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Dragon/Platz 1/35 Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D - ### FINISHED ###


PlaStix

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On 21/01/2019 at 15:30, Hewy said:

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 

Thank you very much Glynn. Panzer Grey can be a bit lifeless but I think what you did on yours was awesome! :worthy:

 

On 21/01/2019 at 18:12, Ozzy said:

Nice job on the weathering Stix, even with the problems those figures look good.

Cheers Ozzy, you are most kind!

 

On 21/01/2019 at 19:02, modelling minion said:

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.

Hi Craig and thank you. If you use Vallejo mud it can be quite wet and clumpy if you are not careful. I use the sides of the end if a cocktail stick to apply mine. I try to get a reasonable amount on the end and then only very slightly touch it to an area I'm not so concerned about - like the undersides of the hull. This will take a bit off and then as I keep dabbing the mud gets a little drier and this is when I move onto the surfaces I'm more concerned about. Again I only lightly touch it to the surfaces but the drier mud gives me more control of how much is applied. Hope that helps.

 

On 21/01/2019 at 22:52, wimbledon99 said:

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!! :clap:

Hi Nigel and thank you. As I said to Craig above:

If you use Vallejo mud it can be quite wet and clumpy if you are not careful. I use the sides of the end if a cocktail stick to apply mine. I try to get a reasonable amount on the end and then only very slightly touch it to an area I'm not so concerned about - like the undersides of the hull. This will take a bit off and then as I keep dabbing the mud gets a little drier and this is when I move onto the surfaces I'm more concerned about. Again I only lightly touch it to the surfaces but the drier mud gives me more control of how much is applied. Hope that helps.

 

On 22/01/2019 at 01:35, Badder said:

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

Hi Badder. You are waaayyyy too kind as always.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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On 22/01/2019 at 18:36, FrancisGL said:

That "cocktail" of mud is great for my taste, and the exhaust pipe is a real replica of one ...:popcorn:

Cheers Stix 👍

Thank you very much Francis, you are most kind. :thumbsup:

 

On 22/01/2019 at 22:41, stevej60 said:

Catching up on progress Stix,superb work on her the paintwork is superb and love the dried mud.

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

 

I had a day off work yesterday so I managed to get quite a bit done on this Pz.IV. First off I weathered the turret to match in with the hull. Then I got the majority of the remaining parts added to it. The it was time for more weathering. I stippled on some very, very thinned Dessert Sand and Dark Earth - primarily on the horizontal surfaces  -before re-instating some of the runs and streaks. You may also notice that the starboard turret hatch, which was originally glued in place, has now been removed and glued in the open position. This was because I realised one of the figures in my set was designed to sit in that hatch. Luckily it came off reasonably easily and was straight forward to clean up and paint. Some photos:

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More tomorrow I hope.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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18 hours ago, SoftScience said:

Do you do anything with the humbroll paints you use for dry brushing and stippling?

I picked up a tin of dark Earth for this very purpose, and even though I mixed it thourghouly, it dried glossy.

Hi SoftScience. Can I check you are using Humbrol Acrylic Dark Earth rather than Enamel? I only use acrylics and all I do for washes - stippling. etc - is thin them down with water, sometimes lots of water. For dry-brushing I use them neat. If you are using Matt Acrylic Humbrol Dark Earth then the only thing I can think of is that you have one from a duff batch. Some recent Humbrol paints are quite poor - almost oily, even when stirred.

 

Well, with all the tools and equipment added, today, I have been doing lots of additional weathering. It's not quite finished but the light was quite nice later on this afternoon so I took a lot of photos! 

 

It's probably best to look away now if you don't want to get bored!

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I have also done some work on the figures - all assembled and some filler applied:

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.....and then given a coat of thinned, with water, Revell's Anthracite:

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Today I also went hunting through my spares bits and bobs and found some stowage items that I can use and the frame I'm going to use for the base. I'm not making a large base for this one as I haven't got the time spare. More next weekend.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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Wonderful stuff Stix. I always look forward to seeing your tools - each one a masterpiece in its own right.

The figures look very promising and will be the icing on the cake. What filler did you use on those?

 

I am not sure which year your Pz is from, but are you going to add a flag on the rear deck for air-identification purposes?

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

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On 1/28/2019 at 7:50 AM, PlaStix said:

 

I have also done some work on the figures - all assembled and some filler applied:

46896551541_9309d588e7_b.jpg

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

The tank looks good..

 

The figures I think represent a post 1942 temperate climate crew. The two figures on the right hand end above are wearing the 1942/ 1943 field cap ‘Einheitsfeldmütze’ this entered service after the Balkans campaign. 

 

IIRC the big floppy panzer Beret lasted through the French campaign and was replaced by the side cap Feldmütze  which the two figures on the left are wearing.  The German tropical uniform had a ‘ Afrika Korps ‘ cap but I don’t think the tropical uniform was issued for the Balkans. 

 

HT

 

 

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On 27/01/2019 at 19:00, Ozzy said:

Definitely didn’t get board, very suitable weathering your figures are looking good too.

Thank you very much Ozzy! :thumbsup:

 

On 27/01/2019 at 19:36, MarkSH said:

The overall quality of the paint and weathering is excellent. Very impressive build. 

Cheers Mark! You are most kind!

 

On 27/01/2019 at 19:57, wimbledon99 said:

Looks wonderful!! Not enough pictures is the only negative comment :wink:

Hi Nigel and thank you. But don't tempt me......believe me there are more photos!! Don't worry though - I'll save them for the RFI section later on!

 

On 28/01/2019 at 01:01, Badder said:

Wonderful stuff Stix. I always look forward to seeing your tools - each one a masterpiece in its own right.

The figures look very promising and will be the icing on the cake. What filler did you use on those?

I am not sure which year your Pz is from, but are you going to add a flag on the rear deck for air-identification purposes?

Rearguards,

Badder

 

Hi Badder. As always - you are way too kind. The filler is Squadron's Fine White Putty. It's a bit odd to work with as it dries quite quickly but I like it and find it quite flexible to use. And I did wonder about using a flag but haven't seen one in a photo for the Balkans.

 

On 28/01/2019 at 13:57, FrancisGL said:

A great progress !, if it is already seen as the real "damn thing" ...:fight:

Apart, the figures will make it look even more authentic, as always you just did not surprise me, those "magic brushes" ...

Cheers Stix 👍

Hi Francis and thank you, as always, for your very kind comments.

 

On 28/01/2019 at 19:39, Hewy said:

Perfectly balanced, weathering mud and colours

Hi Glynn and thank you very much!

 

On 28/01/2019 at 21:54, modelling minion said:

Most definitely not boring at all!

The weathering and mud look excellent and the figures look like they will certainly set the finished tank off a treat.

Hi Craig and thank you for your very kind comments. I've been doing some work on the figures today - but no photos yet.

 

On 30/01/2019 at 21:30, Robert Stuart said:

Your Pz IV looks excellent Stix, very dark and menacing.

Hi Robert. Thank you for your kind comments too!

 

On 01/02/2019 at 12:44, Churchill said:

Just caught up with this one, very impressive - I like the weathering, subtly done. Looking forward to seeing the figures painted.

Hi Churchill and thank you for your comments. I have done some work on the painting of the figures but I haven't had chance to take any photos of them.

 

On 01/02/2019 at 15:36, Silenoz said:

Just caught up with this one too... nice and dirty.. looking very good like this (officially a bit jealous on this result...)

Hi Silenoz and thank you for your comments but there's no reason for you to be jealous!

 

15 hours ago, Plasto said:

The tank looks good..

The figures I think represent a post 1942 temperate climate crew. The two figures on the right hand end above are wearing the 1942/ 1943 field cap ‘Einheitsfeldmütze’ this entered service after the Balkans campaign. 

IIRC the big floppy panzer Beret lasted through the French campaign and was replaced by the side cap Feldmütze  which the two figures on the left are wearing.  The German tropical uniform had a ‘ Afrika Korps ‘ cap but I don’t think the tropical uniform was issued for the Balkans. 

HT

Hi Plasto and thank you for your comments.

With regards the figures - they were the closest thing to suitable crew I could get from the model shop I was in - so they are going to have to manage!

 

I have been doing some work on this project this weekend. First off I did some work on the stowage bits I discovered I had:

The sand coloured bits and bobs are from an Academy set and the spare tracks are from the Dragon/Platz kit itself:

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First job was to remove the seams and then I got them painted with thinned Revell's Anthracite:

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As you can see I also decided to make up a tow cable.

 

Some detailed painting on some of the items:

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The spare tracks in place on the side of the Pz.IV:

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Then I tried placing some of the items on the rear deck - nothing is glued on yet:

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I still need to do a bit of work on these and decide final positions. I have done some work on the figures but haven't taken any photos yet.

 

More next week I hope.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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Just caught up with this one and an excellent result so far with some fantastic weathering.

 

Spectacularly well done!

 

All the best

Ben

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On 03/02/2019 at 19:39, Hewy said:

The end is nigh, and it gets better still

Hi Glynn - the end certainly is! Thank you. I managed to get the figures done over the weekend and made a start on the base.

 

On 03/02/2019 at 19:59, Ozzy said:

Fantastic job on my the stowage Stix, shes looking very nice as all your bits come together.

Hi Ozzy. Thank you very much for your comments! I'm not doing much in the way of stowage - some of the photos I've seen show very little - although there are some with it piled high!

 

On 03/02/2019 at 20:00, modelling minion said:

Oooh I really like the wood effect on those shell boxes, superb!

Hi Craig and thank you. I must admit I was quite pleased with the wood effects on those boxes - dunno what I did differently though! :banghead:

 

On 04/02/2019 at 22:46, badger said:

Just caught up with this one and an excellent result so far with some fantastic weathering.

Spectacularly well done!

All the best

Ben

Hi Ben and thank you very much! :thumbsup:

 

On 10/02/2019 at 10:22, FrancisGL said:

I love especially the wooden boxes, which is difficult to get that look. Of course the whole model is looking great...:popcorn:

Cheers Stix 👍

Hi Francis and thank you too. I think the timber effect may be down to luck rather than skill!

 

As I mentioned above - I have got the figures just about finished:

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The pointing figure isn't glued in place as I'm not sure if he'll end up there or on the base, next to the tank, yet.

 

The base is underway as well. I'm going to use a Wilko's picture frame and some 3mm MDF for the base:

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I marked out where the tank tracks will sit:

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I scored down the edges with a craft knife before chiselling out the lengths. I do this so it looks like the tank has some weight and has sunk slightly into the surface:

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........and with it on the frame:

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I used a bit of pizza base packing foam for raising a couple of areas:

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Then I applied some filler:

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.....looks more like a snow scene at this point!:

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And finally given a couple of coats of thinned Humbrol's Dark Earth:

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I need to get the green stuff on this next.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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