DML Bison II Complete 04-28-12

Looks great Bill .I also use MM enamels for 90 % of painting needs . The Future is a good idea .

thanks plasticjunkie! The weathering stage is one of the ones I love and hate in equal measure...love because of the effects it produces and the fact that the finish line is close but hate because of the time required to get it done!

Carl, thanks as well. Future is wonderful stuff...and to think people use it as a floor polish!

Looking very nice......dots are always fun when you have lots of panels!!!

Rounds Complete!!

Thanks Mike! Have to agree...when you've got a wide canvas, it always helps!

wbill76

"First up was the application of an overall wash of 90/10 thinner/MM Raw Umber".

I'm in the dark here ........ hmmmmm?

  Often wondered. What kind of thinner'ya using with those 'namels?

 Turpenoid (my poison of choice), white spirits, MM brand thinner or other?

 I'm might try this one on some day.

Yeah, I'm being sneaky - but not to worry. 

I'ma following along in admiration Bill.

Thanks Steve and a good question...I never thought to specify the type of thinner I use. It's the standard "red can" Testors Universal Enamel Thinner. Appreciate the comments and support as always!

Looking good. I have never thought about using enamels for the dot filter. I always use oils...great tip!

Thanks Herc! The only thing to keep in mind with using enamels instead of oils is that you must work in small sections at a time to prevent the enamel dots from having a chance to dry.

Bill!

I've just checked out your site, and that is one impressive collection of German armor you got there!  

I especially liked the Leningrad Pz III (it was oozing cold) and the cut-through 38(t). The Dicker Max was also beautiful. I got the DML kit as a present from my collegues when I took my Phd exam a couple of years ago, but I haven't dared to begin building it. It seems that I'm a bit scared of tanks with open fighting compartments, and I don't want to mess up the present.

/Tony

Thanks Bill.

I knew it wouldn't work with turpenoid so it got me to wondering what kind of magic potion you were using.

Thanks Tony! Glad you like the collection. The DML kit has it's issues (see the build log I have for the same kit if you want a peak into some things to avoid) but still builds up nicely. Don't fear open top vehicles, they just present more opportunities for detailing and weathering!

DM, glad to be of assistance!

Work continued with the focus on getting the tracks completed and ready for installation. First up was an airbrush application of MM enamel Burnt Umber to provide the base color tone. I used long strips of masking tape to hold the track runs during painting and made multiple passes to ensure all the nooks and crannies received paint.

The Burnt Umber base is a nice dark brown color and to create a metallic look, I dry-brushed MM enamel Steel with a round 000 brush. Heavier dry-brushing was applied to the contact surfaces like the inner guide horns that would be in constant contact with either the sprocket or idler. For the exterior surfaces, the focus was put on the track face contact areas. 

After the dry-brushing was complete, I applied a wash of 90/10 thinner/MM Raw Umber enamel to blend the Steel back in to the overall finish while still preserving the wear/shine in the desired areas.

The tracks are now ready for the pigment weathering along with the vehicle itself. I applied a sealing coat of MM Lusterless Flat in the spray can to remove any remaining gloss from the Future coats and to seal in the filtering weathering applied earlier. The Lusterless Flat has the added bonus of providing some "tooth" to the finish which will make it easier to apply and manipulate the pigments in the next stage.

The pigment weathering will come next and should be the last stage before this one gets across the finish line.

Man I was reading your post again and I got to the part where the tracks are kinda rolled and I said ' yeah '........ gonna see 'em on tonight.......take your time Bill... I'll be here.... waitin'...... LOL

tread

Sorry tread, didn't mean to do a track "tease"! I was tempted to tackle the pigments today but the day was getting on towards the late afternoon and I always underestimate the time required so figured it was best to play it safe and hold off until next time. Fingers are crossed that next weekend's session will see this one across the finish line!

Nothing like a good spit shine on the boots!!. Looking good, can't wait to see the pigments....your in the clubhouse turn headed for home

Rounds Complete!!

Thanks Mike! Now it's time to put some dust on the boots to show they've been out on the ground!

Yum yum.

Bill -awesome work as usual. One question with the Jerry cans, no fuel, all water? My understanding was that the white cross was for designating cans carrying potable (drinking) water so they wouldn't have contamination from fuel residue.

Mike T.

Thanks Eric!

Mike T, all of the cans that DML provided are stamped as "20L Wasser" so I marked them accordingly with the white crosses for accuracy sake. You are correct that fuel cans and water cans were marked differently (no crosses on fuel cans) to prevent contamination. Thanks for the comments and the question!  

Thanks Bill for the clarification. I guess DML wanted to save money on the molding.

Mike T.

No problem Mike! DML is famous for reusing sprues and the Wasser cans have been around the block many times...so many that they don't always correspond with the PE inserts that DML also provides for them in terms of fit/alignment!

Plenty of water was good

Fuel wasn't in great demand because these never got very far before they broke down or overheated anyway.

Looks fantastic Bill,you've done well so far.

Tony lee

True enough Tony! With a crew of 4-5 guys, 30 gallons of water wouldn't have lasted very long in the desert heat. Thanks for the comments as always!

Another nice set of tracks   Look forward to the pigment treatment .  Is there much difference between MM Lusterless Flat and Testors Dullcote?  I have always used the Dullcote is the Lusterless Flat better?

Looking good Bill.a question,doesn't the enamel thinner in your wash attack the plastic tracks not to mention your burnt umber basecoat,I am hesitant to try your process on Magic Tracks,what do you think ?

DANG IT BILL!......will you hurry-up please.  I've been checking here for three days waiting to see the pigment weathering pics!  OK, I'll wait patiently...

Rob, thanks for the comments! Testors has two different lines of stuff...there's the "regular" line under the Testors label that just has Glosscote and Dullcote. Then there's the Model Master line which has three types, Gloss, Semi-gloss (satin), and Lusterless Flat. I've always used the Lusterless Flat and it really does make everything dead flat...so I've used it over the standard Dullcote as many years ago when I used it I would sometimes get a slight sheen still present vs. the Lusterless Flat. I buy the stuff in the spray can for ease of use vs. mixing my own and applying via airbrush. That's all I can say about it, HTH!

Tojo, the key with applying the wash is to do it very lightly (one pass with the brush) and not soak the tracks when you do it. That way it won't attack the underlying paint coat but will still blend with the dry-brushed steel. Takes a little practice to avoid applying too much wash but I've used this method for some time without issues. It won't do anything to the styrene one way or the other so you should be perfectly fine with it on Magic tracks.

SMJ, patience my friend! I typically don't build during the week and only work on builds on the weekends so that's when updates will usually get posted. I'm pursuing an MBA full time among other things so have to manage the bench time carefully. Hang in there!  

wbill76

...I'm pursuing an MBA full time among other things so have to manage the bench time carefully. 

I assume MBA stands for: M odel  B uilder of  A rmor, right!?

SMJmodeler

DANG IT BILL!......will you hurry-up please.  I've been checking here for three days waiting to see the pigment weathering pics!  OK, I'll wait patiently...

JEEZ... did someone say "PIGMENTS" out loud with Steve in the room?

MBA= More of Bill's Armor

Please sir, may I have some MBA?

(used for discussion only)

Marc and Steve, I'll remember that tonight when I'm sitting for 4 hours in my Quantitative Reasoning class. Thanks for giving me a smile with that cartoon!