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Winter Weary Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.L Late Production - Dragon 1/35


PlaStix

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For the first half of the Second World War the Panzer III Medium Tank was the main German battle tank and only started to lose that reputation after the appearance of the Panzer IV Ausf F2 in March 1942. Until then the Panzer III had been the only German designed tank armed with a gun designed to penetrate enemy armour.

The Ausf L version was in production from June to December 1942, with a total of 653 vehicles being manufactured. It was in production while attempts were being made to fit a 7.5cm gun to the Panzer III were under way. The L version was armed with the 5cm KwK39 L/60, although that gun was proving to be increasingly ineffective against thicker Soviet tank armour. The Ausf L was given 20mm spaced armour on the superstructure front and mantlet, and thicker frontal turret armour.

This was the first 1/35 Dragon kit I have made and, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the build. This was also the first kit I have attempted a whitewash finish on. Up until this project I have avoided any AFV builds that required this. The Dragon instructions suggest a worn whitewash appearance for this vehicle so that is what I have attempted. As I don’t have or use an airbrush I had to work out the worn areas as I applied the whitewash. I have included a photo of the brushes I used for applying the whitewash and weathering at the end of the photos.

 

Kit: 1/35 Dragon - Kit no. 6387

Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel, Railmatch acrylics all applied with brushes

Finishes: Vallejo Snow and Mig European Mud applied by cocktail stick

Figures: MiniArt

Extras: Tamiya Jerry Cans and lead wire for cables

WIP thread: Here

 

As usual I need to apologise in advance for the number of photos - there are a lot!:

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Some closer views:

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And with the MiniArt figures:

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The stippling and fine paintbrush I used to apply the whitewash and weathering:

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Well, as I mentioned above, I thoroughly enjoyed this project and intend to make a small scenic base at some point – probably after the Sherman STGB.

I want to thank everyone who provided assistance, support and encouragement in my WIP thread – as always it wouldn’t have turned out like this without everyone’s comments and suggestions.

 Comments and suggestions welcome.

 Kind regards,

 Stix

Edited by PlaStix
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Well that turned out grand Stix. I'd still recognise it in a police line-up as 'one of Stix's'!

 

I think you were right to go for the very faded whitewash look. Newer whitewash is the hardest to pull off I think. The figures are great too and it's interesting to see how their uniforms help to 'raise' the appearance of whiteness of the remaining whitewash. I look forward to seeing the 'base.'

 

One suggestion, if I may? Have you tried adding bicarb of soda to the tank? Just Brush it into some of the nooks and crannies on the decking and see how it looks? If you don't like it just blow it off. I added a tiny bit to my StuG III and it does make a difference I think.

Of course, if you take the plunge you have to fix the bicarb in place. Rather than spray all over the vehicle with hairspray, I sprayed the hairspray into a canister, collected the lacquer and placed that exactly where I wanted the snow to stick using an old, but very clean brush - then sprinkled the bicarb over the top.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

 

 

Edited by Badder
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Brilliant model Stix. Do not apologise for the photos - there is never to much of good things.

Thank you for your afford with photos quality - model is definitely worth it.

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I don't think you need much tutoring with your photos, wish mine were half as good.  Right up there with your brush skills.

 

I use a Samsung Galaxy tablet mostly and your iPad works even better.

 

Those two poor buggers look half frozen,  "wish this tank had a heater" says they.

 

Take care,

 

Lloyd

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Great tank of the 'shrunk reality' category! Amazing job.

 

But instead of apologising for too many photos of which many are almost identical, perhaps you should have made a representative selection of, say, 15 or 20 at the most. 75 photos, sheesh…

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

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16 hours ago, Badder said:

Well that turned out grand Stix. I'd still recognise it in a police line-up as 'one of Stix's'!

I think you were right to go for the very faded whitewash look. Newer whitewash is the hardest to pull off I think. The figures are great too and it's interesting to see how their uniforms help to 'raise' the appearance of whiteness of the remaining whitewash. I look forward to seeing the 'base.'

One suggestion, if I may? Have you tried adding bicarb of soda to the tank? Just Brush it into some of the nooks and crannies on the decking and see how it looks? If you don't like it just blow it off. I added a tiny bit to my StuG III and it does make a difference I think.

Of course, if you take the plunge you have to fix the bicarb in place. Rather than spray all over the vehicle with hairspray, I sprayed the hairspray into a canister, collected the lacquer and placed that exactly where I wanted the snow to stick using an old, but very clean brush - then sprinkled the bicarb over the top.

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder. Hope you are well. Thank you very much for your very kind comments. I agree - it is odd that with the figures in place it does look more whitewashed. Some form of optical illusion?

Thank you for your suggestion about bicarbonate of soda. I hadn’t thought of it but I will have a bit of an experiment when I do the base for it. :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

Stix

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51 minutes ago, PlaStix said:

Hi Badder. Hope you are well. Thank you very much for your very kind comments. I agree - it is odd that with the figures in place it does look more whitewashed. Some form of optical illusion?

Thank you for your suggestion about bicarbonate of soda. I hadn’t thought of it but I will have a bit of an experiment when I do the base for it. :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

Stix

I'm not too bad Stix, thanks for asking.

Yes, it's an optical phenomena of some sort.... more a general increase in the total amount of white entering the eye than an illusion, but it just goes to show how much interaction there is between different colours and different shades. I'm going for a fresher whitewash on my Sherman for the STGB, and some snow deposits on the tank itself. I am just about to have a look on the net at that Precision Ice and Snow as I think there's nothing better.

 

Wishing you and Mrs Stix a happy new year,

Badder

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The model has been superb !, I like a lot, apart from being a work only with a brush, incredible, nothing to envy of the ABs, and also you get very cheap (no compressor, no AB ...) ... lol .

Definitely, I have to try that Vallejo product, I have already ordered a boat, to see if I can get your snow effect, which is really convincing (at least for me).

And the final touch of the figures ... the icing on the cake, as I would like to be able to include some in my kits, but ...:rage:

:goodjob:

Cheers Stix and HNY2018 :santa:

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On 29/12/2017 at 20:21, clive_t said:

Top, top quality. The figures enhance an already brilliant model even further. I thoroughly enjoyed the WIP thread too.

Hi Clive. Thank you very much for your very kind comments.

I hope you and yours have a Very Happy New Year.

Kind regards,

Stix

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On 29/12/2017 at 20:39, Ozzy said:

Looks fantastic Stix, those figures are really nice.  :worthy:I'm definitely doing a whitewashed entry in the panzer IV STGB.:yahoo:

Hi Ozzy and thank you. Yes definitely go for a whitewash finish for you IV. I'm going to have to try a whitewash finish again soon - the process of the painting I found quite relaxing building up the effects.

I hope you have a Very Happy New Year!

Kind regards,

Stix

 

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20 minutes ago, PlaStix said:

Hi Ozzy and thank you. Yes definitely go for a whitewash finish for you IV. I'm going to have to try a whitewash finish again soon - the process of the painting I found quite relaxing building up the effects.

I hope you have a Very Happy New Year!

Kind regards,

Stix

 

I've done a few whitewash vehicle, I feel a bit like time team when I'm rubbing off the white to reveal the base colour. Hope you and Mrs Stix have a happy new year also.

 

oz

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On 29/12/2017 at 21:15, Kris B said:

Brilliant model Stix. Do not apologise for the photos - there is never to much of good things.

Thank you for your afford with photos quality - model is definitely worth it.

Hi Kris and thank you very much for kind comments. As I only use my iPad and don’t have a photo lighting setup I am reliant on the weather and daylight for how my photos appear. One of the reasons I end up with so many photos is that I sometimes, like in this case, take some photos over several days - taking some whenever the light seems better than during a previous session. I then end up with lots but still want to use some of the images I took in less favourable conditions because I don’t feel I've captured the same ‘look’ in the later ones. Ah well. Thank you again.

Hope you have a Very Happy New Year.

Kind regards,

Stix

 

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On 29/12/2017 at 22:24, SimonT said:

That’s awesome. Looking forward to the base to set the scene.

Hi Simon and thank you very much for your kind comments. The base may be a while - I might also get some German soldier figures in winter gear to go alongside the Pz.III. I'll see how I’m doing after I've completed my build for the Sherman STGB.

Hope you have a Very Happy New Year.

Kind regards,

Stix

 

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On 30/12/2017 at 00:08, BlackMax12 said:

I don't think you need much tutoring with your photos, wish mine were half as good.  Right up there with your brush skills.

I use a Samsung Galaxy tablet mostly and your iPad works even better.

Those two poor buggers look half frozen,  "wish this tank had a heater" says they.

Take care,

Lloyd

Hi Lloyd. That is very kind of you to say, thank you very much. :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

Stix

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