Tamiya 1/35 Char B1 bis *WIP*

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. 

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.

Hello,

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

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

 Mobious

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?  

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

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.

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.

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!  

Looking cool, Scott!

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

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. 









 

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

 Hello,

 Fine looking camo. Looking back over your WIP and noticed the number of roadwheels the Char-B had. Wow, that's a lot of wheels. A really well executed build, the paint looks great. Be looking forward to weathering. Best of luck with the research project sounds very intriguing. Have read a couple books on the "Blitzkrieg Era" but nothing really detailed enough to list individual tanks or commanders.

 Keep up the excellent work, hope you're feeling better.

 Mobious

You wield a steady brush, my friend!  That looks excellent. 

Have you tried silly putty for hard edge?  My Char B was my first attempt.  Used it many times since for hard edge.

Thanks guys.  I appreciate the comments and the interest.  The tracks were an absolute dream to assemble.  They've been painted, and metallic gray has been drybrushed on the upper surfaces.

The camouflage has been painted     Much of it was done by hand so the pattern would have a hard edge to it.  I used Tamiya Acrylics (as always) and thinned it a bit more than 50% so it would flow well and be brush mark free.  I then painted the outlines for the green striping so I could fill them in using the airbrush, although the turret was done entirely by hand.  I got the idea of hand painting the outlines from an excellent article that Mike Rinaldi did documenting his builds of 4 different Char B1 bis in MMiR.  I had to go back over some of the tan areas, again with highly thinned paint to fix a bit of the green over spray here and there.  Up next, decals!

Looking real killer.  Your Char is an odd duck, and I must resist the urge.  To buy one that is.  Between your wip and wbill76's would make such adventure alot easier.  Keep up the great work.

Off to the basement, my tiger is crying for some more washes.

 Hello,

 Great lOOking build, espins1. Tracks look great. Looking forward to comparison pics.

 Best Regards,

 Mobious

espins1 wrote:

the doog wrote: Hey Scott--that's looking great! How big is this sucker? Can you take a shot next time next to a Sherman or a Tiger for comparison? Thanks Karl and you bet!  I'll post a pic with my Tiger I S33 "Das Reich" tonight.

Whoops, forgot to take the photo last night, had a brutal headache when I got home which was cured by some red wine and an early bed time. 

adb2323 wrote:

Hi Scott, nice work on the bis so far. (I have the German version waiting to be built...)  I have a question regarding the Tamiya surface primer.  Are you using the bottled primer and airbrushing it? If so, how much do you thin it and what thinner do you use?  Thanks, Al B.

Thanks Al.  The Tamiya primer I'm using comes in a "rattle can", so I just quickly spray it in even strokes.  

Hi Scott, nice work on the bis so far. (I have the German version waiting to be built...)  I have a question regarding the Tamiya surface primer.  Are you using the bottled primer and airbrushing it? If so, how much do you thin it and what thinner do you use? 

Thanks,

Al B.

the doog wrote:

Hey Scott--that's looking great! How big is this sucker? Can you take a shot next time next to a Sherman or a Tiger for comparison?

Thanks Karl and you bet!  I'll post a pic with my Tiger I S33 "Das Reich" tonight.

Hey Scott--that's looking great!

How big is this sucker? Can you take a shot next time next to a Sherman or a Tiger for comparison?