Jagdpanzer IV A-O FINISHED! Page 8 Final pics!

jgeratic

Karl, looking very interesting.  

I've never noticed before, but am curious -  the primer colour on the inner sides of the wheels, artistic choice or how it actually was done in the factory?

regards,

Jack

And it's a little bit of both--I've seen photos of Pz IV wheels where the insides have been definitely painted in primer red. It may be that these are more "late war" styles--I can't remember where it was, exactly--either from some museum photos, or it may even have been a recovered panzer site?--but in any case, it was visually interesting, and just a small bit of "personalization" to the build. There may well indeed be experts out here who can or would offer proof that I"m 100% wrong about this as well, but it doesn't matter--I'm an artist first, a modeler second, and a historian a distant third!

Mike,

Good score! I'm not aware of the designations and categories that they put these models into--"Imperial Series" and whatnot? I never paid attention to that.

But some interesting piece of trivia--a local dealer here told me that some of these lines of product--like Cyber Hobby, for instance--were created specifically to get around exclusive "deals" that model manufacturers had with certain major retail outlet stores/distributors here in he US. So like, if "Major Store A" had an exclusive right to sell one line, yet "Major Retailer B" wanted to be able to have some of that line or an "off-limits" group of Dragon's action, so they created "Cyber Hobby" line to enable them to get around those in-place business deals and restrictions! Crafty, eh?

MAYBE this is the reason that this kit has been "branded", per se, as "Imperial"? In any case, I guess it all works out for us modelers, the "little guys"! 

Ernest--ha ha, yeah, I forgot about the decals--I put them on a some point after painting. I just placed them onto a light wash of Solvaset and then laid them over with a soft, wide brush wetted with water after about 10 seconds, and they snuggled right down over that zimmerit, nice and tight! No gloss coats or anything.

Yeah, moving is a drag! It's been crazy-busy around here, trying to find an apartment, pack, and still do any work on this model! Thanks for the look-in, and the nice compliments!

Looking great Karl! The tracks finished nicely with the different tones of "earth" in them. Best of luck with the move!

Karl, looking very interesting.  

I've never noticed before, but am curious -  the primer colour on the inner sides of the wheels, artistic choice or how it actually was done in the factory?

regards,

Jack

Looking Cool Karl. I literally just got this very kit in this afternoon off of Ebay and it was worth every penny. Though I still can't figure out how they figure this is a Imperial series kit when it has all the bells and whistles of a Smart kit when most of the Imperial series kits are usually 20+ years old maybe it is a error.

Moving, packing, going nuts.....and still time to work on the Jagdpanzer!!  That's a true modeler!!   Even though you've got to be busier than a one armed paper hanger, you've managed yet again to achieve some incredible work!  Love the weathering so far on the lower hull and suspension, but one thing bothers me.......when did you sneak the markings in?

Hey guys,

Sorry to be taking so long on this baby, but life just got REALLY busy lately---Jenn just got a job in Charlotte at a major hospital there, and we're moving on.....Saturday! .......(didja hear all that....stuff just hit the fan?!) Been going nuts packing, looking or an apartment--but I managed to eek out some progress on this!

I did some preliminary weathering on the lower hull--just some oil weathering with MIG's Pz Abt 502 "Buff" and "Basic Earth". This was dabbed on with a medium brush.

I painted the wheels by hand, one by one. The color is MM Dark Gull Gray. .

One thing I did differently, from seeing evidence of this in photos and in real life, is to add metallic gray to the inner wheels with a large artist's graphite pencil.

You can kinda see the effect here---oops, I got a little on the tire...

I added some oil paints to the sprockets to simulate dust build-up inside. I also added some MIG "OIl and Stains" effects to simulate a leaky seal.

Here's the semi-finished tracks (pigments still to be added once on the vehicle). I tried to think about all the contact points and wear places--the inside wheel tracks, outer track faces, and bottom of the guide horns are done in dark metallic gray; the tops of the guide horns and tracks are drybrushed in silver. The contact points for the sprocket teeth have been carefully picked out in silver. The outsides of the tracks have various shades of oils added to add a variety of dirt and rust effect. Shame that most of this detail will be hidden behind the schurzen, but eh---that's Armor modeling, isn't it?

Adding the tracks to the vehicle--I place the sprocket into the curve where it's held by the track; the other end is then slipped over the idler, and the wheels are added last. Note how by having added ONLY the single, inside return rollers the track is able to be slipped right onto the single rollers. The 2nd outside rollers will be added after the tracks are secured.

The tracks have been superglued to the top rollers, and are being let to dry.

That's it so far----I should have one more update before I have to pack this bay up for moving. AT least now that the tracks are on, it should be easier to secure in a box without breaking the tracks apart, or losing wheels! Stay tuned---all comments always welcomed!

Thanks, Ernest, for that generous praise!

And a good posting on the "disruptive" camo! Really a nice compliment to the subject here and to the "back story" to the portrayal of it here.

Thanks, too, Tojo!

Zimm and camo pattern look really good Karl

that is pretty cool. Thanks for sharing bufflehead!

the doog

CallSignOwl,

The white on the barrel was/is a camouflage technique where areas that would normally be shrouded in shadow and, in the case of the barrel, provide an easily-recognizable "signature" to observers, is deliberately painted white in order to try to fool the enemy's eye. At least one of these "short barrel" Jagdpanzers had this kind of unusual scheme.

If I could add to this Karl.....

(and I apologize for hijacking your thread, but I just learned this myself not too long ago and I couldn't help sharing)

Owl, this might also be called a disruptive pattern, used to break up the outline of an object.  A good example of this are the Sherman Fireflys used by the British during WWII.  These were basically U.S. Shermans retrofitted with the Brit's 17 pound anti-tank gun - a long barreled 77mm gun that was much more destructive than the normal Sherman's short barreled 75mm gun.  To hide this from the Germans (especially German tank crews)  the long barrels were painted in the same pattern that Karl used here. 

To illustrate.  Take a look at his photo (for discussion purposes only) of a restored Firefly and note the barrel and its camo pattern.  Take into account that this is NOT how an enemy would normally see it!  If they got that close no amount of camouflage would hide any part of the tank!

Now lets see how an enemy would normally see this armored brute.....from a few hundred yards away or even further!

At a quick glance is it a "normal" Sherman or something else??  A Panzer tank crew might be fooled into thinking thats a short barrel and try to engage......oops!

Pretty cool huh?

Another doogerly finish!  That paint job is good enough that, if left as is without weathering, would still be better than many I see online or at model shows!!  Shoot...better than most of mine!!

   Man, when the makeup starts a goin' on, this baby really starts gettin' hot!      

          Just Loverly!

Thanks, Tony, Mike, and Bill! I appreciate ya stopping in to take a looksee!

"Karl Von Gosh"---lol!

Very nice work on the pattern and color shading Karl!

Karl just where did you come up with that paint scheme?????

Karl Von Gosh

Looks snazzy guys

Tony lee

Love that paint job!

Mike

Thanks, Eric!

CallSignOwl,

The white on the barrel was/is a camouflage technique where areas that would normally be shrouded in shadow and, in the case of the barrel, provide an easily-recognizable "signature" to observers, is deliberately painted white in order to try to fool the enemy's eye. At least one of these "short barrel" Jagdpanzers had this kind of unusual scheme.

Nice paint doog!!  That camo looks sweet!!

whats the white on teh barrel for?

OK, I finally have a painting update!

I've been really thinking about how to paint this--I wanted to try something along the lines of what I did on the 1/72 Sturmtiger I just finished, but I think that by the time I got through with it, that idea had somewhat tamed. Anyway, here's what I did, and where I am now.

Since I had PE on it and resin zimm, I primed it with Duplicolor Gray. I've used this for my car modeling as well, and it seems to go down pretty nicely.

The kit gives you PE schurzen, but I didn't like the weight of them, so I made some new ones out of .010 styrene sheet.

I used the PE hangers;

Now, I Start with a "Schokolade Brown" from Model Master as a base.

The new skirts get that treatment too.

The wheels got the same treatment, but also got a shot of Primer Red on their inner race from Polly S--an old bottle I had found in my stash. This is called "Zinc Chromate Primer". I've seen wheels on real Pz IV's with primered inside wheel races, and like the way this looks, so...

Now I gave a coat of straight DY from Tamiya...note I have not covered the model completely, but left "shadow edges" and brown in the hollows.

The wheels got that on their faces too, but not too opaquely...

And the INSIDE of the skirts got it ONLY toward the top, to simulate shadows as they hang.

The faces, however, got a more complete coat.

Next, I put on a green camo overspray. "WHAT??!!" you might say? "Where's the lightened DY coat?!" I thought about doing that here, but decided to wait until after the camo scheme was on it, to accent the pattern better. That way, I can leave darker yellow "edges" around the yellow parts when I highlight it.

The green is Tamiya Field Grey--their version of "Panzer green"-- with about 30% J.A. Green to darken it slightly.

Now, the Panzer Green is given a dab of straight Yellow plus straight Green to make it "pop" a litttle more, and sprayed inside the panels, leaving the darker outline. I do NOT spray it in the bottom hull camo part, as it should be darker down there.

Skirts got the same treatment

Now a touch of white is added, and the green is highlighted a little more. And NOW the lightened DY coat is also added to the insides of the Yellow patches. Note how much lighter it is now, yet still dynamically vibrant, not being a monotone finish.

The barrel was masked, and a white counter-shadow sprayed.

And here's where I am now.

By the way, the bare patches you see are where I removed the schurzen hangers---I put them on with white glue only for the painting process. I'll touch them up when I attach the schurzen, after the tracks go on.

Well, that's it for now! Let me know if anyone has any suggestions or critiques! Thanks, guys!! (and girl!)

Cheers buddy,

It's not a major thing like I'm going to go nigh on blind Karl - it's really really common but it's not just simple short or long sightedness - it's  just generally my vision is rubbish, long or short!   

With my glasses or contacts in I can see 100% crystal clear but it causes havoc with optivisors for some reason! I can use Binoculars just fine though!

The Optician says if you have Astigmatism like me it tends to slow down a lot as you get older. It's no biggie but I'd love to be able to wake up in the morning with 20/20 vision! My Dad said his seemed to stop getting worse over the last ten years.

Loving the work on the build matey!

Ben

Thanks Ernest---glad you like the format! It just seemed logical to point out the many little things that I've added or corrected. Thanks for letting me know that it's appreciated for the extra time it takes to do these little pics!

TERRY--- thank you once again! And I would love to see that photo if you find it!

Pvt Mutt

I was hoping to see at least a base coat but you're gaining anyway.

Tony lee

the doog

 

Sorry Karl, this pic had me rolling!!  I so have to get me an Optivisor, just so I can look like this at my bench!! 

the doog

More details were added: #1 shows the cleaning rods that I added, and racks that I made from spare PE. The right rack has a cloth strap and buckle made from lead foil and a buckle shaved off from a kit piece--I forget which. #2 These projections are on the rear of the original vehicle; not sure what they housed, but it's gone now, even as they remain. #3 shows the tail reflector that I made from spare PE and some 1/24 "side dot reflectors" PE from a Dodge Charger detail set. #4 the detail added to the wood block, which was taken from the excellent Tamiya On-Vehicle tools set. #5 shows the new supports which I had to fabricate in order to support the rear schurzen. These are more in line with the original vehicle's configuration. #6 I never realized this before, but the muffler bolts onto the rear rail which runs along the rear of the hull. So I corrected my own repair job there, adding some resin Verlinden bolts.

I really like the numbers and descriptive text you've added to this Blog!  tI helps us out as we try to follow all the great super detailing you're doing!  Thanks!

Now for some dunkelgelb! 

I was hoping to see at least a base coat but you're gaining anyway.

Tony lee

Ben, wow, sorry to hear about he eye problems--that would be a bummer, but it doesn't look like ou let it slow you down much!

And that method you mentioned of just using the kit tools with some handles added to them is an excellent "cheat" to doing the tools. I've used that plenty of times myself!

Thanks for looking in, and good work on that Elefant! The paint looks great!