Tamiya's stug III B *WIP* FINISHED

Glad you got the info about the suspension in time to save this baby, Ron! When I was just reading through it here, I went "Whoa!" when I saw the first pics! Good thing that you got straightened out with it! (PHEW!)

Looking good so far! 

tigerman wrote:

I thought the blue was more myth than fact. I always thought it to be dark-grey or thought I heard it so.

Color period photos suggest it's a dark grey, no blue tint, so dark that it's almost black depending on the quality of the photo. Vehicle color on subjects recovered from bogs or lakes is somewhat suspect given the influence of chemicals or minerals in the water/sediment depending on the location and paint. Not uncommon for a bleaching effect to occur under various conditions.

On the second photo, realize that the panzer crewman uniforms themselves are black in terms of the shade/contrast similarity.

wbill76 wrote:

tigerman wrote: I thought the blue was more myth than fact. I always thought it to be dark-grey or thought I heard it so. Color period photos suggest it's a dark grey, no blue tint, so dark that it's almost black depending on the quality of the photo. On the second photo, realize that the panzer crewman uniforms themselves are black in terms of the shade/contrast similarity.

I'll try to post some pics of the "Leningrad StuG" tonight which shows the blue tint...

Interesting conversation guys and one that gets raised often, personally speaking i believe that it is hard to prove what is the right or wrong shade/colour given timeframes and the conditions vehicles were exposed to, also i do think colours would vary depending on their source and application, so that said i tend to try different looks on my builds depending on what i think will look cool and not worry so much about is thought to be correct but still an interesting debate nonetheless,

here is the stug III C/D i did with a blueish tinted grey

here is a PZ II i did with the more black shade

with this one im not decided yet but might try the more black shade just to be different from the earlier stug i did.

A big update soon as the build is almost finished just a few small bits to add and thanks again everyone for the comments.  

Hi Doog, yup that was definatly one of those "what was i thinking" moments lol and definatly proves the benefits of posting ones progress so it got caught before the wheels and tracks had been added.  

Biffa - love those older builds. Don't think I've seen those before. 

Looking forward to more progress on this monster!!! 

dupes wrote:

Biffa - love those older builds. Don't think I've seen those before.  Looking forward to more progress on this monster!!!

Panzer Blues...

Manstein's revenge:

...as far as the DAK pic, the harsh lighting probably makes the tank appear darker than it actually is...

True. This reminds me of a debate on the so called "hoax" photo why there are no stars visible on the moon landing :)

Correct Manny that was the dragon C/D kit i do so like these little guys :)

Well as far as a step by step goes i kinda failed on this one for the simple reason there is nothing much other than following the instructions to it so its just a case of cut it clean it and glue it heh, i did use the griffon clasps which are the easiest i have tried yet even my fat fumbling fingers can make them look somewhat decent, each set has early and late in 2 different sizes also clasps for tool boxes

the pe fret and instructions 

pic shows the size compared to my fat fingers which are more suited to an hammer than tiny pe clasps,

and how they look on

the gun assembly was painless and works very nicely and hopefully should look cool although very little will be seen even with all the hatches open

lastly the tracks off ready for paint all that remains is replacing the molded towcables Tamiya supplies the ends and some string which i will replace with wire i just need to figure out what the brackets look like.

Wow, tiny clasps!!! Food for the CARPET MONSTER !!! maybe this diagram will help with the cable holders...looks like there are metal channels and brackets that hold 'em in place:

Thanks for the drawing Manny i wished i had that earlier would have saved me some time on other things, as for the cables i decided on a different route and think i am going to go with something later perhaps during "Barbarosa" and have a field mod stowage rack just for something different i think it looks quite good .

i think this one is ready for the paintshop.  

Ron, that Griffon tool claps really look sharp. Thanks for posting them.

Great build so far, now lets see it some mud.

---
Ben

Thanks guys, painting has begun,

I started by painting everything in red oxide primer (generic rattlecan) then the lower hull recieved a basecoat of grey mixed using Modelmaster acrylics then i gave it a light dusting here and there with brown to lay the base of some weathering, i painted the tracks brown then after painting the tires on the road wheels and giving everything a light drybrushing with "shadowed steel" the tracks were added and everything got a wash of "van dyke brown" oil paint.

next i painted the interior white and applied the usual chipping and washes using oils and acrylics, after dry fitting it all together earlier i knew very little could really be seen so it wasnt critical that everything was perfect although i may leave the top loose so that it can be removed to see,,mmm not sure yet.  

and with the gun

and what can be seen!

Ron

Nice build, love the interior work. It amazes me the speed at which you move and the quality you attain. But then again....it would not be a Biffa build unless it was fast and beautiful.

Can't wait to see it finished.

Rounds Complete!!

Man Biffa, flying as usual!

It's a shame that you can't see more of that interior work...just need some bigger hatches, I guess.

Nice progress there Ron. As always top notch.

It seems that now days I see people doing red oxide color as primer. Very interesting.

---
Ben

Great work as usual, Ron!

Love those Griffon clasps, can't wait to see this one finished!

Thanks you all for the continued encouragement, a pretty big update here,

first up, everything was masked off ready for paint

having already built a stug C/D and painted it in the light blueish colour i decided for this one i was going to go with the dark look i thought it would look very cool espesially with the selected markings.

the paint was followed by a coat of future in preparation for the decals which were then applied (lots of them on this scheme)

this was followed by a couple of washes and then the details were painted and more washes applied (the last wash is still wet in the pics)

next its time to begin the weathering, im not sure what look i am aiming for yet but i really like the contrast the model as so far.

Wow, super work Ron. Why am i always the last at the party. Just finished reading through the whole thread. Stugly looks fantastic my friend. I want one now. I think the question about the colour is subjective. I love the lighter greys and the darker ones so its hard for me to give my fav. Id probably mix a 'Special'.

I love the glossy future finish you have. Heres a question. How many coats do you give her and what pressure do you spray it at?

Cant wait to see it finished. Thx again for the great post.

...Guy

thanks chaps glad you guys approve of the progress  

Guy, the future was done in one session with just a couple of passes making sure everywhere got a coat it kinda looks glossier than it really is because of the lighting, i am going to dull it down as soon as that last wash as dried so i can begin weathering, as far as PSI goes i dont know heh i dont have a gauge on my compressor, lol i've been using a Testors mighty mini blue since i began modeling some 4+ years ago now and its still pumping away so i guess the psi is quite low      

That looks great. I've got a pic of that exact StuG too.

*The top picture, of course*