

ATVB

Ben

Lookin good so far Andy. Glad to hear your airbrush is working again. Hopefully you can make up for the 3 weeks in the 2 days.

Please don't tell them I said this...

Hmmmmm..... And just what is our silence worth to you?  I'm sorry, I couldn't even keep a straight face while typing that.  My wife knows I do the same thing when she goes out of town for conferences.  Cram in the bench time whilst you can.  Speaking of which, you've made some nice progress since I've last seen this wee beastie.  Down time on the AB stinks.  I am glad to hear that yours is up and running again. 

Cheers

Dave

Thanks Rob for dropping by!  Ben, you can see I am catching up...

Guys, it has been three weeks since my last update.  New part for my broken airbrush has arrived a week later but my parents from FL were in town visiting for a week (mom will not leave me alone but I  her!) then I had to go away on a business trip to NC for five days.  Now I am back and the BEST part is that I will be a bachelor for three days... no wife and no kids even no dog too... they all are away on a fall break trip while I am stuck working BUT I am loving it!  Please don't tell them I said this...

With my airbrushing work like new, I applied highly thinned MM Grey Panzer (50/50) so it will not hide the pre-shading and it worked better this time.

Painting wheels can be no fun but not if you do this...

Circle template is the way to go... it even worked for those tiny wheels!

Gotcha!  Painted wheels in minutes... I  you my circle template!

Letting the paint dry for at least 20 hours before I can airbrush a coat of acrylic Future for the decals.  

Unfortunately not everything went smoothly, I accidentally applied too much paint on one of the muffler guards as you can see...

I think I have to do it again... I doubt I can use green stuff Doog used on his Patton recently because I used an enamel MM paint.  Will a paint thinner do the job if I can let it soak in a cup overnight?  If not, any tip to remove enamel paint off the PE?

Thanks again for looking!  Two more night of bachelor life for me...

I'm not liking this DP!

Lespaul's Panzer I ends up in the bin after a painting disaster of some sort & your AB has broke! Are these Panzer I's cursed?

I remember when I built my original Ausf B and I accidently melted half the Fruil tracks that were too near the stove (Mum turned it on without knowing).

I'll be painting my Panzer I this weekend (I'm going for the pre shade too - the last two times it failed but the last attempt nearly worked, just one AB pass too much) so hopefully she'll be ok. I know how to do it it now - in theory anyway.

Keep the blog running buddy!

ATVB

Ben

Think this one is coming along beautifully.  That pre shading should do wonders for your final coat.  Sorry to hear about the airbrush.  Hope you get all back running shortly.  Sounds as if your track situation is all worked out but if you want more for anything, I to have some spares I could send you.  Those tracks look great also.

Rob

detailfreak- LOL!  Sure, I email you the scanned instructions this PM.  Just let me know if you got it OK.

jetmodeler- Thanks for looking!  Glad it didn't break down earlier or later when I am doing the final phase of painting!!! 

Bill- Exactly!   Very good thing it broke during pre-shading... no big deal there... gonna look around for a replacement.  I can't wait to paint panzer gray on it!!!  Thanks for dropping by!

Condolences on the airbrush demise but at least it wasn't while you were applying the base coat so there's some bright side at least!

I have missed a lot since I last saw this thread. Nice job so far Andy.

Sorry to hear about your airbrush. That sucks when it breakes during pre-shading.

        Sorry to hear about the airbrush Andy,hope you can get it fixed at a reasonable or even better yet,no charge.As for your tracks ,well you know how much I enjoy B.S in you guys. Hey bud you were saying you could perhaps send a scan of your instruction sheet. If you can send it to my e-mail.I'll P.M it to you ok.. The little one is looking good so far keep us posted.

Nate- Those MK tracks will look great on your Wespe... I guarantee!

lespauljames- Thanks for the comment... I still have a long way to go!

Update on my little panzer... didn't do much because things have been crazy at work as we are relocating our office.  No fun!  I finally did some airbrushing tonight as I haven't done much through the summer because it was too hot in the garage.  Unfortunately something went wrong with my airbrush gun... you will find out why.

MK tracks were primed with flat black from rattle can.  Then they were airbrushed with thinned MM gunmetal.  Washes will be next...

Panzer was primed with flat black too.  Center panels and open spaces were airbrushed with thinned MM light gray.  Am trying this method to see if shades will be more visible this way hopefully. 

While I was airbrushing, something went wrong and it was starting to shoot paint badly.  Good thing I was almost done and it was only in its pre-shading stage.  Thinned panzer gray will cover everything... if you can look at the wheel closely, paint was shot everywhere!  What the heck...

I took the airbrush gun apart and found the cause... I couldn't believe it!  A small piece fell off its rod and it won't be re-attached as I tried everything to fix it but no luck.  It is an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS and it is about a year and half old! 

I am afraid this part has been damaged for good unless you can tell me otherwise.  I will stop by Hobby Lobby where I bought it using 40% off coupon of course to see if they sell a replacement or not.  Has this happened to you before? 

Thanks for looking!

pro job so far Andy!

The tracks look great Andy. I have some MK's that I plan on using for my Wespe build, ( whenever I get to it!), and I hope I have the patience to do them justice.

Nate 

detailfreak, not sure what you meant by tracks are inside out... hope I didn't do it the wrong way?  

Hey your tracks are inside out.

Thanks wing-nut and Bill for stopping by! 

Quick update... completed the another half tonight without any issue this time.  Pvt Mutt and detailfreak, no need to send me your unused magic tracks.  Appreciate your offer... thanks again!

The hardest part of modeling is over.  Everything is ready to be primed and painted over the weekend.  Weather is supposed to be much cooler finally so I can do the airbrushing in the garage! 

Have a good one!

Tracks are looking good Andy!

Hey Andy.  Sorry for the late check in but I have been scarce around here lately.  Looks like this one is relay coming together nicely.