Now Complete: Dragons Panzer I Ausf A with interior 24.10.10

I think any number of shades of a german grey paint would work equally well. Some may say that as modelers, it is our responsibility to depict the coloration as accurately as possible, but exactly matching the color used on the original tanks is NOT necessarily the best approach. What a modeler must consider is the lighting they are trying to convey. Colors look dramatically different in different lighting situations in real life, so you should take that into account. I think the color looks nice.

Njal Thorgeirsson

I think any number of shades of a german grey paint would work equally well. Some may say that as modelers, it is our responsibility to depict the coloration as accurately as possible, but exactly matching the color used on the original tanks is NOT necessarily the best approach. What a modeler must consider is the lighting they are trying to convey. Colors look dramatically different in different lighting situations in real life, so you should take that into account. I think the color looks nice.

Hey Ryan,

Quite true buddy! I've several Panzer Grey builds now (Marder III, Panzer I Ausf B & StuG Ausf A) and all are painted in pretty much the same colour. I want something a little different for this one. I love the colour of you Panzer as you know but I'm happy with this. When it's washed and weathered I think she'll look good.

Bill: Sorry, I missed your earlier post matey. I'll change that hose colour to suit - that's no problem as I need to drill out the end and also paint the rear light.

ATVB

Ben

Hi Ben,somehow I missed this one,your becoming an armor producing machine ! Looks real good,I like the interior and am looking foward to seeing the monochrome finish,and how you spruce it up.

Thanks Anthony!

The production line keeps churning them out!

I'm not 100% sure how I'm going to hit this one? It's a toss up between chipped and roughed up or lightly weathered. I'm thinking lightly weathered as it probably wouldn't have seen enough action by 1940 to be battered to bits. I'll see how it looks as things progress.

Thanks for dropping by,

ATVB

Ben

Good morning guys,

Monday again, oh joy

Before I proceed the hose has been painted 'rubber' and the rear light has been painted red in the correct areas: is that round light a reflector, a red light that turns on/off or a brake light? I'm not sure?

I've also given it the first coating of SIN Panzer Grey Filter - looks nice.

Anyway, because this is going to be my Norway GB entry like I said I want to build a base for it. I'm going to use one of my 6" x 4" photo frames and I'll use hard 'Oasis' flower arranging foam to sculpt the base. Because it's Norway I think a snowy base is just the ticket - I'll also add a little snow to the tracks and turret etc.

Now then, what do you guys recommend for snow? Obviously it needs to stay put and not blow away or be knocked off?

ATVB

Ben

Real nice progress since me last check in. Sorry they are spread so far apart these days.

Thanks Wingy

Has anyone got any suggestions re the snow?

ATVB

Ben

I have no idea on the snow... But if I were you I would skip the snow... I've only seena  handful of examples where it actually looks good. You kight be risking your model by adding said snow.... but that's your choice. I know some people use baking soda, white glue and water, where others use clear resin and other ingredients. I don't have any good articles, unfortunately... But it will be interesting to see what you come up with.

Hi Ryan,

I'll look into it mate. I've seen baking soda used to excellent effect but making it stay in place..................?

There might be a product designed specifically for the purpose - my LHS specialises in stuff like that.

ATVB

Ben

nice work so far!

lespauljames

nice work so far!

Cheers buddy,

I'm very pleased with her so far - it's at the weathering stage where I start biting my nails!

I know your Panzer was looking awesome but got 'knocked out' what happened to her?

ATVB

Ben

how long more do you think your gonna spend on her now? and ewatherings not that bad, i admit, im not great at it, but its where i have most fun, weathering and construction XD

long story short, i wont be using hairspray again on a kit with fine details.

haha it could be worse. i have the 38t with full interior in the post for after the 222. so i have another detailed interior to look forward to

Hey Buddy,

I would like to think that by the end of this weekend the main body will be chipped up and weathered and the running gear will be in place - basically finished, APART from the Magic Tracks which I haven't used before and I'll start them when I get to that point I suppose! After that it's dullcoat and light pigments and a completed build!

Don't get me wrong, I love weathering but as you know, you have a perfectly painted model in front of you and one wrong move could spell disaster - just like the hairspray thing! I only ever use hairspray on my tools for chipping around the edges. I wouldn't be too keen on using it on a build to do a whitewash just yet, at least until I am more experienced.

It's my birthday at the very beginning of November and my parents are getting me the Dragon kit No 6228 Hybrid Firefly. I don't want to start another build until then so I'm going to take my time on the build, stretch it out over October and I'll make a small base for her, hopefully with snow as it's for the Norway GB but I'm struggling to find a good way of doing snow that will stay in place - I still need suggestions guys!

ATVB

Ben

Great job on the interior.  Your gray looks spot on to me, came out very nice.  Here are some photo's I took at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, to me yours is a great match of gray.

Hope these pictures are usefull.  Waiting to see more.

 Rob

Thanks Panzerwaffe,

Lovely pictures mate - that's an Ausf B isn't it? They'll be very helpful

My grey looks like a good match imo. I didn't do anything crazy but all of my other Panzer Grey builds were painted in pure XF-63 and after weathering were very dark. I knew I needed to lighten this base colour up so I used a medicine cup (my local pharmacy does packs of 10 cups that hold 60ml in 5ml measures on the side for free) and put (very roughly) 50% XF-63 Dark Grey in, 25% XF-18 Medium Blue and 25% Flat white in. I sprayed the paint at about 1.5 parts thinner to 1 part paint - it went on perfectly.

The way I see it is that these Panzer I's didn't see much action before the II's & III's were the main German Panzers. I'm not going to go overboard with the chipping/rust etc, just a few light chips around the turret area and on the fenders etc.

I want to keep the build fairly 'clean' looking ie it's not going to be covered in mud. It's operating in Norway as the base will suggest so the ground, I assume, would have have been rock hard. I really want to sort this base out - a base that depicts ice, snow, cold, Norway in general (in winter)!

I'm still looking into snow effects, maybe ice? Icicles? They'd look good! I want a snow covered base and ideally little bit's of snow in small piles on the build.

The same question again guys - snow? Best way to make a snow covered base - I want the snow 'fixed' in place on the base and on the tank too? What about icicles, someone must have done them before? I could stretch some clear sprue and stick it on areas around the lower hull maybe?

Obviously it's Friday today (last day of work - WOOHOO!) so I'll be back at the bench building tomorrow morning & ideally by Sunday night I want the build all but complete leaving next weekend for the assembly and painting of the Magic Tracks. I'll also be doing some light pigment work and I'm keen to see how this MIG 'Cold Grey Wash' performs!

If anyone has suggestions for the snowy base or snow / icicles in general then I'd love to hear them.

ATVB

Ben

Thanks Panzerwaffe,

Lovely pictures mate - that's an Ausf B isn't it? They'll be very helpful

My grey looks like a good match imo. I didn't do anything crazy but all of my other Panzer Grey builds were painted in pure XF-63 and after weathering were very dark. I knew I needed to lighten this base colour up so I used a medicine cup (my local pharmacy does packs of 10 cups that hold 60ml in 5ml measures on the side for free) and put (very roughly) 50% XF-63 Dark Grey in, 25% XF-18 Medium Blue and 25% Flat white in. I sprayed the paint at about 1.5 parts thinner to 1 part paint - it went on perfectly.

The way I see it is that these Panzer I's didn't see much action before the II's & III's were the main German Panzers. I'm not going to go overboard with the chipping/rust etc, just a few light chips around the turret area and on the fenders etc.

I want to keep the build fairly 'clean' looking ie it's not going to be covered in mud. It's operating in Norway as the base will suggest so the ground, I assume, would have have been rock hard. I really want to sort this base out - a base that depicts ice, snow, cold, Norway in general (in winter)!

I'm still looking into snow effects, maybe ice? Icicles? They'd look good! I want a snow covered base and ideally little bit's of snow in small piles on the build.

The same question again guys - snow? Best way to make a snow covered base - I want the snow 'fixed' in place on the base and on the tank too? What about icicles, someone must have done them before? I could stretch some clear sprue and stick it on areas around the lower hull maybe?

Obviously it's Friday today (last day of work - WOOHOO!) so I'll be back at the bench building tomorrow morning & ideally by Sunday night I want the build all but complete leaving next weekend for the assembly and painting of the Magic Tracks. I'll also be doing some light pigment work and I'm keen to see how this MIG 'Cold Grey Wash' performs!

If anyone has suggestions for the snowy base or snow / icicles in general then I'd love to hear them.

ATVB

Ben

for icicles i did use strached clear sprue once, wasnt too bad. i have always wanted to do a parked up afv, with drift snow on it, really thick stuff, but have been scared of messing up,

good luck

That's really coming along nicely, Hinksy.   There's a lot to love about these Pz. I's.

Me, I'm now coming back to the school of thought that says "weather lightly".

Thanks Dre

I'm not a fan of chipping the hell out of models - I do like a bit of light rust and a few surface scratches and I'm a BIG fan of the dry brush but I don't see the need to beat the hell out of a build like this (unless it's a vehicle that's seen some serious action). Most of the photos of Panzer I's I've got show them as being generally pretty tidy.

I'm just going to do some light chipping / dry brushing around the hatch and turret area, the fenders and engine cover etc. Bascally just areas that were opened up regularly (hatch obviously) and around parts that would have been removed and refitted on a regular basis.

I'd just sat down to start work on her now as the Formula 1 qualifying was on. Not live as it was on telly live from at Suzuka in Japan this morning very early and they were repeating it now. It turned out it got completely swamped with TORRENTIAL rain there in that region of Japan all morning so they are now going to do both parts of the race tomorrow: the qualifying tomorrow morning and the race will be soon after. That should be interesting!  I am dissapointed though as I love modelling with the F1 on in the background! Let's just hope it stops raining by tomorrow!

WIP update later on...............

ATVB

Ben

If Murray Walker isn't calling the race, then it isn't F1.

"It's raining and the track is wet"

Murray was a genius - I do miss him!

I'm going to do a proper WIP update tomorrow as I'm going to watch a film now.

Briefly the road wheels are on, light chipping is done and I first put on an all over wash of Burnt Umber followed by the MIG 'Cold Grey' Wash. It looks really good.

I've just sprayed her with a light misting of dullcoat so she'll be ready for a bit of pigment tomorrow.

ATVB

Ben

Hey guys,

Oh, this Panzer is looking sweeeeet!

Following on from the washes and dullcoat that I applied yesterday this morning I did some rusting around the mufflers and added faint rust and water streaks on the front sloping armour. The rust streaks was done with MIG oils 'Light Rust' and the water with MIG 'Rainmarks'.

I fitted the wheels yesterday which went without a hitch. Behind them I dusted on some MIG Europe Dust and fixed that with enamel thinner. When dry I brushed it with a stiff brush to leave just a shade change behind a hint of dust. I used Wbill's favourite method of wheel weathering by adding MIG Gulf War Sand in water to the wheels then used a damp Q-Tip to remove the mix from the tyre area. I didn't use MIG pigment on the body - I chose to use colours from my Tamiya Pigments that come in a ladies 'compact' thingy with a brush and sponge. I've three different one's of these and they come in some great colours. I used the sand colour to highlight corners and add some highlights to the centres of panels and used 'oil stain' to put on the tips of the exhausts. I've also hung a set of Commanders radio headgear that I took from the spares box over the side of the turret on the right.

I've still got the barrels to fit but they are going on when the build is complete or, knowing me, they will be broken! I had intended to have the antennae standing but I fitted that early on in the build (why, I don't know) and snapped the tip off that so that is laying down now!

Unless anyone points out any glaring errors I'm not touching this build now. In my eyes it is PERFECT  and, imo, weathering wise is my best work yet. I always say that about the build I've done lately so I must be doing something right!  When I post the pictures in a minute I'll probably see some unpainted or unweathered areas and will address them but otherwise she is staying as she is.

I've got the Magic Tracks to do which I'll start in a minute - I've made a little sheet styrene Magic Track straight line assembly board - you'll see it in the photos. I have never used these Magic Tracks so have no idea what to expect but I think they should be okay.

Other than that is the base which I'll be starting on completion of the tracks. Nothing fancy, just a small, snowy base with some stowage. It's for the Norway GB so snow is a must!

Here she is so far. I hope you like her and the photos reflect what a lovely build that I've got here! Comments VERY welcome!

The Main Weathered Build.....................

The 'Undercarriage'................ 

A full rear view showing the Jack Block, Smoke Candle Chain Pulls and also chain on the Tow Hitch....................... 

My homemade Magic Track assembly board made from Sheet Styrene. The two lengths stuck on top are just a tiny bit wider than the links to keep them straight.......................... 

Thanks for looking chaps. My next update will be next weekend at which point I'll hopefuly have the Magic Tracks in place (or have ordered Friuls due to frustration)!

Have a great week everyone,

ATVB

Ben  

As always, its an enourmous improvement upon your previous builds. The rusty-brown undertone on the body of the tank (a wash? pigment?) looks very good, and gives the color some very good depth and atmosphere. The grey turned out perfect (I will be honest, I thought it could potentially end up too dark). Looking good!

Thanks Ryan,

I definately did not want this tank turning out too dark post weathering so I took it easy with the washes. When she had been painted, glossed and decaled she had a couple of coats of SIN Filter (Blue for Panzer Grey) and two coats of MIG 'Cold Grey Wash'. That was the stage she was at at last night aprt from some light chipping and drybrushing.

Today I applied my usual wash of W&N Burnt Umber oil paint thinned with W&N Artists White Spirit. I really thinned this oil paint down a lot and only applied one layer. I then added rust streaks and water marks using the usual methods. I played around with the Tamiya pigments and white spirits until it was just right. Even though it wasn't visible in the earlier photos I'd tried to let the flat black base coat show through the grey pre shade style and it did - not a lot but it showed. 

I think the combination of all these things just helped toward this finish. It was a lot better than I had ever expected and am really pleased with her!

I've just assembled the first short run of Magic Track on my board. I laid a length that just covered the centre base of the front road wheel to the centre base of the rear. That layer will be staying straight so next week I can start with the tracks properly. They are pretty simple really but I can see how they would curve off without straight edges to keep them aligned.

ATVB

Ben

Definitely seeing an improvement in your approach to the finishing techniques Ben. The addition of the commander's headset on the turret hatch edge is a nice littel touch IMHO.

Thanks Bill

A lot of the weathering / finishing techniques that I used on this build were one's that I originally 'pinched' from your blogs - VERY helpful buddy

Next weekend I'll be completing the Magic Tracks then the base afterwards. As I've previously mentioned I've got to stretch this build out over October as my Dragon IC Firefly which my parents are getting me for my birthday at the very beginning of November will be my next WIP - I don't want to start another build in the meantime.

I've got the 1/35 Tamiya Hetzer in my stash along with the head spankingly complicated Dragon Marder III Ausf M (Command Version) - well, it looks very complicated but should be fine!

I'm going to build the Firefly which should see me to Christmas then it's the Hetzer then I fancy a few more Allied / Russian builds as all that I've built this year has been German and I fancy a change. I definately want to build the Tamiya Matilda, the Tamiya ISU-152 & the new AFV Club M10 'Achilles' Tank Destroyer which looks SUPERB. A T-34 will probably be in there somewhere too and I'll build the Marder.......................???

ATVB

Ben

Really coming along nice Ben. I like the way the weathering turned out.

It's funny you mentioned the new Tamiya Matilda: I just started it this morning, and after 3 hours of work, I have just about the entire hull and running gear built. What a nicely engineered, well fitting kit! I'm planning on posting a semi-blog later on.

Nate

OUTSTANDING job on this one.  These little PZ 1s are among my favorit (along with all the others) and yours looks great.  I particularly like how the road wheels came out and the extra touch with the head set.  Most of all I like how you applied and weathered out the decals.  Often you see a weathered AFV and then the markings (decals) look like they where freshly painted.  Yours match and blend in perfectly and look wonderful.  Will be looking forward to the completion.

Rob

Hey Rob,

Thankyou for the kind words buddy! I'm chuffed to bits with her

I noticed the markings too and thought the same - I'm going to try for that look again.

I am going to modify one little things - the stains by the filler caps at the rear. They are far too stark so I'm going to lightly brush over them with the sponge end of the Tamiya Weathering stick to take the edge off them. Apart from That so far, so good!

Have a good week folks,

ATVB

Ben

Hi guys,

I had to go into work this morning to cover one of the Saturday morning staff who had decided to phone in with 'flu like symptoms' (a hangover) so muggins here gets roped into it. It's only a few hours, double time and we just read the newspaper and relax so easy money!

I got back at about 3pm so I decided I'd get started on this first run of Magic Track on my Panzer I.

I have NEVER used these thing before so this was a big learning curve. I'd done my research and had decided to make a bottom run that would go from 12 o'clock on the front drive sprocket and under the road wheels and end at 12  o'clock on the rear idler. I measures this out and marked it on my jig and it all went pretty well. I used Tamiya Thin Cement to fix the links and used some Tamiya 6mm tape to lay the run on. I mounted it and let it sit for a good hour before trying to remove the run and the tape - here the problems started as the tape was breaking up the run eveb though I'd removed most of the stickiness by sticking it on my T shirt a few times. I decided to use my regular cement and fix the the run to the wheels which went fine.

I then measured up the gap and gave it a bit extra to allow for a little sag. I made the run up and this time left the Thin Cement in place for 10 minutes before moving it and I left off the tape too. The run went on perfectly and I was able to make minor alterations between the bogies to even the sag out. Basicaly, I know where I went wrong today and what's needed to make these tracks work as I want them to in the future.

I'm going to have to paint the run that I fitted today on the tank which should be okay but I'm hoping that when I do the other run tomorrow I'll have two removable sections that I can paint 'off vehicle'. The shouldn't be a problem to paint either way but I'd prefer to have them off the build to paint. I'm happy with the first run; the sag is about right and not ridiculously droopy and it looks neat too so it's so far so !

I'll do the other run tomorrow then I'l pain them and start on the base.

Here is this afternoons work......................................

Thanks for looking guys, hopefully the other run will be fully completed by this time tomorrow 

ATVB

Ben