That's the key, Clint. Never be in a rush.

It is all about the vision that you have of what you want the finished thing to look like and then work backwards through the instruction book,and fowards making notes on sections, colours ways to paint stuff, modular sections etc.

With armour, the time consuming stuff is usually tracks and wheels. THis though depends on the kit.

This arrived the other day from my China supplier. Now, including postage, I got it at half the price it is here in the UK - a nice saving.

I already have Friul tracks built up for this and painted left over from the clear version which I have scrapped but intend to build again so, repurposing has saved me some money for now, but down the line I will have to get some more!

I also have Quickwheels RFM Panther wheel painting set bought for the clear set and this being the same kit but with 2 seperate hull sets it will fit... saved me some more Dosh.

So, I have noted that Aber has brought out a metal barrel for the RFM full interior Panther kits and one has been ordered.

So, my basic plan, to be expanded on is to replace the tracks and barrel in the kit.

IN the original release this sprue was in clear plastic... crystal clear plastic until I got my grubby paws on it with fingerprints everywhere! nothing a clean with some washing up liquid, warm water and cotton buds couldn't handle.

So, immediatly we have a plan to build and make it look as close to a factory finished job as possible.

Also in the kit is a sprue that is cutawar parts, such as you might see in a museum

A much bigger choice of display opens up, like it did with the clear hull and turret options.

Using thqaty sprue means that we must take care when putting the lower hull together and the way and when we paint has to be thought about carefully. This is why I can spend a week or so thinking obout the build and making notes and planning plus gathering all the extra stuff I need.

Builds like this Waffentrager don't really take much thinking about as there's nothing inside the hull, so it is the wheels, putting the tracks together and the main gun which takes the thinking about as there is nothing much to the upper hull at all. The exterior paint job is something I need to think about as the thing is quite a large piece, so a busy camo job to keep the eyes moving  is probably the best option as it will give the impression of a truly massive beast with a fearsome punch as the camo will confuse the concious and sub-concious brain elements with the amount of eye movement demanded by both because of the busy scheme to try and make sense of what the person is looking at. Using the extended metal barrel in the kit, once painted and camo done with add further to the impression of the size as the length will be past the front of the vehicle and as the turret is at the back then it makes it look even bigger.

Like magic, a camo job is much about deception of the eye than anything else.

This is trumpeter's 1/16 Jagdtiger I did using authentic paints from my restoration workshop

The paint colous are what we would call mimetic, and when moved into the shade, this is what happens

They get darker.... or do they?

Against a red multishade brick in the same sunlight the colours change again.... or do they?

putting it amongst the plants and setting the camera to a 1940's black and white firmware filter, not on the lens, but the cameras' own electronics we get this...

If I had a scale camo net and added foliage and draped it over the front to break up the outline even more, then it would be even harder to actually see.

Also this shows why we never should try and take colours of period or colorised photos.

FInally, the swatches

Apart from the 3rd on the right, bottom row (interior colour) the rest were used on the exterior at some point during the war.

2nd on the right, bottom row is the red oxide colour.

bottom row, left in order,

Dunkelgelb nach muster (Feb-Aug 1943)

RAL 7028 (Aug '43 - Apr'44)

RAL 7028 Var 1. (Apr '44- December '44

RAL 7028 Var II (Dec'44 - May'45) (Trialed during operation Panzerfaust, Hungary October 1944 on RAL 6003 base coat by 6 Tiger II tanks. This scheme started Christmas 1944 and Authorised Jan 3 1945)

snapdragonxxx

Harold

Time for another update.

Friuls tracks took longer to put together than normal. I kept on loosing my concentration and also new stuff arriving for the stash was a distraction as well as stuff away from the bench!

Once assembled Friuls tracks were given just a coat of Vallejo Metal colour Steel. This is darker than Xtreme metal steel and is a good paint for the tracks of German panzers as they were a mix of magnesium and steel! Once ready they were fitted to the running gear and the upper hull fixed in place.

The upper hull needs another base coat as I have noticed that some areas are not the full depth of RAL 6003.

Exhausts built

Main gun, breech and mount built. Kit's included metal barrel used.

spade recoil

Gun mount lower built and primed

Test fit

Gun Shield upper built and primed and test fitted to base.

more gun bits to be built and then the RAL 6003 gets a big bit of usage!

Oh nice!!! The Fruil tracks look fantastic! Looking forward to seeing that giant honkin' gun painted up. 

Thanks Gamera.

No priming or anything. I just loaded up the airbrush and painted the tracks with the Vallejo Metal Colour steel and left to dry for 24 hours. It is a really good replication of the magnesium steel colour of the german tracks and darker than AK Xtreme metal steel.

This is why I have both sets of AK and Vallejo metals. There is a lot of overlap with Aluminium and shades etc but the actual colours from the different sets will be different. The copper from AK Xtreme metal will be lighter and more vibrant than the copper from Vallejo Metal colour which will be a darker and richer reddish hue.

While mixing in the cup between the two ranges is not advisable, you can overspray one with the other. It is all about context and the ability to make stuff stand out against other stuff, especially useful when doing an aircraft engine.

My Nephew has infected me with a cold, and because of my heart damage my immune system is not as good as it was, so for some time to come I am coughing, spluttering with a nose that runs faster than most sprinters etc and suffering quite badly! I hate when this happens as it takes the best side of a month now to throw these things off and recover properly.

very small whiskey and lemon/honey is being taken and paracetamol to try and suppress the symptoms.

All the gun parts and sections have been built and are slowly going through the paint shop for the primer and base coat. In fact, the primer is done and before I had to stop and rest today the base coat was almost finished.

The gun mount base has been base coated and fixed to the chassis and the gun shield base coated and dry fitted. I should be able to finish the base coat tomorrow and also mask and paint the steel bits for the gun breech etc.

This means that over the weekend I should be able to assemble and mount the gun and then the camo can be done.

Dosed up on paracetamol, Whiskey, Lemon, Honey, hot water and Pussers Rum along with the normal complement of medication and apart from the occasional spatial awareness issue and cuddling up to next doors dog for a nap I have continued going as I want to get this out of the way and have a short break to get rid of this cold fully before launching into the Shinden.

I carefully masked parts and sprayed stainless steel onto the breech and hydraulic stuff.

The idea is to get s reflective surface to a degree and I rarely use gloss back and here we have AK's Xtreme metal stainless steem onto a flat grey primer. It does shine and after a coat of their protectant does the job properly

The Gun is then assembled

This is their Flak 40 from their Flak 40 and radar kit. I would have thought that for the waffentrager it would have been a much simpler version and I am sure that stuff has been left off as ther are plenty parts left over, probably for the cruciform base.

Everything painted the base colour even inside the gun shield. Then added to the mount base

THe shield is then fitted. It did fight back a bit, but I won..... I think.

Once all the glue is cured etc I have some base coat issues to repaint and some odds and ends to add and then it is a camo job and Archer Dry Transfers. Final parts to fit are the exhaust

Finished pictures.

I might add a couple of extra bits and if I can find one a 1/35 camo net in the future.

So... here it is, Amusing Hobby E-100 Waffentrager.

Alternate timeline build.

Pz Div Munchenberg 108th Schwerer Jagdpanzer Abteilung, 4. Unternehmen. Seelowe Heights, June 1945

For some reason the dry transfer numbers on the right side didn't want to play ball properly, still, it could be that the camo wasn't dry properly.

Comments and questions welcome

James

Wow, she looks great James! Love the camo! 

Are you putting her on a base? A burnt-out section of Berlin rubble would look awesome. 

No base or anything. I may add some tools and a camo net plus foliage in the future as a fun add-on excersise but I generally don't go near dioramas.

It is time to launch into Zoukei-Mura land with an unusual Japanese aircraft, so see you all in the aircraft section.

For those who have looked in but not commented, please do. It helps spur this veteran on and you may have a question but for some reason won't ask it for fear of being ridiculed. That won't happen with me as I will always try and share my info and techniques.

A very unique build.  Not building very much armour (M1-A1) at all I’ve never seen such armour let alone a kit in my life.  Saying that, that’s a fantastic job you’ve done!  Camoflauge, subtle changes in color, and a masterful eye on details.  The black and white photos look realistically awesome. 

Your Friend, Toshi

I had no real issues that come to mind whilst building but I must say that although the suspension is meant to work, the plastic springs are  too weak in reality to give the correct ground clearance so glue it all in place and make it even on both sides with every spring set and lever before adding the wheels.

I decided that the camo should be something a little different. I used MRP paint for the dark yellow but it came out more a stone colour which is not what I wanted or ever used by the Germans on their vehicles. It should be a yellowish dark beige with a hint of green. the effect I was looking for was a vehicle that had been delivered in the overall base green RAL 6003 and then a camo job done quickly in a field workshop by the crew.

Once Vallejo release their proper Dunkelgelb paints then I will be happy. until then I will stick to using the Afrika Korps colours as a substitute for RAL 7028. They were used anyway after supplies didn't get through after January 1945 as an alternative to 7028.

The camo is awesome and you've demonstrated it's function well.  You did a great job.  Good eye! 

Thanks for sharing. 

T e d