Tamiya Panzer Kampfwagen II Ausf. F/G

[45DegreesModelling]

Hello everyone,

 

I thought I would share my Panzer II build. I’ll be building the Ausf. F in Afrika Korp colours and it will be my first time using PE, which I’m nervous and excited about in equal measure. 
 

 

After finishing the Tamiya M41 Walker Bulldog and having been extremely satisfied with the quality of the kit I was looking for something similar in regard to build and challenge. 
 

 

Every time I build a kit I always try to push and challenge myself to help me improve. So for this one I’m going to try my hand with PE from Eduard.

 

 

Starting with the lower hull, there’s a few seam lines to get rid of but nothing too taxing.

 

 

 

The exhaust will be the first part to receive the PE treatment and the difference that the detail makes is astonishing. I also gave the exhaust a small hole to add an extra layer of visual interest and detail. 
 

 

 

I’ve also taken an opportunity to fill in the holes on the base, I struggled a bit here but with a bit of sanding it came out looking ok.

 

 

To finish the lower hull I put together the wheels and idler, which again there was no problems with.

 

 

Before starting on the upper hull I wanted to get the turret out of the way. A small amount of PE again makes a huge difference. I made sure that I was content with the PE parts before removing the plastic. 
 

 

As the build is progressing, so is my confidence with the PE. I’m using VMS flexy 5K CA for PE glue which is working a treat.

 

 

This build has taken a few weeks to get to this stage because of family and work commitments. It won’t be a fast build but I want to do it right and to the best of my ability. 

Thanks for reading if you got this far and I hope you enjoy following along!

 

Tom

Edited January 23, 2022 by 45DegreesModelling

[Pig of the Week]

Your lil' jacking block is looking good certainly 👍

[Stef N.]

I will follow along as we were just talking about what can be done with old Tamiya kits. All the best in your build.👍

[45DegreesModelling]

4 hours ago, Pig of the Week said:

Your lil' jacking block is looking good certainly 👍

Thank you, if the PE turns out half as good as that then I’ll be happy!

[45DegreesModelling]

4 hours ago, Stef N. said:

I will follow along as we were just talking about what can be done with old Tamiya kits. All the best in your build.👍

Thank you, if it goes as smoothly as my last tank I’ll certainly be happy! 

[Jack Klugman]

Wow I remember building this kit in the early 2000's and it was vintage even then with the space in the lower hull for the AAA batteries to motorise the kit (which is apparently what folks did back then. 

 

You are doing a great job

[echen]

9 hours ago, Jack Klugman said:

which is apparently what folks did back then

Yes, we did. They only ran in straight lines tho'!

[Milan Mynar]

With photo etched parts this kit looks more beautiful.

[Lazy Modeller]

4 hours ago, Milan Mynar said:

With photo etched parts this kit looks more beautiful.

Even without it will always look good. Its a lovely tank and cant be other way because its a vintage kit! I also have a photo of one waiting  for paint with the wheels of one in 1/6 in the background...be afraid! much afraid!

Cheers

Lazy modeler was here!

[45DegreesModelling]

17 hours ago, Jack Klugman said:

Wow I remember building this kit in the early 2000's and it was vintage even then with the space in the lower hull for the AAA batteries to motorise the kit (which is apparently what folks did back then. 

 

You are doing a great job

Thanks Jack, I’m happy with it so far. 

[Crayons]

I don't care what anyone says, that little Tamiya Panzer II is still one of the easiest and fun kits to build. I said in a post not that long ago, it's not up to snuff with the latest and greatest, but a little AM set like the Eduard one you are using will really smooth over those wrinkles of its age. I have one on my desk at the moment as a side line build and about four others in the stash.

 

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

[Watto64]

I've got this one in my stash!  will follow along.....

[45DegreesModelling]

12 hours ago, Crayons said:

I don't care what anyone says, that little Tamiya Panzer II is still one of the easiest and fun kits to build. I said in a post not that long ago, it's not up to snuff with the latest and greatest, but a little AM set like the Eduard one you are using will really smooth over those wrinkles of its age. I have one on my desk at the moment as a side line build and about four others in the stash.

 

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Thank you. I’ve heard nothing but great things about this kit, so I’ve wanted to build it for some time.

[45DegreesModelling]

So I felt it should be time for a small update. I’ve been working hard on the build while being slow and methodical with regard to the PE. 
 

 

I thought it might be beyond my ability when I first gave it a go but it has been relatively simple. Adding the PE slows the build down considerably but I’m certain the effort will be worth it. 

 

Before I removed any plastic, I made sure that I was happy with the PE part and that it was constructed correctly before committing to removal. 
 

 

I also purchased a cheapish light box from Amazon to improve my photographs.

 

The PE fenders enhances the look of the tank and I’m really happy I made the effort to strip the top of the hull down.

 

 
 

 

You might not be able to tell from the next two images but I shaved down any plastic parts that were sticking out, the time spent here certainly helped the overall look.

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

Originally I intended to use about half of the PE but in the end I used around 90%. Some of the buckles for the storage were just too small and fiddly.

 

Since I’d gone to the effort to construct a jerry can storage compartment I decided to purchase some 1/35 jerry cans. I’m going to paint these Panzer gray just to add some contrast. 
 

 

 
 

That’s all for now, next up will be a small sand with 600 grit to help the primer stick then some pre shading. I can’t stop looking at this little tank, I’m super happy with how it has come out so far.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Tom

[mullac2001]

You've done a great job so far and should be rightly pleased. 

I will enjoy following your progress

[Milan Mynar]

Nice building.

[vytautas]

Looks really good!

 

Vytautas

[45DegreesModelling]

15 hours ago, mullac2001 said:

You've done a great job so far and should be rightly pleased. 

I will enjoy following your progress

 

15 hours ago, Milan Mynar said:

Nice building.

 

14 hours ago, vytautas said:

Looks really good!

 

Vytautas

Thank you!

[45DegreesModelling]

Hello everyone, a few weeks have passed and I thought I would share what progress I‘ve made.

 

Before I began with the priming I drilled out the barrels much like the exhaust pipe for some visual interest and realism.

 

 

Then it was time for some primer. For my last two models I have played around with pre shading and have been happy with the results. Usually I spray the model black using Vallejo primer then spray XF2 for the highlights, before applying the base coat. This time I wanted to try a different approach and so I decided to spray it grey, again using Vallejo then spray the shading on using XF1.

 

 

In my excitement I forgot to change needles in my brush and applied the XF1 with a 0.4mm needle. The results wern’t that great if I’m being honest.

 

 

 

Never the less I let it dry and tidied it up until I was satisfied. 
 

 

I then laid down two coats of XF60 dark yellow, conscious to let the pre shading underneath remain subtly visible. 
 

 

 

Next came the details of the wheels which was heart in the mouth stuff. I’m tempted to invest in some sort of stencil for next time to make life easier. There was a couple of wheels that didn’t come out great but I’m not too fussed as the weathering and pigments will hide any errors.

 

 

I gave the model some highlights by spraying XF57 buff on certain panels and areas exposed to the sun which when dried has given the model a worn sun bleached effect which I’m really satisfied with. (The turret is just resting on the hull in the photo).

 

 

Before sealing the paint in with some clear ready for decals I gave the exhaust some weathering using a variety of Vallejo colours to give a weathered/rust effect.

 

 

 

Ive since given the model a mist coat and wet coat of clear ready to apply decals. After that I’ll work on the panel lines and chipping. So far I’m extremely satisfied with how it’s coming along.

 

Thanks for reading and following along.

 

Tom

 

[Longbow]

Very nice !!

I keep looking at the Academy one, and then stopping myself 😄

[45DegreesModelling]

5 hours ago, Longbow said:

Very nice !!

I keep looking at the Academy one, and then stopping myself 😄

Thank you. This Tamiya one cost around £10 and it’s gone together beautifully. I’m loving the process. 

[StephenCJ]

Salubrious. 

I have built 2 of these little kits and have been very pleased with the results. I think it will be best to do another and add some PE.

Excellent build Tom.

 

Stephen

[45DegreesModelling]

13 hours ago, StephenCJ said:

Salubrious. 

I have built 2 of these little kits and have been very pleased with the results. I think it will be best to do another and add some PE.

Excellent build Tom.

 

Stephen

Thank you Stephen. I’ve added the Eduard PE set, my first time using it and it wasn’t as daunting as what I thought it would be to be honest.

 

Tom

Edited March 7, 2022 by 45DegreesModelling

[45DegreesModelling]

A final update for those interested and following along.

After the clear went on I applied the decals using Micro Sol/Set. Thankfully there were no problems, then it was time to move onto the wash. 
 

 

I used Tamiya panel line accent colour black for underneath the hull and Ammo’s German dark yellow everywhere else.

 

 

I sealed the decals and wash in with Tamiya flat then moved onto chipping. I mixed some XF2 Into the XF60 before carefully sponging on some small chips. Once that layer was dried I added some depth by applying some Ammo 0044 chipping colour within the sponged on chips. I was pretty chuffed at this point as the tank was looking how I’d envisioned it.

 

 

I didn’t want the chips to be the main focal point of the build, I wanted them to be something that people would see on closer inspection so I tried to keep them subtle.

 

 

Before I finished and moved onto weathering the tracks, I gave the tank one small once over with some rust and grime washes to blend in the decals a bit more as they stood out too much.

 

 

Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of the track process. But it was a basic wash with some pigments. This has been my first build using PE and I’m made up I took the effort to apply it. Both the Eduard PE set and Tamiya model went together beautifully.

 

Here Is an image of the final build, I’ll post a ‘Ready for Inspection’ post shortly.

 

 

I also filmed a build video here for anyone interested.

 

If you got this far, thank you for following along.

 

Tom

[Milan Mynar]

It looks great.