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Tamiya 1/35th Hetzer.


Siggi

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How have you all been? Well I trust. There has been some great work done since I was last here (I've been having a good look around since yesterday). I've just returned from a month in Japan, visiting my wife and kids (they're there for a year so the kids can become fluent in their mother toungue). While in Kyoto I found a new shop (wasn't there 14 years ago when I lived there) that would make you drool. Stuff on the shelves you'd be hard pressed to find online back here. I was on a tight budget though, so there was no gorging unfortunately. Not even a nibble as it happens. Oh, the agony! :lol:

Anyway, my last model was the King Tiger, in a thread here somewhere. I've just got through washing the Tamiya Hetzer (mid production) in detergent, already have the Fruil tracks for it (bought the model and tracks over a year ago) and have just ordered the Eduard etch for it. I intend to take pictures as I go, as I did with the KT, for your and my jollification. I've come up with a genre now though; 'Lost Panzers'. I intend to model a series of Panzers that have lain undiscovered over the years since the war. Somewhat fanciful, I know, though Bulgaria gives me some licence. Each will be mounted in a Tamiya display case on a dioramic setting.

So hey ho, off I go, watch this space and all that jazz. :)

Edited by Siggi
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Hey what gives?

You didn't even say good bye! You can't just go and take a powder on us with out prior approval you know. I was beginning to think that you thought you were too good for the likes of us.

I have not finished anything since the Panther and I blame you entirely. I have even been poking around in my aircraft stash again.

Anyway it's good to have you back with us buddy... NOW LETS GET BACK TO WORK!

Dave Shaw

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Hey what gives?

You didn't even say good bye! You can't just go and take a powder on us with out prior approval you know. I was beginning to think that you thought you were too good for the likes of us.

I have not finished anything since the Panther and I blame you entirely. I have even been poking around in my aircraft stash again.

Anyway it's good to have you back with us buddy... NOW LETS GET BACK TO WORK!

Dave Shaw

I'm congenitally bewildered, I barely know when I'm coming or going myself. :hypnotised:

I'm all ready to start (cleared my PC desk), just waiting for the etch to arrive as I don't know exactly which parts in the kit are replaced.

So yes...back to work! What tickles your fancy sir, other than a plane?

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The etch has arrived and I've been poring over it with an ever increasing sense of puzzlement. There's nothing wrong with it in itself (except the instruction-sheets, which are direly inadequate), the quality and detail are superb. What I'm finding is that even major parts of it are either no improvement over the kit's excellent level/crispness of detail (some are actually inferior) or they'll be totally invisible. There are two beautiful, and large, pieces of mesh for instance. On the kit they would be hidden under the edges of the hull and invisible unless the tank was upside-down. Except...the fender-plates mount so closely to the mesh parts that even upside-down the mesh would be hidden. Maybe they do it to justify a higher cost? There are two sheets of the stuff and I'm wondering if what's actually useful could fit onto one and halve the price (the set came in at £12).

There's plenty that is useful though, either providing bits that are way too fine to reproduce in plastic or replace parts that are inferior in the kit. Some of it's pretty intimidating. I've used etch before and it's never been an entirely satisfactory experience (pieces of mashed-up brass superglued to fingertips etc), but I'm going to give this a good go. :)

hetzer_etch.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've finally got started. The etch has gone more smoothly than I anticipated (I haven't welded any to my fingers yet, or reduced any to crumpled balls of brass). The kit itself goes together like a Swiss watch.

etchfenders.jpg

hetzer01.jpg

I recommend the Minichamps display cases at £15 a pop, which are less than half the price of the similarly-sized Tamiya ones (£36).

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They're definitely a "brain off" type of job, aren't they? They certainly look the part if your kit tracks are a bit crap though, don't they :)

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They're definitely a "brain off" type of job, aren't they? They certainly look the part if your kit tracks are a bit crap though, don't they :)

I have no doubt the tracks supplied with the kit could be made to look just as good, but with about ten times the effort. But it's not just that I'm lazy, it's that the 'real thing' can't be beat, which is what these are effectively. :)

Everything has had the base-coat of rust (Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown) and a coat of Future.

hetzer03.jpg

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The plan is...

go to work with pigment powders and stuff, to get the full rust effect, then seal it all with another coat of Future before applying hairspray and the camo. Then I'll try not to knock off too many bits of etch while working back through to the rust. I've ordered some stencils for the markings as I have no intention of spoiling any more models with decals (never did get the hang of those, despite all the magic potions I've tried over the years).

I'm intending to use enamels, unless anyone advises that they won't work well with the hairspray? I'm not sure how easy it'll be to get warm water to go through enamels so I was considering using dilute thinners (diluted with water).

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Good to see you back Siggi.

Looking forward to the painting on this one.

Thanks OH. :)

I've done some powdering, various shades of dark brown to orange Migs made into a slurry with distilled water and mashed all over. No real science to it, just going with the flow and hoping for the best. Future on top, still drying. The tonal variation is much better when it's wet.

hetzer04.jpg

Edited by Siggi
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Ho hum, back to the salt. I shot two tests on the belly, both enamel, one over silicone oil and the other over hairspray. The oil has potential but would maybe be better with acrylic as the enamel seemed to smear and leave a tone over the rust. On the hairspray it just completely came away.

So, salt with hairspray to fix it in place (previous uses of this technique have seen the airbrush blasting the salt off, not good). And going with acrylic again.

hetzer05.jpg

Edited by Siggi
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This is it, the bit I've been waiting for!

The build went nicely, very clean work, but it's the paint I've been holding out for.

I was just thinking of trying this sort of thing the other day when I was painting the chips on my panzer IV the old fashion way. Painting the whole thing in natural steel colors, rust, gunmetal, and so on, then having a go with the salt or hair spray seems like it would be much easier and more realistic. Your last post does not give me too much hope as I am a strict enamel man. I can't say that I've heard about using silicone though. It was my understanding that salt was just fixed in place with water.

I suppose I'll need to break out the scrap plastic and see what kind of mess I can make out of it.

Well keep it up and I'll be watching for the next update.

Dave Shaw

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Hiya Dave.

I really did want to go back to enamels, I'm getting pretty tired of the airbrush becoming contantly clogged on acrylics. If the mix is thin enough to clear the nozzle at low PSI it goes onto the surface in a crap state and bleeds under the salt. If it's thick enough to leave a good finish I'm lucky if I get a couple of minutes without it clogging. It becomes very frustrating after a while.

But the problem with enamels is working through them. Not a problem with salt per se as that, generally, comes away with the paint over it quite easily. But for the more subtle effects, like wearing it away over hairspray or dealing with finer layers of salt, it's a bugger. Warm water doesn't touch it and white-spirit is too aggressive. Both salt and hairspray need warm water to reach them for the best effect. The trials and tribulations of airbrushing, eh? :banghead:

The silicone, I haven't used that with the salt. I tried it over the rust and a shot of enamel directly onto it, hoping it would allow the enamel to come away in some kind of useful fashion. I think the enamel just mixed with it, causing it to discolour the rust when I rubbed it away.

Edited by Siggi
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I'm getting pretty tired of the airbrush becoming contantly clogged on acrylics.

Have you tried a flow retarder? I keep wanting to as, many claim it solves all their acrylic problems, but I keep muddling through and cleaning my airbrush a lot. :confused:

BTW I think you've gone a bit heavy with the anti-skid texture on that tank. :analintruder:

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