Stokesy's Tiger II Ardennes 44

[Stokesy44]

Nice! Very nice!

That Ultimate gelb really does lend itself to the paler shades used later in the war doesn't it.

Thanks mate. The Gelb certainly looks better now the camo is on. At one point it looked so bright I thought it was going to glow in the dark!

Added the rust and wear to the tracks and spares later in the day. Light rust in the track indentations, shadow rust on the raised sections. The contact areas were then dry brushed with Vallejo's Dark Aluminium.





I also applied light rust on the inner surfaces of the tracks - outboard of the guidehorns if that makes sense. These areas were also then dry brushed with the dark aluminium.



Spare tracks received light rust and dry brushed dark aluminium. They'll get further highlights with oils later on.

[DrSprue]

Wow Stokesy, that tank is sure coming out just fantastic!

Love the camo and track work!

[Stokesy44]

Wow Stokesy, that tank is sure coming out just fantastic!

Love the camo and track work!

Thanks Doc. Next up are all the little paint dots for the ambush scheme

Should be a laugh.

[demarcation]

It's just a beautiful big German cat!! Camo and tracks looks superb!!

[Stokesy44]

It's just a beautiful big German cat!! Camo and tracks looks superb!!

Thank you kind Sir

On with the ambush dots today (is that right, terminology wise?). I tried to keep the spacing uniform without making it look like a grid system, random but making sense I suppose you could call it.

I did the Gelb first, took me a while to get the hang of it, first few areas were too small and indistinct so I went back to them once I felt the dots were coming out OK.







Then it was on with the green and brown. I mixed in a little thinner as I didn't want full opacity to the paint. It was a bit tricky doing one colour at a time as I had to be aware of leaving space for the other colour. Not too much, not too little, easy there Squire, don't get over excited! In the end it came out ok.

I kept telling myself, field applied, FIELD APPLIED! It doesn't have to be perfect, just don't make it look crap!





Turret on, I know I've said it before but man alive, that turret is massive, and that's even before you think about the telephone pole sized 88 whacked on the front of it - holy smokes Batman.











Rear end, still not great but its going to be proper dirty by the end of it so out of sight, out of mind.



Masking tape off now the base painting's done, its a lean, mean foightin' machine.....





The dots look a little bit proud at the mo but next up is a beige filter that should push them back a bit and calm everything down. That's for another day though, its coming down like stair rods here in Leicester, if I open the window for the hose extraction I'll be sitting in a monsoon.

[Mylightweight]

It’s looking really good mate, we here in north Notts are also in a monsoon situation. Keep up the good work

[Tomcat64]

Great work on the tracks and the ambush camo mate!

I've not tried an ambush scheme yet so toying with it for a Jagdpanther in the stash.

[ElCapitan]

Looking good. Definitely worth the effort with all the dots! It's always tempting to go for the simplest paint scheme, but I love seeing something a bit more complex come together

[Stokesy44]

It’s looking really good mate, we here in north Notts are also in a monsoon situation. Keep up the good work

Great work on the tracks and the ambush camo mate!

I've not tried an ambush scheme yet so toying with it for a Jagdpanther in the stash.

Looking good. Definitely worth the effort with all the dots! It's always tempting to go for the simplest paint scheme, but I love seeing something a bit more complex come together

Thanks Guys

Much better weather today so I was able to get spraying again without the risk of drowning in my kitchen.

I applied a filter using Vallejo Middlestone cut with Ultimate thinner. Its softened things up a little but I think it might need a little bit more. I'll reassess once I've done the dot filter work with oils. That will really knock the contrasts back so it may be enough. No worries either way, even I cant muck up spraying a diluted filter







I think you can see it best in this picture. Everything is just a little bit restrained versus yesterday.



Then it was on to the detail painting. Mostly Tamiya but I did use a bit of Oxide primer as a base for some work on the cleaning rods.

Twit of the year award nominee - when I was painting the tow cables I kept thinking wow, these are beautifully moulded, then I remembered they are actual metal cables, not plastic, hence the detail. It's been a while since I built the kit and I had forgotten!





The exhausts will get some wet pigment work for rust, they're just hull red at the mo - too dark and too smooth.



Next up are decals then a matt varnish to seal before I get the oils out.



Speaking of oils, I did a little work with the spare track links, burnt umber for rust streaking. They'll get further rust highlights to lighten them up but its a nice dark base so the contrasts will show up well - that's what I'm hoping anyway.

[DrSprue]

Wow Stokesy, you and so many others here make just awesome tanks! Just great paintwork here bud, just great!

[TheNordus]

I really love the tone you've got on the tank right now. Is there any reason those wire holders are in that bluish-gray colour?

[Stokesy44]

I really love the tone you've got on the tank right now. Is there any reason those wire holders are in that bluish-gray colour?

I used the Bovington Tiger II as a reference.

[TheNordus]

I used the Bovington Tiger II as a reference.

Cool beans, it was just that I'd never seen them coloured like that. I should really get to building my Ardennes diorama, I've got a 105mm Sherman and Tamiya's Ardennes tiger 2 lined up for it.

[aur0ra145]

This is some really good work!

[Stokesy44]

This is some really good work!

Thanks matey

Decals done - all 6 of them

Prior to application I used a Ultimate buffer on the turret sides to negate any dimpling caused by the hand painted ambush dots. The decals are individual numbers so carrier film is at a minimum. Dragon give you enough numbers to make any tank from all 3 companies of the 501st Heavy Tank Battalion. I went for one of the examples in the instructions, no particular reason as I'm not interested in individual vehicles.

Brushed the kit surface with some Microsol blue stuff and the decs went down nicely.





Really starting to like the look of Tigger Jnr now





I also did some more work on the spare tracks, this time brushing on some AK Light Rust - very thinly.





They're just about at the point where I'm happy with them. Its getting a bit silly working on them as the process has taken on a life of its own. So far, each link has had the following:

Primed with Ultimate Oxide, washed with 2 shades of AK rust effects, dry brushed with Vallejo Dark Aluminium, oils of burnt sienna and umber applied and now more AK rust. Overkill me thinks?

[Tomcat64]

That's starting to look the proper job isn't it!

Love the way the washes have warmed up the Gelb as well

[Stokesy44]

That's starting to look the proper job isn't it!

Love the way the washes have warmed up the Gelb as well

Thanks mate, its getting there.

Dot filters today. The aim was to get the tank to look used and dusty. Primary oils were tan and white because I am going for a washed out look. I used additional colours as and when I felt they were needed, black, dark earth, burnt umber and dark green.

Started on the wheels first



I forgot to take an 'after' picture But there's 1 taken later on.

Then it was on to the main hull. I started at the front as this is the biggest area and I wanted to see how the colours were working.



The initial result is a bit agricultural but the plan was to clean up and add subtlety later



Then it was on to the sides. The kit is representative of a Battle of the Bulge Tiger so I really wanted to dirty up the hull where the skirts had been. My thinking was the tank had seen some really crappy weather before the skirts came off, I was aiming for a mixture of rust dirt and just good old filth for what might have accumulated underneath.









I like how it looks but will add further opacity later on - probably with pigments.

Fenders done but like the hull, they got 'finessed' later



Upper deck. mostly white and tan at the front end, more dark earth and black on the engine deck





As mentioned, I intended to clean up the work a bit. The front end work looks more subtle now.



Then it was on to the turret. I got sold down the river by the instructions (Dragon ) with the decals because they didn't indicate applying the crosses on the turret. At first I thought fair enough, late in the war, uniformity was not what they were going for, perhaps these tanks didn't have them. The box art for the kit also didn't have them but the more reference pics I looked at, the more I saw the crosses. Thankfully I was able to mount them because I had placed the company numbers high enough that the cross still fit underneath.







And the wheels



So this is where I am at now. Next up will be chipping and rust then a gloss before a dark dirt wash.

[Stokesy44]

EDIT - something else wrong with the colour scheme and decal info.

The kit says the tank is from the Ardennes offensive and served in Pz Abt 501. Small problem, the 501st Heavy Tank Battalion wasn't in the Battle of the Bulge. It fought on the eastern front!

[DrSprue]

I also did some more work on the spare tracks, this time brushing on some AK Light Rust - very thinly.



They're just about at the point where I'm happy with them. Its getting a bit silly working on them as the process has taken on a life of its own. So far, each link has had the following:

Primed with Ultimate Oxide, washed with 2 shades of AK rust effects, dry brushed with Vallejo Dark Aluminium, oils of burnt sienna and umber applied and now more AK rust. Overkill me thinks?

Wow Stokesy to look like that, man, thats a bit of work but no Overkill... they look great, quite real to be honest!
Also, thank you for sharing your work!

[TheNordus]

EDIT - something else wrong with the colour scheme and decal info.

The kit says the tank is from the Ardennes offensive and served in Pz Abt 501. Small problem, the 501st Heavy Tank Battalion wasn't in the Battle of the Bulge. It fought on the eastern front!

That's a really odd mistake, I started looking into this and it sure does look like the Schwere Panzerabteilung 501 spent the whole of 1944 in the Eastern Front. But consider that Dragon's painting instructions have a reputation of being a bit fast and loose with the facts. In the end this will still look like a Tiger II fighting in the Ardennes. I really like the finish you did on those tracks!

[Tomcat64]

Great work on the filters mate - that's really starting to "feel" hefty now.

Bizarre from Dragon on the markings though; I can only imagine they're working on the theory that they can put what they want as people won't check.

[Stokesy44]

Wow Stokesy to look like that, man, thats a bit of work but no Overkill... they look great, quite real to be honest!
Also, thank you for sharing your work!

Thanks Doc.

Happy to share mate, and glad you're along for the ride on this one.

I really enjoy the challenges of maintaining a good WIP thread. It helps me build in a focused way because each time I post I'm assessing the progress and quality of the work while also thinking about what processes are up next.

Also, if I'm honest, running a WIP is like a self-policing quality control process for me. As I work I'm often thinking, 'that's not good enough, don't take any pics of that, do it properly, don't cut corners.' I know I build for myself but I'd be lying if I said the opinions of people I respect don't matter to me.

I also enjoy the challenge of trying to come up with an interesting narrative as I want people to enjoy seeing the build come together. Mostly its just nonsense and self-deprecating humour but it's fun and I like the time at the end of the day after a session when I load up the pics and put it all together.

[Stokesy44]

Great work on the filters mate - that's really starting to "feel" hefty now.

Bizarre from Dragon on the markings though; I can only imagine they're working on the theory that they can put what they want as people won't check.

That's a really odd mistake, I started looking into this and it sure does look like the Schwere Panzerabteilung 501 spent the whole of 1944 in the Eastern Front. But consider that Dragon's painting instructions have a reputation of being a bit fast and loose with the facts. In the end this will still look like a Tiger II fighting in the Ardennes. I really like the finish you did on those tracks!

Thanks Guys

Maybe if they spent a little more time on the history side of it and less time filling up the box with loads of parts you don't need.......

Another one that made me chuckle, their Magach 3 (Patton) Israeli MBT with ERA release was boxed and written up as part of their 6 day war series, just a small issue, the ERA didn't come into service until the 1980s

[digger303]

Great work on the filters mate - that's really starting to "feel" hefty now.

Bizarre from Dragon on the markings though; I can only imagine they're working on the theory that they can put what they want as people won't check.

That's a really odd mistake, I started looking into this and it sure does look like the Schwere Panzerabteilung 501 spent the whole of 1944 in the Eastern Front. But consider that Dragon's painting instructions have a reputation of being a bit fast and loose with the facts. In the end this will still look like a Tiger II fighting in the Ardennes. I really like the finish you did on those tracks!

Thanks Guys

Maybe if they spent a little more time on the history side of it and less time filling up the box with loads of parts you don't need.......

Another one that made me chuckle, their Magach 3 (Patton) Israeli MBT with ERA release was boxed and written up as part of their 6 day war series, just a small issue, the ERA didn't come into service until the 1980s

All those extra parts are becoming expensive. All the extra freight I have to pay for when ordering from overseas. There is a considerable bit of extra weight that 2 average kits will throw you up into the next weight category.

[Quax]

Hi Stoksey, Nordus is sort of right and wrong....
s-Pz-Ab 501 was in the East with their tigers
S-SS-PzAb101 was reconstituted after its total destruction in Normandy/Falaise as s-SS Panzer Abteilung 501 23.09.1944 to 30.11.1944 and entrained to the Ardennes 13.12.1944. In short its a misprint (possibly deliberate) to remove the SS in the instructions and your 104 is completely valid
(source:Tigers in Combat Vol 2 Wolfgang Schneider)

The KT also looks superb!

cheers

Paul

[Stokesy44]

Hi Stoksey, Nordus is sort of right and wrong....
s-Pz-Ab 501 was in the East with their tigers
S-SS-PzAb101 was reconstituted after its total destruction in Normandy/Falaise as s-SS Panzer Abteilung 501 23.09.1944 to 30.11.1944 and entrained to the Ardennes 13.12.1944. In short its a misprint (possibly deliberate) to remove the SS in the instructions and your 104 is completely valid
(source:Tigers in Combat Vol 2 Wolfgang Schneider)

The KT also looks superb!

cheers

Paul

Thanks Paul, on both counts.

I’ll have to look into the unit. I read Anthony Beevor’s Ardennes book last year and was really impressed by his analysis of the battle. A really good read for anyone interested in the Bulge.

The scale of the fighting and the ferocity of the battle made it a difficult book to read but at the same time, absolutely fascinating.

Thanks, David

[digger303]

Hi Stoksey, Nordus is sort of right and wrong....
s-Pz-Ab 501 was in the East with their tigers
S-SS-PzAb101 was reconstituted after its total destruction in Normandy/Falaise as s-SS Panzer Abteilung 501 23.09.1944 to 30.11.1944 and entrained to the Ardennes 13.12.1944. In short its a misprint (possibly deliberate) to remove the SS in the instructions and your 104 is completely valid
(source:Tigers in Combat Vol 2 Wolfgang Schneider)

The KT also looks superb!

cheers

Paul

Thanks Paul, on both counts.

I’ll have to look into the unit. I read Anthony Beevor’s Ardennes book last year and was really impressed by his analysis of the battle. A really good read for anyone interested in the Bulge.

The scale of the fighting and the ferocity of the battle made it a difficult book to read but at the same time, absolutely fascinating.

Thanks, David

Just saw a claim and a pic that 501 was in the battle of the bulge which was Dec 44.

[Stokesy44]

Just saw a claim and a pic that 501 was in the battle of the bulge which was Dec 44.

Paul got it spot on. Not that I doubted him but like a true wannabee historian I cross checked the info from 2 different sources. The 501st SS Heavy Tank Battalion was formerly the 101st SS Heavy Tank Battalion and was renamed when it was refitted with Tiger IIs in September 44. It fought in the Ardennes campaign then what remained of the unit was sent to the Eastern Front in January 45.

http://www.axishistory.com/various/122- ... g-101--501

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101st_SS_ ... _Battalion

[Quax]

It's also interesting that if you look at the Scalemates entry it says the kit comes with 5 options for s-Ss-pz-A 101 which is also wrong but sort of right
Cheers Paul

[Stokesy44]

It's also interesting that if you look at the Scalemates entry it says the kit comes with 5 options for s-Ss-pz-A 101 which is also wrong but sort of right
Cheers Paul

So we cant even trust Scalemates now!

There are 3 examples in the kit's instructions that all state the 501st but the decal sheet comes with numbers to make every tank in all 3 companies, I think they call it the belt and braces approach.

Interestingly though, there are no unit insignias on the decal sheet, just numbers and crosses.

[Stokesy44]

Right then. Back to the modelling. Chipping done using Vallejo black and AK Chipping colour. Applied with a very small brush as I have never managed to get the hang of any other method!

Then it was on with the Alclad Aqua Gloss ahead of a Ultimate wash. I braved the weather and got the booth going. Bloody freezing in the kitchen but it was a short session. Even I can gloss a tank in 5 minutes!













All nice and shiny. Smells nice too. Gotta love the Aqua Gloss

[Mylightweight]

Really looking good, the dot filter has smoothed the camo together very nicely, keep it up

[Stokesy44]

Really looking good, the dot filter has smoothed the camo together very nicely, keep it up

Cheers matey.

Ultimate Dark Dirt wash applied. Lovely stuff. Smeared it on with my biggest paint brush then wiped down with cotton buds dipped in water as and when needed.







I may tidy it up a little bit but I'm liking the dirty look right now.









Then it was on with the tracks. I removed the fenders (blu-tacked on during the painting phase) and with the aid of some CA glue, much elbow grease and swearing, on the boots went. For me, putting the tracks on is the 'nearly there' signal with an armour build. Its been somewhat complicated on Tigger Jnr, because the metal fenders needing to be on for painting, but I thought it was about time.

Not too shabby, and with the aid of the aforementioned elbow grease, they're sitting properly with an OK amount of sag.











So now I've got a proper tank on my hands, with the exception of the rear fenders, Tigger Jnr is all present and correct (save for the bow MG). Next up is a matt varnish then specific rust and impacts then finally pigments (wet and dry) to finish. I aim to really muddy up the lower hull and I may even break out my Tamiya snow paint for that. When mixed with brown paint, I find it looks better than pigments for mud work so we'll see.

[DrSprue]

Just like I said to someone else here Stokesy, no words, just wow!

[ElCapitan]

Wow. Just wow.

The amount of realism that the dirt wash adds is so worth it!

[digger303]

Stokesy is time you stretched yourself ...your making it look to easy

[TheNordus]

Man, you've nailed it. That wash looks really great!

[Stokesy44]

Just like I said to someone else here Stokesy, no words, just wow!

Wow. Just wow.

The amount of realism that the dirt wash adds is so worth it!

Thanks Guys - I'll certainly take the 'wow'

[Stokesy44]

Stokesy is time you stretched yourself ...your making it look to easy

Cheers mate - Its an illusion, trust me. Just wait till the Bomber SIG starts! My sausage fingered skill set will be laid bare for all to see.

Back to earth with a resounding thud

[Stokesy44]

Man, you've nailed it. That wash looks really great!

Thanks. I've got to hand it to those Ultimate boys with their washes. Superb product and light years ahead of the pastel chalk washes I used to make when I first got back into the hobby 3 years ago.

[Joker56]

To quote Mcds Loving it, yet again well done that man , said it before mate fantastic build & build log

[Stokesy44]

To quote Mcds Loving it, yet again well done that man , said it before mate fantastic build & build log

Thanks Joker - I could murder a Maccy D's right about now too!

Matt coat applied today. Tigger Jnr's lost his shine





Then it was on to the mud work. I decided against using pigments as I would have needed half a ton to get any kind of texture - this is the Ardennes after all so there's lots of mud due!



I used Tamiya snow paint instead and mixed it with brown and black for colour. I used the straight version first as its got a nice grainy texture and I wanted to build up a base first. The powder effects stuff is smoother and wetter so that will go on second.

So on with the first layer

Accumulation under the fenders



Wheels and tracks



I always said the rear end was going to get DIRTY!





Left it to dry at this point.



Then it was time for filling in the effects with the wetter softer stuff. I'm trying to recreate muddy slush so I'm happy with a bit of texture. It may need softening down a bit but I'll wait until it dries before I decide if it needs more work.



















All that's left now is maybe a bit more mud work then dry pigments for dust.

[ElCapitan]

That looks like real mud to me! I'm going to have to pinch that technique I think!

[Stokesy44]

That looks like real mud to me! I'm going to have to pinch that technique I think!

Thanks Rob.

I used Tamiya snow paint extensively on a winter diorama a while back so I had it in the back of my mind when I was looking at how I was going to weather Tigger Jnr. Its a great product, the grainy stuff looks awesome as fresh snow while the powder effects product is really good for filling in around it. I discovered the idea of adding paint to it when I wanted to create road slush - the way snow turns brown / black on roads with all the dirt and crap it gets mixed with.

[Stokesy44]

Yay - FINISHED

I had a look at the mud this morning and decided it didn't need any more work - that's what I told myself anyway

Applied dry pigments for dust, nothing fancy, just brushed Vallejo yellow ochre pigment around the lower edges of the hull and onto the tracks. I also dusted the cables with it to lighten them and show the detail.

Finished with a couple of other housekeeping chores, washed the spare links with dark dirt and wiped them down then finished off by mounting and painting the bow MG.

Tigger Jnr has left the building.

































Thanks for looking in and commenting along the way. Its been great fun, thanks Guys

[Totalize]

Nice effort. I have this kit as well. Still shrink wrapped but I paid double what you did. Bought mine like 7 years ago. You got an awesome deal.
Do you plan on doing the figures as well?

[Stokesy44]

Nice effort. I have this kit as well. Still shrink wrapped but I paid double what you did. Bought mine like 7 years ago. You got an awesome deal.
Do you plan on doing the figures as well?

Thanks Totalize

The figures have gone into the spares box. I had planned to do a diorama but the scale of the task made me decide against it

[OneSmallStep1966]

Lovely job

[Mylightweight]

Absolutely beautiful, I have the Meng one with interior that I am chomping at the bit to get started but can’t yet, got too much to get finished before the Bmber SIG.

You have given me some real inspiration, thanks and wonderful work

[Kevthemodeller]

Another cracker mate, the weathering and damage to the fenders is spot on