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


PlaStix

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For my next project I have decided to do something outside a GB again. Last year, I realised, every build I had done had been done as part of a GB and so I promised myself I would do more kits outsdie GBs this year. This will only be my second but, I started the year with a non-GB project and I'm going to end the year in the same way. Having recently built two Shermans in GBs (Meng's Toon Sherman in the Blitzbuild GB and Dragon's 1/72nd M4A1(76)W VVSS in the Radial Engines Rock GB) I was initially thinking of making another Sherman in the same GB. I then realised the M3/M4 GB starts at the end of this year and felt I might get Shermaned out. I thoroughly enjoyed building Dragon's 1/72nd Sherman so thought I could risk trying my first 1/35 Dragon kit. Having looked at the few I have in the stash I opted for a smaller project first:

6A4D6C5D-CAE4-4D13-85D3-69517EEC0722

 

I got it a while back in Ian Allen's Bookshop in Brum and, having looked at the contents, I reckon it was a bit of a bargain:

1F51D3D1-BD27-4F88-8DF1-5787E06D118B

I know it sometimes retails around the £40 mark but still........

 

Back of the box:

41887CF0-5CCC-447C-A4A5-6089DBBB00BA

 

and the sides:

D3F60B64-87C1-4F4C-B708-4AB54243948E

 

7712ECB3-89B0-4258-B41C-1A465D1201D5

 

All of the versions this kit builds in to appear to have a worn whitewash finish so this will also be a first for me.

 

So, as usual, I'll start with some photos of the contents:

Sample of the instructions:

F3F48832-3E28-4902-85E4-10D657698512

 

38041946-29E3-4A9C-902C-64E163B04FB3

 

96207A26-7ED4-4DE4-AF99-CD43A65F5356

 

The plastic - and there's a lot - although if you check out the first instruction page above you can see stuff not used in the blue blocks:

8111F171-B0DC-4414-9AEB-4CF8DA389719

 

C9ADF8BB-25E5-4491-A8B7-0195A377A2B9

 

9D332187-546D-41DC-A89E-23A674636CA0

 

C0271567-936C-483D-8B7E-7C40B3ADE85B

 

B59FABDF-C9FA-490F-82B1-E0CF1E8B141F

 

4D496631-DA6B-4913-BED3-C73EE3B30280

 

19DBEDE1-5274-46E8-A7F2-CB28BDD7E729

 

F6C254AF-6070-4B33-A313-70631A7037C6

 

08F563F4-1E8E-41BF-AB68-DAF58E09636D

 

DDA2F762-E133-4FDF-92FF-6692CDFCCA23

 

and 2x these:

A4C6FA79-25BC-4C8E-94E7-DCAF63C041F7

 

Lower hull:

1A5E80C6-521B-45DB-93F1-F1A6FD949653

 

Turret:

457BC2E0-E010-4967-BEE4-CAB514348AB5

 

Tracks - these are the Magic Tracks but there are two ejection marks on each piece - which is a bit annoying:

350C0DBC-7790-493E-BA42-04A4632360B2

 

Photoetch and decals:

ECF052F0-3CAB-42FE-A10C-B07370E766C2

 

Clear parts:

5FCCF829-F664-4EC6-ABF7-0AEBC64D272B

 

Some closeups of some details on the lower hull:

C1225279-B017-40A5-B00B-BFD4E570551B

 

6B3C0630-F863-4849-AB3F-18CABF423F3F

 

Over the weekend I had a lovely time assembling parts onto the lower hull:

7B8096A4-336C-4A35-BCD8-9CC8E2BE3430

 

E60909BB-AACC-47F0-A6F7-D100AF0D0BD6

 

C903A1CC-2C56-4F69-8402-FD8405226591

 

19E4F5C9-34B3-408A-94E5-33184F5DA8BA

 

347B3219-00A0-454F-AB9B-43E385B69C10

 

Including the first couple of pieces of PE:

5FADED75-D85F-42BD-AA15-30E83625C50A

 

D00AB9A0-A1E0-4393-AB0B-A071D60AB87B

 

D522297B-EACE-490C-9E7E-43EE33CC908D

 

Fit has been mostly very good although the instructions leave a little to the imagination. Some of the diagrams do not show the whole picture which results in a bit of guesswork here and there. I have been using Brian Krueger's review from IPMS/USA to help me as he has lots of very useful suggestions of what to look out for during the making of this kit.

 

There are some seam lines to remove on some parts but no flash so far. Speaking of seam lines - I also started work on the running gear wheels - all of which require the seam lines removing from the centre of the tyres.

 

More next weekend when I will hopefully be getting the painting started.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited by PlaStix
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Glad to see that you are staying with the dark side Styx, and you're having a go at the only WW2 German tank that I like. I've got the lllM/N in the stash and hoping to start it once I get some A/M items for it.

 

John.

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I had to laugh at the guff on the back of the box:

 

'Engineered for modelling enjoyment'.      Well, that's handy. Better than 'Engineered for modelling frustration' I suppose.

 

'Ready for immediate assembly'.   Really? So no having to cut the parts from sprues then?

 

Apart from that type of nonsense, the kit does look very nice indeed. I look forward to your first attempt at winter camo and am secretly hoping you completely mess it up and have to bin it! :D:D

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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21 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Glad to see that you are staying with the dark side Styx, and you're having a go at the only WW2 German tank that I like. I've got the lllM/N in the stash and hoping to start it once I get some A/M items for it.

John.

Hi John. Yes I do like the AFVs - in some ways I do find them more relaxing (mostly) than aircraft builds although I also love building aircraft too! I will watch out for your build of the IIIM/N.

Kind regards,

Stix

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20 hours ago, Badder said:

I had to laugh at the guff on the back of the box:

'Engineered for modelling enjoyment'.      Well, that's handy. Better than 'Engineered for modelling frustration' I suppose.

'Ready for immediate assembly'.   Really? So no having to cut the parts from sprues then?

Do you not feel their promotional/motivational 'guff' is appropriate then! :D

 

20 hours ago, Badder said:

I look forward to your first attempt at winter camo and am secretly hoping you completely mess it up and have to bin it! :D:D

Rearguards,

Badder

Nice.....thanks! ;)

Well I'll give it a go. I must admit, as I brush paint, whitewash could be....er.....interesting. No hairspray technique for me. I have a plan and tested it and I think it will work.

It's been a while since I had to bin a kit so I may due another soon. Last one that went binwards was due to me not using spraycan matt varnish well. Made a bit of a claggy mess!

Kind regards,

Stix

 

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6 minutes ago, PlaStix said:

Well I'll give it a go. I must admit, as I brush paint, whitewash could be....er.....interesting. No hairspray technique for me. I have a plan and tested it and I think it will work.

It's been a while since I had to bin a kit so I may due another soon. Last one that went binwards was due to me not using spraycan matt varnish well. Made a bit of a claggy mess!

You'll be all right; a lot of winter camo was applied by brush anyway! And I expect a lot of it was just poured on straight out of the bucket, then spread around using a broom.

I'm interested to see what you do. I suspect though that your first winter camo will turn out better than you expect.

Rearguards,

Badder

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A nice choice, it seems a very complete kit, and with the discount, more appealing yet.
If I'm not mistaken, is this your first tank to 1/35 scale? I do not remember seeing any of you, only the 1/48 that you dominate.
If so, it will be an interesting change ...:popcorn: watching with interest, cheers Stix  :yes:

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On 02/10/2017 at 18:46, Gremlin56 said:

Nice subject Stix, Dragon always manages to field an amazing part count. The price was very right too ! :yes:

Hi Julian. I do like the Pz IIIs and I see what you mean about Dragon's part count! :hypnotised: it's the size of some of the parts too - some are sooooo small. I've just finished Dragon's 1/72 Sherman kit but I'm pretty sure some of the parts in this 1/35 kit are smaller than the majority of those in the 1/72nd kit! I'm also pretty sure I have read a few times that modellers switch to 1/35 as their eyesight and dexterity gets worse but I reckon, looking at this kit, that they could just as easily stay with 1/72!!

 

On 02/10/2017 at 19:41, clive_t said:

Good lord, that's some parts inventory you're having to get through! Looking forward to seeing how this progresses :popcorn:

Hi Clive ........you’re quite correct - there,s a lot!

 

On 02/10/2017 at 20:34, Kris B said:

I've got few Pz. III in stash and agreed with John, one of the best looking WWII tanks. Will be following. 

Hi Kris. Knowing your modelling skills I will definitely be on the lookout for your Pz. III builds in future.

 

On 03/10/2017 at 08:58, Blaubar said:

Just a lovely tank and so many parts, enjoy the build. Panzer IIIs are so cute.

Hi Blaubar - thank you and I think you are right - there is something about a Pz. III.

 

On 03/10/2017 at 09:12, modelling minion said:

Nice choice Stix, the Panzer III is one of those tanks which just looks right (well it does to me anyway).

I look forward to seeing what you can do with the winter finish, I'm sure it will look great.

Hi Craig and thank you. It is odd how many people like the Pz. III - I think the designers were right on the mark with the appearance of this one.

 

On 03/10/2017 at 13:31, Badder said:

You'll be all right; a lot of winter camo was applied by brush anyway! And I expect a lot of it was just poured on straight out of the bucket, then spread around using a broom.

I'm interested to see what you do. I suspect though that your first winter camo will turn out better than you expect.

Rearguards,

Badder

Thank you Badder but I'll wait and see.....fingers crossed!

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

 

 

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On 03/10/2017 at 14:38, Ozzy said:

Nice bargin their Stix, looks like you've made a  productive start.

Hi Ozzy. I think it was a bargain too - I reckon I was lucky to be there at the right time!:thumbsup: Enjoying the build so far.

 

On 03/10/2017 at 17:38, BlackMax12 said:

Yup, I'm waiting on the "brush applied" winter camo too.  Should be authentic and interesting.  I have a really big bin out back if you want to send me some of your stuff.

Lloyd

Hi Lloyd - me too............ if this one's not going well I'll PM you for your address! ;)

 

21 hours ago, BerndM said:

The right kit in the right hands. Happy modelling with this one.

Hi Bernd. That is very kind of you, thank you. :thumbsup:

 

13 hours ago, Ripaman said:

Another build to watch :Tasty:, will learn lots from this .

Regards

Richard

Thank you Richard - and yeah there could be lots to learn - possibly what not to do!

 

1 hour ago, FrancisGL said:

A nice choice, it seems a very complete kit, and with the discount, more appealing yet.
If I'm not mistaken, is this your first tank to 1/35 scale? I do not remember seeing any of you, only the 1/48 that you dominate.
If so, it will be an interesting change ...:popcorn: watching with interest, cheers Stix  :yes:

Hi Francis and thank you for your comments. Yes it is very good kit - the reviews seem to rate it well.

I have made a few 1/35 kits before but not one from Dragon. The first 1/35 kit I made was Tamiya's old Pz. II,:

18309204802_33ca9d5bfe_c.jpg

 

next was AFV Club's Vietnam Centurion:

24034635226_9a73dedf7d_c.jpg

 

and earlier this year I made Tamiya's newish Panther D.:

33379220802_d367008d2b_c.jpg

 

Hopefully this Pz. III will go okay.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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I think that some of the Chinese offerings are slightly over engineered Stix, having a tendency to turn relatively simple components into complex multi part constructions. Meng also has this habit. In spite of this minor gripe they are very nicely detailed models to build.

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Hi Julian. Yes I can see what you mean about the over engineering. In a couple of places so far I have been amazed about how small some of the parts are that I have added alongside bigger parts that are already moulded in place!

I'm certainly looking forward to doing some more work on this tomorrow.

Knd regards,

Stix

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Nice progress. I don't envy you with those tiny parts. (the kit parts. I wasn't being personal)

 

I should stop looking at these WIPs. It just makes me want to put the dio aside for a couple of months and get some vehicles done.

My stash of AFVs is growing all the while and has doubled in number since starting it!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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20 hours ago, Badder said:

Nice progress. I don't envy you with those tiny parts. (the kit parts. I wasn't being personal)

I should stop looking at these WIPs. It just makes me want to put the dio aside for a couple of months and get some vehicles done.

My stash of AFVs is growing all the while and has doubled in number since starting it!

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder and thank you for your comments.

I'm not surprised your stash is growing if you are still collecting while creating your evolving scenic masterpiece!

 

Today I started by finishing removing all the seams from the tires using a file and very fine wet'n'dry paper:

71EF0645-5859-436F-A76A-F93158E6A358

 

I also had to fit some PE - for some reason each idler section requires 3 parts to make a complete circle:

74CCF023-0593-447E-88CB-A9FBECFAD912

 

Then I started to apply some thinned, with water, Revell Tank Grey using flat brushes:

D111F55D-1C4F-4F1D-81F9-33201FB3A680

 

2D8A67DF-EFC8-44C9-B0B4-4B71CE0155D3

 

Finally I got the the lower hull painted in the same fashion:

F5484862-DE5F-4273-B89E-EE8348E4B3E2

 

5C328ABC-2DE7-408E-B407-962289260AA3

 

I have to say the Revell acrylic paint went on really well.

 

Tomorrow I will start some basic weathering on these.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix 

Edited by PlaStix
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3 hours ago, PlaStix said:

I also had to fit some PE - for some reason each idler section requires 3 parts to make a complete circle:

More of a mystery is why there is any PE there at all !?

Superb finish with the hairy sticked paint, but I'm not at all surprised.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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