PlaStix Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 (edited) Now I have almost finished my 1/35 Dragon/Platz Ausf.D kit I decided that, having seen so many wonderful 1/48 versions finished and still in progress, that I'd like to have a go at one too. I'm going to make the J version that came with the metal lower hull. I am going to make it as an earlier J version which will require Zimmerit. For this I'm going to use Tamiya's Zimmerit stickers that were made for their H version kit. I have both kits and, upon checking, I made sure most of the kit is the same base kit as the H. As I said - the tub is metal in the J version kit but when I checked the Zimmerit stickers against it they seemed to fit fine. So - this is the box: ....and the contents: Detail looks good: The metal hull: Decals: Sample of the instructions: The Zimmerit stickers I will use: I have made a start over the weekend. First job was to test the fit of the Zimmerit stickers for the sides of the lower hull. They seemed to fit fine: Then I fitted the front plastic section and it's stickers: Same with the rear of the hull: The plastic parts are all the same as in the H version of the kit so the stickers should all fit fine from now on. Then I got the suspension parts fitted to the sides: It's been fun so far. Hopefully I will get chance to do a bit more on this in the evenings. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Edited March 16, 2019 by PlaStix 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Oh, very nice start here as well! Reminds me a bit on something.... but without Zimmerit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Excellent progess, very clean and aseptic, I love how are those Zimm films ...I have to get and try some. Cheers Stix 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Nice one Stix - very quick progress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Ooh lovely, plenty of time left, I've got some of these zimmerit stickers for a tiger 1 mid, they look to come out well under paint, from what I've seen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 (edited) On 11/02/2019 at 22:02, exdraken said: Oh, very nice start here as well! Reminds me a bit on something.... but without Zimmerit Thank you exdraken.......your inspiring model was one of the ones that tempted me into having a go at this 1/48 kit - so thank you! On 12/02/2019 at 09:46, FrancisGL said: Excellent progess, very clean and aseptic, I love how are those Zimm films ...I have to get and try some. Cheers Stix 👍 Hi Francis and thank you for your comments. I have never used any Zimmerit stickers before but these seem okay so far. There's a lot more to go on and some look like they might be trickier to do.....we'll see..... On 12/02/2019 at 19:45, Robert Stuart said: Nice one Stix - very quick progress. Thank you Robert. Tamiya's 1/48 kits do tend to be quite quick to make. On 12/02/2019 at 21:26, Hewy said: Ooh lovely, plenty of time left, I've got some of these zimmerit stickers for a tiger 1 mid, they look to come out well under paint, from what I've seen Hi Glynn and thank you. Yeah - I make it that there's five weekends left and I've got a few days off work in the meantime too. Should be okay for time. I am hoping they will be okay with paint on - because I brush paint it is more off a concern though....... fingers crossed! 🤞 Over a couple of evenings this week I have been cleaning up and fitting together a few more parts - mostly on the upper hull: So far it seems to be a typical, rather nice to build, 1/48 Tamiya kit and I am really enjoying it. Kind regards, Stix Edited February 14, 2019 by PlaStix 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 welcome to the other side of armor modeling 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 Fingers crossed for you but I'm sure you'll nail it, and i fully expect it to be high quality too, no pressure😜 Glynn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 Nice start!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 2 on the go fantastic, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 18, 2019 Author Share Posted February 18, 2019 On 14/02/2019 at 15:31, SoftScience said: welcome to the other side of armor modeling Thank you! I'm delighted to be here! On 14/02/2019 at 18:47, Hewy said: Fingers crossed for you but I'm sure you'll nail it, and i fully expect it to be high quality too, no pressure😜 Glynn Hi Glynn - thank you but yeah - no pressure! I have a bit of time off this week, so I'm hoping to get a fair bit sorted on it. I got quite a bit done over the weekend. I'm going to do this one buttoned up and without any figures - so it might be a bit quicker to do. 🤞 On 16/02/2019 at 14:22, wimbledon99 said: Nice start!! Thank you Nigel! On 16/02/2019 at 14:50, Ozzy said: 2 on the go fantastic, Hi Ozzy and thank you. Quite enjoying having two projects on the go. So I have been quite busy on this project. First up - I added the remaining parts I wanted to add to the upper hull. Then, because of the way Tamiya have designed this kit to be built, I decided to join the top and bottom using the screws provided before adding the two hatch doors. Usually I often paint the upper hull separately but there are a couple of places that were going to be too difficult to do on this kit. Then it was time to add the Zimmerit stickers to the upper hull parts. It was a little fiddly in places but I managed to get them on without any major problems. A few photos: A couple of closer views - in case anyone hasn't seen these stickers before - I hadn't: Then it was time for paint. Unfortunately I had run down my last pot of Humdrol 93 so I had to start a new one. I'm always a bit nervous these days with new Humbrol paints. I tried some on a bit of sprue runner and on a spare bit on the Zimmerit sticker sheet: It seemed to go on okay on both. I was pleased to be able to try it on the Zimmerit sticker sheet first because I was concerned as the stickers have a slightly rubbery feel. It seemed to cover okay. So I made a start on the tank itself - thinned with water and applied by medium flat brush. I wasn't that impressed with the first coat though: It looked a little patchy in places - these new Humbrol acrylics are a little too 'oily' for my liking. Anyway - as soon as I got chance - I got the second coat on - after which it all looked a lot better: I also prepared all the wheels and track parts ready for painting - there were a few minor seam lines to remove on the wheels and some ejector pin marks on the tracks: This photo also includes a view of the painted top of the tank. Then I got more thinned Humbrol 93 on the wheels, sprockets, return rollers and idlers and thinned Revell's Anthracite on the tracks - applied with flat brushes again but a smaller one this time: And that's where I ran out of time. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 As always a very meticulous and orderly work, I should learn ... lol, very good progress so far ... Cheers Stix 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Good job stix, that zimmerit sticker looks the part, I have some for a tiger 1 mid, this may just tip the balance to use it, its gone on well, how easy is it to peel it up once on? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_W Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 How are you finding the zimmerit to cut out? I have a set for the Tamiya Tiger and any tips would be welcome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 On 2/18/2019 at 6:38 PM, John_W said: How are you finding the zimmerit to cut out? I have a set for the Tamiya Tiger and any tips would be welcome. They have to be cut out (i.e. not just peeled off the backing)? Wow, VERY neat work if that's the case 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 21, 2019 Author Share Posted February 21, 2019 (edited) On 18/02/2019 at 17:45, FrancisGL said: As always a very meticulous and orderly work, I should learn ... lol, very good progress so far ... Cheers Stix 👍 Hi Francis and thank you. You are too kind. On 18/02/2019 at 18:34, Hewy said: Good job stix, that zimmerit sticker looks the part, I have some for a tiger 1 mid, this may just tip the balance to use it, its gone on well, how easy is it to peel it up once on? Hi Glynn. The Zimmerit looks okay at the moment and I'm hoping it's still okay after the paint and weathering are on! With regards peeling it off if it's not in the right place - it is a little tricky at times - especially with the smaller bits. I eventually got more adept at not letting it touch too much before starting to press it into place. The problem is that the material it's made from is sort of rubbery and feels like it's stretching if it's lifted when stuck too much. I used a scalpel blade to carefully lift it at these times. If it's any reassurance I didn't tear any of mine although a couple arn't perfectly aligned - with everything else on I don't think they'll be noticeable. On 18/02/2019 at 18:38, John_W said: How are you finding the zimmerit to cut out? I have a set for the Tamiya Tiger and any tips would be welcome. Hi John. It’s okay for the most part. Straight lines are easy - I use a small, thin, steel ruler for a straight edge and a fine ended scalpel blade for cutting. Curves, especially small, concaved ones, are harder to do. Because the material the stickers are made from is rubbery it, kind of, pulls up as the curved cut progresses. I got better with practice and found it best to cut these curves with the tip of the blade just cutting through the Zimmerit film layer and not cutting into the backing too much. I cut all the curves, convex and concave, freehand. Eventually I found I could drill the areas for any bolt heads using a micro drill. Originally I was just cutting a cross with the tip of the blade in the centre of the small circles and then trimming the excess once in place. Let me know if I can help with anything else. On 19/02/2019 at 23:50, wimbledon99 said: They have to be cut out (i.e. not just peeled off the backing)? Wow, VERY neat work if that's the case Yeah I hoped they might be pre-cut! So I have been doing more work on this 1/48 Pz.IV over the past couple of days. I've got the main bits of the turret and storage bin together. The gun is not glued in place yet - I'll do the painting first. When I did a test fit of the storage bin I noticed the brackets on the sides didn't appear to reach the back plate of the turret. This may be correct but it seemed odd for a Tamiya kit - looking at photos of actual Pz.IVs and turret bins there seemed to be variations but they brackets seemed to reach the turret where this was visible. Also, I noticed that there seemed to be three large bolt heads visible on the actual brackets which Tamiya had missed off. I know these will mostly be hidden by the turret Schürzen but I decided to do a version of these brackets using styrene strip and some Meng bolt heads: Once the brackets were trimmed a test fit looked like this: I then got the Zimmerit on the front of the turret parts: I also prepared all the other parts ready for painting. This included cleaning up seam lines and filling any ejector pin marks. This is what everything that needs to be painted next looks like so far: Finally I got the Zimmerit fitted on the turret Schürzen: As I mentioned above - I used a micro-drill for the small holes in the Zimmerit film which seemed to work okay. More at the weekend, I hope, when I'm planning on doing more painting. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Edited February 21, 2019 by PlaStix 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) I managed to get more done on this project over the weekend. I have now painted all the parts which need to be painted and, on all the parts painted with Humbrol 93 - I have given them all a wash of very thinned Revell's Gunship Grey, followed by a targeted wash applied with a fine pointed brush, in and around the detail, of very thinned Revell's Anthracite. Finally everything was given a dry-brushing with a lightened version of the base coat: So far I think the Zimmerit is looking okay. Next on all these I need to get the camo colours on. I have also given the tracks a dry-brushing with Humbrol's Gunmetal followed by the first wash of Humbrol's 93. This is what I use to give them the dusty, yellowy apperance. More soon I hope! Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Edited February 25, 2019 by PlaStix 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Looking very nice and the zimmerit decals have worked well. All the best Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Looks nice now, with Zimm applied It is a great base to work with... Cheers Stix 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Brilliant job stix, it's looking like another beauty, that zimmerit looks nicely in scale too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 4, 2019 Author Share Posted March 4, 2019 (edited) On 25/02/2019 at 17:33, badger said: Looking very nice and the zimmerit decals have worked well. All the best Ben Hi Ben and thank you very much. On 02/03/2019 at 09:02, FrancisGL said: Looks nice now, with Zimm applied It is a great base to work with... Cheers Stix 👍 Hi Francis and thank you very much too. On 02/03/2019 at 09:21, Hewy said: Brilliant job stix, it's looking like another beauty, that zimmerit looks nicely in scale too Thank you very much too Glynn. Progress this weekend - camo painted and toned down with some dry-brushing of lightened Humbrol 93. I used Humbrol's 252 Olivgrun and 160 German Camouflage Red Brown for the camo colours applied very thinned with a fine pointed brush: I have to say this isn't my favourite camo scheme that I've done - looks like it was applied by a (very poor) graffiti artist! More washes added to the tracks: Wheels, idlers and drive sprokets have all had the camo applied and tires have been painted: Late on yesterday evening I got the port side running gear and tracks fitted after adding some weathering and mud to the lower hull sides: Comments and suggestions welcome. More when I get chance! With only two weeks until the end of the GB I feel it's all getting a bit Kind regards, Stix Edited March 4, 2019 by PlaStix 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimbledon99 Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 That's looking rather excellent, Stix. The camo must take a lot of patience with a brush! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted March 4, 2019 Share Posted March 4, 2019 I rather like the cammo - very unusual and very well applied. I know what you mean about the - feeling it a bit myself now, but determined to finish my build. Hope you manage to get some more time at it - we're all cheering you along All the best Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 On 04/03/2019 at 21:05, wimbledon99 said: That's looking rather excellent, Stix. The camo must take a lot of patience with a brush! Hi Nigel and thank you. Yes the camo was more complicated than I thought and I'm still not fully sold on the design. I just about managed to re-create Tamiya's instruction but some of the views don't match and there isn't a view of one of the sides - although the box art does cover it slightly. On 04/03/2019 at 22:06, badger said: I rather like the cammo - very unusual and very well applied. I know what you mean about the - feeling it a bit myself now, but determined to finish my build. Hope you manage to get some more time at it - we're all cheering you along All the best Ben Hi Ben and thank you for your comments. I ended up with a day off yesterday, that I wasn't expecting (due to trains not running), so I did some of the more time consuming tasks - painting and addiing some detail painting to the tools and equipment mostly. I didn't finish until quite late yesterday evening so there's no photos of the tools unfortunately which are now all just about finished - although not in place yet. I did, however, get the remaining wheels and tracks fitted - so I took some photos to show them: And of course a few with the turret in place: The gun and rear turret stowage bin are not fixed permanently in place yet so I can add more weathering. I also noticed in the photos that the Zimmerit stickers are lifting a little on a couple of edges and will need to be stuck down again. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Great work Stix, the camo lines seem to blend very effectively, that’s a rare skill with out an airbrush! Top notch work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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