Winter Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.L - Dragon 1/35 - FINISHED and in the RFI section

[FrancisGL]

Very good progress, in your opinion, the product that you have used for the snow, is it worth it? Is the result real? I have one of that range, that of grass stepped on, and I did not like anything as it was.

Cheers Stix 

[Hamden]

 

That snow and mud build up is superb!

 

  Roger

[fatfingers]

Aye up Stix, 

 

Great work on the mud and snow. I always seem to hit a wall with weathering these days but this may just help push me along with it 😉

 

Regards

 

Steve

[Carius]

Interesting snow effect on the wheels and lower hull Stix 

[Ozzy]

I'm liking the snow paste Stix, I will keep an eye out for a pot.

[Gremlin56]

Great effect Stix, very subtle too

[PlaStix]

On 19/11/2017 at 21:35, clive_t said:

That looks properly brilliant, Stix! Technique duly noted, thank you 

Thank you Clive - that's very kind of you to say. Yes this snow stuff seems quite straight forward to use so far. I have seen others on the market but they seemed (to me) to be a bit more involved. i liked the idea of this one because it it similar to the mud products I have used before - fairly easy to apply and doesn't require anything else to keep it in place.

 

On 19/11/2017 at 21:41, Soeren said:

Looks good. Has it crystalline structure?

Thank you Soeren. Yes it does have a fine, gritty texture - finer than the mud products I have used before and it also has a very slight sparkle - which is difficult photograph unfortunately.

 

On 19/11/2017 at 21:49, Redcoat2966 said:

Superb Stix.........

Thank you very much!! 

 

On 20/11/2017 at 01:05, Badder said:

It's not easy, adding snow to a vehicle.

You first have to decide how cold the temperatures are, and how deep the snow is. Both have an influence over where and how the snow and ice gathers on the vehicle. And if you go for a lot of accumulation you end up hiding all of your diligent building and careful painting.

I don't envy you having to make those choices!

When I did my 'winter StuG' I watched a lot of WWII footage of tanks on the Eastern Front for reference. I would be surprised if you haven't done the same, so I look forward to seeing which path you take.

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder and thank you very much for your comments. Yes I have loads of images of tanks in winter now and have watched several videos online. My only problem is that they all look different from one and another! - so which to choose! I have seen some where they are only just starting to get a build up of snow - sort of frosty in places - and that's what I am going to aim for.....we'll see......... Like you say - using too much will obliterate all the nice detail on the kit.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

[PlaStix]

Hi Francis and thank you for your comments. I have to say I'm quite pleased with this snow product so far, but it is the only one I have used - so cannot compare it to any others. I think I have managed to get some quite fine effects and also some clumped effects - so there is variety in the result. I think I also like it because it is similar to the mud products I have used before. I haven't ever taken much notice of models at model shows with snow on so I don't know what these effects should look like on models other than what I see in photos on models online.

 

On 20/11/2017 at 09:54, Hamden said:

That snow and mud build up is superb!

Roger

Thank you very much Roger - you are very kind.

 

On 20/11/2017 at 13:21, fatfingers said:

Aye up Stix, 

Great work on the mud and snow. I always seem to hit a wall with weathering these days but this may just help push me along with it 😉

Regards

Steve

Hi Steve and thank you very much. I know what you mean about the weathering - it can be a bit daunting doing all the work on a model and then spend time trying to make it look worn and weathered. I do quite like the process I have found for building tanks - in small(ish) sub-assemblies. In some cases - like with the sides of the lower hull - it means I get the weathering done in these areas relatively early on.........weathering in stages!

 

On 20/11/2017 at 16:39, Carius said:

Interesting snow effect on the wheels and lower hull Stix 

  Thank you - but is that 'good' interesting or 'not so good' interesting? 

 

On 21/11/2017 at 11:53, Ozzy said:

I'm liking the snow paste Stix, I will keep an eye out for a pot.

Thank you Ozzy and I have to say, so far, I'm liking it too.

 

On 21/11/2017 at 16:08, Gremlin56 said:

Great effect Stix, very subtle too

Thank you very much Julian and that's okay then - because that's what I'm going for!! 

 

Yesterday evening I got a base layer of Revell's Anthracite on all the tracks I have assembled so far so, hopefully tomorrow, I can get the rest of the painting and weathering done on these tracks and start attaching them to the wheels.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

[Badder]

Same with camo nets Stix,

I made a great Tiger I hiding in a hedgerow with nets draped over it. I would post pics of it, only I can't find it!

 

Reaguards,

Badder

[Bullbasket]

Very nice, but more importantly, realistic weathering. Nice one Styx.

 

John.

[Blaubar]

Stix,

Well, these snow scenery depictions are so awesome once done and finished, but so hard to achieve I'd assume. Never done one, never will I guess, looking at your paint skills, and the structured progress you are showing, this is amazing. I am sure you will find the optimal scenario for your model and with our skills at hand, all will be good in the end. I look forward to seeing more from this. Prost

/Stefan

[PlaStix]

On 24/11/2017 at 14:39, Bullbasket said:

Very nice, but more importantly, realistic weathering. Nice one Styx.

John.

Hi John. That's very kind of you to say, thank you.

 

18 hours ago, Blaubar said:

Stix,

Well, these snow scenery depictions are so awesome once done and finished, but so hard to achieve I'd assume. Never done one, never will I guess, looking at your paint skills, and the structured progress you are showing, this is amazing. I am sure you will find the optimal scenario for your model and with our skills at hand, all will be good in the end. I look forward to seeing more from this. Prost

/Stefan

Hi Stefan. Thank you very much for your comments. This is the first time I have tried doing a winter finish so it's a bit of a steep learning curve at the moment. We will see what happens! 

 

I didn't get time to post an update over the weekend so this one is going to be lots of photos and possibly not the most interesting of content as I thought I'd share the way I built up the Dragon Magic Tracks. This isn't knew but I thought it might be useful to anyone who has got a similar build to do. If you already have a successful method (or no interest in track links) then I would skip this post!

 

Going back a a few weeks (I posted these photos earlier in the thread), if you remember these tracks arrive like this:

The pin marks are fairly noticeable and required removing - I used a scalpel. There is also the remains of the sprue join on the front of each guide horn - I used a blade again to remove these.

 

To join the individual tracks together I put a small amount of glue into each of the three recesses on the rear of each link. With the lower straight runs I worked out how many were needed and glued them together and left them to set

 

 

Then I worked out what how many links were needed to go from the lower runs to the idler and drive sprocket. As these were setting I introduced a slight curve to represent the sag:

 

With the lengths that go around the idler and sprockets I put the glue on and wrapped them around sprocket (which luckily is the same size as the idler):

 

Once set:

 

 

 

So I initially ended up with these:

 

So the above was all done before. Now the wheels, idler and drive sprocket are attached to the hull (although the drive sprocket is only held on by friction so it can still be turned) this weekend I decided I wanted to get the tracks fixed in place.

 

So first job this was to get the above painted with thinned Revell's Anthracite - please note all the paints I use are acrylics:

 

These were then given a dry-brushing with Humbrol's Gunmetal:

 

The areas where the wheels would run along the tracks were then masked before I used very thinned washes of Humbrol's Desert Yellow, then once dry, very thinned Humbrol's Dark Earth in places, followed by targeted washes of Railmatch's Light Rust and finally very, very, very thinned Revell's Light Grey:

 

......and with the tape removed and Gunmetal lightly dry-brushed over the sections that would come into most contact with the ground: 

 

 

Then, once dry, I test fitted the sections on the sprockets:

 

....and then tried these on the sides of the hull:

There is no glue involved with the links to the sprocket and the sprocket to the hull.

 

Next stage was to glue the lower straight section onto the wheels, followed by gluing the sections which join the sprocket and idler:

 

 

Then I did the same again on the other side:

 

 

Once these were set I began work on the top run. First I glued enough track links together to get from the drive sprocket to over the first return roller - I then draped it in place with a slight sag:

 

Then I glued enough links together to reach the second return roller and from the idler to the next roller:

The above are only glued to each other and not the already installed tracks.

 

Another view to show the sag:

 

Then I made up enough links to fill the gap:

 

 

I left the above links to set and then began doing exactly the same thing on the other side:

 

 

 

The result:

 

 

 

 

 

I had to make sure the sag was about even before leaving them to fully set.

 

Once I was sure they were completely set I carefully removed them:

 

While waiting for them to set I added mud and snow to the undersides of the side fenders - mud:

 

Snow:

 

I was trying to keep a similar look to the sides of the hull:

....and before you ask - yes they are the correct length - it's just the perspective in the photo!

 

The top runs were then painted in exactly the same way as the rest of the tracks (see above) and then glued in place:

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are now ready to have some mud and snow added - next weekend.

 

I'm sorry this is a bit of a long-winded post, with lots of photos, but I thought some might find it useful to see this process for assembling Magic Tracks. I found it fairly straight forward and I think it is easier than trying to glue them all together and draping them around the wheels, sprockets and idlers. They were certainly easier to paint in this way.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited November 28, 2017 by PlaStix

[clive_t]

Nice track work, good explanation too. Personally I like lots of photos, so absolutely no complaints from me! 

[AgentG]

Tracks look superb!

 

Good job sir.

 

G

[Bullbasket]

2 hours ago, PlaStix said:

I'm sorry this is a bit of a long-winded post, with lots of photos, but I thought some might find it useful to see this process for assembling Magic Tracks. I found it fairly straight forward and I think it is easier than trying to glue them all together and draping them around the wheels, sprockets and idlers. They were certainly easier to paint in this way.

No, not long winded. Just a master class in how to assemble Dragon Magic Tracks. I have the M/N version, but it's quite old. It's got 1995 on the box, but it also says something about containing new 40 cm tracks, so don't know if these are the Magic variety or not.

 

John.

[Gremlin56]

Super job done on the tracks there Stix, really excellent looking footware !

[Soeren]

I really like your dirt accumulations. They are not overdone, but they look really cold.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Soeren

[Badder]

Lovely work Stix.

Exactly the method I would use. And if you're going to portray the vehicle riding over uneven ground you just 'break' the tracks down into smaller sections along the bottom, adjust the road wheel positions to fit the terrain, create the bends in the links to suit and then join them - remembering all the while that bends increase the number of track links here, while decreasing them along the return - in effect the return becomes less saggy.

 

Looking forward to seeing the snow on the tracks. Of ALL the effects I think this is the hardest to get right, so good luck!

 

Rearguards

Badder

[fatfingers]

Aye up Stix,

 

Those tracks look like they're made of steel and heavy! Fantastic job

 

Regards,

 

Steve

[SimonT]

Very nice, great job on the tracks!

[Kris B]

Traks looks very good. 

[modelling minion]

Superb work Stix.

The weathering is looking absolutely spot on and the way you have done the tracks has worked really well. Thanks for sharing such a detailed "how to" guide, I'm sure this will be very helpful to any of us who might tackle these in the future, and the way you have weathered them is fantastic and very realistic.

[Blaubar]

Stix,

Bookmarked for future track assembly help! Great thread, getting better every day. Keep these informative and long posts coming, there can never be enough smart input.

The snow effects are building up nicely!

[Dads203]

Incredible work fella, brush painted is really hard to believe mate. nice one 

[Ozzy]

  on the tracks Stix.