Tankograd West Sleeper's AFV rebuild refurbishment facility Re-opened after much refit!

[SleeperService]

Hi Guys and Gals

Finally I can join in as I've got a model nearly built. It's the Tamiya 1/48 King tiger with mods to make a March/April 1945 vehicle. The markings are 507 Tank Battalion. I've matched the colours to the AK Interactive set using Humbrol (I can't handle acrylics) and this is where I am:

I've got to put the spots on and touch up some last minute additions like the aerial then I reach the end of my knowledge. I have never weathered a vehicle before. So what do I do to tone down the finish and make it look less harsh please? The green on the road-wheels is the same colour as the rest but has had a Raw umber wash applied. Do I do the same on the rest? My rubbish camera skill makes the beige colour look whiter than it is and the red brown is too brown, the colour at the rear is about right.

I'll be adding a figure later, another first. You lot have a lot to answer for....

[oz!]

i would start with a couple of light oil washes first, this will help blend the colors together, then maybe a darker wash ( 50/50 black brown) around all raised detail' bolt-heads and in all recesses and panel-lines.

regards oz!

[oz!]

for the wheels you can try this, put a black wash over the green base color, then add a bit of yellow to some fresh green and dry brush this on to the wheel when the wash is dry,, then paint the wheel rims in a metallic color.

[SleeperService]

That looks good to me for the wheels I'll be trying that.

I've painted the rims then I went over then metal bit with a pencil and rubbed the graphite around. Tip I found on here somewhere. They do look rather good. Your dry brushing really makes the detail leap out. You've even done a KT wheel so I have a pattern!

[oz!]

you can then brush some dry pigments on the wheels to tone them down a bit, i achieved a lot of the weathering on this tiger using mig pigments and chalk pastels, just dip the brush into the chalk or mig and you brush it on from top to bottom in random lines.

[Nick Belbin]

Good advice there - and oz! knows what he's talking about . . .

Nick

[Wolfpack]

If you've never played with weathering powders and washes before, do like I did and watch the Humbrol videos on You Tube. They are great for a basic start up and then just go on from there.

I played with some MIG powders before this but could never come to grips with them. Another advantage (at least to me) is that the Humbrol products are a lot cheaper (at least in the UK) than MIG's stuff.

Whatever you choose, have fun with them. I quite look forward to all that weathering now.

W

Edited October 26, 2013 by Wolfpack

[colin]

Try some of tjhe MiG filters, they have one for tri coloured schemes.I've used the blue filter on a 1/16 RC grey tiger and it did break up the monotone look very well

[Shermaniac]

You cannot imagine the countless hours of conversation I've had with Nick over his King Tiger.

The build issues, paint issues, replace-repairs, stripped paint, re-paint.

Oh, the relief of it all

Only the Vampire build to go now!!!!!!!!!

Told you Nick, isn't therapy wonderful?

Edited October 26, 2013 by Shermaniac

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Best advice I can give is to have fun, try out a few products and see how you get on.....If you can emulate the pinwashes & streaking on Oz's Kingtiger you'll be off to an excellent start.

One other thing, when you think you need to add just a bit more weathering.....Stop.

Edited October 26, 2013 by Sgt.Squarehead

[oz!]

One other thing, when you think you need to add just a bit more weathering.....Stop.

what sgt squarhead said is one of the most important things to take on-board, i can't tell you the number of times I've thought' just a bit more here and a dab there and bob's your uncle..............its screwed!!!!!!!!!.

regards oz!.

[Shermaniac]

One other thing, when you think you need to add just a bit more weathering.....Stop.

That is statement No1 on the 'Mmmm! what shall I do next' list not just for weathering

[oz!]

i remember the first time i tried weathering one of my models' i was 9 yrs old, i used my mums make-up and boy was she angry with me!

[SleeperService]

That's a ton of good ideas and help. Thanks. I'll be down to my LMS first thing Monday and try the Humbrol first I think. The vids on Youtube seem Sleeper-proof (like idiot-proof but more so) so I shall see.

Oz! That's a very nice finish which is what I shall aim for (but miss I suspect...by a mile) I shall certainly err on the side of caution and make sure I don't 'borrow' anything I shouldn't.

[oz!]

borrow anything you shouldnt..........i'm not sure what you mean but if its borrowing ideas on how to paint/weather a model then thats what modeling is all about, thats why forums like britmodeller are here and i think thats why we are are all members of the site, to help each other, i hope the weathering goes well for you.

regards oz!

[SleeperService]

borrow anything you shouldnt..........i'm not sure what you mean but if its borrowing ideas on how to paint/weather a model then thats what modeling is all about, thats why forums like britmodeller are here and i think thats why we are are all members of the site, to help each other, i hope the weathering goes well for you.

regards oz!

I was thinking about 'alternative' weathering products belonging to members of the Fairer Sex......

Totally agree about the atmosphere here on BM, a friend said he's had more interaction on here in a few weeks than on another site I shall not name in several years. I'll be putting the results up regardless, I need to let the paint/varnish harden off before I start and, as I'm not that quick it may be a week or so.

[SleeperService]

In these troubled times I've decided to recycle an old thread rather than go for a new one I'm a proper Eco-warrior now! 

 

After the great advice I finally completed the beast and put it in my Billy Bookcase (new type) until my mate got round to take the piccies. A few days later I got home to find the collapsed bookcase on the floor and a collection of broken plastic, battered books, and general mayhem. I put everything model related into a large poly box and decided to wait until I could face them. Only a few years on and the Tiger is going to get some love. I hope other unfortunates find comfort and support in difficult times from my ramblings. 

 

So here is the wreckage

 

 

What is weird is that some bits have survived (like the tail light) while other chunkier items haven't. 

 

One thing I do with all Tamiya 1/48 kits involves making the road wheels axles parallel rather than tapered, a good sliding fit into the hub, and putting a tiny smear of silicone inside the poly caps. As a result the suspension comes apart easily as nothing needs to be glued. In this build I used a kit brought at a 'proper model shop' away from home and found the metal hull tub was missing but there were 3 etch sets inside. Shop owner was no use at all (since gone bust) so I just kept the etch. Showed how his thorough checking was. As it turns out the plastic JagdTiger hull parts are cheap enough so I brought those instead. The kit has 'issues' being from a period when the Tamiya 'B' Team was on the 48th project but the later releases are vastly better.

 

So parts being stripped as I type then we'll see where things stand.     

[SleeperService]

Finally free of my mental issues (but happy to discuss by PM if you're suffering) I've spent several months cleaning, sorting and organising my life.

 

I'm happy to announce that, after several failed starts and much general disruption, this facility is now re-opened and fully operational. As part of this process inspired by @sardaukar's thread HERE all previous work has been stored with all the other vehicles awaiting attention. However I'm happy to show the first project well underway. Sadly the start pictures were accidentally erased in an incident involving tinned rice pudding and a cabbage fettling gone amiss. However imagine the following vehicle in a state of unplanned disassembly although all parts were found after the reorganisation.

 

 

 

With the introduction of heavier vehicles Minister without Portfolio Reinhard Heydrich and Albert Speer initiated a thorough review of German AFV stocks to make the best use of what was available. With a large number of Tiger I tanks available and the 88mm L/71 being able to be fitted albeit at a lower rate of fire it was decided to rebuild them with IR night-fighting equipment for use as interdiction tanks as the Tiger I Ausf N (Nacht) Organised into sPzAbt this vehicle was issued to Abt 510 based at Samara in the German Buffer zone east of the Volga River. By the autumn of 1945 this zone had been partly retaken by the Red Army and the unit was based at Gurev.

 

   

 

After re-attaching the broken off components I built up the IR unit and added it to the turret hatch, just realised that the strip carrying range data into the turret is AWOL so need to fix that.

 

 

The jerry can rack was a unit modification while the armoured box for stowing the IR gear was standard. An often overlooked detail is the exhaust shrouds being re-arranged to prevent the exhaust glare giving the vehicle away.

 

So now I need to find a suitable crew for it and then it will be done, an easy win so far but baby steps apply.

 

Thanks for looking and if you spot anything wrong please speak up.

   

[sardaukar]

I think my mental health would take a turn for the worst if my display cabinet imploded. great job on getting that tiger back in parade order.

[SleeperService]

On 8/25/2022 at 2:20 PM, sardaukar said:

I think my mental health would take a turn for the worst if my display cabinet imploded. great job on getting that tiger back in parade order.

Thank You, it certainly didn't help.

Yesterday was spent finding these

 

I think I have a plan maybe involving one of these...

[SleeperService]

Bit quiet recently as I've been waiting for this

The Soviet Soldier volume is very good and this seems pretty decent too. All needed because I have decided on the figures

The idea is that the intrepid crew are heading out (or back) and keeping a watch for pesky Soviet aircraft. The engine deck guy will have the Fliegerfaust when I can make the tiny disks that hold the barrels aligned. 

 

For light relief I returned to the Mountain of Doom and recovered something mentioned HERE way back in April 2019 😲 where does the time go? At that time I foolishly believed I had overcome the stompy feet issue. I was wrong.

 

The stompy feet were first for attention with the side pieces made (more) symmetrical and the pin holes filled and redrilled as needed. But the triple-damned parts still didn't line up right. 🤬 Words may have occurred. I went through the Rossagraph book yet again and then hit the Interweb more in hope than expectation. But I found this

This is in the Rossagraph book but is very dark. See that black triangle at 4 o'clock? That's the key. The slack means that the shoe approaches the ground at a slightly shallower angle. It also explains the byzantine wheel arrangement.

With renewed hope I made another set of links for one front wheel this time and this happened

The links aren't sitting quite right as I moved the wheel while taking the pic and the slack moved. But I need to widen the feet slightly to match the photo. I'm hopeful of a real result.

Another 280 pieces (7 per link) has me here

 

While I was on the Web I did a bit of digging and, after cutting out some dubious claims repeated ad nauseum due to the wonder of circular sourcing, I think the story is this

The machine was a co-production of Krupp, Daimler Benz and Alkett (presumably to share the blame when it didn't work out?). The Alkett plant in Borsigwalde (NW of the city centre and in the French zone Post-War) was responsible for assembly. Components are date stamped in the second half of 1941 so it must have been ready for trials in late '41/early '42. As such it would be in Panzer Grey. Trials were likely held at Kummersdorf 25km south of Berlin in Brandenburg State which was in the Soviet Zone Post_war with the Soviet Military Administration headquarters in Karlshorst Lichtenburg/Berlin. After trials it was likely sent back to Alkett where it festered until the Red Army arrived, with the end of the German War in May the Russians stripped West Berlin as reparations for the war moving equipment into the Soviet zone. The list of equipment found at Kummersdorf doesn't list this vehicle but it does appear in a 1946 'Report on interesting experimental armament found in Germany'. It was tested by the Soviets in Germany before being sent to Kubinka. They gave it a short test reporting on 31 July 1947 that it was basically obsolete and never fit for task, they then shoved it into a shed as part of the armour collection. It is certain that the Post-War trip to Kubinka was the first time it left Germany and action at Kursk is a myth. The 'production' version with a Panzer II turret is unlikely as it failed on the first trials and so would have been dropped as a project and just left with the company. As it was government property they wouldn't have been able to scrap the thing without permission and just got forgotten.

So there we are. While my shoulder continues to improve I have; figures to paint, two link&shoe sets to finish, get to learn Panzer I (or maybe even Neubaufahrzug) turret details, and work out how to do the front wheel centres.

Smoke me a kipper I'll be back for breakfast.😜  

[SleeperService]

Hello again.

Been a bit of a mare but things got easier when I found this image (reproduced for discussion purposes only) it's quite wide-spread so hopefully OK.

 

I carefully collected all the stomper feet and put them in the scrap box. If nothing else they showed how much I'd improved in the interim. This also shows a couple of things;

• Just ahead of the triangular roof cowl those two short posts a tubes roughly cut off. I believe they may be the base for an access ladder. There are diagrams showing access by climbing up the rear which, to be honest, I find rather odd. The Panzer IV had a ladder which could be folded up after the crew boarded and I think this may be the same.
• The two sets of four holes through drilled are interesting not least because anything projecting from the front set will risk being removed by the first stomper to pass, anything external would need to be robust to survive the explosions when a mine was successfully located and neutralised.
• Just above the rear lifting point there is a horizontal flange, remember that for later.

 

So here we are after much use of my NWSL Chopper and a fair chunk of 1.0mm and .15 thou sheet. The new shoes all align, pivot and have even spacing. The front hubs were built around the domes from 1/48 KV tank hatches and the exhausts were removed and the front replaced where the wheels won't tear it off. For light relief I started on the rear fork arrangement.

 

 

I've tacked a support to align the hull and discovered the rear wheel was rather too large. Into the scrap box and a replacement was made which only need 10 links meaning more to feed the scrap monster. The upper hull was a breeze by comparison the rear deck is just placed at present, the fuel tank top was causing me confusion until I saw that flange - now I know how that must all fit together.

Next is to finish that rear fork, make a Panzer I turret, and get the rear deck finished. The Tiger I crew are about to see V2.0 of painting - V1.0 was a bit buggy and not that good, actually appalling. I'll be looking up flesh painting with oils I think to get a good finish against matt enamel for the clothing.

Thanks for stopping by.   

[SleeperService]

I am still trying to paint figures and have now brought some white metal ones which can be stripped and repainted without damage. I have a frankly terrifying book on figure painting with oils which will be studied before I try again. Fortunately I live next door to an art supplies shop.

The Minestomper continues to fight over the rear fork assembly and making a Panzer I turret is proving trickier than I thought. The upside is that some nice looking 1/48 machine guns are about to appear which is a huge relief. As I was getting a little disconsolate I have spent the last few months nibbling away at a new nugget from the Mountain of Doom...

 

This collection of spare parts is some of the T-34 spares from part-built kits. The photo was taken on 16/02/2021 so almost yesterday.

On 23/02/2021 things seemed to be going well...

The same by the 12/03/2021 and I'm feeling quite good about the prospects. But...

 

 

My mind took a break from reality and I carried on until there was so much I wasn't happy with it went on the Mountain of Doom. When I recovered it on the 30/3/2023 it looked a little worse than this. The tracks have been repaired after they split apart and I was deciding what to do next

 

I tidied up the paint and made a few repairs and was here the same day but, yet again, some things were bugging me so I took a break and started going through my references.

 

13/04/2023 saw improvements with the casting nub added to the hull mg position which had been reshaped slightly and a weld bead added. Radio aerial and fillets on the corners of the glacis have been added. The turret roof has lifting lugs and the start of hinges.

 

Shocking finish on the outer corners of that rear plate   but happy at the different finish on the hull and turret. Very happy with the clasps from fine wire and a pie case.

 

 

05/06/2023 Turret hinges finished so that part is done Discovered the fuel boxes were very soft so pinged them off and muttered  Headlights tow cable and cleats added. 6 to a bundle which meant thinning the kit parts with masking tape straps and fuse wire buckles. Tow cable uses HB KV tank ends with Karaya cable.

 

The front tool box is from a Hauler set and the box for the cleat bolts is from the finest scratch. The differing track tension is deliberate suggesting that the crew hadn't time for all their maintenance before the advance continued.

 

At this point things paused for a short while as the tarpaulin from tissue took an age to dry out and I needed to think of a scheme and back story.

 

What do you all think? Respect to @Bedders for his idea to simulate a used tank by painting the basic build then touching up as more parts added. I'm very happy with the generally 'used' look that results.

 

[SleeperService]

Oops I forgot to update this until a notification nudged me.

So where is it?

 

Finished!! except for the figures that didn't work together... Marked up as a Polish Army vehicle that is still running after a hard life. As a What-If? it's reached Polish territory in mid-1946 after a long return from the depths of the USSR. I intend to have a couple of crew collecting bottles of water from the Baltic as happened in real life. As it carried only a few rounds of ammunition IRL I've decided to add a T-60 based sled for extra supplies (which actually happened) towed behind it.

I've also taken advice from others and have two further books on order for figure painting, the one I have is for very advanced figure experts and will be going to a new home soon when the guy gets back from holiday.

 

It's by no means perfect but I'm happy with it and enjoyed finishing it. The mine-stomper may return next as I think I know how to build the rear steering fork...we shall see.

 

 

 

There are bits to do including toning down the markings but that'll wait until it's little companion is complete.