45DegreesModelling

Love the DPM!

Thank you! Well a couple of weeks have passed and I’ve moved the needle. Next up was the wheels which I gave a Matt Black from Humbrol. Because of the angle of the photo, they don’t look that neat but they are, I was really satisfied with how they came out. The wheels have had the same treatment as the hulk. Tow cables was next, which I gave a base coat of neutral grey, then some Mr Hobby Silver and rust wash, which you’ll see in the later photos. The metal work on the tools was painted German Grey then dry brushed with silver. The metal work was then given a wash with some Vallejo Rust and Ammo Light Rust. The woodwork was base coated in Iraqi Sand, then painted with Burnt Umber oil paint and a small brush was used to try and add some grain effect. I couldn’t get any closer as my phone wouldn’t focus 😭 The tow cables have had some Mr Hobby Silver to contrast slightly and some of the rust wash. The next part will be decals, get them sealed in and onto the winter camouflage which I’m really looking forward to. Thanks for looking, Tom

So after the last update where I said I wasn’t satisfied with how it was looking, I gave the tank a mist coat of Dunkelgelb to tone down the camouflage and I was a lot more satisfied. Finally satisfied with the base coat I moved onto a wash. I didn’t put any gloss down at this stage, just went straight in with Ammo’s Brown Wash for German Dark Yellow. I carefully applied it in the panel lines to highlight the weld seams etc. This was then followed up by applying some Ammo Chipping colour. This vehicle probably wasn’t as weathered/run down as I’m making it, but I want it to look like it’s had a tough life on the Eastern Front. Plus it will all be toned down by the winter camouflage (I hope). I then got the Newton and Windsor oil paint Burnt Sienna out to blend a few of the chips with the paint work. I sparingly applied this just to give the tank a weathered look. All photos from the time are black and white, and in those winter conditions, there’s bound to be a bit of rust, well I would like to think. Next up will be painting the tow cables and tools before applying the decals. I’m really starting to like the look of this model now, as it’s how I envisioned it at this stage. I forgot to add that if you stand up and look at the tank, all the weathering so far is nice and subtle. Thanks for your messages after the last update and thanks for looking, Tom

That's brilliant, thank you. It was the guys on britmodeller that helped me with the orange peel. I'm working on a Tiger at the minute, but a Mercedes AMG -GT3 from Tamiya arrived in the post last week

G'day Matt, welcome to the forum. I'm a keen F1 model builder and this place has plenty of great people who offer encouragement and support if you ever get stuck, so you're in safe hands! Tom

Thanks Keith, you're right. I need to remember that it's 1\48 sometimes lol. I've given the model a mist cost of the dunklegelb and it looks a little better now. I'm a lot more satisfied with it!

Thank you guys, you’re probably both right. It’s just not how I visualised it 😂 I’m looking forward to getting the winter cam on!

So more progress has been made. Before I began with priming I gave the wheels some superficial damage, which once primed, looked pretty decent. The tank was then primed in Mr Surfacer 1000 black. I then followed this up with some XF64 Red Brown, with a drop of XF7 Flat Red to simulate the under coat that the tanks had in real life. I then gave it a mist of Ammo Mig Scratches effect, then once that was dry I gave the tank it’s base coat in Dunkelgelb. Next came the part I’d been dreading and I’ll be honest, I’m not too happy with the result. The colours used were olivgrun and schokobraun. I used a .2mm needle, different ratios of thinner and PSI, but I still couldn’t get a satisfying result. Thankfully all this will be hidden under winter cammo, hence why I wanted to practise with this model. With the paint on, I could then moisten a metal brush and chip away at the tank. Again, this will be hidden by winter cam which again will be heavily weathered so I went a bit OTT. But if you stand up and look at the tank it’s not too noticeable, so I may have hit a sweet spot. I also got out the chipping paint from Ammo to top up the chipping look and add some variance. All in all, I’m feeling a bit ‘meh’ with how it’s looking at the minute. Hopefully the winter cam, oil paints and mud effects will satisfy me with the sub par camouflage. Anyhow, thanks for looking, Tom

Lovely work. A kit very much on my wish list!

I have the needle moving on this now. It has just been a case of doing all the details on the upper hull… which is a lot. Here it is part finished: And here is the finished Tiger 1 (Minus the wheels which are in a pot). This kit by USTAR has been an absolute pleasure to build. So much detail, you really do get your moneys worth. I can’t wait to paint and weather this now, I've literally been waiting months lol. Thanks for looking, Tom

I would honestly think this was a real full size aircraft if I wasn't looking on a model forum! Incredible work.

Thank you, I’m slowly getting there!

Thank you guys, to be honest it isn’t too bad, the 1/48 Tiger is about the same size as a 1/35 Panzer II, but the kit is really detailed for its size!

Absolutely (and I cannot say this enough) stunning!

Well it’s certainly been a while since I posted an update, thank you to everyone for your comments. It’s been a busy period over Xmas but I’ve finally finished the turret. If anyone would like a detailed look at the interior of the Tiger, I have made a video which can be found here. The turret went together much the same as the hull. For 1/48 I really have to say this kit is highly detailed and well engineered. While constructing and painting the turret I have been busy elsewhere, predominantly on the exterior of the hull, adding additional details to the outside. Again, all parts like wheels and exhausts have been sorted into pots ready for painting separately. There isn’t much more to say really. The needle should start ticking along nicely now most of the time consuming part is finished. Thanks for looking, Tom

Thank you bissyboat. Another little update; Here is a closer look at the machine gun. Everything has been put together ready for some small weathering. I uses PLW Deep Grey for all the Cremeweiss walls, engine oil for the engine and engine grime for everything else. It can’t be seen that well but I also added some splashes to the engine bay and used some Starship Bay Sludge oil pains to blend into the floors to give a small mud effect. Next will be the rest of the lower hull and the turret interior as well! Thanks for looking, Tom

It’s been a while and progress has been slow and steady. First of all I just want to say that I absolutely love this kit and I’m thoroughly enjoying building it. The paint call out in the instructions isn’t ideal, so with a mixture of looking at other models instructions for the internal parts and some extensive research I gave it a SWAG (Scientific Wild bottom Guess)… but tried to keep it realistic! With all the plastic organised and tidy I could begin a thorough dry fit. This allowed me to have a good play with the parts and work out what could be permanently fixed before painting. Anything being painted Cremeweiss was primed in Mr Surfacer 1500 Grey. Everything else was primed in Mr Surfacer 1500 Black. I grouped and organised all the parts too to make painting easier. Some of the parts were painted XF64 red brown and highlighted with Vallejo’s Rotebraun to give some depth before being sprayed with Ammo scratches effect. They were then painted with Ammo’s Grey Blue and scratched away to simulate paint being worn. Other parts were painted either Grey Blue, German Grey, Cremeweiss, Metallic colours or Iron. The engine for example was painted with XF84 dark iron then highlighted with Mr Metal Colour Iron and dry brushed with a metallic silver. A quick google of Tiger Tank Engines will show multiple engines in different colours so I had some artistic license here. The inside of the hull was sprayed with XF64 red brown for some artificial shadows but spraying the Ammo Cremeweiss made it hard not to cover it up. I think I might experiment with post shade them in. Spraying the Ammo paints isn’t as simple as Tamiya or Mr Hobby paints, they need to be built up in really light layers. Something I need to practise but they came out ok in the end. You can see the drive train in the background/top left of this pic, that was painted XF64 red brown then highlighted with Rotebraun which I think looks good. Lots of contrast! Then it was time to get the paint brush out and carefully paint some of the bars. 90% of these won’t be visible but it adds contrast. And finally some small details were also painted. Next up will be to get it all together once the paint has dried. Like I said at the beginning of the post, I’m really enjoying this and I can’t wait to get onto the outside of the tank! Thanks for looking, Tom

Thank you guys, it’s coming along nicely, I’ll look forward to updating everyone soon. Tom

Hello everyone, Here is a WIP thread for USTARs 1/48 Tiger 1 Early Production with full interior. Why this kit? Firstly I wanted to do a Tiger 1 with a full interior and secondly I wanted it to be 1/48 scale as I plan to do a winter scene diorama, and I’m limited for space. I found this kit on the shelves of my local hobby shop (I always try to buy kits from them to help support the shop) and the 3D printed Michael Wittmann aka the Black Baron figure was also another positive. It’s worth noting that although the kit is USTAR, it does say in the bottom left of the box that Takom provides technical support. The kit comes with a lot of plastic, a 3D printed figure, a PE sheet and clear parts to display the interior (which I won’t be utilising). This kit provides schemes for Wittmanns SO4 Tiger. Although not his original Tiger, it was the one he was photographed with when he received his Knights Cross on 14th January 1944. I’m not sure how historically accurate it is, but it’s believed that the kills on the barrel were painted on for the photo as it’s not something Wittmann was keen on, and they were subsequently removed before moving off. I must say as well, the detail on the plastic is wonderful, these weld seams are just fantastic, certainly something I couldn’t replicate. It’s all extremely detailed, although according to tiger1.info there are discrepancies with the interior of the kit. That’s not something I’m going to lose sleep over, but any small improvements that can be made, will be done so. Just to give some perspective, this 1/48 Tiger is roughly the same size as a 1/35 Panzer II The instructions are nice and clear, although the colour call out has to be referenced from an image at the start of the instruction booklet. I’m not too sure how accurate the colour scheme is so I may have to do some research where possible, I’ve already been making some detailed notes. Anyway that’s enough waffling about the kit, I did want to introduce it properly as I can’t find too much information on YouTube or on here about it, so it maybe useful to someone wanting to purchase it. As far as the build is going, I’m half way through the construction of the Interior. Plastic has been removed, tidied up, as many parts as possible have been stuck together and organised into pots to help with the construction once the painting is done. As I’ve gone along I’ve been dry fitting and it’s all going together brilliantly. Thanks for reading and hopefully I should have another update in a few weeks. Tom

Thank you guys.

That’s the story I’ll go with from now on, it’s a damaged and out of service aircraft 😜

Hello everyone, I’d like to share my completed Spitfire Mk.XII from Airfix in 1/48. This was an ok kit, there were some big gaps to fill and the detail was really lacking in the cockpit which I enhanced with a Eduard PE set. Those with a keen eye will see both ailerons are down which I have since found out was a chargeable offence for a parked aircraft back in the day. The weathering may not be to everyone’s taste but I’m happy with it. Thanks for looking, Tom

Thank you guys. Some nice comments there.

Thank you guys!

Thank you Vesa!