Hi, old friends!--1/72 Leopard 2A4 in winter camo.

Good to see you here again stranger. That Leopard is looking pretty good so far. I really want to see that winter camo job on it. But I don't know how you guys work in those small scales!!!

stickpusher,its easy after you build a few

Leon

check out my battle of kursk dio in this forum

Nice to see you back in the saddle Karl! Hope you can get this one done fairly quickly...looks like you're halfway there!

Karl - Nice to see you again. Happy Holidays and understand life in the way of modeling...not as bad but I can relate.

Nice looking cat....especially in braille scale. Always great to see a Doog build!!

Rounds Complete!!

Very nice work as always, Karl! But why are you downsizing to 1:72?

Lee, thanks so much! I have to admit that the older I"m getting, it's getting harder to see these damned small parts! lol! I've got reading glasses on UNDER my Optivisor now, lol.

It's nice to be back here. I miss the interaction and my friends here. Hopefully, this year will bring me a little more time to be active here!

Hey Bill! Thanks, man! Yeah, these little ones are a nice quick tonic for what ails ya when you've got a "styrene deficiency", lol. I'll have some more pics up right soon.

On another matter, nice to see you maintaining a high profile here and in print. I came across your name in another magazine, and also caught you again in a few FSM articles. Keep it up, man--you're a workhorse in the hobby!

Hey Mike, thanks friend! Happy Holidays to you as well!

Life sure changes when you move in together, lol. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I sure hope I have more time to interact and contribute here in the coming months and year.

Thanks, Phaisal--I appreciate that! I'm only doing a small model right now because of time constraints. I"m going to be moving out of our apartment here by the end of February, and I didn't want to start a major project. This will be a relatively quick build.

I've done 1/72 for years--in fact, I really first got into modeling by doing nearly a dozen of the old "Matchbox" 1/76 kits, which I still have in my basement. I've got a decent sized collection of 1/72 kits built up on small bases, some of which have done very well in competition. Here's a few from the years for your viewing pleasure.

Welcome back Karl,still got the touch,nice work on the camo.

Karl, are you forgetting your WW II roots? Kidding aside, good to see you back.

I like that "All Quiet on the Western Front" dio. Very appropriate.

Thanks, Tojo; that's a relief to hear ("Still got the touch"!)! I was afraid I'd forget how to paint, being gone so long, lol And thanks for the nice comment!

Terry, thanks too, man! Glad to be back! And I appreciate the nod to my past work.

Welcome back Karl, good to see you're still around and still building.  I love the faded green base coat on this, and remembering your 1/72 2A6, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

UPDATE!

Ok, so I had to weather the wheels and suspension first, in order to attach the side skirts to prepare for the snow camo. I used a combination of mud colored washes and "Dry Mud" MIG Powder, and also put the track on at this point.

I also have been fashioning a simple base while parts were drying:

I gave the model some careful pin washes with a mixture of MIG's 502 Abteilung line "Faded Green" and "Wash Brown". I settled on more of a dark green/brown color because I felt that the normal black wash in this scale would be too harsh. The model is a bit shiny here too because I gave it the hairspray treatment--Aqua Net Extra Hold, natch...

Next, it's time for the silly putty !

It can be a pain to apply silly putty--put it in the fridge for 10 minutes to harden it up, and then use toothpicks to manipulate the edges so your cam lines don't just look like snakes lain across the model.

I sprayd some thinned Tamiya White on it....

Next, remove the silly putty. If it sticks, dab a ball of it against the mask; it should lift of just fine. Oh, and uh---no, those aren't my hands, but Jenn's, helping me to illustrate the action...

And here's what I got after that...

How nice! But I want it to look weathered, so I took a wide brush, and laid a sheen of water all over he tank to start loosening the hair spray. After about 5 minutes, I start using a bunch of different implements to remove paint in varying degrees....here's my tools first of all--short bristled brushes (old ones, cut down), toothpicks, dental picks, etc....

Working it....

To get fine scratches across the side skirts, I use this dental pick...

And here's what I have so far...

Well, that's it for now.....I"ll be adding some washes, and then some extra details, parts, and pigmens in th next installment.

Thanks for looking in, guys, and let me know what you're thinking!

Now that's an impressive winter camo in any scale! Nice job with the masking and wear-and-tear Karl! And Jen's 'helping hands' should get an honorable mention too.

Thanks, Bill, I do appreciate the thumbs-up!

Jenn picked out her photo--she'll be happy to hear that her hands got a good review, lol!

Nice winter camo....I love silly putty....looking great and considering we are looking at 1/72....I am going blind just thinking about it.

Rounds Complete!!

Nice to see you back at the bench Karl. That cat is looking sweet.

Real eye catching scheme.  She looks great and in 1/72, NICE.  Good to see you back at the bench!

Thanks, Mike. What would the world be without silly putty?

Thanks, Bullet21! It's good to BE back!

I'd epoxy my butt to the bench for a few months I "life" would let me, lol!

And thanks, too, Rob. Glad to see you're among the "old timers" still hanging around here!

Well, I really worked hard to get this one in under the "Christmas wire", so to speak...but she's ready for the shelf!

So, I had to jazz-up the base a little; I put some Elmer's White down over it, and laid some Woodland Scenics grass powder on it.

Then I started in with some grass fibers and sticks, etc. I also added some sisal fiber rope "grass" later, and after masking the sides, I sprayed some Dullcoat on it and sprinkled snow powder on.

Kinda looked like something out of "Dr Seuss", but after the "snow", it came out pretty much like a field under a fresh coat. MIG Pigments were used to make "mud tracks".

The Leo was further weathered with some pin washes, and pigments, as well as oil "dirt" splashes and "wet effects" On the wheels, fenders, and hull.

Of course, the #%@$! tow ropes were WAAAAY too long from what they tell you to cut them to in the directions. You have to trim a good centimeter of more off the specified length to make them fit.

Und hier ist mein Leopard!

Thanks to everyone who tagged along on this build and who commented thus far---I appreciate you taking the time to give a shout, or a critique, or just to say "welcome back"! I hope to have another WIP started soon after the Holidays!

Merry Christmas, all!

Karl - As always your base work is beyond reproach. Excellent looking effects. Love the Leo and the entire build.

All the best my friend and Merry Christmas!!

Rounds Complete!!

Very cool work and just in time for Christmas. Nice job Karl!

Merry Christmas to you & yours as well.

Thanks, Mike, Bill, and Bullit21!

And Jenn and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and great Holiday season.