I like your subtle weathering Bish. It came out rather impressive. Interesting about the effects of white spirits, yes mineral spirits stateside, on the aqua gloss. Although I have yet to encounter that issue I tend to lean towards using turpenoid as it is a bit milder.

Cheers guys.

Joe, i have been useing Humbrol thinners which are not as harsh. But it wasn't as bad on this build as it had been on otehrs. At least the large flat areas on the sides came out ok, it was just a few small patches on the front corners. That leads me to think i either had not put enough layers on those areas or i was a bit aggresive with the brush.

Bish - The filters and streaks add the perfect amount of grime!

Cheers Chad. With the dust now added, i am really pleased with it. Now put it aside to focus on everything else.

Thanks Bish and Joe, I thought there was a different term but had forgotten what it was. 

I've been using the Mona Lisa brand which is supposed to be milder. No idea if you can find it across the pond. So far no issues (crossing my fingers). 

https://www.amazon.com/Mona-Lisa-32-Ounce-Odorless-Thinner/dp/B002646NBS

Bish,

Looking very good. I can't wait to see the base you'll be putting this on.

G, i have hearda lot of you guys useing that, but can't find it here other than on Amazon shipped across the pond. And i can't seem to find an equvalant over here.

Cheers Bruce. The base is just about done actually, just letting it dry off in the shed for anotehrday and i'll add the vehicle and gun. I have put an interesting featurein that i saw on pics of 1st Pz Div Pz IV's in Greece in 43.

Hey Bish, really nice job on that kit.  The weathering is really well done.  Looking forward to seeing it on the base.

As we were driving home last night, I said to my wife "I don't have any half-track kits.  I have to fix that."  Definitely have to fix that after seeing your work. 

Cheers Dwayne, i am really pleased with it.

I have to ask, how did the wife react to this revelation.

Theres a lot of halftrack kits out there, though there are not that many subjects and most of them are German.

Bish

Cheers Dwayne, i am really pleased with it.

I have to ask, how did the wife react to this revelation.

Theres a lot of halftrack kits out there, though there are not that many subjects and most of them are German.

 

ManCityFan

 

Bish

Cheers Dwayne, i am really pleased with it.

I have to ask, how did the wife react to this revelation.

Theres a lot of halftrack kits out there, though there are not that many subjects and most of them are German.

 

 

 

 

She asked me if I had a wish list.  I replied "Oh yeah.  And it's pretty big".  She just laughed at that.  She did, however, remind me that I have more than a few kits that have yet to be completed.  My response was a grunt. 

 

 

You should have just said you can never have enough .

How big is prety big. I would guess there are 40 or more 251 kits around on their own.

Bish

 

 

ManCityFan

 

Bish

Cheers Dwayne, i am really pleased with it.

I have to ask, how did the wife react to this revelation.

Theres a lot of halftrack kits out there, though there are not that many subjects and most of them are German.

 

 

 

 

She asked me if I had a wish list.  I replied "Oh yeah.  And it's pretty big".  She just laughed at that.  She did, however, remind me that I have more than a few kits that have yet to be completed.  My response was a grunt. 

 

 

 

 

 

You should have just said you can never have enough .

How big is prety big. I would guess there are 40 or more 251 kits around on their own.

 

She wouldn't buy never having enough.  I have warned her, however, that I will likely be buying a bunch of kits at the end of the month when I go to a convention.  

Time to wrap this one up. Last job on the halftrack and gun was some pigments. There were applied wet and then once dry the excess were removed. This leaves a build up around hinges, vision blocks and other areas.

And after that i got to work on the figures and all the other parts of the scene. The trumpeter figures are not the most detailed, comparable to older Tamiya figures, but the poses were spot on for this dio. There were painted with vallejo, Tamiya and scale 75 acrylics. The lower limbs were gioven a flory wash and gave each a light spray with AK dust effects.

And then time to bring it all together. For the terrain i found some pics of 1st Pz Div Pz IV's in Greece in 1943. These show the unit in training. The Div had been moved to France at the start of the year for re-fiiting, pulling out from Russia. This means that most of its kit and a lot of the personel were new. So training would have been vital. This pic shows a scene familiar to anyone who has been trained on AFV's, a vehicle recovery lesson. Not the group of crewman at the side and the muzzle covers on the barrels.

But this one really caught my attention. Note again the muzzle covers. But also note the ground to the right of the image. I thought the 'step' in the terrain was very interesting and decided to include that.

And this is the scene i have come up with, with the crew conducting live fire training posably as part of an anti invasion excersise.

Thanks all for following along. Thgis is my 5th completed 251 and i am really pleased with how its turned out.

Hey Bish, I can see why you a pleased with the result.  Pigment  gives an excellent dusty effect, and the dio pulls all this together nicely.  Overall, very well done!

Thanks for sharing the WIP.  This was a very interesting build, and I like being able to see your process.  Your results are always excellent.

Great work on the 251 all around the scene you created is fabulous. The weathering on figures the 251 and gun match the scene to a T.

Bish, you never disappoint! Oustanding build and presentation! 

Bish, as always, it looks great!  The figures and vehicles combine to tell a story of hard work and hard use!

Cheers guys, thank for following along and all the support.

The trick with the dust is to mix with a little water and just lather it on. Then once dry removes what you don't want. It leaves a dusty look all over and unless you get into all the little nocks and cranies will leave piled up dust.

Tip i picked up from Bill Plunk.

What a great WIP and finished result. Always enjoy seeing your posts, Bish. Thanks for the effort it takes to include us in your work!

Mike

Great job as usual Bish! Above and beyond the great work on the halftrack, AT gun, and figures I love your bases. They really set off the subject without being so busy they detract from it.

Thanks guys, your comments are very much appreciated.

Another example of what I must attempt to emulate.

Your work is really inspiring Bish. I've learned some techniques from this thread ... now if my memory banks will just hang on to the information ....

Another stellar effort Bish. Love the groundwork and the figgies. 

Cheers guys, much appreciated.

Mike, i know the feeling. I am always trying to recall ideas i have seen other do.

Cheers Josiah. They are deffinetly worth picking up if you get the chance.

Really nice build so far, The streaking looks great :)