Kelscale

FYI, Quinta Studio have just announced a "L4500 3D Decals set https://www.scalemates.com/kits/quinta-studio-qd35085-l4500-family-interior-3d-decals--1498123

This is all looking mighty impressive 👌 I would check out a few walkaround images on 8 and 12t trucks with similar air supply components. You might find where that air pressure valve bottom hose ends up. There is certainly a lot going on under the hood, so I reckon you are going to have to be light on internal paint coverage when the time comes. You want that all to connect up as it is doing now. Los

Cheers for the support echen, Ed and Francis. Glad to have you along. After a lengthy session I've hit the milestone that is, attaching the running gear🙌 The wheels have been weathered and the task of lining them all up went without incident. It is always a delicate mission getting all these overlapping and interleaved components to fit as they did before paint. The wheel fit to the axles was a tad loose upon building, so a little paint on both has now made the fit nice and snug. As a result, I deliberately left the middle row pair un-glued, so I had some wiggle room, and relied on attaching the inner and outer pairs to their axles instead. As the sprocket is designed not to rotate, the track runs must be threaded carefully over them. Due to the addition of paint they had to be gently pressed against the sprocket pads ensuring all the guide horns located snugly between the rollers. The last task was to attach both track runs. I made sure the connection was on the top of the runs to make handling easier. Scraping away the paint on the locating surface of the connecting link on each run and inserting an unpainted track pad was an easy task. A spot of rubber CA and a light squeeze with a pair of tweezers was all that was required to get a secure connection. The pad was then primed and painted. To blend them in completely the same acrylic 'rain wash' will be applied to both the pads in the next session. The front wheel will stay off for now to aid handling as I have a fair bit of weathering still to do with oils and the front axle connection point is very shallow. Masking the connection between chassis and cargo frame was a worthwhile exercise and has meant the cargo bed can be repeatedly dry fitted.

It’s been quite some time since I last posted so the build is well overdue an update on progress. Weathering the tracks Conscious the vehicle I was representing had not moved for some time, the tracks were made a little rustier and only given a light weathering. As I was using the kit’s plastic tracks, I decided to stay clear of Enamel products. There are plenty of alternatives these days and Uncle Nightshift has a fantastic, dedicated video on how to achieve excellent results with only acrylic products…. Well, almost exclusively 😄 Whilst I didn’t have all the products that Martin uses, I did however have the most excellent Lifecolor rust set. As the rubber pads would obviously not rust, I had to pay particular attention to keeping them free of paint. This meant being a little more precise on the outer face rather than slapping it all over. Much like the video I added very diluted coats of the two lighter shades with a brush. I then speckling the same colours taking care to clean the pads after each pass. Once completely dry I just speckled the third rust shade and again had a brush moistened with tap water handy to clean up the rubber pad surface. Once happy with the rust tones I proceeded to add some dirt and dust build up. First with AK Groundwork paste to a few selected areas. Diluted with water it was kept well away from the moveable portions. Once dry I articulated every link to ensure none had been clogged with either the AK mud or indeed a build-up of acrylic paint. A wash of the two lightest shades in Lifecolor's acrylic rust set Taking another tip from Martin’s video I concocted my own acrylic ‘rain wash’ mix using similar tones and washed down both track runs. The last step in the video is to speckle enamel rust wash but I choose to use two diluted mixes of both oil and an oil pigment mix instead. First up a diluted light earth oil wash followed by a speckling of Abtielung light rust oil and MIG pigment rubble dust. (A great mix for manifolds and dry dusty exhausts incidentally) My very last step was to treat the guide teeth to a rustier tone using Lifecolor acrylics. Weathering the chassis Before the tracks and wheels could be attached a small application of dust and dirt was added to the visible portions of the chassis and the undersides of the cab metalwork. This was first carried out with airbrushed buff-coloured acrylics and then to add some texture with AK groundwork paste as used on the tracks. This was added in small amounts to simulate where dirt would have naturally accumulated. The next step was to build up layers of dust and dust. This was applied with a brush over a cocktail stick, speckling mixes of both light and dark earth Abtielung oils with a tiny amount of rubble dust pigments added to a final round. A small application of speckled dark earth and black oils completed the effect. Building up the layers of oils under the fenders and track guards A mix of Abtielung light rust oil and MIG pigment rubble dust were also added to the exhaust, leaf springs, sprocket rollers and exposed ends of the front wheel spokes. The manifold was also given a light wash as I really liked the appearance of this mix once dry. I know very little will be visible but it’s all good practice 😊 As the vehicle appeared to have been stationary for some time, I figured rainwater would have removed most exposed surface mud so all that is remaining once the oils have dried will be to add streaks to the vertical surfaces. Then it will be onto weathering the track wheels so I can get the running gear attached.

I'm hopind David Parker will work his 3D printing magic on improving any short comings as I would really like to build this. Best get cracking with current projects as I'm gonna need to clear a fair chunk of space😳

Lovely work👌 looking forward to the weathering steps

Great work Ed, the base coat and whitewash layers have come out really well. I must give the MIG washable white product a whirl.

They do say that stepping back from a project can help when things get bogged down. Well, I've not been in the mancave for almost a month due to various reasons, so it has been good to take a fresh look at progress so far. Normally I would just move onto another build, and it would be popped into a clear dust free plastic box and left until I felt the urge to be inspired again. Not this time! The prolonged break has given me fresh impetus to get this one completed and over the line. My first step will be to apply a light dusting to both the chassis, underside of both cab and cargo areas and the tracks, whilst they are still accessible, so my next post will hopefully see the main sub-assemblies and tracks connected so I can start on some general weathering. Happy days🤪

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/das-werk-dw16005-sdkfz-251-1-ausf-d--1485943 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9pI-wfVQJg

Not a huge deal of progress has been made, partly due to me not being particularly happy with the way the whitewash has turned out. To cut a long story short, although I made half a dozen test pieces with various paint mixes using both rattle-can hairspray and chipping fluid, when it came to laying down the whitewash layer on the model and 'chipping' it back, it didn’t perform anything close to how the test piece turned out. I guess it's what can happen when attempting only my second whitewash on a vehicle. The problem I had, was that I was barely able to chip back the acrylic whitewash coat. It did react in places, but I was disappointed in how virtually impossible it was to remove. My main bugbear was that I had covered a lot of previous work, particularly on the bonnet/hood. Analysing what went wrong I put it down to a couple of things. Firstly, none of my test pieces had a layer of VMS varnish like the model had. Although the varnish had cured for around 24hrs could the proceeding acrylic whitewash paint have bonded to it in a way the test piece obviously had not? Secondly, and probably more likely is my unusual choice of going for chipping fluid over rattle can hairspray. It was the AK regular 'worn effects’ type and not the 'heavy chipping' type and I airbrushed two quite heavy coats via the airbrush. It chipped back great on the test piece but typically clung onto dear life on the model! Maybe the Heavy Chipping Fluid is the one to go for next time?? My first solution was to go a second round of chipping only this time being a bit more aggressive with the 'scrubbing action' and using some slightly stiffer brushes. In the end it still looked like I had layered a cloudy highlight colour over most of the previous work. Not deterred I then went all in on selected areas with a dab of thinner on the brush and this time it did remove the white acrylic but the desired pattern effect and demarcation areas between the base coat and the whitewash was way too soft. In the end I resorted to first a MIG Neutral pin wash to bring back some contrast then went a second round with acrylic whitewash over some Tresemme hairspray. It still wasn't how I had envisaged it turning out, but I conceded it was going to require far too much work to start over. I got the look I was after in places like the fenders and cab sides, but the bonnet and radiator housing were going to need some further work. What I had originally intended to do was to dry fit some tools to the bonnet and whitewash with them in place but I completely forgot to add them🤔 This would have left some nice tool witness marks and probably have helped the overall look of the bonnet/hood. So, with that effect in mind I am going to attempt to recreate that effect with masking tape and a pointy stick dampened with thinner. It's either that or start completely over with the kit's second bonnet/hood. It might still come to that........... Amongst all the trials and tribulations with the whitewash I’m slowly working my way through a long list of other small but important steps to do. As per the war time image, the driver’s side screen was missing/broken/removed. This was a fortunate omission as the kit screen had the older style with the opening screen on the driver’s side. It was little tricky to remove as both screen and frame come as one clear part moulding. I cut out a square of material with a cutting disc and then carefully sanded outwards leaving an equal amount of material to replicate the surrounding frame leaving a small area of broken glass in one corner. Three small pins were added to the top of the frame. These were to hold the cab canopy in place. A pin wash has been added and some whitewash remnants will follow. Painted the width indicator white ball. Painted the rubber hose between the foil retaining bands on the air cleaner hose. Added some shadows to the engine rags. Improve the heated rust effects on the manifold. Added a shadow coat to the bench rag and rope and chipped back the base coat of both the gas mask and canteen lid. Tidied up a nick down to plastic on the passenger side fender front near the headlight by adding some Lifecolour Base Coat Rust so replicate a fresh scratch. Tidied up the paint on the cargo bay rags, tarps and accessories ready for highlights and shadows with oils and finally I have started mapping out the surface of the whitewash with Abtielung white oils. Using different methods including dry oil dot and blend, fine streaking (washing out) and selectively adding a more diluted mix around small detail like bolt heads. Progress so far:

Thanks chaps, appreciated

Not much progress to report over the last few weeks but the decals are down and sealed and work has started on the faded whitewash. The Alliance instrument decals worked out fine and the kit's licence plate and weight stencil laid down nicely too. The individual letters and numbers are a great idea and although they can be a little fiddly to apply you can easily replicate a desired vehicle as I have. My only gripe was my spacing on the rear plate went a little wonky so that the last few numbers are too spaced out. Not the end of the world but annoying. This is the result of the ‘first round of chipping’ on the faded whitewash. The wooden portions need another round as they are almost where I need them to be, but the metalwork portions need plenty more work. The bonnet is yet to be ‘chipped’. Everytime I take some pics it reminds me that I keep forgetting to re-attach the towing eye pin chain to the top and not the bottom of the pin.🤨

Although I'm yet to fit them, the small paper instruction sheet shows that the set; although generic from a manufacturer perspective, is for the centre mounted instrument panel, so suitable for all the 8t variants bar the last wooden cab version. I've got my fingers crossed I can still make them work😉 Los

I'm guessing for a Dragon build? If so it's odd that they dont supply any, especially when the cab is totally visable🙄

Thanks, and not a problem at all Keith

The Alliance Model Works instrument decals have just arrived today so I can resume work on the Sd.Kfz.7 ASAP 3.7cm Flak 37 ready for some dried foliage and a few small accessories

Thanks. As per the reply to Ed above, mixing with water and not thinner just makes removal slightly easier and will leave a different effect. Cheers Francis

Thanks Ed I guess as what essentially happens with adding hairspray between coats of paint is that it dissolves when activated again with water so any overlying paint will lift. The effect you want from getting the paint to lift can only be determined with continuous practising of the technique. Diluting the paint with water and not thinners make not only removal slightly easier but will leave a slightly different effect. Obviously, the ratios of hairspray and paint added and how you go about agitating the painted surface will ultimately make the biggest difference but in my experience if you were to use identical ratios of both hairspray and brands of paint, and exactly the same tools and method of 'chipping'' the surface, the paint mixed with water generally leaves a softer transition between the paint below the hairspray and the paint above that remains. The only proviso being: if you use Vallejo paint anything can happen IMO 😄 Los

It is a mystery why Dragon never supplied instrument decals in these 8T kits, but Archer supplies a nice specific set, or rather they did so I went looking for a couple of sets that I was sure I purchased last year knowing they were going to close. Could I find them, could I ****. 😡 A search online came up with no supplies of Archer decals left so I had to source some generic sets that Alliance Model Works offer. Unfortunately shipping from Asia will take a while so I thought I would crack on with the little Tamiya Flak gun. For the whitewash a mix of Tamiya white XF2 with a few drops of Buff XF57 was thinned with tap water. As recommended the absence of thinner makes the process of chipping far easier to work on and as I didn't really want a lot of it present the process was straightforward. After a hairspray layer this coat was laid down in a cloudy spray pattern to replicate a rough application in the field. It was also applied a little thicker to places that would have retained more whitewash over time. I plan to add a few more whitewash remnants and a few streaks with pure white oils in later steps. Not wanting to employ a pinwash over work so far and with the image timeline in mind, a grimy brown pallete of oils was employed and used to map and render over the painted finish.. Some base coat-coloured oils were also mixed and added to selected areas creating a different hue to some panels and rust colours added to the areas of panelwork damage. Minute amounts of earth pigments were blended into darker oil patches in reccesses on horizontal surfaces to replicate damp areas. Final dust layers will be added to both the flak and 8T just before placing them on the base.

Thanks Francis. As it will depict an abandoned vehicle I'm going to town on the effects🙃

I built this alongside the venerable but tricky to find Dragon 6575 Ausf J this time last year. This was according to Panzer IV aficionados, thought to be 'the best' Ausf J available up until the very recent ruck of Miniart, Border and RFM releases. My summary below of both kits, highlights the Border kit’s missing part, the instruction error and some fit issues I experienced. 'Although there are definitely a few improvements over that 10-year-old, the Border kit does still have a few niggles that require ironing out. Positives over the Dragon kit include better engineered D-Schurzen and a trick method of attaching the track guards after attaching both upper and lower hull together, leaving easy access to aftermarket track installation. Border also gives the option of link and length as well as individual tracks. However, I felt these improvements are offset by issues that the Dragon kit didn’t have. In my kit these included far too much mould offset, requiring far more clean-up of parts. I found main component fit issues with both the front upper hull armoured panel and the idler fitment to the hull is surely a joke (square peg into round hole syndrome). The two-part turret moulding is not as well engineered and the turret Schurzen doors are instructed to be fitted back to front, (thankfully an easy fix to swap sides) A very evident omission concerns the ball mounted MG which has no armoured ring and I found that the whole top deck panel would have benefited from some internal supports on both the front and rear panels. I also have no idea why they supplied the poly caps as they do not fit and are a complete waste of time’. PS. A spare Dragon full ball mount and ring from the parts box did fit perfectly and solve the missing armoured ring issue. Looking forward to your build as I have yet to paint mine.

I had a similar experience with Tamiya's little Marder I. Pleased with both build and paint I then took the weathering steps too far. I never saw it at the time, even after some photography. But stepping back after starting a little base for it I soon recognised I probably overdid it. Looking forward to progress with your second build👍

Managed to squeeze in some bench time over the weekend and complete the autumn camo on the Flak. Next up is to drybrush a few areas with Tamiya NATO Black, (mainly the rotation and elevation wheels and the chair to show a more burnished worn effect) pick out some highlights with Vallejo Buff acrylics, apply the licence plate and instrument dial decals to the 8T and then it's onto the main event. A faded whitewash on both vehicles.

Thank you Ed Thanks for the kind words PC No problem Francis, glad you like it Cheers Keith Thank you Cheers Keith Appreciated John Cheers Cesar

3.7cm Flak 36/37 Whilst waiting for a supply of Styrofoam I started work on the Flak and trailer. Although these were still the ancient Tamiya mouldings from the late 80's I had taken it from the recently released Tamiya/ICM Renault AHN combo kit. It isn't the most accurate kit out there by a fair margin but as it was already fully built it would keep the project moving in the right direction. As I was going to copy the image and show the Sd.Ah 52 trailer wheels removed, I used a set of spare 3D resin brake drums from a recent Sd.Ah56/57 flak trailer build. To replicate the hub and wheel studs I sanded the rear of a pair of outer Sd.Kfz 251 track wheels until just the central hub remained. These were then added to the 3D drums and fixed to the trailer axles. Looking at the image the trailer also had a few grab handles that were not present on the kit, so these were made up from copper wire. To give the scene some more visual interest I might, depending on how the field applied camo airbrushing turns out, give the flak and trailer a faded winter whitewash. First primed with Tamiya Surface Primer light grey the barrel and selected areas were then undercoated in Tamiya Nato black. This would serve not only as the initial colour for the weapon but also to replicate bare metal. Two fine coats of hairspray were sprayed over the Nato black undercoat and then a red oxide primer coat was applied. This layer was then chipped exposing the bare metal colour underneath. After another application of hairspray, a base coat of Tamiya XF88 Dark Yellow 2 lightened with Deck Tan XF55 was airbrushed and again chipped back. This time exposing both the red oxide and the bare metal colour.