vytautas Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Excellent work. Your Panzer looks simply fantastic, a great painting and weathering job! On 3/11/2021 at 7:38 PM, PlaStix said: Not sure what these were but, apparently, they were fitted like this to some units of StuG IIIs in Sicily. My guess is that that they were to hold the aerials when not in use or maybe gun cleaning rods. I hadn't ever seen these type of things until I got this kit. I weathered them before fitting them both. Those items on the hull above the support wheels are spare torsions. Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Looking very good Stix - I do like your track colour. On 11/03/2021 at 17:38, PlaStix said: Not sure what these were but, apparently, they were fitted like this to some units of StuG IIIs in Sicily. My guess is that that they were to hold the aerials when not in use or maybe gun cleaning rods. I hadn't ever seen these type of things until I got this kit. I weathered them before fitting them both. Those are spare torsion bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 On 11/03/2021 at 17:48, Jasper dog said: Outstanding! The paintwork and weathering on the tracks and lower hull is just tremendous! Some of the best paintwork I've seen in some time regardless of how it's been applied! Great work, really great work. 👍 Hi Darryl. You are way too kind but thank you very much. On 11/03/2021 at 18:27, Foxbat said: Another stunner in the making, it's always a joy to follow your builds. You've achieved something thathas bugged me with my builds: Tamiya mould sag into the top length of track. They then make the run from the sprocket/idler to the ground straight, like it was a brand new track. You've managed that very subtle curve so the whole track has weight without being so loose it will be thrown off the first time the vehicle turns. It's that attention to detail as much as the paint that gets me Andy Hi Andy. Thank you very much. I know what you mean about the Tamiya L&L tracks and it's a good point. I will have to see if I can introduce a curve into those straight sections next time. Thank you. On 11/03/2021 at 18:27, Hewy said: Yes the photography is superb, the modelling/painting even more so, thats how a track sag should look,perfect! Thank you very much Glynn. Too kind! On 11/03/2021 at 18:32, Retired Bob said: I was looking through my StuG "bible today for hints on stowage amongst other things and my early Ausf.F did not have that type of sight or cover, but thank you for the kind offer. Your lower hull and running gear is looking superb, I think you have got everything spot on there. I'm just at that stage of painting track and wheels myself. Hi Bob. No problem and thank you for your kind comments. On 11/03/2021 at 20:14, bigfoot said: Looking brilliant Stix, the weathering on the lower hull looks great. Good job with the magic tracks, I like the way they work, just assembling mine now. Hi bigfoot and thank you very much. Your tracks ended up looking excellent! On 11/03/2021 at 21:04, modelling minion said: Simply have to echo what has been previously said, just superb wormanship and equally good photography. The way you get the lower hull, running gear and tracks to look on your builds is perfect and this one has to be your best yet. Really looking forward to your next installment. Hi Craig and thank you very much, as always, for your very kind comments. On 12/03/2021 at 15:34, Ozzy said: Nice job on the tracks Stix’s to get a sag. Cheers Ozzy, I'll post an update in my next post below. Kind regards, Stix 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 On 13/03/2021 at 16:27, vytautas said: Excellent work. Your Panzer looks simply fantastic, a great painting and weathering job! Those items on the hull above the support wheels are spare torsions. Vytautas On 16/03/2021 at 21:04, Robert Stuart said: Looking very good Stix - I do like your track colour. Those are spare torsion bars. Hi vytautas and Robert. Thank you for your kind comments and for the information about the torsion bars. Always good to learn something new. Okay - a weekend update. Over the past few days I have been doing bits and pieces on this project. First off I got some paint on the fenders - thinned Humbrol acrylic Desert Yellow applied with a medium flat brush: Then I did my usual base weathering - a very, very thinned wash of Revell Aqua's Gunship Grey, followed by a targeted application of very, very thinned Revell's Aqua Anthracite, applied with a fine pointed brush in and around the detail. I followed this up with some thinned Humbrol acrylic Gunmetal which I applied here and there to represent some chipping and worn areas using a fine pointed brush. Then I used some thinned Anthracite to tone down the Gunmetal and add additional chipping before adding touches of Railmatch's Light Rust here and there: Once I'd applied a bit of Vallejo's European Mud under the fenders I got them attached to the sides of the lower hull. As I was fitting them I realized the front upper section of the hull needed to be fitted at this time as well - even though it had not been painted. - as it wouldn't go on once both fenders were glued in place. Ho hum. These photos show these parts fitted in place and, by this stage, I had painted the front upper section and the lower front armour and done some of my base weathering: Next I decided to get more parts painted with thinned Humbrol's acrylic Desert Yellow using a medium flat brush again: These were then given the same base weathering as I did with the fenders (above): The fighting compartment has not yet been glued in place. And you can see I had attached the photo-etch grills. A couple of closer views of the rear deck: ....and the fighting compartment: Next I stippled on very thinned Humbrol 252 matt Olivgrun and 160 Matt German Camouflage Red Brown. Once fully dry I dry-brushed over everything with the lightened version of Humbrol's Desert Yellow - to try and give a sunlight faded/dusty appearance: Finally I got the decals applied. As I usually do, I cut the carrier film away with a scalpel blade - right to the printed design - to try and minimise any silvering. The decals were applied onto the painted finish, allowed to dry for a bit and then I applied some thinned Humbrol Acrylic matt varnish over them. They will be toned down at some point: Next up I need to do some of the next bit of weathering. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 19 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Superb! A few questions with your permission: Do you use any chemicals for decals? And you set the decals directly on the matt paint, without any varnish? Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 Thank you Vytautas. No chemicals at all with the decals on this build - and on most AFV builds. I only use Humbrol's Decalfix if the decal has to go over surface details - such as panel lines or raised details. If the surface they are going onto is flat, then I do not use anything other than water. Where I can, all my decals are cut right to the printed design, soaked in water and then placed straight onto the matt paint. Once the decal has dried a bit, I thin some Humbrol acrylic matt varnish with water and apply it over the decal and the immediate surrounding area. I find this has worked well for me in the past. Hope that's of some use. Kind regards, Stix 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vytautas Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 43 minutes ago, PlaStix said: Thank you Vytautas. No chemicals at all with the decals on this build - and on most AFV builds. I only use Humbrol's Decalfix if the decal has to go over surface details - such as panel lines or raised details. If the surface they are going onto is flat, then I do not use anything other than water. Where I can, all my decals are cut right to the printed design, soaked in water and then placed straight onto the matt paint. Once the decal has dried a bit, I thin some Humbrol acrylic matt varnish with water and apply it over the decal and the immediate surrounding area. I find this has worked well for me in the past. Hope that's of some use. Kind regards, Stix Thanks, Stix! It's great when there are more like-minded people, before I thought that I was the only one who behaves this way, it was even uncomfortable 🙂 But I am using Micro Set and Micro Sol. If the decals are thick, and steps are visible, when they dry, I sand them off with fine sandpaper. Thus, there are no steps and the surface of the decals becomes matt, it is not even necessary to cover it with matt varnish. Vytautas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 That is some seriously good painting Stix, as usual. I think that the lightened coat of the base colour over the top of everything really helps to tone the other colours down and blend everything in. The washes have brought out the detail very nicely. All in all some more excellent work mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planecrazee Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 That's looking fantastic Stix and your stippled camouflage is a triumph - you really are a master of the 'hairy stick'. Your weathering and dry brushing to tie everything together is spot on - really looks the part. Kris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Hi Stix, that is looking really good, some nice painting. I'm weathering my StuG at the moment and I thought I had better mention how fragile the track guards are on my build, not sure if yours are any sturdier but as I picked up mine there was a crack and the left side broke three out of four attachment brackets, repairs have been made, hopefully it doesn't happen again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 impeccable work stix👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper dog Posted March 28, 2021 Share Posted March 28, 2021 Wow not half bad at this paintbrush lark! That really is some seriously impressive paintwork the fading to the green and brown looks superb. The way the camouflage colours look field applied and then worn away to reveal the yellow beneath, brilliant! Great work, as ever. Atb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray_W Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Great build Stix, I have to complement you not only on your usual high quality, but the value of the detailed description. Your photo essay has meant I have I have been able to circumvent the usual Dragon Instructions to and fro and speed along in assembling my own StuG III. Thank you. Ray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 On 21/03/2021 at 21:41, modelling minion said: That is some seriously good painting Stix, as usual. I think that the lightened coat of the base colour over the top of everything really helps to tone the other colours down and blend everything in. The washes have brought out the detail very nicely. All in all some more excellent work mate. Hi Craig. Thank you very much, as always, for your most kind comments. It was Dragon's box art that made me think it needed to look a bit faded/dusty. The box artwork was one of the things that appealed to me when I purchased the kit. On 22/03/2021 at 00:08, planecrazee said: That's looking fantastic Stix and your stippled camouflage is a triumph - you really are a master of the 'hairy stick'. Your weathering and dry brushing to tie everything together is spot on - really looks the part. Kris Hi Kris. Thank you very much for your comments. Stippling is my version of spraying on the camo! It's about the closest I can get to recreating that look. On 24/03/2021 at 01:21, Retired Bob said: Hi Stix, that is looking really good, some nice painting. I'm weathering my StuG at the moment and I thought I had better mention how fragile the track guards are on my build, not sure if yours are any sturdier but as I picked up mine there was a crack and the left side broke three out of four attachment brackets, repairs have been made, hopefully it doesn't happen again. Hi Bob. Thank you for your comments and your advice! I went around mine and added some more glue to the track guard attachment points. Better safe than sorry. On 28/03/2021 at 07:34, Hewy said: impeccable work stix👍 Thank you Glynn! On 28/03/2021 at 09:44, Jasper dog said: Wow not half bad at this paintbrush lark! That really is some seriously impressive paintwork the fading to the green and brown looks superb. The way the camouflage colours look field applied and then worn away to reveal the yellow beneath, brilliant! Great work, as ever. Atb Hi Darryl. Thank you very much - that's just what I was hoping for! On 03/04/2021 at 07:44, Ray_W said: Great build Stix, I have to complement you not only on your usual high quality, but the value of the detailed description. Your photo essay has meant I have I have been able to circumvent the usual Dragon Instructions to and fro and speed along in assembling my own StuG III. Thank you. Ray Hi Ray. Thank you very much and I'm glad it was of some use. I often hop around the instructions for kits. I think it's because I brush paint that I have to work out a way I can get my paintbrushes to parts which might be inaccessible once everything is assembled - but it's probably a way I'd do things even if I did have an airbrush. Time to bring this one up to date. With the decals applied - please see above - I decided it was time to get the next stages of the weathering done. I find it easier to do some of the weathering with the sub-assemblies still unassembled. As I mentioned before - my basic weathering is pretty similar for all my AFV builds. First off I use Humbrol's acrylic Gunmetal which I thin a lot with water. I then use a very fine pointed paintbrush to apply it in a variety of locations - trying to create areas that look worn or chipped - so along corners/edges and on details that may get damaged in real life. Often I barely touch the surface with the brush and try to not have the brush too wet with paint. Once these areas have dried, I then use Revell Aqua's Anthracite - which I again thin a lot with water. I apply this thinned paint over the areas of Gunmetal, applied previously, trying to tone down the shine of the metallic paint a bit. I also use the thinned Anthracite paint to create other slightly chipped/worn areas. Once the Anthracite areas are dry I next use very thinned acrylic Railmatch Light Rust over some of the previously applied paints - not to necessarily make them look rusty - I find this colour seems to add to the metallic effects overall. Finally I used very thinned versions of these same paints - plus Light Grey and Gunship Grey to create light streaking effects, I usually do these by applying them in the direction I want them to go in but almost immediately remove them with the end of my finger in the same direction. This lightens them out. I keep doing this until I get the faded steaks I want. You'll be able to see that, with this build, I wanted the overall effects to be quite subtle. I'm not trying to recreate a battle damaged StuG - just one that's in use: A photo with some of the parts I had added the start of the weathering to at this point: Then it was time to get all the parts, that I had worked on so far, assembled. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the interior parts before gluing everything in place. I hadn't assembled and painted everything particularly accurately because, although I'm having the hatches open - there will will hopefully be crew members in the hatches. So I just wanted there to be an impression of the interior if the viewing angle was enough to see inside. You will also notice that the periscope isn't visible poking through the roof slot. During some of my test fittings it became evident that it was going to get damaged when attempting the final assembly. So I snipped it off, filed it flat and will add it at a suitable point in future. So this is how it looked at that point - with all the main sub assemblies glued together: While waiting for everything to set I decided I wanted to get the tools and other bits and bobs basically painted and weathered: More weathering with be next - including adding more mud to the front of the hull and tracks - before I get all the remaining parts attached. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Looks fantastic Stix’s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Ooh, I like that! That has come together very nicely indeed, I love seeing your excellently painted sub-assemblies come together to become an excellently painted model and this one is no exception. The weathering is coming along very nicely, she already has that used look about her. Looking forward to the figures going on mate, will finish her off a treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planecrazee Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 That's all looking superb Stix - fantastic paint job and the weathering really looks the part - can't wait to see it finished Hope all goes well with your figures - I'm currently working on mine as we've already discussed so it will be really good to see how they look on our finished models. Kris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 That is looking impressive, camo is nicely faded with superb weathering. Nice work Stix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEscaleSHOW Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 On 04/04/2021 at 16:51, PlaStix said: Hi Craig. Thank you very much, as always, for your most kind comments. It was Dragon's box art that made me think it needed to look a bit faded/dusty. The box artwork was one of the things that appealed to me when I purchased the kit. Hi Kris. Thank you very much for your comments. Stippling is my version of spraying on the camo! It's about the closest I can get to recreating that look. Hi Bob. Thank you for your comments and your advice! I went around mine and added some more glue to the track guard attachment points. Better safe than sorry. Thank you Glynn! Hi Darryl. Thank you very much - that's just what I was hoping for! Hi Ray. Thank you very much and I'm glad it was of some use. I often hop around the instructions for kits. I think it's because I brush paint that I have to work out a way I can get my paintbrushes to parts which might be inaccessible once everything is assembled - but it's probably a way I'd do things even if I did have an airbrush. Time to bring this one up to date. With the decals applied - please see above - I decided it was time to get the next stages of the weathering done. I find it easier to do some of the weathering with the sub-assemblies still unassembled. As I mentioned before - my basic weathering is pretty similar for all my AFV builds. First off I use Humbrol's acrylic Gunmetal which I thin a lot with water. I then use a very fine pointed paintbrush to apply it in a variety of locations - trying to create areas that look worn or chipped - so along corners/edges and on details that may get damaged in real life. Often I barely touch the surface with the brush and try to not have the brush too wet with paint. Once these areas have dried, I then use Revell Aqua's Anthracite - which I again thin a lot with water. I apply this thinned paint over the areas of Gunmetal, applied previously, trying to tone down the shine of the metallic paint a bit. I also use the thinned Anthracite paint to create other slightly chipped/worn areas. Once the Anthracite areas are dry I next use very thinned acrylic Railmatch Light Rust over some of the previously applied paints - not to necessarily make them look rusty - I find this colour seems to add to the metallic effects overall. Finally I used very thinned versions of these same paints - plus Light Grey and Gunship Grey to create light streaking effects, I usually do these by applying them in the direction I want them to go in but almost immediately remove them with the end of my finger in the same direction. This lightens them out. I keep doing this until I get the faded steaks I want. You'll be able to see that, with this build, I wanted the overall effects to be quite subtle. I'm not trying to recreate a battle damaged StuG - just one that's in use: A photo with some of the parts I had added the start of the weathering to at this point: Then it was time to get all the parts, that I had worked on so far, assembled. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the interior parts before gluing everything in place. I hadn't assembled and painted everything particularly accurately because, although I'm having the hatches open - there will will hopefully be crew members in the hatches. So I just wanted there to be an impression of the interior if the viewing angle was enough to see inside. You will also notice that the periscope isn't visible poking through the roof slot. During some of my test fittings it became evident that it was going to get damaged when attempting the final assembly. So I snipped it off, filed it flat and will add it at a suitable point in future. So this is how it looked at that point - with all the main sub assemblies glued together: While waiting for everything to set I decided I wanted to get the tools and other bits and bobs basically painted and weathered: More weathering with be next - including adding more mud to the front of the hull and tracks - before I get all the remaining parts attached. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 👍👍👍 MD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Very nice Stix, the camo and weathering look mint. You really do demonstrate you don’t need an airbrush and latest weathering products to build a very good looking tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Thats Smashing looking stix, very nice 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 On 04/04/2021 at 16:46, Ozzy said: Looks fantastic Stix’s. Cheers Ozzy. On 04/04/2021 at 19:53, modelling minion said: Ooh, I like that! That has come together very nicely indeed, I love seeing your excellently painted sub-assemblies come together to become an excellently painted model and this one is no exception. The weathering is coming along very nicely, she already has that used look about her. Looking forward to the figures going on mate, will finish her off a treat. Hi Craig. Thank you very much. There's a photo, below, of the built couple of figures I'm using and I have started painting them - although no photos of them yet. On 04/04/2021 at 20:49, planecrazee said: That's all looking superb Stix - fantastic paint job and the weathering really looks the part - can't wait to see it finished Hope all goes well with your figures - I'm currently working on mine as we've already discussed so it will be really good to see how they look on our finished models. Kris Hi Kris and thank you. It's not finished yet but you can see some photos below of the tools, etc added and a bit more weathering done. There's also a photo of two of the crew figures I'm going to use. I may use a couple more - depending on how everything goes with the base. On 05/04/2021 at 10:56, Retired Bob said: That is looking impressive, camo is nicely faded with superb weathering. Nice work Stix. Thank you very much Bob. On 06/04/2021 at 11:22, THEscaleSHOW said: 👍👍👍 MD Thank you MD! On 06/04/2021 at 13:13, bigfoot said: Very nice Stix, the camo and weathering look mint. You really do demonstrate you don’t need an airbrush and latest weathering products to build a very good looking tank. Thank you very much for your very kind comments. On 06/04/2021 at 19:24, Hewy said: Thats Smashing looking stix, very nice 👍 Thank you very much Glynn. Okay so this update is going to include quite a few photos........simply because I took quite a lot! I do enjoy photography but I also think that the camera seems to spot issues, mistakes, etc that the eye alone misses. After my last update, the next thing I did was do more weathering - including adding Vallejo European Thick Mud to the front, running gear, tracks and a variety of other areas. Once that was dry I attached all the remaining parts that required attaching. And this is how it looked at that point: With the basics now complete I decided to make a start on the figures and stowage. These are two of the figures I am planning on using - they are from a set by Hobbyboss: I may make some more if I think I have time. I'm going to see what the stowage items are like in these two sets: I have used some of their 1/48 items before and they were nicely detailed. I also have some left over jerry cans to use up: I have made a start on the painting of the figures and jerry cans but nothing worth a photo yet. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Seriously impressive stuff mate. The extra mud has completed the look of a vehicle in use without it looking over the top at all. The stowage sets look interesting, you certainly seem to get a fair amount of stuff in each of them. The HobbyBoss figures don't look bad at all, very nice in fact. Knowing of some of HobbyBoss' accuracy issues you could well imagine them to have three arms or two heads, or both! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEscaleSHOW Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 On 08/04/2021 at 13:20, PlaStix said: Cheers Ozzy. Hi Craig. Thank you very much. There's a photo, below, of the built couple of figures I'm using and I have started painting them - although no photos of them yet. Hi Kris and thank you. It's not finished yet but you can see some photos below of the tools, etc added and a bit more weathering done. There's also a photo of two of the crew figures I'm going to use. I may use a couple more - depending on how everything goes with the base. Thank you very much Bob. Thank you MD! Thank you very much for your very kind comments. Thank you very much Glynn. Okay so this update is going to include quite a few photos........simply because I took quite a lot! I do enjoy photography but I also think that the camera seems to spot issues, mistakes, etc that the eye alone misses. After my last update, the next thing I did was do more weathering - including adding Vallejo European Thick Mud to the front, running gear, tracks and a variety of other areas. Once that was dry I attached all the remaining parts that required attaching. And this is how it looked at that point: With the basics now complete I decided to make a start on the figures and stowage. These are two of the figures I am planning on using - they are from a set by Hobbyboss: I may make some more if I think I have time. I'm going to see what the stowage items are like in these two sets: I have used some of their 1/48 items before and they were nicely detailed. I also have some left over jerry cans to use up: I have made a start on the painting of the figures and jerry cans but nothing worth a photo yet. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix Hey Stix Congratulations on the beautiful model 👍 🏆 The weathered 3 tone camouflage and the mud are very well done. The additional equipment makes a good impression and also the figures look high quality from the details. I did not know that Hobbyboss offers this quality. You can also see the Tamiya figures a great progress in the direction of resin. The times of the monster soldiers seems to be gone for good 👽 Have fun and good luck with the painting! PS: the 44 is also very cool 😎 MD 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Nicely painted Stix, that StuG looks seriously good, just hurry up if you are going to make some more before the STGB ends. Seriously, quality over quantity is always better. How do the Tamiya jerry cans rate these days, I recall their older ones did not have the pronounced centre seam that the real ones have? It will be interesting to compare the stowage items to what I bought and those figures don't look half bad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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