Dragon Elefant w/Zimmerit - Now Complete! Final Photo Update March 9th:

that looks great it's funny what one link can do.

Hi fellas,

Ok, I got to where I wanted to be with the minimum of mess-ups Both Friuls runs are sorted and looking good, the wheels are mounted on matchsticks ready for painting off the vehicle and the whole thing is primed so it will be left for the week to really harden up and I get some pre-shade & DY basecoat/cammo on her next weekend.

Mess ups - Where the front deck is there's a small piece up the front of the deck that butts-up against the front of the lower hull when dropped in place. How this was sitting was making the Casemate sit too far back so I filed the thin piece of plastic of the front of the deck so it would butt-up better allowing the casemate to fit properly. I did this and now the Casemate fits great BUT the front deck obviously needed that bit that I filed off as I was left with a big gap which needed some surgery and filling - it'll be fine I also totally forgot about getting the PE Jack mounts in place before priming so I'll have to sort them later. The travel lock was a fiddly PITA to assemble stowed but that got worked out so I'm just a bit gutted about the front deck but live and learn Apart from these errors she looks great primed up.

Friuls: Again I had the same issue - 110 links too saggy, 109 links a tad too tight so I decided to try strecthing them. I'd read a blog where someone had done this before so I simply took about 4" of Friul link (assembled) and gave them a sharp tug and then moved on around the track - doing this easily gave me an extra 3mm and they dropped on just right. I'll do it with the other side before they go back on too.

So, looking good. I've got plenty of time to get this ready for the show on the 18th. She primed up lovely - Tamiya's 'Fine Surface Primer' is great - it gives a nice surface to work on. I was going to use some coloured Vallejo primer through the airbrush but I want to try a pre-shade so I decided to go with the light coloured stuff this time.

Ready to go - fully Friuled!:

Primed:

I tried to add some torch-cut detail on these sections with a scalpel after softening the surfaces with Tamiya Thin Cement:

Here we go - ready to roll! This is everything for the build except the tools and Jack Block which are bagged up. The Friuls will be treated with the usual AK Blemishing stuff and the four loose ones will make up the spare links that sit up front:

Thanks for looking guys.

Have a good week and take care

Ben

Cant wait to see the camo on this beast!!

Cheers Jester

I meant to ask guys - I might well drop an antennae onto this beast. How long where they on these things. I have a selection of RB Brass 1.4m and 2m?

Ben

Nice fix on the tracks Ben!

The ones I have from Orange Hobby say 2 meter Ben. I have the star antenna from them as well and it says 1.4, hth!

Ben, it should be the 2m Antenna. The 1.4m was used with the Fu 7 Radio used for ground to air comm's.

Thanks guys,

2m it is. I'm not sure why I even have 1.4's as every Brass AM or kit Antennae I have ever used for German WWII AFV's has been a scale 2m one!

I've been looking through the stash just now by the way. I do think the next build will be my Dragon Kharkhov Pz. IV. I really want to do a whitewash and although I'm not doing it on this one now the Pz. IV is ideal.

I had almost forgotten but I've got Dragon's Prmium Edition Flakpanzer IA with ammo trailer. That should be fun  - and damn complicated if the instructions are anything to go by! It's obviously pretty tiny and with the trailer will sit on a really nice smaller base with some groundwork.

Take care,

Ben

Just my two cents----the whole "How long should the antenna be" argument is a little rivet-county for me... I honestly don't think you'd get "dinged" for that in a model contest unless you had like, a 6-inch antenna on it. 

Basically I have a couple of '2 metre' Antennae and '1.4 metre ones' - I'm just trying to get everything right and make sure I choose the right one - I wouldn't call it rivet counting!

If this was rivet counting nigh on EVERYONE on this forum would be a rivet counter

Ben

Hinksy

... If this was rivet counting nigh on EVERYONE on this forum would be a rivet counter

Ben

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ..........oops sorry, lost count;

Now, how will I ever get the wire cut the right length?-----

Seriously: great job so far

Hinksy

Basically I have a couple of '2 metre' Antennae and '1.4 metre ones' - I'm just trying to get everything right and make sure I choose the right one - I wouldn't call it rivet counting!

If this was rivet counting nigh on EVERYONE on this forum would be a rivet counter

Ben

I just never heard anyone worry about how long the antennae were? I guess I'm just privately tweaked because I fear that it's just one more thing to have to worry about... Honestly, I never eve think about it. If it looks right, it's "right" to me. Or has been, up til now..

You've lost your antenna innocence Karl! No going back now.

LOL!

No worries Karl Like I said I have a few Brass RB Antennaes in both lengths and merely wanted to use the right one - if I was just stretching sprue it would have been a case of 'hmmm, that look about right'!

Now then, what diameter cable was used on the tow cables on these things?

Cheers buddy - you know your assistance is always appreciated  

Ben

Looking good....even without the antenna

Hi guys,

Here's the usual Saturday update!

I've really been dragging my heels on this one so today I gave myself a kick up the backside and got all the niggly little things sorted out like the PE Jack Mount and the DIY Tow Cable from Lion Roar so now everything is good to go - it's all primed and I'll be adding preshade and a basecoat tomorrow

Some of you will have read the problems I was having with my RB Barrel and Brass Collar Conundrum! I really wanted to use it so after finding out that a part did need to be removed to allow it to fit I took the plunge, lopped off the end of the ball housing and fitted it. I'm pretty pleased with myself as I would never have had the bottle to do this a year ago!

Photos:

New Barrel Fitted, RB Shackles fitted and PE mounts for the Jack and Jack block sorted and fitted to build (I'm not too worried about the Jack area as it's going to be very muddy under there-otherwise I'd have fitted the Jack later and painted it off the build):

I accidentally used the non-zimmed part here for the exhaust outlet (the curved bit - not the toolbox glued onto it) so I used a heated screwdriver to add some simple zim effect as this was plain flat and looked totally wrong:

Lion Roar Tow Cable all assembled - this is sweeeet:

Following Priming:

All ready for tomorrow - the Elefant with the new barrel and all the fiddly stuff fitted, Sledgehammer and PE Sledgehammer head clamps which will be painted separately and fitted after the cammo has been done:

Paints for tomorrow - Black for the preshade and the ingredients for what I hope will be a really good DY colour:

The Bible - what a great find!

I've made the decision regarding the Whitewash. I was looking through my magazines last night and found this Tamiya magazine from September 2012. It has the second part of a full build of Tamiyas Elefant. I assume the first part covered the assembly but this second part (which covers 3 two page spreads) kicks off EXACTLY from where I am now. The guy uses all of my AK stuff and Vallejo paints and does a brilliant SBS so the Whitewash can wait for my Panzer IV which I'll be building next. His build looks great and I really want mine looking similar. It covers new methods I'm yet to try , particularly using oil paints for dry-brushing etc., so this will be a good learning experience!

I hope you like everyhting so far guys - I hope to posting pictures of a basecoated and pre-shaded Elefant tomorrow

Please chime in with any comments and suggestions! They all help me a lot!

Take care,

Ben

Barrel looks great Ben, glad you got it fixed. Looking forward to seeing this one in color!

Cheers Eric,

I'm hoping to have this pre-shaded and basecoated tomorrow plus the wheels. I'm limited on time tomorrow so will be tackling the cammo next weekend. I'm not rushing it!

Ben

Hurrah!

The basecoat is on. I got the workshop heaters up and running an hour before I went in there, dug my airbrush out, got the required paints from my general model storage cupboard upstairs and off I went.

Now then, I'm making the move from all Tamiya and Gunze Metalcolour paints to nearly all Vallejo paints (mainly model air for the airbrush and model colour for brush painting), Gunze Buffable Metal colour for detailing and the usual Oil paints.

I've been experimenting with a few colours to make a decent DY basecoat that looks like my Tamiya mix of Dark Yellow and Deck Tan (50/50 mix). I found that 2 parts Model Air Dark Yellow to one part Sand Yellow looks very good. I also found that adding a few drops of Sand which is lighter still helps when highlighing panel centres. Light Drown is also good mixed with Dark Yellow to give a much darker DY.

I did a black pre-shade and it's about visible in places but I took put on a tiny bit too much and covered most of it - I'm out of practice! That was when I added the Sand to highlight some of the panel centres.

Next weekend is all mine so I'll be adding the cammo next Saturday and hope to have the decals in place and some of the tools painted and glued on so I'll be able to start weathering pretty soon. I'll be using Model Air Olive Green and a shade I'm not sure of yet to make the tri-tonal scheme - this is what I'm hoping to produce as it's 'my' Elefant, right down to the number and markings:

http://postimage.org/image/qmmmov1ad/

Photos:

Thanks for looking guys - I hope you like her so far

I'm really happy with this DY shade but I'll keep playing around with it so no two builds ever have the same shade!

I'm really looking forward to getting this cammo scheme on!

Have a good week everyone and take care!

Ben

Looking good Ben. I can never remember the formula I use to lighten the DY. I might even try Bill's method of mixing with light grey.

Ben, that's an excellent shade of DY on there--should look great when you weather it!

Hey Ben, how did the Vallejo Model Air work out for you?  I've tried it a few times myself and keep going back to Tamiya acrylics simply because it cleans up so easily.  Other than that it goes on pretty well!

The basecoat looks great, just needs some camo and weathering!

I've been using it for a while now Bufflehead - it's darn good.

It cleans up just fine. I've had much better results using it through the AB than I did with Tamiya.

The rangle of colours is just perfect in the Model Colour and Panzer Aces range for Brush Painting.

Give them another go - I'm sold

Ben

Hi guys,

Well I've had the most frustrating afternoon that I can remember but it all turned out well!

I had been looking at magazine articles - articles covering the painting of all types of AFV's. There's the usual freehand cammo lines, masking, whitewashing and something that a modeller had done that caught my eye where he'd laid down his cammo lines and gone back over them later on with a slightly darker shade than his original basecoat methods so they appeared like a 'cammo pre-shade' that looked really good. Basically, all sorts of stuff

So, I went out to the pre-heated workshop with my AB and Elefant with the intention of laying down a simple thin line cammo scheme using Rotbraun and Olivgrun. I used Model Air thinned with water and used a mix of Hull Red and Mahogany for the Red Brown and Panzer Olive Green and cammo green for the Olive Green.

The lines started going down really well but then I'd overshoot it a bit and then it would happen again so I ended up with what I was after with several 'bad' patches that looked wrong and when you try to rectify these areas it just gets worse and worse and worse and

So, frustrated, I took some Model Air Light Brown and DY and completely covered this up. I added some heavier cammo lines but it still looked 'iffy' so I recalled the article where I had read about the pre-shaded cammo and misted the build with Model Air Sand Yellow.

The effect looked really good like, almost like a worn cammo and I'm definately going with it! I hope the photos show up the effects like it looks in the flesh as it does look excellent and it's definately something that looks a little different for the cabinet! If it doesn't turn out as well as I hope it will I'll using 'Plan B' - the Worn Whitewash! I did say I wanted to try different things!

You'll notice a mark under the Bow MG but that will de under spare track links so I'm not worrying about that.

Tomorrow I'll be looking at decals and starting weathering.

Question: Should I add any AK filters to the top coat before I add the varnish for the decals. Also, would I be able to varnish this with Satin rather than gloss? Could Satin varnish be used to seat decals onto and to seal the decals in. Will my washes work well on top of a Satin Coat rather than a Gloss Coat?

Thanks for looking guys,

I'd be interested in hearing your opinions on when to use filters and Satin Varnish compared to Gloss  varnish for decals and washes. I've posted the question earlier in the post in bold.

I've just seen the news and they covered the snow in New York I hope you are all ok and if you are in New York you are safe and well (and warm)!

Update tomorrow,

Ben

Ben,

Rule #1--always decal before you start weathering. It wouldn't make any sense to put clean numbers---which are and would have been am integral part of the tank--on it. They have to get weathered just the same,

If you use decal setting solution, you shouldn't need to gloss under the decals at all. Put the decals down in a small pool of setting solution, and then in about 10 seconds use a wide, soft brush wetted with water to gently press them onto the tank. This is how I do my decals, and I rarely---if ever--use gloss underneath.

My personal opinion is that gloss vs Semi-Gloss isn't going to make much of a difference. In fact, for a big, slab-sided vehicle like this, I would tend to thing that any wash is going to slide right down off the sides and collect on the bottom if you gloss the finish. I would just wash over flat, You can control the wash better like that. If you get too much, just wipe it off gentle with a wetted brush.

I also wonder if your camo pattern is going to disappear under the weathering? I think it's a little TOO faded for my taste, but if you love it, that's all that's important. You could still darken it in the insides of the patches though. I did something like that, but lightening it, in my Jgdpz IV build currently going on.

I don't see anything wrong with the camo if anything just tell people that the guy cut the paint with too much fuel in the field so it came out really faded looking

Cheers guys,

Thanks Karl - it's come out a lot better than the photos matey, I just took took some quick snaps last night - I reckon this should be okay. Like you say, my main concern was the cammo being washed out under weathering so I'll be taking it easy on the washes and keeping them VERY light and concentrate on darker pin washes. Dry bushes, bolt head highlights, dark dry brushing on the Fender tread pattern and a few streaks. 

I just want to keep them slab-slides looking good - the rest will be pretty mucky around the running gear.

I'll see how it goes today.

Ben

Thought I'd hang out here a few minutes... been workin' on somethin'.

 Looks good to me, it's come aways since I last looked in.

Hi guys and thanks for the 's DM.

I've been working from home this afternoon so have done a bit and am in a position to get started on the detail painting next weekend.

I've got seven days straight off work starting 21st Feb so I'm hoping to get this all wrapped up in that time. I want it perfect for our show table in March!

Onto the build: I realise I need to be VERY VERY careful with this build as I don't want to darken it up to much and ruin that nice colour effect I've got going on. This afternoon I've applied all of the decals and have made a very thin light brown wash - nigh on a filter - that has tied everything together nicely. I've applied two layers. That will be all she'll be getting in the way of 'all-over' washes. I'll be doing the detail painting next weekend i.e. the MG Barrel, the Jack and Block and adding the tow cable. All further washes will be done 'pin-wash' style using Mig Dark and Brown washes straight from the bottle. I'll concentrate on all the usual hatches and panel lines etc.

I'm following this big magazine article that I previously mentioned and will be adding some light chipping and AK's Streaking effects. Drybrushing will be done with black oil paint in small areas like on the fender treadplate to show wear and the Graphite stick will see some action too!

I'm hoping for a nice tidy build finished off with a matt coat and dry pigments but if it goes South I have 'Plan B' ready to go which is an all-over chipped whitewash. This current base will be isead for a WW so hopefully I'm covered either way.

The decals look great and haven't silvered at-all They are individual numbers so getting them straight and level was tricky. The rear has numbers that go over the edge of the round back door so I had to cut them so it gave the impression of a split where the the door would open - it turned out ok

Photos:

So that's where I'm at and I'm really loving it. I wish I had a better camera (I'm saving up) as although my pictures look good (imo) the camera doesn't seem to capture the full brightness of the colours.

Oh well, like with my Tiger I Ausf E my Godfather Dave will be doing the completed build photos

Now it's time to make things go 'pop' - apart from chipping, streks and pigments, the colours won't be getting any darker now the wash is on so things are looking good. I'm happy I took this route.

Have a good week guys,

Ben

Ben,

Just some advice---if you want to go with a "faded" camouflage look, there's another way you can do it--especially if you want to show like, a finish faded by dust or sun.

Keep in mind that a sun-faded finish wouldn't fade universally, nor evenly, all the way around. You'd have dramatic fading nearer the top of the vehicle--which would catch the sun more--and nearly none on the lower vertical surfaces, and especially none in places like under the front glacis. Fading should be graduated from top to bottom. I guess that's what I would say looks a bit unusual in your finish--the uniformity of it?

Also, if you want to "dust fade" a vehicle, spray on an enamel dust coat---and then immediately take a wetted brush and draw down streaks and whatnot with thinner on the brush. You can do this to various degrees, and even add layers, like, a light layer that you put in streaks at first, then a second one after the first one dries, That way, you'd have real depth and variety to the finish.

Just trying to give you considerations and suggestions for the finish before you really start getting past the point of where you can't modify what you've got there.