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

Thank you both Eric and Glyn !

I will probably go for a complex pattern of ..........  german grey  

I will depict a French campaign vehicle, and will try to work a bit more on my weathering skills. That will be my second one.

treadwell wrote:

absolutely top notch, Jean!!!-- a very clean and meticulous looking build-- the tow cable looks awsome!!  could you elaborate on how you made it or tell me what issue you had your cable details published in??-- excellent work dude!!-- thanks --- tread

Thanks Tread!          It was in the last November issue. But let me get into more details here    I took some cable that is used to hook up stereo speakers. There should be 8 tiny brands twisted in 2 goups of 4, running side by side. I took a bit longer than what I needed, and stripped the insulation. That's the tricky part as these individual brands are really fragile, and if one is slightly damaged, it will snap later. I then tried to separate each of them as best as possible. After this, I took 2 pairs of small locking pliers. I clamped down both end, making sure the brands are side by side, as close a possible to each other. I then started to twist one end until it looked like I wanted, trying to keep a constant tension.

I noticed that by varying the tension when you twist, it gives different results  

I made the end clasp by forming the loop with the help of a drill bit, folding the cable back to were I wanted the steel thingy (on a real one) to end. I glued it together a this point. I made the renforcement steel points in the loop by cutting a strip of aluminum foil of the desired width. Not the foil that is use to cover food, but more like the one for a pizza. I used the drill bit again.

The steel thingy was made from a band of the same aluminum foil, slightly longer than the perimeter of the surface to wrap. I then used my drill index, again , to bring it to the best tight fit as possible. The rest is just a matter of sliding it into place, rolling it in on itself and shape it to the desired form.

I will probably go in the techniques section and start a tread to share the knowledge

Looking sharp Jean Michel

What camo pattern are you going for? 

Ok, it's now time for a last update before masking and painting

I added the Notek light wire, gun craddle lock nuts, exhaust holder, the antenna is made but will be glued after masking (boy did I learnt that the hard way ) , rear chain for the pintle and the gas mask containers are cleanned.

In this picture you can see the tarp anchor points on the shield's top. Also of interrest, my scratchbuild towing cable

Here's a 2 more pics of the cable. Really hard to get a close up picture.

I sent a reader's tip to the magazine a couple months ago on how to build one. In this case though, I couldn't use the kit's ends as they were innacurates (too short). So I had to scratchbuild them with aluminum foil and the ring is made of solder.  (I am to cheap to buy a aftermarket towing cable) Tell me what you think about it.

All there is left to do is a bit of scribbing on the plastic gun shield and masking.  The end is coming soon.

Duke Maddog wrote:

Prometheum, that is incredible! Awesome work on the wash and weathering. I also like the added touch of a 'five o'clock shadow' on the crew! That is great! Gee, I thought you were horrible at painting too, I sure don't see it in these pics!

Love that 5 o clock effect

Prometheum, that is incredible! Awesome work on the wash and weathering. I also like the added touch of a 'five o'clock shadow' on the crew! That is great!

Gee, I thought you were horrible at painting too, I sure don't see it in these pics!

Alright, finally done making excuses:  here's my Marder IIIH in all its..er.... 'glory'

The hosting site (voidgamers.com) seems to be on the fritz right now, but in a little while I assume the images will be working... if not, I'll find somewhere else to stash them...

Ben 

Ditto on that. I got the right side tracks on and boy were they a pain in the butt. Both sides were to short. So I had had to improvise. I had more of one type of track than the other. but with everything like the cab on yu can't tell unless your looking.

Secondly I've been dry fitting and and i discovered that there is going to be a huge gap between the cab and the back were the missiles are stored. oh well it's Italeri right?

ygmodeler4 wrote:

Wow Jean-Michel that is awesome.

Thanks buddy, I really appreciate        I hope to not screw up on the paint job

Don't feel bad Jean-Michel. I've been building small armor for 30+ years and I've never airbrushed on a camo pattern to any tank, except to add brown spots to a KV I once to see if I could do it.

As for protecting your interior, try leaving the top hull unglued form the lower hull. Then, when you have all the details on it, spray on your camo pattern and then seal it when it's dry. Then, all you have to do is glue it to the top of the vehicle. Any sandiong of joints or anything that needs doing can be hidden with weathering.

If you have already glued the top to the bottom hull, then I'd suggest taking paper towels and cutting/tearing thm to a size that you could stuff in the hatches and openings until they are snug and no gaps are in the openings you are stuffing. Do this carefully so as to not damage anything inside. Then you can airbrush the tank and when it's dry, remove the paper towels.

Hope this helps. 

Thanks Eric and Scott! I really wish my painting skills are up to the challenge   I spent 2 years getting better at building, but did not airbrushed until a few months ago. That will be my second one.

I still need to find a way to mask and protect my interior.......

Ok, here's the build so far. The gun and the shield are not glued yet.

I plan to make a tarp to go over those ugly old Tamiya Jerry Cans, to hide them a bit, just showing the green newer one. A second one will be folded on the rear deck. I replaced all the tool handles, as they looked really horrible. Still missing a little bunch of details....... Notek light wire, radio antenna, exhaust bracket, chain on the rear pintle, tow cable, gun craddle lock nut, gas mask containers and tarp anchor points on the shield. The suspension bar on the road wheels is left out for painting purpose.  I'm trying to go for a busy look with a max of gear. The gun sight came from the Marder IIIM that I busted up a last year

Tell me what you think guys before I reach the painting stage

espins1 wrote:

Progress is moving forward again.  I'm building the Italeri Panther Ausf A (old kit, I've had it for about 10 years).  A question for our Panther experts out there.  Pretty much every picture I've seen of a Panther is with the driver's vision thingy on the front hull open i.e. raised.  Would they have only closed it under fire and if they weren't moving?

I'd think it would be open only during movement, which would be movements during combat as well.

espins1 wrote:

Progress is moving forward again.  I'm building the Italeri Panther Ausf A (old kit, I've had it for about 10 years).  A question for our Panther experts out there.  Pretty much every picture I've seen of a Panther is with the driver's vision thingy on the front hull open i.e. raised.  Would they have only closed it under fire and if they weren't moving?

Yes, I have seen pics of it closed on stationnary vehicle.......  As for combat situation, I'll have to check a bit deeper in my references.

rudedog wrote:

Tigerman,Since you put this GB together,would you be kind enough to explain," What the heck is a group build ? "I've seen them put together on this site,but never seen the results.I assume there's no prize,just pride.Is there someone judging the finishers ?And what are the start & stop dates.What do you do when your done ? I''ve always wanted to join one,,But I don't know these que.'s      Thank you  Tigerman & any who may toss in their 2 cents.   ~~~rudedog~~~

Rudedog, GB's are fun, but are always very different. I found that this one inspired many first-time forum members to use this as their first GB and to build Italeri kits. I feel lucky in that regard.

GB's differ based on whatever the creator decides the so-called rules are. I like to think of them as guidelines only. You pick a subject such as Italeri which is broader than say a Tiger I GB, which limits your subject. The start dates and end dates are your guidelines and usually it must be an unstarted kit. There are no prizes (though that might be fun for the future) and it's really all about the comradery and the motivation that the GB gives you in hopes of finishing a build. Most tend to get members pumped up, bu in the end, a handful actually finish their builds, though some GB's are more effective then others in that regard. Give it a shot!