Italeri Group Build Sept. 1, 2006-Jan. 15 2007

I just airbrushed the shield again looking for cracks, looks like putty won't do the trick

I will have to get the serious stuff now, super glue!   I'll have to be carefull when sanding though, to not make other cracks in the process.

Gun Tech wrote:

From what I've seen from Dragon these past few years, I would not be surprised if they would be including parts to build both version. That would be so awesome!

Ahhh, a 2-in-1 version. hehe. I welcome that.

This one shows the Alkett (5 sides) variant, the one I'm building.

This one, though a bit unclear is the Skoda (7 sides) variant

Here's a pic of the only one survivor I know of in Koblenz. It's a Skoda.

The Italeri kit represent the 7 sided one, Skoda. But I decided to scrap the shield, keeping the base a bit modified, and replace the shield by the Eduard PE represent the Alkett variant.

If Dragon release one, I will be doing a Skoda variant with a 7 sided shield, DAK colors.  

That's a big if, I don't think I would want to tackle the Italeri one again.......lot of work

Gun Tech wrote:

sjd0309 wrote: Darn! My wife was right! Another failed group build :(   I vow to finish a group build in 2007!   Gratz to those who were able to do it...   Happy New Year! SJD  Don't panic SJD, the GB is still active as some of us are not done yet......  i.e.  ......me.    I believe Tigerman said that as long as the tread stay active, it's no big deal. (hope I didn't step over your head Eric )  Cheers!

No harm, no foul. As long as the half dozen of us are still attacking, why not leave it open.

BTW, the paint gives it some kick Jean. I want to do it in Afrika Korps scheme someday if Dragon releases one.

I couldn't get closer pictures because of the lightning in my basement.

You can clearly see where the masking came off. Luckily, it was already painted

Ok, the gun and the tank itself is painted!     I'm getting better at this, and decided to take my time. It took me about 3 hours for the hull alone!   I went low pressure and close to do all the corners and hard to access areas, then I augmented the pressure and got a bit farther and did the rest. By painting an area at the time, it was easier.     I decided to keep the lower hull for the end, and it was a smart move, as my masking started to go away at this point, leaving the interior unprotected  

Lesson learnt: If possible, do not install the road wheels before the painting session    I almost lost it at that point (2 1/2h in the session). I will dirty up that area later..... 

The shield was found to have more gaps that will be fixed tonight, so that I can finish painting tomorrow.

I'll take a few pics tonight.

sjd0309 wrote:

Darn! My wife was right! Another failed group build :(   I vow to finish a group build in 2007!   Gratz to those who were able to do it...   Happy New Year! SJD

Don't panic SJD, the GB is still active as some of us are not done yet......  i.e.  ......me.    I believe Tigerman said that as long as the tread stay active, it's no big deal. (hope I didn't step over your head Eric ) 

Cheers!

Darn! My wife was right! Another failed group build :(

I vow to finish a group build in 2007!

Gratz to those who were able to do it...

Happy New Year! SJD 

Comet wrote:

Gun Tech wrote:  tigerman wrote: Wake up Scott!!!! Haha. I will most definately not make the deadline on this build. Gee, what a surprise. I will keep at it as hopefully the rest of us in-progress guys. Don't worry Eric, I'll keep at it     I have to much time invested in this build to let it go like that   Yeah and we're all waiting with bated breat to see the finished model so you've no chance of not finishing it because we'll just bug you till we see it

Just be sure to wear sunglasses, so your not blinded by the factory-like finish. 

Gun Tech wrote:

tigerman wrote: Wake up Scott!!!! Haha. I will most definately not make the deadline on this build. Gee, what a surprise. I will keep at it as hopefully the rest of us in-progress guys. Don't worry Eric, I'll keep at it     I have to much time invested in this build to let it go like that

Yeah and we're all waiting with bated breat to see the finished model so you've no chance of not finishing it because we'll just bug you till we see it

That's the spirit guys. I may hit the bench today. Forgot what to do next.

tigerman wrote:

Wake up Scott!!!! Haha. I will most definately not make the deadline on this build. Gee, what a surprise. I will keep at it as hopefully the rest of us in-progress guys.

Don't worry Eric, I'll keep at it     I have to much time invested in this build to let it go like that

Beautiful looking Marder.

 I'm still eagerly awaiting that Panther A...

Made a fair amount of progress tonight, not as much as I had hoped however.... can you say "ejector pin marks"?    I'm not kidding, there were ejector pin marks on even the tiniest of parts, like the little hooks that go on the engine hatches (that I would assume you'd hook the chains from a hoist onto in order to lift these heavy plates off for maintenance)  Those hooks  are about the size of the head on a picture nail.  Very tedius to trim, scrap, file and sand.  I guess it's more an indication of the age of the kit than anything else... if I remember correctly, that was the "state of the art" back then.  They really could have placed the pin marks for some of these parts on the other side for example, instead of on the top where it's totally visible. 

Anyway, it's coming right along.  I need to get the tool brackets and a few other tid bits attached.  Once all that's done the painting and weathering will be a snap.  The particular tank I'm building is painted overall in dark yellow.... doesn't get any easier than that. 

I'm getting tired so I'm going to head upstairs and watch some military channel stuff on the DVR before bed. 

My wife is heading out of town as we speak, so I'll have several hours of modeling time tonight!

Can anyone point me to an image or give me some guidance on what colors to paint the engine on a Panther Ausf. A?  The kit instructions give very simplistic painting instructions.... black.

Edit: psychoblue23 found me this picture.  Can anyone confirm that this green is the original color of the engine?

Good to hear Scott!    I just finish masking my Panzerjager. I tried to be very carefull of leaks, but the thing looks like a tower . Really, it's 3 times higher than the model!    At least, no paint should get in.