#3 Tristar Panzer I Ausf A *COMPLETED*

Panzerwaffe-  Thanks man for stopping by!  Can't wait either because I am anxious to start a new kit (Marder II) as soon as I turn into a bachelor for the weekend!

Dave- Same here as it has been a pleasure following your WIPs especially the current one Churchill!  Please do not tell my wife I might add it to my stash one day...

Bill- Learned something tonight... noticed same thing has happened to my StuG III earlier that I had to tone it down.  Thanks for the tip!  Its a good thing we are fans of MM Lusterless Flat.   I was able to put the "shoes" on tonight....

I just noticed that the center wheel may be floating on the right side (below).  I wonder if you glue MK tracks to the wheels permanently or leave it as it is? 

 It is taking me two hours just to update the Garmin GPS device before my wife and boys leave for West Virginia in the morning... crazy?  But it allowed me to do little more work on the little panzer. 

Andy turns into a bachelor in 8 hours 24 minutes... later!

Andy,

Thank you very much and, don't worry about my silence..... I never heard or saw anything.  Nuthin'!

Your Panzer is looking sharp with it's shoes on.  If I may make a comment, The tool handles look very new.  I would think that they would get weathered in a hurry. IMHO.  She's lookin' good.

Cheers

Dave

Nice looking mini panzer ... and do not worry too much about the tracks... thay look great!

Time to chime in instead of stalking........

For me it's looking too clean

so what!

I think you've done a wonderful job on this little rig; it's come out very nicely.

Hey DP,

I like her buddy, very nice.

I've seen a lot of your work and it is stunning so........................

• is this build now finished - I'm not sure? If so, did you intend to go for the fresh & clean look?
• If not, are you going to beat her up, ad some streaks, rust and pigment etc?
• She's still looking too glossy? It may be the camera - don't take this the wrong way but this model doesn't look finished - it needs some serious weathering! Otherwise she is looking sweeet!

ATVB

Ben

Dave- I agree with you about the wood handles.  It looks like previous washes made the oil paint raw umber disappear.  I will apply another coat at the end.  Thanks for good feedback! Owe u a

Jose- Thanks for stopping by!  Love those MK tracks... they were so tiny this time!

Disastermaster- No worries!  I plan to apply MIG pigments (not washes) today.  I am sure it will dirt it up real good... I have couple of reference books on little Panzer with so many great pictures and they were in great condition when they were part of Denmark and Norway invasions.  Thanks for the feedback!   And I NEVER will be tired of your smiley icons!!!

Ben- Not finished... 95% completed... a coat of MIG pigment and #2 pencil then I hope to call it done today if my buddies don't kidnap me again. LOL  Thanks for looking buddy!

I am afraid I had too much fun applying MIG pigment to my little panzer.  Before I did it, I googled to find out the color of soil in Norway and found plenty of results... very brownish.

I didn't have dark brown MIG.  I recall there is one out there... if so, I need to buy it!  I used a mixture of Dark Mud & Russian Earth with little Industrial City Dirt.  I used filtered water with a drop of soap I learned from you guys.

Here it is... mudded up now!  Applied some on the top too.

Gonna let it dry... I forgot how long I am supposed to let it dry completely?  Of course I will wear mask while I remove the excessive pigment with a stiff brush.  Then apply MIG Pigament fixer... thanks for looking!

Andy,

I'll take you up on that .  As for the tool handles, there have been time where I've had to go back and, veerrrryyy carefully touch them up with some Burnt Umber oil paint and some Turpinoid (Blue Can).  

SInce you've used water mixed with your pigments, drying time is usually about an hour. It'll also depend on the temperature and humidity at your bench.  Results may vary .  That's going to look even better yet!

Cheers

Dave

NOW , it's weathered.

NOW, it's BOOTS........

..........instead of shoes.

Looking good now Andy,

I used pigments like this on a build and used a STIFF bristled toothbrush to remove the ecess - the remainder was a very convincing collection of dusty dirt in the recesses, cracks and running gear etc.

Like you say I misted a light coat of MIG pigment fixer oxer the road wheels and tracks with my AB to hold it all in place - it worked perfectly.

I know your experience and skill far exceeds mine so I'm wondering how far you want to go with this teeny Panzer? I like streaks and muck and all sorts! You can't beat some good rust streaking imo. I've also just bought some of the new AK production Streaking Grime and Winter Streaking Grime along with Rust effects and Earth Wash. This stuff is great and the AK DVD is superb!

Keep us posted - I know you must be desperate to get this Marder on the bench now for Marder Madness!

Lovely work - I'm liking the tracks too.

ATVB

Ben

Moving right along with this one Andy! On the MK track question, you can glue them down if you want to "fix" them in position for sag without any problems but recommend you do that after you're done with the pigment exercise.

When using ordinary water as your carrier, you just need to allow enough time for it to air-dry before you can go to work on it for removal of the excess. Looking forward to the next round of updates.

Looking REAL good Andy!

Nate

Look gerat with the dirty boots!  Thats just what it needed.

Rob

Dave, you were right... it didn't take that long to dry.  I let it dry overnight because I couldn't wait to start my Marder II!  Will work on tool handles this week.

Disastermaster- Thanks for the boots! LOL

Ben- I'd love to buy AK stuff next time I go to a model show. Never thought about using airbrush to apply MIG fixer... gonna try that.  Thanks!

Bill- Thanks for the answer to my question about gluing tracks to the wheels.   It looks like I will have to do it if I want it to sag.  I couldn't resist starting the Marder II while my family is gone so I will wrap up little panzer this week.

Andy,

Everytime I look it just looks better and better. Glad to see it has its shoes dirty.

Jetmodeler- thank you for the comment that was posted months ago! 

Jeez, I sure got sidetracked with my Marder II for the Marder Madness few months ago that I never finished my little panzer.  I think it is safe to say that it is completed... here it is. 

Applied more burnt umber to the tank especially the wood handles.  Thanks David (hughes2682).  Then I applied MIG pigment and painted the figures that came with the kit.  They were not too bad but far better than typical Tamiya figures.

Closer shots of the figures... first pic was WIP before the eyes correction but I am still not satisfied.

I think I am going to add very small peck of very light tan to the eyes then do the eye pupils again.  I love this Panzer I Ausf A... why?  Because all of my buddies found it difficult to believe how small it was when I showed them. 

Anyway I wanted to say thanks for all of your constructive feedback for this little panzer. 

Nice to see this one get moved over to the "completed" stack Andy, you've done well by the little guy!

wbill, thank you so much for the nice comment.  It really feels great to have it completed for sure!  I was not satisfied with the figures eye so I give it another shot tonight. 

I had to post this picture because I thought it looked so cool!   Very light flesh tan was applied to eyes...

Used MM acrylic flat black this time instead of using a very fine black marker... it was easier that way.  Lesson learned for me!

I am going to call it done for now before I change my mind.   Off to build an old Italeri kit M-24 Chaffee for Korea War GB which will be my first American armor in 25+ years. 

  Nice work on the pzr 1,the figs also.I must sit down and actually paint some figs myself,or I could just send them to you. Gonna head on over to that Korean war G.B and watch what happens.Have a great day Andy.

Nice job Andy. I have one of these stalled at the painting stage. Just might have to resurrect it after seeing how nice yours turned out!

Nate

Hey Andy,

I thought she was finished before but she really looks the part now!

I just wish I could paint figures! I cannot get them to look 'real'. They look like mannikins in shop windows!

I'm fine with the uniforms - no problem but I can't find a good colour for the face, I can't get any depth the the face and they generally detract from a good model.

I'm pretty stuck and would love to start using figures like you as they make such a difference so any help or advice greatly appreciated (no hijack intended Andy)!

A great Panzer I by all accounts. I feel like building another in a very early war Brown/Grey scheme.

ATVB

Ben

Detailfreak- Thanks for stopping by.  Sure, just send me your figures along with a case of beer or two.  I paint better that way...   If things go well with my next two GBs, I am planning to join StuG GB if it is not too late.

Nate- Glad to help!   Unfortunately I buy a kit if I don't have it every time I see a great build.

Ben- You are way too nice!  Yes, for sure we had too much fun doing Norway GB... I have this "95% completed syndrome" that I would jump to next kit when it is almost done.   Just visit Figures and Misc forum... there were plenty of great toots especially by Indy and others where I learned a great deal.  I lost count how many times I tried to get the eyes right... wish all figures wore sunglasses!

Maybe when timing is right we can do Panzer IIs using brown/grey scheme to make our friend wbill happy.

Very nice effort Andy,a build to be proud of,the color modulation looks great,the overall dusty appearance,and the detail painting on the figures.One point maybe was mentioned,but the uniforms appear shiny,perhaps to try to flat them down some more ? but thats it great job

,

Anthony

Thanks Anthony!  I was wondering about the shiny uniforms too as they seems to be shiny now after washes.  I will definitely apply flat clear finish to tone it down.  Like always... thanks for your comments! 

You've done a wonderful job on it Andy! Sure looks great!

Thank you ogrejohn!  Hope you are still planning to attend Roscue Turner IMPS... it is only two weeks from now. Don't tell my wife I have lots of cash stashed somewhere in the house.  Will PM you more details soon. 

Hey Andy,

It's the eyes and the facial features in general that I struggle with. I think I'll be able to do the eyes okay now that I have some very good detailing brushes that go down to size 10/0 but I can't make the face 'pop'. I'll keep trying and I've got some articles etc on face painting that may help me too.

I took the figure out of my Dragon StuG III A as it was dismal and detractred from the build which is nice. I'm going to use the figure from this Tamiya kit for it and at least have yet another go at getting it right.

I'm off to paint the basecoat on my StuG III B now - I'm going to try the pre shade yet again and I'll be very happy if it works, even just a touch! I'll get it painted, decaled, tools fitted, wheels on and then Assemble the Friuls then finally head for the home straight! Wish me luck!

I'd love to build another Panzer I Ausf A with you. We could do a joint build, share info and perhaps do a joint blog? Could be fun as the Norway thing was good - apart from Lasse going off the radar!

ATVB

Ben

Now that's what I'm talkin' about.  Sweet!

Andy, nice to see that you can put this one on the finished list. Excellent job.

The figures look even better on the second attempt with the eyes.

Jetmodeler- Thanks!  Painting eyes are never that easy for me...   But am glad I didn't give up this time. 

Marc- Thanks!  Now I can return to my Marder II as MIG pigment has been applied last night.  It was a dirty job but somebody had to do it.   I have already started working on M24 Chaffee...

Ben- Just let me know if you see a good GB that fits our plan.  I am itchin' to build DML Panzer II later this year if possible.   Nice work on your StuG... I have been lurking around StuG GB.

Sorry about the bad picture but safe to say that they are no longer shiny!  Thank you for the constructive feedback... you guys rock!