Shelf Queen - Panzer III H

Here's the Dragon Panzer III Ausf. H I pulled off the shelf a few weeks ago after it sat for at least the last four years.  It was just a simple out of the box build at the time, but when I pulled it off the shelf and blew off the dust bunnies I decided to spruce it up a bit.  The kit was completely built, but other than some red brown paint in a few places,  it needed some new paint and TLC.  It is beginning to show its age against some of the newest offerings from Dragon, but I decided to see what I could do.

I broke out my ancient copy of Achtung Panzer No. 2 and began adding a few details here and there.  I started off by adding the conduit for the lights from lead solder which turned out to be a royal pain.  Getting both sides to match up proved to be quite a challenge.  The solder is easy to work with, but it is also easy to damage.  I had to be careful to avoid pinching it with the tweezers I was using to shape it.  I noticed that Dragon now includes this conduit in some of their newer kits and this will no doubt save a lot of frustration.

I usually like to build my own storage boxes for my models, but in the interest of time I ordered some Tank Workshop tool boxes and used one of the long ones on the back deck. I studied some reference photos from various divisions on the Eastern Front and noticed that there was really no standard way of mounting the boxes on the back, so I designed a makeshift rack using some Evergreen angle and strip stock.  I superglued a thin sheet of styrene to the bottom of the box to hide the mold plug scar.  This made it easier to glue the angle to the bottom of the box. I then glued the two outer strips to the back of the frame and trimmed each piece by eye until I was satisfied that the box was level.  Once this was glued to the rear deck it was easy to add the two inside strips.  I finished up by adding some hex bolt heads made with a UMM hex punch and die.

I also added handles for the kit tool clasps.  I found some old Elefant photo-etch (I'm not sure they're still in business.) parts and used them to add detail to the kit tools. While I was doing this I also added some bolt and strip detail here and there.  I added some spare tracks from an old Tamiya Panzer III L kit since they had the same solid guide horns as the kit tracks.  I drilled out the ends and shaved off the track pin detail to improve the detail a bit.  I also sourced some other Tamiya parts like the tow cable ends, track pins, tail light, and an extra shovel stowed on the rear deck.  I also added some wing nuts to the jack and used some Archer surface details to add the rivets to the turret stowage bin, the back of the tool box, the jack block and the front fender hinges. They are expensive, but I highly recommend them.

I didn't want to go over board on the crew equipment since the storage box was pretty large and would hold a lot of equipment.  For the stowage I found an Armand Bayardi box that I liked and checked the parts box for some crew gear. I found some helmets that I believe came from an old Tamiya Panzer II and a hammer from another Dragon kit.  I then broke out the Magic Sculp and made an air recognition flag and some tarps for the rear deck.  I pressed the helmets into the tarps after I had them positioned the way I wanted and being careful to avoid blocking any of the vents on the rear deck.

I haven't quite decided on the paint yet, but I'm thinking 11th Panzer Division.

M4A3 Sherman with 105MM Howitzer

 This is the Dragon 1/72 scale kit. I am so amazed that anyone would actually use the photo etched parts on this. I opted for the plastic parts so that I could still pick them up with a tweezer. Anyone need a new set of photo etch for a Sherman?

I completed the main kit out of the box and painted OD green with Enamel. Then I added the detail stowage and repainted. I dullcoated then covered with a thin black wash. More dullcoat and a basic dusting of the white enamel. Then I mared up the white patern by wetbrushing Laquer Thinner on areas of wear.

Then I glosscoated with Floor Wax and added the decals. I then dulcoated again to seal in the decals and sprayed white again. This provided the look that the white wash had been applied several times in the field.

At this pont I handpainted the details of the stowage and gear with base colors of green and grey-yellow for the boxes. Another coat of laquer dull and then the main brown / black oil wash. More dullcoating and a final touch up of oil colors on the boxes and stowage. After a final sealing of dullcoat, I drybrushed the details.

Vince Barrale  Aug 14-2012

Russia - Testing Tanks on the Coast

Always nice to look at...

http://englishrussia.com/2012/08/12/testing-tanks-on-the-coast/

Fred

as i said and everybody knows that in ww2 the use what they can find to shoot back  here is this pictures of the captured german tank destroyer

IPMS USA 2012 is in the books.
David Hogue - aircraft and ship builder got 1 ist 1 2nd in aircraft, 2 2nd in ships and 1 3rd in aircraft dioramas
Ed Rains got a 1st in large comp aircraft doramas
James Sharp McKinney Tx got a 3rd in OOB Softskins
I got a 2nd in OOB tracked open top and a 2nd in Halftracks and Armored cars.

Here are the photos of these two.

I will see the IPMS folks on tuesday.
Tom

As of Noon today there were approximately 490 armor models on the table. I placed 15 so I have about 3% of the armor Models on the tables.

Guessing Game Time!!!!!
One of these photos has a glaring error. can you pick it out?
First person to post a comment that has the correct answer wins a prize!

Here are some photos.

Anders Bike Shop Details

I stumbled on this web site. It has stunning dioramas. They are more at the bottom of the web page too. No armor for us :-) but amazing talent and technique.

I love the metal chips around the lathe...

http://www.modvid.com.au/html/body_anders_bike_shop_details.html

Enjoy!
Fred

Here are some photos from last night.
I could not get any internet access via the Disney guest network till this afternoon.
I'll post somemore tonight.
Tom

 Model room

 Rather impressive diorama

Diorama based on the movie Red Tails. A lot of work, but has serious flaws.

End of day 1 travel from Houston to Pensacola Fl. Missed the USS Alabama in Mobile Bay. Missed the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. Maybe some day after I retire I'll come back and visit.

Fairly nice beach, but by 8:00pm it was packed with people.

More tomorrow if I see anything interesting

Tom

Here are some photos of my entries to the IPMS Nationals to be held in Orlando later this week.
I'll try to post some photos of interesting models during the show.

That is 11 1/35 scale, 3 1/72 scale and 1 1/16 scale for a total of 15 models.

Tom

o.k guys once again and regarding the last meeting about making your own tank idea into something that we can build  well i found this pictures long ago and seems that someone have the same weird idea.......i guess that our hobby is an art....enjoy

Here are some in process photos of the StuG I'm building

Tom

Wirbelwind in 1/35 scale

I used the old Tamiya kit, mostly from the box. I added some minor stowage and a few hooks and and antenna. After assembling the Flackvierling, I drilled out the gunsight and added in stretched sprue as the cross hairs. After completing all pinting, I filled the sight with Krystal Klear.

I painted it in various sections keeping the turret, gun and chassis separate while I detailed. I started with a dark gray base coat and then slowly added the color pattern of light tan, light green and  light chestnut.  With several layers of gloss coat between the decals and dullcoats between the model master enamels and the oil washes, I managed to get the proper weathered effect. I dabbed metalizer dark aluminum on the edges as paint wear and added final washes of dark brown and black.

Vince Barrale  July 21, 2012

Here are a couple of photos of the 1/16 scale Sherman and US Halftrack that have made it to the paint table.

More photos as I get more done.
Tom

o.k i found this in the net .........is a joke i guess that someone made up........never heard of tatamiya brand before........