PACHYDERM PACKS A PUNCH. FINISHED?PHOTO HEAVY p22

[German Armour]

6 hours ago, Robert Stuart said:

I know it's a Hummel wearing the wrong tracks (for you) and in mild weather camo, but are you aware of this image?
 

 

Could this supply inspiration?

It's in the speilburger book on Pz. IV, it also shows other views.

[Prop Duster]

Badder,  Good progress on your ammo rounds. The plastic ones will do for background rounds for those Brass Beautys .

I do like the sound of your confidence in the direction change re: the mud vs the snow. I have no doubt the results will be a treat to see. 

 

It has been a long day here, so will not be giving the usual banter ---OK, I hear you lot, just keep cheering down over there!-humph ---  as we have had a couple of days of torrential down pour sprinkles here.  The soil is highly damp now and there are small green things sprouting overnight all over the ground!  Some locals are sure the end Is nigh (we don't remember very well, the last time it rained ).  There has been much wailing and talk of mass migration to some place more temperate, though no good ideas have surfaced.  This reaction may seem strange to you, but consider,  it is as if you awoke one morning and all about your house was sandy desert- very freighting I'm sure.    Well I must be off, need to shut the windows, refill the whale oil lamps and sand bag the doors.  All incase another light drizzle descends on our humble abode tonight.

                           Keep faith in the styrene of your forefathers. While trusting in the power of epoxy over PVA white glue.   

[Badder]

Please forgive the brevity of this post, but I am pressed for time to post anything more informative!

 

A Hummel with  Winterketten.

The snow impaction on the tracks is something I've decided to emulate. though to a lesser degree.

 

Tracks a happy pair again.

 

 

 

Wheels washed with Antelope Brown.

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2019 by Badder

[Badder]

I've been looking at lots of photos of Nashorns in winter camo, and came across this one:

 

At first glance it looks to be fully whitewashed....... but it's a black and white photo, so is that actually white, or fresh off the production line dunkelgelb?

A closer look reveals that the spare tracks on the front of the hull, and the walls of the return roller tyres have clearly been painted with some pale colour, and the tyres of the road wheels appear to show a spattering of a pale colour too. Maybe the road wheel tyres were also painted with the pale colour, but most has worn/been washed off?

Whatever, it seems most likely that the Nashorn WAS given an all-over whitewash - when, and who by is up for debate, but I'm assuming that the Nashorn was being transported to the Eastern Front and, knowing that the region was snow-bound, the crew did it themselves. I also assume that as they weren't having to apply the whitewash whilst 'in the field of combat' the crew had plenty of time to paint the entire vehicle.

So, whilst I have found photos of Nashorns with their hull sides 'half-heartedly' given a whitewash, and some where just the wheel and return roller hubs were whitewashed and the hull left alone, there were some that were given 'the full beans'.

 

I have been stewing over what to do with my 'undercarriage' for a few days now - hence the drop in activity on this build.  -How much snow and ice should I try to depict, and where to put it? Well, nothing like the snow build up in the photo below:

I'd already realised that the hull sides, the suspension units, return rollers, sprockets, idlers and road wheels would be shielded from gathering snow by the wider Winterketten, but should I whitewash the wheels? Should I whitewash the hull sides?

 

And what about these:

 

 

So, BEFORE any snow or whitewash gets added to my 'lower portions' I'll be adding these:

 

The old rubber bands did come in handy after all. I've cut half of the required lengths to fit on the hull sides,  I did cut the tracks in the right places, trying to make them look true to actual track links, but I wasn't too fussy about the slightly tatty appearance of the cuts as the tracks are going to get mud, whitewash and perhaps a tiny bit of snow on them as well - because, whilst the winterketten do shield the inner 'gubbins' from snow, mud and water, they only reduce that which comes from 'outside of the vehicle's footprint'. The innermost faces of the wheels are as unprotected as ever, and so snow, mud and water will fall from the tracks on their innermost side and drop down the sides of the hull.

 

 

To sum up then, I'm going for a 'box standard' Nashorn that had its hull armour reinforced with spare track lengths. But when the Russian winter fell it was whitewashed all over. Inevitably,  mud and snow ended up on the sides of the hull, on the wheels, etc, but shortly afterwards the Nashorn was fitted with its wider tracks. Now the winter is at its worst, and the ground is frozen solid, with powdery snow laying about, and easily windblown.

 

BTW, the ammo racks are proving to be a pain, as was the case with the previous Nashorn. I'm referring to photos of actual ammo cabinets, pics of other peoples' builds, and PE offerings to see what I can do to improve matters whist retaining some accuracy!

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2019 by Badder

[Prop Duster]

Hummm, broken link?

OR

is the winter camo so good, it rivals a Polar Bear eating marshmallows in a snow storm? 

Inquiring minds want to know...… well, Me anyway.

[Badder]

Just now, Prop Duster said:

Hummm, broken link?

OR

is the winter camo so good, it rivals a Polar Bear eating marshmallows in a snow storm? 

Inquiring minds want to know...… well, Me anyway.

Hi Steve,

HA!

No, see, (or not) what it is, is, when I paste a link to a photo, BM (for some unknown reason) doesn't 'turn it into a photo' and it stays there as a 'broken link'. But the code IS right.

But if I submit the post anyway, then edit it and RE-PASTE the exact same code, only then does it turn it into a photo.

So, I submitted it and went to edit it, pasted the link... and then got to add more photos and waffle to the post. It was during this time that I suspect you found nowt but blankness.

I do apologise!

 

Hoping your lawn  pavement sidewalk is now bone dry and not horribly damp

 

 

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[FrancisGL]

The tracks are very good for the moment, you can see the detail, I do not know if later it will not be like that anymore.
Ammunition is a thorny issue, I mean the plastic, because the "brass gold" is not easy to get (at least for me), but as you say, once put in place, will not be seen, more so, when the piece of artillery is in place, and the crew does its job ...
By the way, very good idea of the drop of paint for the shells ...

[Badder]

Well, I finally got one of the ammo cabinets 'shelled up'.

After studying photos of a real Nashorn, and the PE offerings for ammo cabinets (which showed a different shelving solution) I decided to keep things simple and just get the brass shells lined up with the plastic shells. 

 

First, I trimmed the 'rims' off the plastic shells Iin situ), thus allowing the brass shell rims to sit lower in the cabinet at that end. I then CA'd two short lengths of plastic brush bristle (vertically) across the three plastic shells. These would in effect push the outer brass shells outwards by about 1mm. Neither plastic shells nor brass shells  slot into the 'shelves' at the firing pin end (another error by Tamiya) but the bristles did hold the warheads in their proper place and also solved the problem of a lack of 'glue contact' points.

 

 

 

I've since cleaned off the specks of yellow on the cases and have tidied up the 'warhead' of the shell at the top. I excuse myself for the oversight because of the harsh lighting conditions and the highly reflective surface of the brass

 

@FrancisGL

Yes, it's a shame that 90 percent of the best looking bits of tracks end up squashed face-down in the mud, or up against sponsons and fenders, but the Winterketten reduce that percentage by er..... quite a lot. I will be snowing them up a bit, but not by too much.

 

As for a making a good brass colour, I've given up on using Tamiya acrylics when using a brush. Like gold (and - Flesh) I usually manage to turn it into a right mess!

What I am using nowadays is Daler and Rowney 'Bell Bronze' Acrylic Ink, over an acrylic paint base. I've yet to find the correct colour of base, but the ink is superbly free-flowing and brushes really well. I'm  sure a little mixing of colours will get a good 'shell bronze' but as I have the real brass shells, I will leave such experiments for later.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Badder

[diases]

Hi Badder

Just a thought on Brass colour.

I've been using AK pigment dark steel on my models recently.

 

 

This was with no preparation and a spare panel.

Its a powder. Just a little on finger tip and a quick rub, gave these results.

Dunno if could help your situation

 

 

There is a brass colour on their website, So might have to treat myself for testing purposes

[Badder]

6 hours ago, diases said:

Its a powder. Just a little on finger tip and a quick rub, gave these results.

Dunno if could help your situation

 

 

There is a brass colour on their website, So might have to treat myself for testing purposes

Thanks Diases,

I will have a look. I do use Humbrol Weathering Powders a fair bit, mostly as washes though. It looks to me like the stuff you're using is more like Tamiya Weathering Master, which is basically women's make-up, and a bit too greasy for my liking.

I did have a look back a few pages here, trying to find a good photo of the kind of finish that Bell Bronze Acrylic Ink gives, and was most surprised to find none! The best photo I could find only shows the result of the first coat of ink and not it's true finish.

 

So, that'll be the three shells on the left. Another coat gives a much paler, but brighter, more metallic finish.

 

 

And those finished shells are JUST visible behind the brass ones here:

 

Unfortunately, this particular colour of ink is NOT suitable for the AB, but as I said, it does brush on extremely well.

 

 

Rearguards,

Badder

Edited January 19, 2019 by Badder

[Ozzy]

Nice work on the rounds Badder, the racks are also looking good.

[Badder]

The AP rounds in their place:

Hopefully the macro photo won't show up an embarrassing spatter as with the HE cases..... let's see....

 

 

That's better.

 

Now there's just hairs to clean off.

 

 

TFL

Badder

[Badder]

The second cabinet in place:

 

For anyone making this Nashorn kit in the future.... do not attempt to glue the cabinets in place prior to fitting the compartment sides. The cabinets' locating ridges on the 'fenders' are, like those for the large toolbox, out of position.

 

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

 

[wimbledon99]

That looks so good. It could be a picture of the interior of the real thing.

 

Are you sure it isn't?

[Prop Duster]

Badder

Grand job on the cabinets and the stored rounds.  It makes a world of  (Good) difference with the plastic lackeys hiding in the back.  I like the idea to use a bit of brush to help locate the brass shells.   The interior pictures are a bit of modeling magic, Well Done.  

 

 

 

 

As to the horrors of the assault by the rain  sprinkles for the last Two Whole Daays!   Some of my fellow villagers get some what dramatic. Oh, well.  the SUN RETURNED! today. So all's right  my fellow local indigenous personal and they are relaxing from the fright of the past. So Sun, Temperatures in the 78° range Fahrenheit,

  which would be, hummmm    ..carry the 3, minus the sub of...after then 9   and AH!  25° Celcee-ouses  in your area. 

 

Keep you eyes open for the wily paint brush rolling about you desk, 'cause no one knows for whom the bell....Oops, never mind  

Edited January 20, 2019 by Prop Duster

[bigfoot]

That interior is looking outstanding badder. Your layers of weathering have really built up a good finish. Looks the part with the shells in place.

[Badder]

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 12:40 AM, wimbledon99 said:

That looks so good. It could be a picture of the interior of the real thing.

 

Are you sure it isn't?

Thanks Wimbledon.

I preferred how it looked before it got a matt coat..... the satin sheen somehow made it appear more like metal. I was planning to re-gloss the floor to make it look wet, and I'm wondering if I should gloss the rest of the compartment as well.

The fighting compartment will look even better when the gun is in place.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 2:31 AM, Prop Duster said:

Badder

Grand job on the cabinets and the stored rounds.  It makes a world of  (Good) difference with the plastic lackeys hiding in the back.  I like the idea to use a bit of brush to help locate the brass shells.   The interior pictures are a bit of modeling magic, Well Done.  

 

 

Hi Steve,

I have a whole broomful of dead straight, 4 inch long, plastic bristles in my materials stash and they have proven very versatile (as I knew they would)

Probably the best use I've put one to so far is to make a - irony warning - 1/35th broom handle.

Thanks for the thumbs up on the fighting compartment.  It's my favourite part of the vehicle and needs to look good. The brass shells are a big part of ensuring that.

 

Rearguards,

Badder, enduring a chilly 44 degrees Fahrenheit and expecting worse to come.

 

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 6:16 AM, bigfoot said:

That interior is looking outstanding badder. Your layers of weathering have really built up a good finish. Looks the part with the shells in place.

Cheers Bigfoot

I'm still not sure if my layering  is down to not getting it right the first time, or a deliberately employed technique!😁

 

Rearguards,

Badder

Edited January 21, 2019 by Badder

[Badder]

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 12:59 AM, Panther II said:

It's in the speilburger book on Pz. IV, it also shows other views.

Hi and sorry for the long delay in replying Panther II,

I did actually type a reply but then somehow managed to delete everything. I touch type and sometimes there's an unknown combination of key-strokes, which, I regularly type, and if my palm brushes the touchpad it deletes the whole lot! And 'undo' or 'paste' or any other attempt to restore the post fails.

This unknown combo of keystrokes and touchpad brushing has been responsible for the loss of at least 2 pages of posts made by me in this thread alone.

Usually, I will re-type what I remember of the lost post, but sometimes sheer frustration means I either type something a lot more concise, or nothing at all.

In this instance, I've waffled on explaining my lack of response instead.

 

BUT basically, I thanked you for the image, and went on to say something along the lines of:

I have seen many photos of WWII AFVs in snowy conditions, but more often refer to modern AFVs as guides for snow effects instead. WWII black and white photos can be misleading - although not in the case of the image you provided.

.... only with a lot more waffle!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

Edited January 20, 2019 by Badder

[Badder]

Who thinks I'm 'chickening out' of getting that hull done?

Well, you're right.

I am ONCE AGAIN, having second thoughts about how to depict the hull in regards to snow/mud/whitewash either separately, or any combination thereof.

 

The reason I've become 'unsure' again, is because I remembered I had intended that this Nashorn should inhabit my PIT STOP diorama occasionally. That diorama will have mud and thawing snow. So a 'dry' Nashorn - however frosty/icy - wouldn't look right.

 

I could forget about placing it in the Pit Stop diorama, and place it in another instead - but I already have two very large dioramas on the go, and a third (even a small one) would take up way too much time. Therefore, the Nashorn will definitely have a time share arrangement with the Sherman in PIT STOP.

 

So, back to mud and a tiny bit of snow.

NOW then, I can get that hull done, and add the running gear.

 

MY APOLOGIES!!!!

Rearguards,

Badder

r

 

Edited January 20, 2019 by Badder

[Badder]

For those who haven't realised it, the Nashorn is a mid-engine vehicle, with the engine directly below the gun carriage. Notoriously poorly armoured - with the fighting compartment barely able to withstand heavy calibre MG fire  and the vehicle as a whole vulnerable to anything heavier,  it's no surprise that Nashorn armour in the engine area was sometimes improved by the addition of spare tracks.

The Nashorn though, was highly manoeuvrable because of its light weight and the mid-engine configuration, and, combined with it's Pak43 it was best suited to long range warfare, knocking out enemy armour well before the Nashorn itself was in any danger. I read somewhere that a Nashorn was credited with having knocked out a Russian 'Lend-lease' Sherman at over 4000m)

 

Anyway, here's what I've done to my Nashorn.....

 

 

 

Here, the tracks are just loosely placed, but provided the opportunity to judge the overall look of the hull and suspension units 'in the shade'.

 

I will be adding some more mud (and a bit of snow) most especially to the spare track lengths. Mud (and snow) would have fallen down from the return track-run and would have settled on horizontal surfaces such as the guide horns on the spare tracks, the flange along the top of the suspension units and the tops of the 'suspension-travel limiters'.

The innermost faces of the road wheels will get more of a plastering than the outermost faces. The idlers and sprockets, meanwhile will get some mud and snow within their inner and outer rims, again where mud and snow drops down from the track links above. Finally, mud/snow will be added to the tracks. I'm thinking now that the Nashorn reached its intended position and then 'twizzled' itself into the ground to refine its firing position. The mud and snow then, would be banked up and over the tracks in some places and smeared flat in others.

 

TFL

Badder

[Hewy]

Looking great, the work place looks superb badder, and those shells look so realistic you'd be arrested for firearms offences if they were found to be in your pockets , I like the extra track armour on the Hull sides, cool

Glynn 

[Badder]

7 hours ago, Hewy said:

Looking great, the work place looks superb badder, and those shells look so realistic you'd be arrested for firearms offences if they were found to be in your pockets , I like the extra track armour on the Hull sides, cool

Glynn 

Thanks Glynn,

The brass shells ended up a bit tricky - not because of the shells themselves,  but because of the design of the cabinets. The wider shelves in the cabinets slope down from front to back but the tiny shelves at the other end don't. Plus the spacing between tiny shelves is a smidgen too small. So, the shells won't lay properly. And that means having to fiddle about with them and get them to sit where they SHOULD sit, and not where the design MAKES them sit. And 9 times out of 10 that adjustment of the shells caused the paint to be scratched off of the brass. I think I painted each shell 5 or 6 times before I plumped for the 'broom bristle spacers' - which negated the need for fiddling.

Still, I wish I'd painted the shells better. And Tamiya didn't supply decals for them either. But hey ho - they are far better than the plastic shells.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[PlaStix]

Hi Badder. Hope you and yours are well. Just been catching up with your progress and, despite the odd minor (for you) changes in direction, it all seems to be progressing beautifully. The shells look great in their storage areas, they in turn look superb in your wonderfully realistic interior, and the outsides of the lower hull look superbly weathered - and the additional track armour adds another interesting dimension. 

Kind regards,

Stix

[Badder]

7 hours ago, PlaStix said:

Hi Badder. Hope you and yours are well. Just been catching up with your progress and, despite the odd minor (for you) changes in direction, it all seems to be progressing beautifully. The shells look great in their storage areas, they in turn look superb in your wonderfully realistic interior, and the outsides of the lower hull look superbly weathered - and the additional track armour adds another interesting dimension. 

Kind regards,

Stix

All is tickety boo at this end Stix, thanks for asking. Hope your end is equally tickety boo!

I know that you knew I'd know that you'd know I was bound to have a few changes of direction during this build. And there may well be another one yet!

Thanks for your kind comments. I hope I can produce something worthy of them at the end!

 

Rearguards

Badder

 

 

[Badder]

I've had enough of messing about with this hull.... so it's onwards and upwards... quite literally.

 

 

BELOW.

The tracks are now a continuous loop. Only the return rollers are glued in place. All other spinny-turny-roundy things are removable thanks to the nylon bushes. 

The tracks need several more treatments.

 

 

So

 

There's a bit of touching-up required on the tracks and wheels, where paint rubbed off during fitting and connecting-up of the tracks. Once that's done I will apply one pale wash then mask the whole area off in preparation for painting the upper superstructure.

 

TFL

Badder