FrancisGL Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Tracks looks great now, and the mud is also very well achieved... Cheers Stix 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Wow Stix! This is looking wonderful. Loving the mud (again) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 On 09/01/2019 at 17:44, the South African said: Hi Stix. 1st off I wish you the most prosperous of new years. Now on to business:As ever only one remark. Beautifull job so far mate!! Regards: Shaun Happy New Year to you too Shaun and thank you very much for your kind comments. On 10/01/2019 at 04:29, SoftScience said: Hot damn! That looks good! I'm amazed by what you accomplish with craft paints, a brush and some washes. Meanwhile, I spent the last few days with a veritable chem lab of oils, thinners, filters, etc., to weather my IS-2, and it looks like hot garbage. Guess it goes to show how far a little artistic skill can take you (and how no amount of fancy product can hide lack of said skill). I hope you can post more how-to videos soon. Teach me, sensei! Hi SoftScience. Thank you for your comments but you are waayyy too kind. I have started another video but I just haven't found the time to edit and finish it off. My intention originally was to do a series of videos but they are a lot more time consuming than I would have thought. 23 hours ago, FrancisGL said: Tracks looks great now, and the mud is also very well achieved... Cheers Stix 👍 Hi Francis and thank you very much. 6 hours ago, wimbledon99 said: Wow Stix! This is looking wonderful. Loving the mud (again) Thank you very much Nigel. This Vallejo mud product is rather good. Well it's Saturday and I have spent a bit of time working on this today. Tracks with the thinned washes of Humbrol Desert Yellow and Dark Earth in places: Then I added some very thinned RailMatch Light Rust in some areas: I did some final light touches of weathering on the sides but it's a bit difficult to tell because the light wasn't great this morning: Next I added some Vallejo European mud to the undersides of the fenders - I figure it's easier to do this now rather than when they and the tracks are in place: Then I decided it was time to get the tracks on. Earlier in the project I attempted to stretch the tracks using a hair dryer, but since I did them they have shrunk back a bit. I began by gluing the sprocket in place and then glued the tracks to the sprocket using Super Glue. Once set I then worked my way along gluing the tracks to the return rollers but introducing a bit of sag between each. When I applied the glue to the top of the rollers I made sure it wasn't just on the top but went slightly down the rims to help the sag stay in place. Finally, at this point, I glued the tracks to the idler: At this point the tracks were not stretched at all - in fact I had used up more track length introducing the bits of sag. Therefore - as I glued the lower run I had to glue the tracks bit by bit and stretch them as I went: I was quite relieved when I got them to fit! Then I did the same with the other side: By this time the light from outside was a bit dull so the next two photos - to show the tracks in place - were taken under electric light so the colours are not quite the same: After this I got the fenders attached but didn't get a photo of them. More tomorrow I hope. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Fantastic job on the tracks Stix, shes coming along nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Brilliant work Stix, Lucky for you those tracks didn't snap! Just a thought, but after using a hair drier to help stretching them, did you plunge them into cold water immediately after? I'm liking the look of your tracks, I am at a stage where I could add mine if I were opting for a 'dry' scene, but I'm not. Well.... but.... maybe....possibly.... could I? Looking forward to seeing your Panzer with the lid on. Rearguards, Badder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 "That's the way to do it" you've made it look easy, excellent job stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfingers Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 Aye up Stix, Brilliant job on the tracks. Hard to believe they aren't made up from indie links Regards, Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Excellent work Stix. The tracks look superb, the washes you have added to them are really effective and realistic. I like the way the tracks are sitting on the model, the sag looks just right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 14, 2019 Author Share Posted January 14, 2019 On 12/01/2019 at 18:29, Ozzy said: Fantastic job on the tracks Stix, shes coming along nicely. Thanks Ozzy. It's been fun so far! I was worried the tracks were going to be impossible to get any sag with but the DS material was quite soft and easy to work with. On 12/01/2019 at 18:35, Badder said: Brilliant work Stix, Lucky for you those tracks didn't snap! Just a thought, but after using a hair drier to help stretching them, did you plunge them into cold water immediately after? I'm liking the look of your tracks, I am at a stage where I could add mine if I were opting for a 'dry' scene, but I'm not. Well.... but.... maybe....possibly.... could I? Looking forward to seeing your Panzer with the lid on. Rearguards, Badder Hi Badder and thank you for your comments. With regards cooling them - I wasn't going to have an electric hair drier near water - not that I could get near any water anyway at the time - so I held them immediately against the cold glass of the back window. They actually stayed stretched for a day or so and then I noticed they were getting a bit shorter. I originally extended them by about 2cm but they lost half of that over the next few days. I didn't bother re-measuring them before fitting them - I was too concerned they may have shrunk more! It may be that I softened them enough so they didn't snap when I stretched them further! I'm not quite at the point where I'm going to add the superstructure yet - I'm going to start to weather the various parts first. On 12/01/2019 at 20:27, Hewy said: "That's the way to do it" you've made it look easy, excellent job stix Thank you very much Glynn! On 12/01/2019 at 20:56, fatfingers said: Aye up Stix, Brilliant job on the tracks. Hard to believe they aren't made up from indie links Regards, Steve Thank you very much Steve. I was quite pleased myself with the tracks. I wasn't totally convinced I would be able to get them to co-operate! 23 hours ago, modelling minion said: Excellent work Stix. The tracks look superb, the washes you have added to them are really effective and realistic. I like the way the tracks are sitting on the model, the sag looks just right. Hi Craig and thank you very much for your comments - you are too kind! Okay, having spent a lot of time yesterday catching up with everyone else's builds, I also managed to get a bit done on mine as well. As I mentioned on Saturday evening - I got the fenders glued on the lower hull later in the afternoon on Saturday. Before doing that I got some Vallejo mud applied to the top runs of the tracks - I thought it would be easier than when the fenders were on. Then most of yesterday's modelling time was spent on the lower hull still - first adding areas of very thinned Humbrol Gunmetal, in areas where there might be wear. This was applied using a very fine pointed brush. Over these areas I applied very, very thinned Revell's Anthracite - to tone down any shine. Finally yesterday I added some touches of Railmatch's Light Rust. Please note I haven't started adding any mud/dirt to the wheels, idlers or drive sprockets yet. That will come later. The overall results can be seen below: There is still a lot more weathering I want to add to the lower hull and the superstructure before gluing them together but at least it's underway! Then I couldn't resist a bit of a test fit of some parts so I took a few photos: More when I get chance. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 looking really great, sir! The colors you chose for the mud and dirt, look really nice against the gray. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Looking very much "the business" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Good job Stix. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joss Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Looking good stix, very impressive! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 That looks the mutz nutz, Stix. The mud combined with those tracks is so realistic!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Looking great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Outstanding job, especially on the tracks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 I shall be pinching your paint technique for the Panzer Grey. It looks superb on yours. Very nice and fast work. In exchange for those who gets lids glued on a Top Tip: take a piece of cling film and hold it over the top of the bottle. Screw the cap down. There will be enough slack in the fit to let you do this. The top should then come off easy next time, throw the film away and replace each time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 A magnificently achieved mud and metal effect! ... 😍I love the contrast... Cheers Stix 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Hi Stix, My Sunday Roast got cold while I was catching up on your build. Never mind. It was worth it. I'm going to have a re-read of how you did your tracks again, because they look ace. Rearguards, Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 21, 2019 Author Share Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) On 14/01/2019 at 15:28, SoftScience said: looking really great, sir! The colors you chose for the mud and dirt, look really nice against the gray. On 14/01/2019 at 18:07, Hewy said: Looking very much "the business" On 14/01/2019 at 19:34, Ozzy said: Good job Stix. On 15/01/2019 at 20:48, Joss said: Looking good stix, very impressive! On 15/01/2019 at 21:40, wimbledon99 said: That looks the mutz nutz, Stix. The mud combined with those tracks is so realistic!! On 15/01/2019 at 22:37, exdraken said: Looking great! On 20/01/2019 at 06:18, bigfoot said: Outstanding job, especially on the tracks On 20/01/2019 at 12:01, SleeperService said: I shall be pinching your paint technique for the Panzer Grey. It looks superb on yours. Very nice and fast work. In exchange for those who gets lids glued on a Top Tip: take a piece of cling film and hold it over the top of the bottle. Screw the cap down. There will be enough slack in the fit to let you do this. The top should then come off easy next time, throw the film away and replace each time. 22 hours ago, FrancisGL said: A magnificently achieved mud and metal effect! ... 😍I love the contrast... Cheers Stix 👍 Hi all and thank you very much for all you very kind comments. I am really enjoying this project - it's a nice straight forward kit with some lovely detail. 20 hours ago, Badder said: Hi Stix, My Sunday Roast got cold while I was catching up on your build. Never mind. It was worth it. I'm going to have a re-read of how you did your tracks again, because they look ace. Rearguards, Badder Hi Badder. Sorry your lunch went cold! There wasn't really much I did with the tracks on this one but let me know if anything isn't clear in what I have written. Over the weekend I didn't get chance to get online very much - hence why I have been catching up with everyone's builds today. I also did some work on my project so I figure I ought to get some photos posted. First job on Saturday morning was adding the basic weathering to the upper hull before getting it glued in place. I find it easier to do the streaks and runs, etc. with the parts seperate. Then I got the upper hull glued to the lower hull: Next up I decided to make a start on the some of the weathering on the lower hull parts I had not yet weathered. First I stippled on some very, very thinned Humbrol Desert Yellow followed by some very, very thinned Humbrol Dark Earth. Once dry I added some Vallejo European Mud - which I applied with a cocktail stick: Yesterday I next decided to add all the parts to the rear of the lower hull (except for the two small handles which I decided I would probably break off whilst handling it): Also yesterday I decided to start work on some of the MiniArt figures I want to use. I have to say that I wasn't awfully impressed with them. The detail is nice but there's lot of flash (some of which is very difficult to remove), the seam lines are heavy in places and, worst of all - they have molded the faces with the seam running down the centre of the face - so down the forehead, nose, mouth and chin!. Not easy to remove without damaging the detail. Anyway - with some careful work this is how they look in place: You can perhaps see - in the photo above - the difference between the hull weathering and the unweathered turret. Hopefully I'll get some weathering started on the turret next weekend. I still need to make up a commander figure. More next weekend. Comments and suggestions welcome. KInd regards, Stix Edited January 21, 2019 by PlaStix 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Superb stix, you've made that difficult to weather panzer grey look very interesting indeed, something I wasn't sure I could do convincingly on my build, which is why I lightened mine a lot😁, incredibly well done stix, awesome brushwork as usual. Glynn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Nice job on the weathering Stix, even with the problems those figures look good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 This just gets better and better. I really like the mud effect, extremely effective and has left me wondering how to try and get the same effect, I have been rather shamelessly attempting to copy the way you have done your weathering (though not 100% successful) but the mud is something I am wary of. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 I too am going to take the plunge into some mud. I've bought some 'thick' and some 'splash' and I'm hoping not to make too much of a mess. I'll settle for a fraction of your finish, Stix. It's looking wonderful!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badder Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 There's 'Top Notch' and then there's 'Plastix Top Notch', which is a Notch higher than just plain old Top Notch - and is in danger of floating off into the stratosphere. Rearguards, Badder 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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