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A scary STUG - finished


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:door:

I'm really quite scared about this one. It is way out of my comfort zone, so be prepared for it - and me - to crash and burn.

I'm most comfortable building aircraft. So this one will be an AFV.

I'm not in the least bit comfortable building figures. So this one will have six of the blighters!

Stug001.jpg

And I'm going to go totally harpic* by putting it on a base. :mental:

* other toilet cleaners are available

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Having built a few of these Tamiya 1\48 AFV kits, you've got nothing to worry about.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the kit and the figures.

Karl

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Looks a nice project, variety is the spice of life Enzo.

True! I'm hoping to learn some new techniques with this one. And even if I do crash and burn, I'll have had fun in the meantime.

Besides, it's not like it's the first time that you lot have seen me crash and burn... :lol:

Anyway, here are the parts in the box. As with many of these Tamiya kits, the hull is cast in metal.

Stug002.jpg

Stug003.jpg

Stug004.jpg

There are two of these sprues

Stug005.jpg

Stug006.jpg

Stug007.jpg

On to the figures.

Stug008.jpg

They are superb.

Stug009.jpg

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Looking forward to following this one Enzo. Tamiya’s 1/48 AFV kits that I have built have been an absolute joy! The detail in this scale is amazing. :popcorn:

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Rightly or wrongly I always associate the Eastern front with hordes of assault guns and extemporised tank destroyers sweeping majestically across the plains. Good to see one of them being represented.

Those figures look really nice. Must try some historical ones instead of the usual Warhammer.

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Stug010.jpg

The lower hull is cast in metal with some of the detail parts added in injection moulded plastic.

Stug011.jpg

You can't tell which bits are plastic and which are metal after it has been painted. This is a coat of Lifecolor UA251 Dunkelgelb Deep Shade. I have washed the details with Lifecolor TSC208 Tensocrom Smoke and started to drybrush Lifecolor PG106 Damp Dust pigment as I start to build up the mud on the running gear.

Stug012.jpg

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Good to see you've got this started. When I first built one of the Tamiya kits with a metal hull, I was worried as to how well it would take paint - I use acrylics thinned with water - but I was pleasantly surprised - if anything I thought it seemed to go on better than on the plastic! Looks like your paint has covered well.

Kind regards,

Stix

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Next step is to build the upper hull.

Stug013.jpg

And now comes the fun bit. This vehicle will be a bit muddy...

Stug014.jpg

The mud is successive layers of Lifecolor PG106 Damp Dust pigment which have been fixed with Mig fixer. I'm attempting to build up some texture.

The upper hull was sprayed with Lifecolor UA250 Dunkelgelb Ground Colour. The interior of the gun mounting and some other shadowed areas were sprayed with UA251 Dunkelgelb Deep Shade.

Everything is then made a bit grubby with washes of Flory Models Grime and Mud Brown weathering washes, which were removed as soon as they were dry, leaving a bit of a residue. Corners and panel lines were highlighted with Mig Cold Grey weathering wash, while some rust on various edges was represented with spots of Tamiya XF69 Nato Black.

Stug015.jpg

And bunged together for a quick look at how it's evolving.

Stug016.jpg

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Thanks for the comments, everyone. I have to stress that I'm making this up as I go along... :) I'm rather pleased with how it has turned out and it almost seems a shame to cover it with white camouflage.

Mind you, it could all turn to worms very quickly... :lol:

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And here's where I really do take a walk on the wild side. Please note: I'm not shaving my legs. Well, not again... :lol:

The base is a laser-cut MDF movement tray intended for wargaming figures.

Stug017.jpg

The scenery will be built up from carboard recovered from various reinforced envelopes. If you've ever ordered decals from Hannants, you'll know the sort of thing I mean.

Stug018.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

There has been a bit of movement on this one. Tracks are painted and fitted. The colour is Vellejo Panzer Aces Track Primer.

Stug019.jpg

Here's where it could all go pear shaped. The upper hull was given a few coats of MIG Productions heavy chipping effects, then a coat of matt white acrylic.

Stug020.jpg

Tjhen, following the destructions from Mig, the white was carefully chipped away using a stiff paintbrush and water. I'm attempting to wear away the white where the crew would climb on the vehicle. They have also painted over the vehicle markings and washed the white off again.

Stug021.jpg

Like so.

Stug022.jpg

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But wait... there's more! And now I really am making it up as I go along.

The base is made up from layers of thin card.

Stug023.jpg

And coated with generic polyfilla stuff from the local pound shop.

Stug024.jpg

PVA adhesive brushed on and model railway track ballast was scattered on.

Stug025.jpg

When is was all dried, I sprayed the whole thing with matt black car primer. At this point I got really carried away and forgot to photograph it... :wall:

The road way was then painted over with liberal applications of Wilder Daark Russian textured earth, both the stony and fine varieties. Grass was also applied as flock.

Stug026.jpg

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Looking good....Might it be worth cleaning the excess ballast out of the troughs for the tracks? Nothing spoils the look of a diorama more than a levitating tank! :winkgrin:

My thoughts exactly. The Stug will be glued to the base, so when it's in position I will add more of the textured earth around the tracks. But you are right, there are some bits of ballast that really need to go.

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