THEscaleSHOW

Hello all Tamiya Hetzer with numerous self-printed details, such as tracks, MG, tool clamps, etc. Figures from Alpine, bridge from Styro. Water effects with wood glue, lamp post made from barbecue spit with self-designed signs. Painting and weathering was the most fun and felt like it took months 🤪 I hope you like it! MD Cheers!

Hello all The hetzer project is officially history with the last pictures here in the WIP. For such a small model it took me a lot of time, but I think the effort was worth it. I hope you like my model, all further pictures later in the RFI. Thanks to all for the opinions and comments-it was a pleasure as always!! MD Fuel stains Wet look Black sides Hot glue for the photo frame Fin 😉

Hi Darryl I generally use Gun Metal Pigments and an HB pencil. The Tamiya 87123 Weathering Master F Set is also useful. https://www.super-hobby.co.uk/products/Weathering-Master-F-Set.html MD

Sorry for the late response 😇 Green : Tamiya XF 89. XF71 and XF4 for HL Red: Mission Models MMP-013 - German WW2 Red Oxid Primer RAL3009 Yellow: XF 88 and XF57 for HL MD

Hello all The design work is progressing. MD All parts of the roof are printed new Also the fan grille And the complete fuel tank See you!

Hello Peter I have all the points in your post on my todo list 😉 And yes, I know also about the vision slits. I'll print the periscope housings for that. The "normal" plates with the small holes i will redo with plastic card. MD On females

Hello all The JT is making progress. I had to add a spacer ring to the Aber barrel, otherwise it would not have fitted into the Tamiya part. In addition, a lot of sanding work, closing holes and preparing the surfaces of the armor plates for freshening up. The JT has noticeable cutting flame cut marks that are missing on the kit. Next I will rework or redo the welding seams. MD A spacer ring for the barrel. Close the holes from inside. Sprues as a cork. Drill out the pipes. A PE stripe will be added later. For the flame cut marks i use a PE saw and a brass brush for cleanig. Heavy but effectiv. Soften with plastic glue extra thin. It is much easier to do this work before you glue upper and lower hull together. I remove all the brackets to prepare the surface. The cast on hinges were removed. See you!

Thanks guys for your comments. I'm in the process of building suitable figures for my scene-Frankenstein sends his regards! MD The figures were included in the Tamiya kit. To get different poses, I used the legs from various Dragon kits. See you!

Hello all Another update from the Mark IV today. Actually I had assumed that the kit will be a weekend action, but wrong thought. For people who build OOB no problem and certainly manageable. But on closer inspection I noticed more and more details that I don't like. I think the principle applies to sparsely equipped models: It's all about the detail. As the roof section of my planned vignette is clearly visible, the trained eye would immediately notice the inadequate details of Takom. I am currently in the process of redesigning all the important parts and printing them later. So it's not a weekend... MD The fit ist bad here Sanding and a support Open the vision ports A Dremel helps to get the right thickness from the steel plates Small modification-realistic effect Close the box step by step I first adjust the components with clamps and then glue them with extra tin glue The driver sponson and the Takom corrections Poor fit and violence does not help So i remove the bolt strip Gaps Fill in with tin sprue Done without putty I remove all details from the roof Besides, I also bought the Tamiya model, so I could compare a lot. To my surprise Takom is clearly ahead here. Tamiya parts fit better than Takom, but the details are poorly made and sometimes missing, e.g. the upper track guide. The tracks are clickable, but also not well detailed from the underside. So if you want to build a Mark with a dropped track, you should buy the Takom model. By the way, I find playing with the engine childish and only makes the model unnecessarily expensive. The idler wheel and drive sprocket are included in plastic, but you have to fiddle with your own axle mounts from plastic tubing. The soldiers included are well made - if you want to use them. See you!

Hello all Yesterday, after 5 glasses of wine, I decided to join the GB with a hopefully quick and simple build alongside my current Mark IV project 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 = 🤪 The Tamiya JT has been waiting on the shelf for some time and since I have all the necessary AM parts such as new tracks etc., the decision was easy. As expected, the kit is well thought out and has relatively few parts in the box for the size of the model. I therefore built the main groups first and will only deal with the details after collecting references. Fortunately, there are not many touch-ups necessary, so I can spend most of my time on painting. Have fun with the GB! MD Boxart The sprues The massive parts are done The big boom. Tamiyas is not bad, but Aber is better. How many cars could you build from this pile of steel? 😁 See you!

I currently have a longer project on the workbench and am therefore longing for a quick and dirty build. My shelf is full and for this GB the Jagdtiger seems to be a suitable object. All AM parts are in my stash and Tamiya 35295 will hopefully give me a relaxed time. Sign me up! MD

Hello Peter Thanks for your note. Regarding the supply version, I can use the Takom female kit, as the sprues were designed for their male kit. I think historically correct, because in the original it was also a neutral construction. I have now bought the Haynes manual and find it helpful in that, although not all, it contains a lot of useful information. A lot has been written on the subject of rust on the tracks and the opinion that they cannot rust is still generally prevalent. However, I am of the opinion that (almost) any metal containing Fe will rust under certain conditions. Of course, components with higher alloys and constant use / wear are less susceptible. The manual provides a good example here. However, just as you described, I will prefer a bright, dark metal tone 😉 As far as the color is concerned, I will use XF 49 w. a brown wash. The weathering will darken it later and the scale effect is also given. MD 200 links are enougth, the quality ist good. a good book for this price a rusty original link pic from the book

Takom offers a good price-performance ratio and also models that no one else offers. The problem with the assembly instructions is annoying, but it also happens with other manufacturers. Positive side effect: it motivates you to think 😉

Hello all! The Hetzer project is coming to an end and so it's time for something new on the workbench. 1914-2024 is a year that symbolises the beginning of the primeval catastrophe of mankind and therefore reason enough for me to dedicate myself to this topic: the great war I had been planning to build an MK IV for some time and bought the female version on ebay for a lot of money (the 2 in 1 kit was not available at the time). Knowing that the tracks are a punishment for any modeller, I ordered AM from Masterclub. So far I can say that the casting quality is good and there are hardly any offsets or skins on the parts. Given the manageable number of parts and the simple construction of the tank, you would think that this could be a weekend project. If it wasn't for the very dodgy assembly instructions - although they are error-free, they are more than illogically structured and the steps are nonsensical in places. Anyone who has ever built an Churchill from AFV will be familiar with the fiddly assembly of the 2 drive sides. Although Takom uses fewer parts for this, it seems to have relied more on the modeller's intuition when it comes to assembly. Here one wishes for Tamiya's cleverness, which is almost unbeatable when designing a kit. But enough bitching 🤭 I really like the kit itself, even if the rule should be applied here: think twice before gluing. Beginners in particular should be careful, as models with lots of bolts and rivets don't like being messed up with glue. MD PS: more on the correct reproduction of the original in the course of the build. Judging by the look of the box, the item had been on the shelf for a long time. The content is straightforward. Only masochists should let off steam on these tracks. Masterclub offers salvation. The construction plan and a correction sheet. Takom starts with the centre section in their plan, to which the left and right drive sides are then to be glued. However, I recommend making these assemblies first and then attaching the centre section. I will show this in the next post. The frame structure shown consists of several panels, which have a groove for orientation, but have to be glued together at an angle at the ends. A dry fit is essential here to prevent air gaps. Here you can see the grooves. The funniest part comes at the end: once the rollers have been fitted, Takom's idea is to simply put the outer frame segment on. However, nobody thought about the fact that you have to put all the rollers, wheels and the frame segment into all the holes and grooves at the same time! So first test the frame parts without the rollers for accuracy of fit and only then insert the rollers and fix everything in place. These are all my clamps. Everything holds without glue and you can still push and press until everything fits. Then put the glue on, open the beer and switch off the light 😋 See you!

Hello again 🙂 The last few days have been full of work and so today I can give you another little update. The commander is in place, his mate is finished and the accessories have been painted. MD Bare metal on the hatch edges... and tracks. The sign is set up for testing and awaits the final painting. The commander looks sceptical as to whether the bridge will bear the weight!? His camderad does not fear anything good. Don't forget to dirty the figures as well to adapt them to the environment. See you!

A masterpiece - I love this combination! MD

Hello Ed 100%-what else can I say! MD

Hello all! First of all, I would like to thank you for your very nice comments! Today there is a small update. The commander is almost painted and I've worked on some accessories. Have fun! MD Street sign made from grill skewers and parts from the scrap box Some spare bolts are added I colored the crests of the waves with white for more dynamics A few accessories are a must The commander is almost finished. I will finish the white of the jacket later. The inside shows splinter camo. Soiling on the sleeves is done with oil paint. Unfortunately, I didn't think about the headphone cables, but I can live with that 😉 See you!

You're right, I forgot about that! Fortunately, I didn't become an architect 😉 I don't want to fiddle with the bridge any more, otherwise something will break. I'll remember that for the next build! THX MD

Hello all Thanks again for your posts and good wishes! Today I would like to pick up on old times here in the WIP and continue my Hetzer project. As some of you may remember, I built a bridge scene a long time ago. The proportions were too small for the M12, but the Hetzer fits perfectly on it. So I positioned it on it and fixed it in place. Everything was covered with enough dirt and mud and wet grasses (made from hemp sealant) were added here and there. The figures are also in progress, both from Alpine and more or less adapted to the scene. As always, the small details are really slowing things down, but the end is in sight 😅 Have a nice weekend and happy modeling! MD The tank was fixed to the base and embedded with dirt and mud. As the model is very handy, all remaining work such as weathering etc. is carried out directly on the base. This guarantees a harmonious play of colors. Different shades of white for the base of the jacket. The comrade gets a field blouse M44 with pea dot camouflage pattern. You have to apply the pattern step by step. You can buy color sets for this, but I mixed my own shades. AK 11623 WAFFEN-SS PEA DOT PATTERN/DOT44 (ERBSENMUSTER) The different points create the effect. I then replaced the head with an excellent one from Hornet. The pants were painted with Andrea's field gray set-the best you can buy in my opinion. See you!

Thank you very much for your kind comments! I'm very pleased to hear from you again 🙂 MD

Hello all 🥳 After a long absence, 2 hospitalisations and 4 stents later, I'm back on track. Today I am pleased to present to you a perhaps old acquaintance of mine in a new look. I used the time of healing to rework the M12 vignette, i.e. figures, weathering, snow effects etc. were edited or added. What started here as a GB developed into one of my longest projects. I hope you like it - comments are always welcome! MD See you!

Hi Matt Very good work so far 🙂 MD

Hello Lee Good job so far! MD