Tamiya's 1/35 German King Tiger

Ok I know of that Puebla (and Cinco de Mayo).  My father is from Monterrey, and my mother's family lived in Ensanada (her mother and aunts were born there) for awhile after leaving Germany and before coming to Los Angeles in the late 1800s. I have been there a few times, but not in many years.  Doesnt Mexico City have an IPMS Chapter? 90 miles is not close, but it is not too far...

Stikpusher,

I'm from Puebla, 90 miles south of Mexico City.

Probably, best know for the battle of 5 de mayo, which took place here.

Large city, 4th largest, 3 million people, but not big enough for  having clubs...

Thanks for the advice.

Yes, Mexico is muuuuch more than Tijuana.

Once you show up and see the stuff Jim, you see some builds and think to yourself, "I can do better than that"... it all starts there and then.

Stikpusher, entering my work in a show or contest just for display would definitely interest me. It would even be nice to win something in competition but I believe it would be more rewarding, for me, just to get to show my work. I'll start looking for some clubs or shows/contests that I could travel to and from in a day.

What part of Mexico are you located in Garzon? There are some modelers from the Tijuana area who have formed a club down there- Secret Society of Model Builders that has members from the Tijuana and San Diego areas. A few of them come up to our AMPS chapter meetings every so often near Los Angeles.They have a contest coming up (AMPS style judging) in San Diego in December or Januaury. Good bunch of guys. Yes I know Mexico is a big place and that area is only one small corner...

Stikpusher.

Trust me, it is an obscure art in Mexico, not to mention contests.

So I agree, since you have a lot more chances for expos, contests, forum, visti them and learn from other builders and also have fun, just having the opportunity to see 200 to 300 models, you will be able to compare you skills.

And why not?, lots of shopping in one single site.

Have a great day!

Garzon, according to that map, Europe is Temperate Deciduous Forest, not Tropical Rain Forest.

Jim, I would highly encourage you to look online to see where the nearest model club is and travel there for a few meetings. Even if you never enter a contest, interaction face to face with other modelers (especially those that do build those winning builds) will help you improve your own builds. It did for me quite a bit. As far as contests themselves go, there are the IPMS type judging, which although it has hard set standards, in the end can be quite subjective becuase there is 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in any category. Period. No matter how good all the builds are. And then there is the AMPS style judging in which kits are judged against criteria only  for  gold, silver, or bronze awards and potentially all kits in a given catagory can win gold- if they meet the criteria. Conversely, none can as well if they do not meet the criteria. And some contests have a "display only" catagory, where builds are entered strictly for that, and not for competition judging.

Wow, plasticjunkie. That blows my mind. I've entered only one model contest in my life, back when I was a kid. It was at the local Walmart, believe it or not. That was before there were Super Walmarts. I've often thought about entering more contests except that there are none that I know of where I live or the surrounding area. And I don't travel. I'd love to be able to build models as good as the guys who win those contests but I don't think I'd ever want to enter any. Competition is okay I guess but that kind of judging just seems like it would detract from the enjoyment of the hobby, for me, anyway. But, each to his own. Thanks for the comment.

Jim

That WAS a great post, garzohn! Very informative!

the doog

Jim,

I should have added---just in case you think anyone is too "nitpicky" about the red clay color.....in AMPS judging, they'll actually "ding" you for dirt color if it's not appropro for the specific theater of war. Yeah, kinda "nitpicky", I know, but just so you understand why it bore mentioning at all.

I entered some models in a South Carolina AMPS contest not long ago and I was amazed how 3 judges can spend over an hour on each model with rulers, lights and magnifiers inspecting for accuracy and realism down to how the dirt buildup carries up on to the model!

Hey, thanks for the soil study. That was helpful and interesting, garzonh.

I'm no soil expert, but lets try to get a scientifical approach to this:

1. Tiger tanks were used in France, Poland, Hungary, Belgium.
2. The red/orange color is realted to iron on the soil, basically rusting creating the color.
3. From Encyclopedia of Earth: "Soils of the humid tropics are generally red or yellow because of the oxidation of iron or aluminum, respectively"
4. If we review what Biome Europe is:

Thanks for the photo, cb1. That will help with future builds.

Thanks, garzonh. So, what about the dirt? Still too orange or does it look okay?

I knew it.

Trust me, for high quality photographs never use direct sun light.

As you did, only at dawn, dusk, cloudy or interior of the house.

Now we can all appreciate the great details and painting.

Awesome!!

Here are some photos taken on a cloudy day. Everything looks a bit better.

We learn by doing.

Jim

well the orangy could be from the camera shot. ever notice how rust looks redder in some photographs? and it could be. there are traing areas in the BRD that will turn tanks almost pink after a week. at that point one either uses artistic licenses or has a color phoitograph to justify it.

Very well done. Yeah, the mud is a bit "orangy", but the application is spot on. The rest looks mighty fine to me as well. Bravo.

here is a shot of German mud... in the training area we called "area mud" LOL

Thank you, bitbite. Getting the right look for the black leather coat was frustrating. It could be better.

Tankster

, its alot like the red-orange clay we have here in the South. 

OOh, yes, like in Augusta and Aiken, SC... I think is the most orangish Ive seen...

"I'm not that great at doing figures."

Nonsense, I say!  The figure may be a little clean but other than that it looks pretty damn good.

I don't want all my armor models to be muddy but I will probably muddy the next one so I can get the color right. I agree that the figure should be a little dirty. I'm not that great at doing figures. Definitely need more work there. The next time I take pictures I'll try a different time of day or different location so the sunlight isn't direct.

I'm seriously jealous right about now.Well done.

You did a good job on th epainting, but I'd concur that the dirt looks too orange, its alot like the red-orange clay we have here in the South.  I'd say airbrush over it with some dark brown and khaki colors to balance it out some.  But the ambush camo scheme looks good tho, I have the same kit in my stash so I'll get to it eventually.

I really like it! That TC figure came out very nice as well! I dont think the sunlight looks bad at all. After all that is the real deal. I thin the only drawback of the sunlight is no control over the shadows- Mr Sol does it his way. As far as the mud tone goes, yes, Euro mud is lighter and grayer when dry. That other mud color you have under the red clay stuff would work for your next muddies Panzer build.

Jim,

I should have added---just in case you think anyone is too "nitpicky" about the red clay color.....in AMPS judging, they'll actually "ding" you for dirt color if it's not appropro for the specific theater of war. Yeah, kinda "nitpicky", I know, but just so you understand why it bore mentioning at all.

Great man!

The mud and dust looks very nice, the cammo and rusting look perfect.

I would also only suggest, the commander be a little bit more dirty. Looks to clean, specially since he would have to climb on all that mud and dust.

As "the doog" commented I think direct sun light is too bright!, some of top model photoraphers tend to take pictures at dawn or dusk, light is softer and not so direct...gives natural, cool light.

Other than that, great kit!