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PACHYDERM PACKS A PUNCH. FINISHED?PHOTO HEAVY p22


Badder

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2 hours ago, FrancisGL said:

Hi Badder, it is good to see that you have returned to the Nassy, hoping that everything will go better at least.


It is really annoying when we make a kit and still following the instructions, there is a mounting defect, difficult to fix if you know it and even more difficult when it is too late ... it seems that you have overcome the problem satisfactorily.


If it does not move, I do not think it's very important, it's "static modeling", and not a toy. My kits almost never move the barrel, and most of the time it's not my fault, because the final adjustment recommends not touching it much later, or there will be breaks ..

.
I really like all that pile of pieces, giving a feeling of something complex.


I see that the color of the padding of the sight, which is green, and not black, and the gunner's seat, which is not brown or similar.

 

Maybe the interior looks better something clearer, it will add some lights, and will make the model more luminous and therefore something more attractive to look at, as the details will be more appreciated.

Now maybe that job is complicated, but not impossible ... I think if you decide to do it, you're still on time.

 

Keep up the good work ...

Cheers Badder 👍

Hi Francis,

Thanks. I always leave my tank turrets and guns moveable because I always plan to place them in a diorama, and having the option to reposition the turret and gun elevation is vital. With the Nashorn I think it looks better with the gun in a fairly level position, so I was happy to lock it in place. I will leave it free to rotate for now because I may traverse it slightly - it depends if the figures will still fit. If they do still fit, I may then fix the gun at an angle - because I've never seen a model Nashorn where that's been done!

 

As for the gunner's padded 'eye piece' and his seat, they are supposed to be XF-85 Field Grey (which to me always looks green) Instead, I painted the eye piece with a proper green and will give it a wash to tone it down a bit. Meanwhile, I painted the seat Antelope Brown (over Dunkelgelb) and it will get a green wash over the top. I figure the seat cover would be dyed leather. It's a bit immaterial really (forgive the pun) as the gunner's bottom will cover it entirely.

 

As for lightening the fighting compartment, see below.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

2 hours ago, Churchill said:

I thought the weathering of the interior was particularly good - my favourite part of a very impressive build. 

Hi Mr Churchill, Sir,

A strange thing has happened with the interior. I think it's down to the properties of the particular inks I used, but the overall impression is that the 'basic colour' has darkened while the chipping effects have paled. The contrasts then, have decreased.

The thing is, the gun was painted in a 'cleaner' fashion, without so many layers and the yellowness of the dunkelgelb is much more apparent.  That's why I contemplated repainting the interior - to get a better colour match.

However, I decided against it. What I DID do, was go over the entire interior with a stiff wet brush and give it a scrub back. Whilst the colour still doesn't match that of the gun, it is a fair bit paler now and more to my liking. The gun - and this is my excuse - looks yellower because it's newer - a replacement for one that was damaged.

And finally, the fighting compartment will be filled with figures and ammo crates, so its colours will be less of an issue.

 

Rearguards

Badder

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Today I've been concentrating on getting the gun barrel painted and whitewashed. I have paused for the moment to consider whether to add 'kill rings' to the barrel. Although these were never present on Pommern itself (at least, not in any photos I've seen) I have seen photos of other Nashorns were they were employed. I used a bit of artistic licence when it came to presenting the Pommern with an underlying 3-colour camo, so I figure I could use a bit more and apply kill rings if I feel like it.

 

Visible in the first few pics are the gunner's seat and 'eye-piece' which received their final green wash. The finished result isn't quite the 'Field Grey' that is advised by Tamiya, but then I doubt Field Grey was the true colour anyway. Also apparent (hopefully) is the slight lightening of the fighting compartment - achieved by rubbing back with a stiff water-loaded brush.

Ziijqgq.jpg

There's a few gunky areas on the gun that need to be tidied up, plus some silvering required on the breech block and a couple of other parts, but otherwise, I am fairly happy with how things are looking,

 

eiQlX4r.jpg

 

I lleft the gun mantlet off so as to let more light in for the photos.

fJRieu4.jpg

 

kjuHljg.jpg

 

 

The gun barrel received a brush-painted acrylic camo prior to a few brush-painted ink whitewashes and a rubbing back. Some chipping and whitewash streaking will follow once I've made my mind up about the kill rings.

cBrFt6L.jpg

 

oqm1cnj.jpg

 

2erkBgf.jpg

 

 

EVEd2A3.jpg

Ah, the slack tracks! Yes. a link at the rear end came undone (not visible) and I haven't bothered to fix it.

 

Yeah, let's go for the kill rings!!!!

 

 

TFL

Badder

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  • Badder changed the title to PACHYDERM PACKS A PUNCH.... BARREL CAMO AND WHITEWASH
1 hour ago, Hewy said:

Nice! Are you going to mask and paint them or wing it freehand 

Freehand?

Where's the 'Belly Laugh' emoticon? With my hands I can just about manage freehand,chipping, so no Glynn, it'll be done with masking!

The more pertinent question would have been 'How many rings?'

I mentioned earlier how one Nashorn 'ace' knocked out over 30 Russian tanks in one battle.....

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

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Rofl.gif   here ya go.

 Badder great progress on the gun and the 78th redo of the interior(wink.gif)  It does look much more cohesive. 

Thanks for the special treat:

 ahh-bader.jpg

 

As a small aside re: my adventures in Oil Wash Land I have completed the experiment and it is a resounding- mediocracy, but I feel better for having tried.  I think after putting the dashboard in to the Rolls it will only show a wee little bit. Especially if I darken the windows with a triple layer of gloss black enamel and keep all viewers at least 6 feet (1.82m) away, so all will look perfect. That should do it - yes3.gif Yep.

Edited by Prop Duster
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6 hours ago, Prop Duster said:

Rofl.gif   here ya go.

 Badder great progress on the gun and the 78th redo of the interior(wink.gif)  It does look much more cohesive.  

Thanks for the special treat:

 ahh-bader.jpg

 

As a small aside re: my adventures in Oil Wash Land I have completed the experiment and it is a resounding- mediocracy, but I feel better for having tried.  I think after putting the dashboard in to the Rolls it will only show a wee little bit. Especially if I darken the windows with a triple layer of gloss black enamel and keep all viewers at least 6 feet (1.82m) away, so all will look perfect. That should do it - yes3.gif Yep.

Hi Steve,

I shall have to have a gander at your Rolls. That's not a euphamism BTW. It could be Cockney Rhyming Slang, though I doubt it as nothing springs to mind to go with 'gander'. Maybe its just a plain old metaphor. Is your Rolls present here on BM? 

Thanks for populating my fighting compartment. That's not a euphamism either. Probably it's not the best place to bend over, even for a beer. That gun breech is looking very menacing.

 

'Well, see doc, I was wearing my jeans with the 'trapdoor' in the back and, um, I bent over to pick up this beer and, well...an 88mm Anti-tank gun went off behind me.'

'Yeah, right. Well, you finish your beer because this is going to hurt! Nurse! Fetch me the axle grease!'

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

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5 minutes ago, Hewy said:

Big mouth, big foot, didn't think, insensitive, Mrs hewy always tells me this, she might be on to something, please accept my apologies 

Glynn 

Glynn, seriously, no apology needed! I wasn't offended in the slightest.

I forget about my dodgy fingers as well, and only remember they don't ALWAYS work properly when they don't do what I meant them to do!

I should have made it clear that I was trying to be funny with my response to your 'freehand' suggestion.

:cheers:

Rearguards,

Badder

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A rare colour photo of a Nashorn, Eastern Front March 1944, of extra note for the tarp over the gun breech area.

7JJ69Ka.jpg

 

Looking at this, the partially rolled-up tarp is tied down to the very small 'hoops' present on the gun mantlet, and the fighting compartment side panels, just below the top edges.

These smallest hoops are also present at the rear of the vehicle, on the sides and on the rear panel, and, as this tarp looks to be made of quite thin material, and a considerable amount is rolled up, perhaps this tarp could cover the entire fighting compartment. 

Probably though, it wasn't extended fully back in practice.

I still have only a couple of images of Nashorns with the roof support 'hoop' over the top.

 

TFL

Badder

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1 hour ago, Robert Stuart said:

It does seem a pity to cover-up your excellent paint work with a tarp, but, if you must ...

 

Hi Robert

I was thinking more along the lines of adding a tarp frame and having the actual tarp rolled up. But I still haven't found a good photos of the frame or any info on where the tarp was stored. I did speculate a while back that it's kept in the long chest beneath the Nashorn's rear doors.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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Whilst waiting for some paint to dry, I fitted the spare winterketten to the front rail.  I fitted both left and right hand track links because most kits don't.

I did think about inverting the tracks and having the extensions pointing downwards, but they are a bit long and would have seriously decreased the ground-clearance .if this were ever done. They'd most likely have been damaged or snapped off anyway.

This area will get some mud, maybe a bit of snow and some dead plant matter methinks.

Oh, and I still have to fit the mud-flap springs - which I remember as being a right pain in the arsenal last time (even when fitted at the build stage rather than at a late stage like this)

 

Still wet, BTW:

qBlqnV1.jpg

 

A few bits of silvering were done on the gun - the gun cradle rails, the shaft in the breech actuating mechanism, and a touch-up of the breech block.

ZDQRLpZ.jpg

There's still a silver shaft to fit into the recuperator mechanism.

 

And below is the paint that I was leaving to dry:

jdfXMku.jpg

I am putting off the masking until I am sure it's fully dry as I don't want to risk pulling the paint off with the tape. I am also putting it off because I'm a bit scared.

Getting the spacing a fraction of a millimetre out on a 1/48th D-Day fighter won't look half as bad as it will here.

 

And now for some porn:

kEpiWsL.jpg

 

TlFem6j.jpg

 

Methinks 'tis safe to fit the tow cable now.

In the previous STGB, I made my own tow cable from bicycle brake cable and copper sheet for the crimps, This is something I can't do here as the Nashorn's tow cable is wound around in a circular fashion. What's more, the cable is also clamped down to the hull with a....er... clamp. Quite simply, the brake cable wouldn't fit through the kit's clamp, and the stiffness of the cable would prevent me from winding it tightly enough around the brackets. Even if I could, it would almost certainly spring apart and snap the brackets.

So, I'll be using the Tamiya's 'string' plus the copper sheet (from a secret source) for the crimps/cleats or whatever they are called.

 

TFL

Badder

 

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Hi Badder. Hope you are keeping well. Looks like you have been making more excellent progress. As ever, I am so impressed by how realistic your effects are. Fantastic modelleing! :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

Stix

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8 hours ago, FrancisGL said:

I really like the load part of the weapon, very used and "dirty", a look of instruments with many points of work ...:popcorn:

Cheers Badder 👍

Hi Francis,

Thanks. I was really looking forward to 'chipping' the gun after seeing some of the excellent 'gun work' done by others - a Wespe, and a Marder spring to mind.

But I did kind of rush mine when it came to painting and weathering. I did an unusual thing (for me anyway) and that was to construct most of the gun before painting it. Then I couldn't get to all of the areas that might get chipped. If I build another Nashorn or open-topped AFV, then I'll paint and chip the parts before construction.

Still, I'm fairly pleased with the result.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

6 hours ago, Hewy said:

Suitably war weary, used and abused,most  impressive,  those tracks look so good too

Hi Glynn,

Ah, now, the tracks. Cough.

When I base-coated Nassy, and started messing about with camo, I made sure to cover up the tracks so as not to contaminate them.

But when I started the whitewashing I didn't bother masking them. During the many 'rubbing back' procedures, a fair bit of white ink, and some antelope brown or burnt umber ink has spattered the tracks. The spatter was very fine though and now those spattered areas of track do look rather nice. Certainly, the spatter is natural-looking, because, well, it got there naturally!

So, I won't be washing it off. I will be adding mud/snow AFTER this GB is finished though, so it may end up immaterial.

 

Rearguards

Badder

 

 

 

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Update.

I spent 3hrs trying to glue a tow-cable clamp to Nassy's glacis.

It's a small part - approx. 2mm x 2mm and 3/4mm thick.

I must have dropped it 20 times, and pinged it 10 times but miraculously found it each time within 3mins.

I say miraculous because at one point it pinged into my rubbish bin - but landed on a crisp packet near the top and didn't fall into the hell below. and on another occasion it pinged off across my messy table in an unknown direction, making no sound upon impact to give me a clue as to where I should search - so I thought 'start off looking at soft things - and I found it within a minute, resting on a piece of kitchen roll.

 

Anyway, it's fitted now and I consoled myself with some fairly extensive fiddling with the whitewash AGAIN!

No pics for now because it's way past my bed time and I have to be at work in stupidly-few hours.

 

G'nite all.

Badder

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11 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Im sorry for not catching up sooner with this one Badder. The work is excellent. Now to go back and have a read through all 18 pages. 

 

Dennis

Hi Dennis,

LTNC, or is it LTNS? I hope you are well?

Good luck with the 18 pages. Most of it is waffle or photos of things done, and re-done, and re-re-done, seemingly ad infinitum!

I think the whitewash is just about finished though and I'm heading towards adding the last few bits and pieces, so hopefully you won't have too many extra pages to read!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

1 hour ago, Robert Stuart said:

You are going to have to show images of your ballistic tow cable clamp.  Possibly with the rope?

 

P.S. I presume the rope, if nothing else, will be well cared for and in good nick?

Hi Robert,

The string is in good condition. The cable it represents will be..... er.... in a similar state.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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Thank you i am doing well, hoping you're the same ?  Yes it has been a Long Time No Chatting. I will have to go over your build tonight, i fell out early last night. I don't mind the waffle it can be informitive and entertaining some times. Ive been doing a bit of waffling with 7 builds myself 3 on the Forum and 4 in private. All of which should be up for RFI in the next 2-3 weeks. Four of them i started before i had to relocate my office. 

     I never was able to muster up time for the Mk.IV. I’m also re-evaluating which builds i can stay committed to through mid-summer ? I need to be able to focus on the Patton build. I just dont think i will have much time to spend on a lot of other builds. 

 

Dennis

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8 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Thank you i am doing well, hoping you're the same ?  Yes it has been a Long Time No Chatting. I will have to go over your build tonight, i fell out early last night. I don't mind the waffle it can be informitive and entertaining some times. Ive been doing a bit of waffling with 7 builds myself 3 on the Forum and 4 in private. All of which should be up for RFI in the next 2-3 weeks. Four of them i started before i had to relocate my office. 

     I never was able to muster up time for the Mk.IV. I’m also re-evaluating which builds i can stay committed to through mid-summer ? I need to be able to focus on the Patton build. I just dont think i will have much time to spend on a lot of other builds. 

 

Dennis

Hi Dennis,

Good to read you are well. I was doing exceptionally well with regards to my blood-sugar levels for 6 months, getting my average below 10 and heading towards the 8's, but then Christmas and New Year happened.  I've struggled to get my levels back down below 10 since. Still, they are lower than they've been for the previous 7yrs! It's hard to keep motivated though - a recent relapse with my CIDP hasn't helped, but I will get back to being a good boy.

7 builds????? Crikey. That's as many as I've done since joining BM 4yrs ago, I think!

I'm unable to take part in the Patton build, primarily because I really do have to get ONE of my big dioramas finished this year, and, what with my entry into the Tiger STGB, I'll be hard pushed to reach that goal.

 

And on the subject of dioramas, I am considering 'Evolving' my 'Ever Evolving Diorama' into a winter one - the reason being that I have no AFVs  to inhabit it as a'summer' scene, but I will have 2 winterised German AFVs when this STGB is over - A StuG III and this Nashorn. I could remove the Ardennes Building from that diorama and replace it with my ruined farmhouse from the Pit Stop diorama. We shall see.

 

It's all part of the fun as they say.

 

 

Reargaurds,

Badder

 

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The tow cable. I ended up using the kit parts as scratching accurately detailed 'loops' at the ends proved beyond me.

Here, the cable is dry-fitted, and only partly painted:

eSuCZef.jpg

The clamp (lowermost of the 3 tow-cable fasteners) holds the record for 'The Highest Number of Unsuccessful Escapes' that being 32.

 

And I stuck the spare wheels on, gave a spatter with white and a wash with earth colours:

BtxZ4uU.jpg

 

tla3hvn.jpg

 

Meanwhile, I'm trying to balance the character of the side panels..... which is proving rather difficult! Hopefully that will be done by the end of play today.

TFL

Badder

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Right, ITHINK I have the whitewashing done on the side-panels, and possibly everywhere else, barring maybe some more at the rear, and touch-ups after the last few parts have been added.

 

The problem I had, was matching one side of Nassy with the other, in terms of 'character'.

One side panel had a worn patch, exposing the underlying camo, and the whitewash was quite bright and streaky towards the rear of the vehicle and yellowish towards the front. The opposite side had no exposed camo (barring the cleaned areas around the cross and Pommern logo) and the whitewash was duller and slightly yellowy towards the rear, with the streaking less discernible. 

Whilst the differences between the side panels could have been legitimate - with many possible causes; differing mixes of whitewash, different crew members applying them, different influences on the whitewash by rain/sleet/splashes/brushings with obstacles, etc - my instinct was to balance them. And of course, it's never easy to get two complicated finishes the same, especially when you can't see them side by side!

 

So it was a case of replicating the original processes for one panel, on the other and constantly turning the vehicle around to compare the results.

I got there in the end. Although the chipping has yet to be balanced. Oh, and I did add a horizontal scratch to the front end.

fSVPVsM.jpg

 

0kxYXWU.jpg

 

 

 

With that done, I thought I'd construct the gun travel lock. This is currently only rested in place, but in the intended 'dropped' position. Nashorn travel locks dropped to a position 60 degrees from the horizontal and were prevented from dropping further and hitting the driver's roof by a chamfer at the hinge end.

qFXvkbi.jpg

 

vpX0XB2.jpg

 

Obviously, the copper wire will be painted, and the hinges will be located/positioned properly.

 

Next, methinks some mud on the lower hull, front and rear.

 

 

 

 

TFL

Badder

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