Now Complete: Dragons Panzer I Ausf A with interior 24.10.10

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 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

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!

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  

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

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

"It's raining and the track is wet"

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

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".

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

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

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

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

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

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

nice work so far!

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

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.

Thanks Wingy

Has anyone got any suggestions re the snow?

ATVB

Ben

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

Thanks Jester,

if you are lucky enough to find a genuine colour photo of a tank painted Panzer Grey you'll see that when it was first applied it was nearly black, a lot darker than I had thought it would be.

I've seen a few photos of 'rescued' Panzers and you notice straight away that it is very light colour, almost a very light blue. Obviously it's like that because over the years it's been sunbaked and has lightened in colour dramatically!

I think my take on the standard XF-63 German Grey colour will be just right when weathered, particularly if I wash it with the MIG Cold Grey Wash only. The addition of XF-18 Light Blue really makes a difference too.

Thanks for dropping by buddy,

ATVB

Ben  

Looking good Ben! Couple of quick detail/accuracy points for your consideration. The vent pipe on the glacis was made of rubber and was designed to be an air vent for the brakes on the final drives. The connections on the mufflers/exhausts leading to/from the engine compartment were also rubber and not metal. You might want to repaint those vs. the rusty metal look you have now before you get too much further along.

Looing great Ben, I too like the tone of the color that you have mixed, looks good on the little fella. I recall a very intersting article which was posted a while back here by someone that debated the true color of panzer grey. Seems like some leaned towards the film of the time giving it a bluer shade or something to that effect. It was a really good article.

Good afternoon gents,

Really cooking on gas now!

The decals are on now and look perfect (imo).  A rough rust 'paint' made from MIG light rust pigment and water has been applied to the exposed areas of the muffler i.e. the tailpipes and hoses-this will be tidied later but looks good. Blackened chain has been applied to all five smoke candles and to the tow hitch.

Before the decals went on a light coating of rattle can gloss was applied (last night so the gloss would be dry ready for decal application today) and the decals went on over a spot of Micro Sol too so they are sitting perfectly.The decals are nice and thin and there is no hint of carrier film. The '13' is not one whole decal, there is a single figure '1' and a single figure '3' so film is minimal - you just need to line them up properly!

The decals have been sealed with another spray of rattlecan gloss as has the whole vehicle so it's ready for the weathering, chipping and washing process next week. By this time next Sunday I'd like to think I'd have her fully weathered and washed with the wheels fitted leaving only the Magic Tracks to assemble. I've got a variety of different sized photo frames so I'm going to make a small base for her after completion. Like I said my next WIP will be the Firefly I'm getting for my Birthday on November 4th and I don't want to start any more WIP's before my birthday so a nice base will kill some time and will show off this little Panzer too. Any base suggestions guys?

I've got a bottle of MIG 'Cold Grey Wash' from a store that I use a lot plus I'll be breaking open my pot of SIN 'Blue for Panzer Grey' Filter. I really rate these products and it will be nice to see how they look. I'm of the thinking that it's a Norway Panzer and I want it to look 'cold' if that's possible! I'll then be putting on the Dullcoate in readiness for the pigments. Nothing heavy but I want some pigment behind the running gear.

Right, here she is so far: remember she has just had a coat of gloss so she will look a bit, erm, glossy! 

Decals on.................

Chains fitted on the smoke candles and tow hitch........................ 

MIG 'Cold Grey Wash' & the SIN 'Blue for Panzer Grey' Filter....................

I've just noticed that I forgot to paint the rear light - I'll do that now!

I hope you like her so far

Have a good week everyone, I won't be at the bench again until next weekend due to work but the weeks are zipping by at the minute!

ATVB

Ben  

Thanks Nate,

I like it - it's just a bit different but when washed and weathered will look very acceptable (I hope).

I've just fitted the Norway decals and have sealed them. I'm going to fit the chains now and then I'll see how I'm doing for time.

ATVB

Ben