Plasto

Looking good to me. nice project and well executed so far... Are you going to do a camo scheme on it?

Ok find something a mid grey tone ( such as a pot of paint) and shoot an image with that in the frame next to the model. When you find a free photo editing programme you can use this image to sample the grey tone from the paint pot to get the right colour balance. Also switch off the date stamp function.. HTH

Ok understood.. Giving the option would be a great idea.. Look forward to seeing the project develop. cheers Plasto

Sounds good. I’d be keen on one if it fits the Tamiya Panzer IV Ausf H. Creating masters then casting seems the way to go. Your curent thinking is only the modified hull not the turret? Cheers Plasto

Looks great.... You should knock out a conversion kit....

The model looks good. you might want to have a look at the white balance on those images they look really ‘red’ to me... which is a shame as the model looks great..

I found some time in between Panzer IV stuff to modify the figures and add in some Hornet heads.. I chopped off the Plastic heads and opened up a cavity in the neck with the Dremel and a tapered grinding stone and trimmed the Hornet Head to fit. The heads are US WW2 Tankers unsurprisingly.. I need to fill here and there but they Look good to me.. Thoughts and feedback welcomed.

So Tracks done and fitted.... Just needs final weathering now. Cheers Plasto

I've been advancing with the Panzer IV Ausf D I found a turret bin in the Academy German T-34 kit.. i attached it with some brass hinges. I then advanced to paint the model got a base coat of mahogany then Panzer grey and then a custom mix of tamiya paints for the RAL 8000 to get it in the ball park. I painted the tracks and the model got a gloss coat for the Star Decals and then a tinted semi gloss coat its had a bit of a light dust coat of buff... Still a bit to do on details and weathering.. But generally this is what it will look like

Here is what I know. The Buccaneer STGB elected to reschedule based on the Fact Airfix are releasing the new Buccaneer next year... Enzo asked us if we’d like to take the slot. so there you go... @Enzo Matrix perhaps can explain the situation.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment. I think it’s no problem to start printing now for assembly during the GB. Most GB’s feature kit set builds. So what is effectively a scratch built project is nice to see. Its also a new technology being showcased in the GB which I think is a cool thing. HTH Plasto

This is the best thread I’ve seen on the whole GB.. What 3D Cad package are you running for the design work??

Hi, Firstly appolgies to Francis. The Stug is looking great. Its a bit unfortunate the track colour debate has raised its head. Without hopefully ruining the thread which is about a nice model not metallurgy and mechanical wear characteristics of manganese steel. Anyhow by way way of considered reply.. Panzer Iv track links along with many ww2 era tracks were made from Hadfield/ manganese steel which is a common material for tracks as the physical properties of the material are well suited for the appliicarion. Each link is cast or forged and this means that the link ends up with a skin of oxide on the outer surfaces as part of that process. This oxide layer is tough and it’s this that forms the initial wearing surface of the track. So while it’s tough it’s also in contact with the ground so is subject to wear. The more it’s run the more it wears. Also what the terrain is will determine how quickly this occurs. At some point the outer oxide layer is worn away exposing the base material underneath. I agree the colour of a raw manganese steel casting of a link is greyish brown... These modern links are from manganese steel. you can see where the manufacturer has dressed the casting after manufacture with a surface grinder cutting through the surface skin to the fresh material. This panzer iv (also not in an eastern front repair shop) has tracks that look reasonably fresh. Finally this contemporary shot of a panzer iv in service shows what reasonably looks to be wear consistent with the wear mechanism of a manganese steel track link.. Note this vehicle is. 1. Actually in service 2. Has tracks that are probably a maximum of 2-3 years old. So each modeller has to make their minds up how they want to weather tracks generally for a representation of an in service vehicle. Have fun whatever you do.. Plasto..

That’s a really nice photo of a Panzer IV in a museum with heavily oxidised tracks.. I wonder where it was last run for any appreciable length of time???

Hi Plasto, I have to disagree strongly on the silver! Well, for German AFVs anyway. The fact is the shine is not down to exposed silver metal, but a misinterpretation of the 'shine' seen in WWII Black and White photos. Worn German tracks, and drive sprocket teeth etc are a glossy reddish-brown. The 'shine' is merely the light glinting off the polished metal (just as a brown showroom car can shine 'white/silver' under spotlights) Reaguards Badder Feel free to disagree.... We’ve had the manganese steel wear debate not too long ago...

Model Kasten make white metal and injection moulded plastic tracks... HTH Plasto

Well my Model Kasten tracks arrived and I have been building the first run.... Model Kasten give you a nice jig which is ok for around 5 links but using a piece of wood with some double sided tape is much faster. You can assemble the links then add the pins and then glue all in one go... cheers Plasto

Ok here’s is some advice. It’s is constructive feedback aimed at improvement. I like the model it looks good. I’d concentrate on the tracks both the live tracks and the spare links. It’s tempting to paint tracks rusty as you have done but in reality tracks on in service vehicles rarely got covered in rust. Museum exhibits yes but the service life operational tempo and servicing by crews means in reality while the wore got dirty and grubby they probably didn’t rust. I tend with tracks to start with a base paint coat made from a mix of Tamiya NATO black and Hull Red. Mix it towards the grey end of the spectrum with a reddish tinge.( this then makes excellent chipping paint for scratches and chips..) Base coat the tracks in this and then weather from there. A good way to get a in service track look IMHO is to go buy some artists pastels in earth tone from the art shop. Get pastels not oil pastels. Scrape these down into a pastel dust and mix with enamel thinners and apply liberally to the painted tracks... once dry take a stiffish brush and knock off the now dry pastel mix to taste. A rub over the wear points with a silver water colour pencil or some careful dry brushing with a silver paint helps to make the tracks look worn. On Most tracked vehicles the track tension is important. As tracks wear they become loose and the looser they are the greater the risk of a track being thrown. So part of the day to day life of a tracked AFV crew is to ensure the tracks are correctly tensioned. On a Panzer IV this is done by I believe by adjusting the rear Idler which is on an eccentric. Cranking this out takes up the slack in the track to a point. At which point you either remove a link or get new tracks. The model to me has far to much slack track hard to correct now but possibly useful in future.. Also the track tension mechanism would show wear it’s the big bolt on the inside of the rear idler wheel. Some chipping here would be useful. If you get a 15cm length of electrical wire and strip off the outer plastic insulation you will end up with the copper conductor strands. Depending on the gauge you have if you then tightly wind the wire using an electric drill or by hand you end up with a very very realistic representation of a tow cable. Far better than the plastic kit version. It’s possible to salvage the towing eyes off of the plastic cable or to make your own in the wire cable you just made. This costs almost nothing to do and is a really great upgrade to most older kits.. So hope this helps a bit. cheers Plasto

More work on the Panzer. I added the detail parts such as tools and have been scratch building some of the Desert enhancements seen on DAK Panzer IV's its just brass wire and sheet. I have a few spare road wheels left over and joined a couple of lengths of spare track to make the characteristic prow on the hull front. Jerry cans are from the old original Tamiya set i'll replace these with some better ones down the line.. TFL Plasto..

An Open post to AMK. AMK you need to get some professional advice on how to run your social media and marketing in a western / global context. Whoever is giving you your current advice I is giving you bad advice or does not understand effective marketing and brand strategy. I make that comment in a professional context. The issue you have is not just about the current F-14 project. You need to think beyond this current project and in the wider context of what you want your brand to represent and the values it has and how it is perceived in future in the market. Right now the way you are communicating with the wider market is from a marketing perspective just damaging your brand. If I could give you some professional advice. 1. Communicate the latest update to the whole market. 2. Share updates to the whole market on a regular basis even if they are minor between now and the final release of the kit. 3. Comment on quality feedback from the market. Even if it’s just to say thanks for the feedback. You do not have to act on feedback given. But you should acknowledge it. Do the above via Facebook on an open page. You will have the ability to filter and edit out extremely adverse commentary. Regards... Plasto.

Looking well worked on. Do you want some suggestions for improvements?

So Progress... Just a couple of hours.. Nice Kit and well detailed and a simple build.... I began replacing the simplified handle detail with Brass wire. Cheers Plasto

Hi, With the Jagdpanzer well advanced but stalled due to me waiting on some model kasten tracks. I found this at my LAS and grabbed it... Here is the ubiquitous unstarted boxing shot. And the small pile of ‘trimmings’ I had 2 hrs later.... The aim here is to build an Afrika Korps panzer. To help with this is have on the way these... And perhaps a scenic base and a few figures for which I have these guys... The issue is the Tank has no turret bin... But that’s not insurmountable... More later....

Here you go I grabbed em out of imagur and stuck em in Flickr then copied the links into this post. That gets something up for people to look at for s start till you figure out how to post images in the thread.

Hi Time to resurrect this post. In working on the Panzer IV builds for the GB I dug out this Sherman and have been making some progress over the last couple of days. So moving on I have given it a further coat of thinned brownish olive drab. Painted in the sand bags and washed these and dry brushed. Cut some stencils and masked and painted the markings then 'painted out't he turret stars. Painted the tracks.. added mud to the lower hull and added the tracks and muddied these up. It's also had a localised dry brush with some olive oil paint.. Thoughts? Cheers Plasto