"The Hunters GB" (2/1/08 to 6/1/08)

Bump.....and while I'm here....Tigerman, please remove me from the roster. I'm eye-ball deep in a couple of other committments and don't think I'll have time to finish (much less start) the Hetzer before June 1.

Thanks.

Wel, you guys have been showing some outstanding work!! I finally got some computer time wrestled away from my daughter to show what I've been upto. Although not as great as everyone else, it is never-the-less some progress. It's a few pictures so here we go:

First the hull interior, don't mind the dots on the transmission it was my first attempt at paint chipping. I figured I'd try it on an area that would be covered.

Now some images before painting

And after painting

Next onto weathering!

-Stephen

Stephen, liking the 'cat. Nice work.

Just got back from Sin City, (sorry Scott, haven't been your way in a few years), so I've been out of the loop for awhile now. I'm beginning to wonder if I picked the right kit for this GB. Hasn't been the slam dunk I thought it would be. Definitely not a Tamiya kit. LOL

bobbaily wrote:

Bump.....and while I'm here....Tigerman, please remove me from the roster. I'm eye-ball deep in a couple of other committments and don't think I'll have time to finish (much less start) the Hetzer before June 1. Thanks.

Sorry to see you go Bob, I can totally relate.

Hey Stephen - looking great!

Are you going to use the kit tracks? Did you have any fit issues with this guy?

I had originally planned to do this as my 3rd entry to the GB, but I don't think I'm going to have time.  Glad somebody else decided to represent!

bobbaily wrote:

Thanks Tigerman.  However, I will be on the alert for your next GB.....hmmmm...one wonders what that topic will be......

Hahaha. Let's not jump the gun yet. The "Big Cats" was an idea I floated around earlier and somebody went with it. Ditto with a Desert theme. We'll have to wait and see.

tigerman wrote:

bobbaily wrote: Thanks Tigerman.  However, I will be on the alert for your next GB.....hmmmm...one wonders what that topic will be...... Hahaha. Let's not jump the gun yet. The "Big Cats" was an idea I floated around earlier and somebody went with it. Ditto with a Desert theme. We'll have to wait and see.

Italian campaign?  Pretty please. 

Dale - very nice build so far ! Good job on the PE

NucMedTech - Looks real nice! I always practice in the bottom of my builds, right after I carefully fill in/sand those Tamiya motorizing holes ;)

dupes - LOL some of us are trying to START our builds and you are working on your third... quantity AND quality!

at least taxes are done, 2 week till end of semester (and those pesly students who keep asking for grades on time!) and then I can catch up with my meager builds :) cheers all...

Glamdring wrote:

tigerman wrote:  bobbaily wrote: Thanks Tigerman.  However, I will be on the alert for your next GB.....hmmmm...one wonders what that topic will be...... Hahaha. Let's not jump the gun yet. The "Big Cats" was an idea I floated around earlier and somebody went with it. Ditto with a Desert theme. We'll have to wait and see. Italian campaign?  Pretty please.

Actually, I had thought of that before this idea came into my pea-brained mind. That is where I'm leaning as of now. It might be well to wait until the new Dragon Italian Panther G is released, for that would be a fitting entrant. I would probably enter my AFV Pak40, for something different. Who knows, this Jagdpanzer is draining me.

Wow! Over 1000 posts! I'd say this has become a heck of a thread.

Espins, Jmart and Tigerman, thanks for the kind comments. Still have a ways to go, but at least most of the assembly is done.

Dupes, I'm going to stick with the kit tracks, I don't want to wait around for some am tracks as I really just want to complete a project. (Would be my first for the year.) I haven't had any fit issues with this kit, just one dumb mistake of not reading the instructions correctly.

Still weathering on. -Stephen

I'm going to call this one done. I've done some more tweaks than what are represented here, but I don't have any up to date pics because the "little" kitty is on display at local Hobbytown. That's supossed to be an oil leak/stain on that one roadwheel, pics didn't really pick it up that well. Hope you like.

Panzer88 -- awesome!!!

Scott -- have your Eduard grills arrives yet? Mine came through from the US to Aus nearly a fortnight ago (Squadron). I have the Echelon decals too and (sorry to be duplicating effort) I think I'm gonna go with the same scheme, it's just calling me! I also have some MiG powders coming too, for dust and dried mud, which will be an interesting experiment.

I was most interested to read your template technique for wheels, and gratified too -- our methods are virtually identical. What a breeze compared to the old way! The only extra thing I do is use masking solution on the sticking surfaces, though working in acrylics I could sand the paint away easily enough too.

Sorry I've not been posting lately, I'm in the ever-more-busy phase of my college committment and modeling to stay sane. I've concentrated on my Academy Tiger for the Big Cats GB in the last couple of weeks while reading my StuG III references and deciding what configuration/markings to go with. I've also scored two more Ausf. Gs on eBay, so there'll be a collection on the shelf! I think I'm gonna get back to this one now. Nothing's shown up from Trumpeter yet, so the Type 89 remains in limbo...

Great work all, the builds are looking impressive!

TB379

Panzer88   Sweet build.  Your Jagdtiger looks great!!!

Stunning, absolutly stunning Jadpanther. Me on the other has some good news and bad news.

Good news found an old build and fix it up abit and it looks great.

Bad news, well the hetzer, ain't doing so good, this happen.

Here's a link to a forum all about the problem, I really don't what to talk about it.

/forums/925285/ShowPost.aspx

Don't know if she'll make it.

Scott --re the Echelon decals for the StuG III, did you notice that while the instructions specifically say Ausf. G, the color multi-views are not of an Ausf. G? I'm guessing an F model. It features the external paniers for the radio equipment mounted over the fenders, rather than the widened superstructure of the G.

I wonder where their research went astray...? Is it an inaccurate illustration of research for a G, or accurate research for an F mistakenly released for a G kit? Still, accurate or otherwise, it'll make for an eye-popping model.

Later observation -- Ha! Call me Eagle-eye... The sheet of course features two vehicles. An F.8 and a G...!

Any thoughts yet on the cammo green wrapping under to the hull sides???

Cheers,

TB379

Panzer88 - awesome! Always loved the Jagdtiger...going to have to do one myself one of these days...

So what's next on the build list for you?

Thunderbolt379 wrote:

Scott -- have your Eduard grills arrives yet? Mine came through from the US to Aus nearly a fortnight ago (Squadron). I have the Echelon decals too and (sorry to be duplicating effort) I think I'm gonna go with the same scheme, it's just calling me! I also have some MiG powders coming too, for dust and dried mud, which will be an interesting experiment. I was most interested to read your template technique for wheels, and gratified too -- our methods are virtually identical. What a breeze compared to the old way! The only extra thing I do is use masking solution on the sticking surfaces, though working in acrylics I could sand the paint away easily enough too.

I'm still waiting for my Eduard grill screens.....

And no worries on doing the same scheme, it does look really cool! 

Thunderbolt379 wrote:

Scott --re the Echelon decals for the StuG III, did you notice that while the instructions specifically say Ausf. G, the color multi-views are not of an Ausf. G? I'm guessing an F model. It features the external paniers for the radio equipment mounted over the fenders, rather than the widened superstructure of the G. I wonder where their research went astray...? Is it an inaccurate illustration of research for a G, or accurate research for an F mistakenly released for a G kit? Still, accurate or otherwise, it'll make for an eye-popping model. Later observation -- Ha! Call me Eagle-eye... The sheet of course features two vehicles. An F.8 and a G...! Any thoughts yet on the cammo green wrapping under to the hull sides??? Cheers, TB379

Aye laddy, the F8 is the scheme with Lehr Baterie 901, the other two are G's.  That threw me for a loop as well I first opened up the set until I realized there were two different variants included.

As far as I can tell the camo scheme should be sprayed on the lower hull sides.  There is a profile in the StuG III Ausf. G Walk Around book that shows the lower sides being dark yellow but I don't think that is correct.  Every other profile I've seen in my other reference books shows the scheme on the lower hull sides as well.  I know it was extrememly dusty during the Kursk campaign, so in many photos the lower hull is totally coated with dust.  I think that is where the guy who did the profile for the walk around book went astray and drew the wrong conclusion.
 

panzer88 - very nice! I like the outdoors pics too... very nice paint job and weathering, lets the details stand out.

T-rex - have you tried stripping out the paint and re-painting? You can get more decals, or try hand-painting some of the markings..good luck either way, keep modelling!

Scott -- Thanks for the info! I wouldn't have noticed the different models featured on that sheet without the research books having arrived -- I've been reading StuG III in Action cover-to-cover as a decent primer.

Okay, wrap-under cammo sounds like the go. I have Tamiya XF-59 as the base, and I'm thinking of spraying out the gun apperture and underside of the mantlet before assembly. For the mottle, what shade are you using? There are subtle differences in the shades from different manufacturers.

Here's a thought. For summer markings, a topside fade would be desirable. Fading the overall color is easy, but fading the mottle is another matter. Any thoughts?

I closed the hull and added the bolt-on armor last night, she's about where yours was a couple of weeks ago.

Cheers,

TB379

Panzer88- VERY nice jagdtiger!! It came out very well.

I'm still working on the hellcat, currently weathering the lower hull and hopefully will get the tracks on this weekend.

-Stephen 

Thunderbolt379 wrote:

Scott -- Thanks for the info! I wouldn't have noticed the different models featured on that sheet without the research books having arrived -- I've been reading StuG III in Action cover-to-cover as a decent primer. Okay, wrap-under cammo sounds like the go. I have Tamiya XF-59 as the base, and I'm thinking of spraying out the gun apperture and underside of the mantlet before assembly. For the mottle, what shade are you using? There are subtle differences in the shades from different manufacturers. Here's a thought. For summer markings, a topside fade would be desirable. Fading the overall color is easy, but fading the mottle is another matter. Any thoughts? I closed the hull and added the bolt-on armor last night, she's about where yours was a couple of weeks ago. Cheers, TB379

I usually go with a base coat of Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow, spray that, then lighten the mix a bit by adding some Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan and spray just the flatter open areas on the upper panels. 

You can do a similar trick with the green mottling.  Start with XF-61 slightly lightened, then fade it a bit more and focus more on the upper parts that would have had more exposure to the sun, especially on the top surfaces of the tank. 

I know a lot of units at Kursk had recently freshly painted their vehicles in May and June, so there wouldn't have been too much fading or wear and tear until after they were thrown into the maelstrom.  Likewise with the unit markings.  Many units had temporary unit markings that they used starting around May (to confuse the Russians and hopefully conceal which units were where) and didn't switch back to their normal markings until August or even later.