VK 45.02 (P) Vorne

[Bordfunker]

That is an amazing peice of work!

The weathering is superb, and I'll be taking a note of your technique for painting the hull.

Karl

[stevehnz]

Yup, I like that a lot.

Steve.

[Badder]

Superb doesn't quite do it. Ultra-superb is a bit closer. I wouldn't even respond to the negative comments. Having worked with mild steel, I know how just quickly it can oxidise and when it does, it looks just like that. The weld beads are spot on. The colours and textures are perfect.

You win the prize for 'the most realistic portrayal of bare metal ever.'

Your 'tarpaulins', 'rags', and 'cloths' are completely ***""!! though.

Only joking. Harhar.

Can't wait to see the diorama.

[Badder]

If it's me you're referring to...go ahead first and do show us!I don't have to show anything to anybody...just like Crayon I don't like overdone and unrealistic finishes,even if the modeler shows remarkable skills!I've spoken ny mind and I know what a REAL battered tank looks like....do you?I've got this feeling that you have never seen a real,unrestored military vehicle in your whole life!

Yes...of course...food for a manga story!A paper-panzer marooned by his long-haired zombie crew in an Austrian cavern and discovered in 2012!

Bombed factory were cleared of precious metal to be recycled as early as 1945!

Whatever...horses for courses...some like unrealistic finishes even if made by Raffaello and Rembrandt,some don't..as simple as that!You like that?Good for you!The modeler shows remarkable skills but the finish is a clichè...red-oxide parts,various degrees of rust,chipped "schlamm",bright weld lines without having clear where and why the bead should be bright and shiny etc,.....definitely an appealing finish but the reality is another thing altogether!

You do know that it is possible to weld 'old' and 'weathered' steel and 'red-oxide' painted steel? Would you BOTHER to fastidiously clean plates of slightly rusted steel prior to cutting or welding? No. No one would. So the weld beads are most recent, and fresh weld beads DO shine. And they WILL take longer to reach the same level of oxidation as the rest of the surfaces. I really don't see the problem with a 'forgotten tank' or 'factory' either. Who has stipulated how 'old' this forgotten factory and tank are. What year is the diorama supposed to be set in? It COULD be set in late 1945, or 1948. It could be 1980 and someone has kept it secret and has been welding the thing together. It could be yesterday. There are plenty of vintage motorcars lost to history still standing in forgotten barns and fields all around the world right now.

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys

Looking sweet Andy, but I'm not sure about the tarp on the left side running gear, the tears look a bit odd and I get the impression it fought back!

Yes, you're right, it does look a bit unnatural. That one's made from lead foil, which had a small tear on one edge, so I enlarged the tear to give it a more worn appearance. In hindsight, the tear looks too strait and clean to be fabric. I should be able to re-work it a bit and fold the ends in so they're less neat looking. I didn't spot how odd it looked until I got down to the same level as the model when taking the photos

You do know that it is possible to weld 'old' and 'weathered' steel and 'red-oxide' painted steel? Would you BOTHER to fastidiously clean plates of slightly rusted steel prior to cutting or welding? No. No one would. So the weld beads are most recent, and fresh weld beads DO shine. And they WILL take longer to reach the same level of oxidation as the rest of the surfaces. I really don't see the problem with a 'forgotten tank' or 'factory' either. Who has stipulated how 'old' this forgotten factory and tank are. What year is the diorama supposed to be set in? It COULD be set in late 1945, or 1948. It could be 1980 and someone has kept it secret and has been welding the thing together. It could be yesterday. There are plenty of vintage motorcars lost to history still standing in forgotten barns and fields all around the world right now.

Thanks Badder. I think you've hit the nail on the head. I've never really intended it to be set in any particular time period. Like you say, it could be in the war, or it could be sixty years later.

I've never done this kind of finish before, so really I've been using the kit as an experiment in different techniques. Some have worked better than others, but it's been great fun trying all this stuff

Andy

[Badder]

Thanks guys

Yes, you're right, it does look a bit unnatural. That one's made from lead foil, which had a small tear on one edge, so I enlarged the tear to give it a more worn appearance. In hindsight, the tear looks too strait and clean to be fabric. I should be able to re-work it a bit and fold the ends in so they're less neat looking. I didn't spot how odd it looked until I got down to the same level as the model when taking the photos

Thanks Badder. I think you've hit the nail on the head. I've never really intended it to be set in any particular time period. Like you say, it could be in the war, or it could be sixty years later.

I've never done this kind of finish before, so really I've been using the kit as an experiment in different techniques. Some have worked better than others, but it's been great fun trying all this stuff

Andy

I saw some models by a professional model-maker and that's ALL THEY WERE: EXPERIMENTS. He'd make a wooden floor entirely out of plastic - floorboards, with wood grain, knots, varnish, wear and tear, paint spills, woodworm holes, etc etc, all recreated perfectly and all done by BRUSHWORK alone, just to see if he could do it! Then he'd make a rusty old sheet of corrugated roofing, or a decaying window frame with peeling paint, cracked windows, moss and cobwebs... for no other reason that to try and make it look absolutely real. And you honestly couldn't tell the models from the real thing. In fact I was very suspicious that they WERE the real thing! He did a rusty old 50's American automobile, abandoned and rusting away in an overgrown ditch, with NAMEABLE plants in the undergrowth, every species correct in every detail and I thought ah-ha, there's no way that's a model. He's cheating!. The proof that it wasn't a fraud was that he also supplied pics of the work in progress.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Weird, I'd have guessed that tarp was green stuff.....Lead foil is normally my preferred medium for tarps (in 1/72). Horses for courses I guess?

[colin]

Have just caught up with this build and am simply blown away by all of it from the rusty steel, the old worn ripped tarps and even the wood, and thanks for the wip I would never think you could reproduce those effects as simply as you have shown, I say simply as the way you have achieved them,it is the skillful part of doing it I'm afraid I lack at this time.

Can I ask do you do this sort of think for a living

Thanks

[Andy Moore]

Have just caught up with this build and am simply blown away by all of it from the rusty steel, the old worn ripped tarps and even the wood, and thanks for the wip I would never think you could reproduce those effects as simply as you have shown, I say simply as the way you have achieved them,it is the skillful part of doing it I'm afraid I lack at this time.

Can I ask do you do this sort of think for a living

Thanks

Thanks Colin. No, I don't do it for a living. To be honest, I think knowing I had to do it, rather than choosing to do it, would suck the fun out of it.

As far as the rust effects go, they're much easier than you'd think. I can highly recommend the Lifecolor rust set. They're very easy to use and give very realistic results.

The bits of wood are even easier. Just lengths of balsa, roughened up with a file and coated with an AK wood wash

Andy

[adt70hk]

Andy

Can I just say how glad I am that you finished this.

As stix and the sarge will tell you I am no expert with modelling (or real metal for that matter) but from where I'm sitting the finish looks BRILLIANT - regardless of the fact that this is ' what if' scenario. Very well done!!!

I'm looking forward to the full dio. What do you have planned? A factory scene as you outlined at the beginning or something else?

Thanks for sharing - not too mention persevering despite the naysayers!

Yours

Andrew

[ScanmanDan]

Thanks for sharing an inspirational and informative build. And for taking the time and effort to make what you do and how you do it so clear.

It is always a pleasure to see and read about your work. Your enthusiasm and talent shine through in every post. I am consistently delighted when I see your works as they remind me why I build models, for the shear fun of building and to make an artistic expression. ( Your photographic chops aren't too shabby either, talk about some snazzy sharp close ups. )

I hope you are having fun and I'm keen to see your next project, and to see how you finish this one off.

Dan

[Andy Moore]

I'm looking forward to the full dio. What do you have planned? A factory scene as you outlined at the beginning or something else?

Thanks Andrew. The original plan was for a dusty corner of a factory or workshop. That's still generally what I'll be doing although I'm toying with the idea of having it in a partially open building like a dilapidated shed. A friend of mine has just finished a dio were he scratch built all the buildings from balsa and it got me thinking about doing something similar

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Your friend's dio is rather special isn't it.

[The_Lancaster]

Just stunned by the amount of work put into this it is a truly inspiring build. As most are saying I'm looking forward to the diorama. Just as a thought if I may add, how about placing the dio in like an entrance to a tunnel? Seeing that most arms production towards the end of the war was moved underground and weapons were being produced in old railway tunnels. Seeing this placed up against a retaining wall in a corner with the tunnel mouth behind it. Making the scene with perhaps old rails laying around and sleepers (perhaps a source for the timber propping things up) would really set the scene IMO but of course it is your model and Im sure whatever idea you have will do brilliant justice to this brilliant build

[Carius]

ANOTHER MASTERPIECE MY FRIEND!