Tamiya 1/35 Char B1 bis *WIP*

I've finally had the opportunity to read through your build...very nice, you've done some good building.

The painting steps are looking good as well.  I generally shy away from brushing Tamiya paints, but you seem to have tamed them just fine.  Very attractive camo scheme.

Rick

Thanks guys, I appreciate the compliments and the interest.  That was a very challenging paint scheme. 

The decals are finished on the lower hull.  I ran into a problem with the turret though.  There are three big blue heart decals that need to go on the sides and back of the turret.  Unfortunately, there is a lifting hook on the left side that is right where one of the hearts is supposed to go.  I had to pry the hook off so I could get the decal on, and was planning on just reattaching the hook after and painting it blue.  I managed to damage the side of the turret in the process as the lifting hook was very securely attached to the turret.  I applied Mr. Surfacer last night (two applications), sanded it down this morning and repainted that side.  Hopefully the paint will be dried and stable enough to get the decals on as soon as I get home tonight.  I'm going to go ahead and start weathering the hull, which is fine because it's going to be a lot filthier than the turret. 









 

Looking cool, Scott!

Hey! Isn't that like, a Spitfire airplane decal on the back there?!?

the doog wrote:

Looking cool, Scott! Hey! Isn't that like, a Spitfire airplane decal on the back there?!?

I like to think of it as a "bulls eye" for the Stukas!  

espins1 wrote:

the doog wrote: Looking cool, Scott! Hey! Isn't that like, a Spitfire airplane decal on the back there?!? I like to think of it as a "bulls eye" for the Stukas!

 LOL

 BTW, Thanks for the tip with the Mr Surfacer/Alcohol espins1. I know I'll be using that one for sure.

espins1 wrote:

the doog wrote: Looking cool, Scott! Hey! Isn't that like, a Spitfire airplane decal on the back there?!? I like to think of it as a "bulls eye" for the Stukas!

I wonder how meny German gunners had fun aming at that taget

Nice job so far the camo is realy cool.

Great Thread. I'm about to start one of these myself, having just finished a Centurion, so the build tips and references will be very helpful and much appreciated.

Love the one about the Mr Surfacer and Alcohol. There have been a few times i could have used that in the past and saved myself some frustration.

Cheers

Scott,

Glad the surgery went ok and happy birthday to your wife! Kudos as well for voting early, it's something everyone should do regardless of political affiliation or candidate preference to have their voice heard.

I noticed in your latest batch of photos after you say you applied a dust coat and some oil washes that many of the decals have silvered. Did this happen because of one or more of the steps between this set of photos and the last set?  

Hello,

 espins1, tell the betterhalf . Glad the surgery went well.

 The blue heart decals look to be settled down very well.

 Mobious

wbill76 wrote:

Scott, Glad the surgery went ok and happy birthday to your wife! Kudos as well for voting early, it's something everyone should do regardless of political affiliation or candidate preference to have their voice heard. I noticed in your latest batch of photos after you say you applied a dust coat and some oil washes that many of the decals have silvered. Did this happen because of one or more of the steps between this set of photos and the last set?

Thanks Bill.  What you're seeing is just an anomoly that occurs whenever I do a dust coat before the oil washes.  They're really not silvering, it's just the effect the paint has against the clear background of the decal borders.  As soon as I got the first oil wash down that visual effect went away.  I'll get some updated photos shortly.  I went to put on the tracks and found that I'm 4 links short on each side!    That's what I get for trusting the directions.......  So I'm quickly painting the two short sections so I can then grubby them up and get them to the same stage the rest of the tracks are at.

Mobious wrote:

Hello,  espins1, tell the betterhalf . Glad the surgery went well.  The blue heart decals look to be settled down very well.  Mobious

And thanks Mobius, I appreciate it.  The updated photos will show them off a little better. 

   A beautiful job you've have done there mon amie.  Looking foward to seeing the tracks and the weathering scott.

     I bet those german gunners must have loved that big blue heart lol.

Scott,

Thanks for the explanation and the effects of the wash are spot on, very nice. Are you going to paint the rubber dust skirts a different color for the road wheels or leave them as is with the hull color? Very nice effects all around, looking forward to seeing it with the tracks on. I had the same problem with the instruction count on the track links per side, not sure how Tamiya got that one wrong but they did!

The dust skirts will be so dusty even a psychic wouldn't be able to tell what the original color was.... heh heh heh 

Cruising right along.  The tracks have been installed and I put down another dust coat making it heavier as you go down the sides of the tank.  I still need to do some oil washes on the turret and next up will be an attempt to get the streaks of mud and goo going down the huge flanks before we go early vote and take my wife out to dinner for her birthday.

Hello,

 The decals look great. How are you applying the "dust"? The blue hearts really look good on these pics. Very nice work.

 You and the Mrs. enjoy the evening!

 Best Regards,

 Mobious

Thanks Mobius! 

Usually for dust coats I'll put about 2ml of Tamiay Thinner X-20A in the paint cup and add about .1 to .2 ml of XF-60 Dark Yellow, or better yet XF-57 Buff depending on the tint I want for the dust. Basically 10 to 20% paint pigment to thinner.  I then just mist it back and forth and all over the tank.  For this beast I'm concentrating most of the dust along the flanks with heavier emphasis along the bottom half.

Hey Espins

Once again, great thread and fantastic job on the build. I'm a bit confused about one point though. In a previous post you mentioned that you had to add some links in addition to those required by the instructions. I'm about to start one of these and my instructions tell me that 61 links per side are required. When i count the links in yours, i come up with 61 also. Perhaps Tamiya have corrected an error in the instruction sheet and i can go with it (??).

Cheers 

I went to put on the tracks and found that I'm 4 links short on each side!  " border="0" width="15" height="15" />  That's what I get for trusting the directions...

 Hello,

 espins1, really like the way "Dust" lightens the overall subject, very subtle. Be giving that a try also.

 Thanks again,

 Mobious

Scott - Sorry I have not spoken up on this thread.....(I'm a bad boy!!!)....but went back through and as usual another great build.

First HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your lovely wife. Before any of this stuff....the household 6 is most important. I hope she had a great time at dinner!

(And now we will return to our normal programming) Like the the idea of the "spary wash" for dust. Nice decals...(were the hearts for the wife????).

I'll keep my eye on things...hopefully not get side tracked so long again.

Rounds Complete!!

Looks great, Scott!

espins1 wrote:

I still need to do some oil washes on the turret and next up will be an attempt to get the streaks of mud and goo going down the huge flanks

 This is the fun part! 

 Rick

Thanks guys.

Fast Heinz - you are correct.  I must have made my runs short by only having 57 links.  That's what I get for assembling the tracks under the influence of a good bottle of Cabernet 

Mobius - The light dusting technique is pretty good for any build as it helps to blend everything together very nicely in addition to replicating the layers of dust that build up so quickly.

Thanks for the Birthday wishes for the Mrs. The kids took us out for dinner and we had a really nice time.  It was nice having them pick up the tab for a change. 

Here are a few shots after some "mud washes".  I wish I had some MIG pigments in the stash as I think they would be perfect for the effect I'm looking for.  Unfortunately I was building the Char for the Blitzkrieg GB over at Armorama and didn't think of using them until it was too late to order them in time.  Basically what I did for the mud streaks is put little blobs of Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna oils on the top of the slab sides just under the tracks.  Then using just straight turpenoid and a wide brush I dabbed the turpenoid loaded brush along the edge of blogs so the pigments would run down the sides.  I also put a blob of burnt umber in each of the mud shoots and ran turpenoid through the shoots from the top (since I had opened them up earlier in the build )

Pretty Cool!  You achieved some nice effects using your oils and washes. I might suggest feathering out some of the harder wash edges just a little - just my opinion.

Rick

I may add a bit more mud actually, I was using images like this as my guide.