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Revell / Italaerei 1/35 German Tank PzKpfw38(t)


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Hi All

 

Has this ever happened to you? One moment you're watching Plasmo, you casually click on a link to Night Shift, you have a couple of beers, then a couple of days later you get a delivery from an internet auction site :unsure:?

 

:huh:

 

So anyway, this arrived in The Lab

DSCF1612.jpg

 

Apart from the suspension not working and being suspiciously close to my home wi-fi password, it seems legit.

 

Not many sprues

DSCF1613.jpg

 

They build swiftly into a mostly gap free construction ready for primer

DSCF1624.jpg

 

Primed with Vallejo VA71.315 Tire Black

DSCF1625.jpg

 

Because

1) I have it

2) It sprays and covers beautifully

3) It's not black (more like the green from Slate Grey)

 

And there she resides.

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

Cheers 🍷

Steve

 

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That kit certainly rings a bell from the "old days" !

I seem to remember using one as a basis for conversion to an SP as a kid, (the 38t being a popular chassis with the Germans for various adaptations) and there weren't that many kits available back then other than the very standard Tamiya range and a few Italieri...

Nice looking build so far 👍

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Hi All

 

18 hours ago, Peter2 said:

Are the original tracks that came in the box quite rigid or will you replace them to show more track sag?

I'll be using the kit tracks, they're slightly flexible but look slightly curved.

 

A thin coat of Tamiya XF-63 German Grey gets rid of the greenish hue

DSCF1634.jpg

 

I tried several very thinned coats of progressively lightened XF-63, but they were either too thinned or not lightened enough. I'll have a specific experiment session to get the feel for adding white to a base colour.

 

I had a go at rust on the exhaust, starting with some thinned XF-2 dabbed at with some IPA on a stiff brush for texture.

DSCF1636.jpg

 

A couple of bright colours

DSCF1637.jpg

 

And some brown washes

DSCF1640.jpg

 

Doesn't look too bad, I might change it slightly with further poking, I'll see how I feel

 

I feel a bit :poop: with the next coat.

 

Usually I'd seal the base with Pledge, but today I had an attack of "Oh, look what I've found in the back of a paint drawer, I wonder if this is any good?" and used some Tamiya X-22 Clear

DSCF1639.jpg

 

:poo:

 

That answers that question.

 

 

Never mind, and with teeth firmly clenched, I picked out the bolt and rivet heads with Vallejo VA71.047 US Grey

DSCF1641.jpg

 

Some rust wash and a Flory bath should hide most of the Shaky Hand Syndrome.

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

Cheers

Steve

 

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Hi All

 

Well, you know how things go, I didn't get to do a rust wash and a Flory bath after all.

 

Instead, some newly acquired Mig Ammo Dark Green Wash For Green Vehicles was nearby, so on it went.

DSCF1642.jpg

 

It came off again with the aid of some Zest-it Pencil Blend that had come as part of a job lot

https://www.zest-it.com/pencil_blend.htm

(no, I'd never heard of them either, but this works and only smells faintly of soft orange :huh:)

DSCF1643.jpg


And left a grimy but not dissatisfying covering

DSCF1644.jpg

 

DSCF1645.jpg

 

This was worked back as the decals went on

DSCF1646.jpg

 

And looks a lot less severe than in the pics.

 

 

Anyhoo, as things were progressing better than expected, I decided to replace the (snapped) tow cable with some scavenged wire

DSCF1647.jpg

 

It gets a bit blurry from then as my eyes don't seem to see the tracks straight

DSCF1649.jpg

 

Never mind, a final DBWFGV in the shadows ready to be blended in before a matt coat

DSCF1650.jpg

 

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

 

Cheers 🍷

Steve

 

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Looks good so far. You really set a pace for yourself! 😁

I wonder if the wash should be blended a bit more, it looks a bit harsh right now but as you mentioned it could be the lighting in the photo's.

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Hi All

 

On 7/27/2022 at 10:27 PM, Maddoxx77 said:

I wonder if the wash should be blended a bit more, it looks a bit harsh right now but as you mentioned it could be the lighting in the photo's.

Hi Maddoxx, that wash was the first application and has since been knocked back in line with the rest of the body.

DSCF1651.jpg

 

Still too stark? I'm after a grubby but not battle beaten look, early on in it's career.

DSCF1652.jpg

 

I've been wrangling with a couple of items for a while, the first being the tracks.

They're made from the same plastic as 'superglue' bottles, tinted grey by adding Teflon.

After a couple of painting dead ends, I've settled on those MIG AMMO washes again.

First pass with their Dark Brown Wash For Green Vehicles A.MIG-1005

DSCF1653.jpg

 

Then Light Rust Wash A.MIG-1004 (lower left)

DSCF1655.jpg

 

It could be that they're all I have that had any noticeable affect on the tracks, so I may be looking at other items in their range.

 

The other item that has been vexing me has been the tow cable.

It's on now in a rusty puddle, should be ok when it's under a coat of matt.

DSCF1654.jpg

 

That's where I'm headed next, then I'll put it all together.

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

Cheers

Steve

 

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Hi All

 

While the matt was drying I had a look at the included figure

DSCF1656.jpg

 

Herr Stumpy Giraffe has had some work done...

DSCF1657.jpg

 

He'll be fine as a practice!

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

Cheers

Steve

 

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1 hour ago, ProfSparks said:

Hi All

 

While the matt was drying I had a look at the included figure

DSCF1656.jpg

 

Herr Stumpy Giraffe has had some work done...

DSCF1657.jpg

 

He'll be fine as a practice!

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

Cheers

Steve

 

That's one odd looking figure!

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Hi All

 

Tracks were joined with a heated screwdriver, and appear to have a better hold than I remember

DSCF1658.jpg

 

The metal surfaces of the wheels were given a touch of Aluminium and some of that Light Rust Wash

DSCF1670.jpg

 

Then the whole shebang was fitted together

DSCF1671.jpg

 

DSCF1672.jpg

 

DSCF1673.jpg

 

DSCF1674.jpg

 

I must admit that I'm quite pleased with how it's turned out, considering the base kit, my tank experience, and my experimental approach.

 

I've already got another earmarked for The Lab, hope to see you there.

 

Thanks fore all the comments and suggestions

 

Cheers

Steve

 

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