Tasca Panzer II L 1:35 scale

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 4:50 pm

Hi guys, time to start my thread!

I will build a Panzerkampfwagen II Ausführung L from Tasca in 1:35 scale. A kit review will be posted in the course of the next days. Then i hope to start it at some point

Till i can post something else i will provide some background information for you, maybe this helps to empty your wallets again

"A light reconnaissance tank, the Ausf. L was the only Panzer II design with the overlapping/interleaved road wheels and "slack track" configuration to enter series production, with 100 being built from September 1943 to January 1944 in addition to conversion of the four Ausf. M tanks. Originally given the experimental designation VK 1303, it was adopted under the alternate name Panzerspähwagen II and given the popular name Luchs (Lynx). The Lynx was larger than the Ausf. G in most dimensions (length 4.63 m; height 2.21 m; width 2.48 m). It was equipped with a six speed transmission (plus reverse), and could reach a speed of 60 km/h with a range of 290 km. The FuG12 and FuG Spr a radios were installed, while 330 rounds of 20 mm and 2,250 rounds of 7.92 mm ammunition were carried. Total vehicle weight was 11.8 tonnes." (Wikipedia)

I will go for the 4th Panzerdivision version which had some unique modifications like the add-on armour on the front consisting of an armour plate and pieces of the idler wheel. Very interesting! I found plenty of pics of this cool tank (one of my favs, looks like a baby tiger

), most vehicles have these modifications, enjoy!

This looks so cool, maybe i do a little dio for it with a muddy, snowy street in Russia!

Post by **Lee** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:02 pm

I shall be looking forward to seeing yours progress, as always Michael

Post by **Paul** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:07 pm

Brilliant entry looking forward to seeing what you do with this

Post by **Radzy** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 5:33 pm

Nice entry Michael, certainly I'll be

this

Post by **coladito1** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 6:49 pm

Nice entry Michael!! Looking forward to your progress!

Post by **wappynutter** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:00 pm

Cannot wait for the build Michael...

As always you work will be first class I'm sure...

...and such a unique Panzer .....

popcorn ready, sat waiting..... Hurry up November the 1st...

Post by **HWGuderian23** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:42 pm

Seems to be an interesting project Michael.
Looking forward to see your progress...

Post by **Schoof** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:55 pm

Are you gonna make a video build of this ?? Are you ? Are you ? Pplllllleeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeeee

Post by **HWGuderian23** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:04 pm

Schoof wrote:Are you gonna make a video build of this ?? Are you ? Are you ? Pplllllleeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeeee

You're right mate! I love his building reviews too! They're always outstanding!
So pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaase Michael pleeeeeeeeaaaaaase....

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:38 pm

Schoof wrote:Are you gonna make a video build of this ?? Are you ? Are you ? Pplllllleeeeeaaaaaassssssseeeeee

We will see

http://m.youtube.com/user/MrBobsBuilds · Post by **Rob** » Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:04 pm

I really look forward to seeing inside that nice looking box!

Post by **UKscalemodeller** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 4:53 pm

I see what you mean by baby tiger.

When a mummy tiger and a daddy tiger love each other lots........

Post by **spruecutter** » Wed Oct 30, 2013 11:01 pm

Great reference pics, this should turn out to be a nice model

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 6:04 pm

Thank you guys for your kind words

Now we take a closer look at the kit:

Boxart.

The kit parst look very "tamiyaish", i made the kit several years ago already and can tell you that it is at least as superb as the famous Tamiya kits. As you can see a crew figure is included.
This whole sprue belongs to the 4th panzerdivision version of this kit only, it features all the extra parts to depict a correct vehicle of this unit.

The second sprue features another figure.

Note the torsion bars, this way you can keep the running gear moveable like the real one.

No flash or seamlines in sight, the moulding of the parts is perfect!

The rivet and welding marks detail is decent.

The tracks come as rubber bands, they are very soft but well detailed. I can accept those few pinmarks on the inside.

Polycaps for the wheels, photo-etch and jerry cans.

Two instruction sheets. The right one is for the general assembly, the left one deals with the specific parts for the 4th panzerdivision version.

Although i don´t speak Japanese i can understand everything well

The camo schemes are pretty much all the same, the decals vary. The whole camo pattern is not depicted in detail, but i think its enough to get an idea how it is supposed to look. I´m net entirely sure about the accuracy of the camo, i will check that.

All in all a nice little kit, easy to assemble and good level of detail. There are several other kits of this tank available, but they are all quite bad i pretty much tried them all. ICM, Alanger, Maquette, Alan and a couple more have them, some of them are just reboxings. Tasca beats them all

Post by **Schoof** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 7:16 pm

WoW that looks VERY nice.......

that`s a " i have to get me one of these " kit i think ......

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 7:29 pm

Schoof wrote:WoW that looks VERY nice.......

that`s a " i have to get me one of these " kit i think ......

It certainly is one of those kits, these tasca kits are rare these days, i got mine for 45€ at amazon as no other model shop i know had one of these in stock.

Post by **spruecutter** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:08 pm

It does look good, I want one of these now.

Website · Post by **Panzermeister36** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 9:20 pm

http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com is a great website for getting interesting camo patterns. They have one for this Ausf.L under the Panzer II page!

I'll save you the effort, here it is:

panzer_II_Luchs_HD.jpg

Post by **generalgrog** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 5:13 pm

I really like how the kit helps zero in on a specific historically accurate tank, while giving the flexibility to do something else.

I'll certainly be watching this one closely.

GG

Post by **gosselin2112** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 6:36 pm

Tasca has some nice stuff. Unfortunately, it comes with a heavy price tag at most hobby stores here in the States. I suppose if I save some pennies for a year, I might just have enough to get one. We'll see. Looking forward to seeing you build this little guy up.

Russ

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:37 am

I´m not entirely sure which kind of camo i will apply, most likely a sand yellow and green one.

Unfortunately, it comes with a heavy price tag at most hobby stores here in the States.

Yep, their stuff is expensive so i rarely build one of their models. When it comes to the Panzer II L there is no better choice than the Tasca kit.

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 3:19 pm

Alright, let´s assemble this thing

First i added the parts on the sides of the hull.

You want a proof why this kit is good? You can assemble the hull which consists of four parts without using any clamps or other fixings - it just fits perfectly.

The workable torsion bars. Tasca had this system before Dragon added it to some of their kits.

The tracks are glued with instant glue.

The upper hull. No fit issues aswell, i think you could actually just stick them into place if necessary.

Website · Post by **Panzermeister36** » Tue Nov 05, 2013 9:49 pm

Looking good Mr. Hamilkar! I've never seen a kit with the lower hull given as 3 separate pieces though, all the one's I've done have it as a pre-assembled tub!

Maybe it's just because I'm new!

Post by **spruecutter** » Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:18 pm

Very nice - the quality of this kit shows through in the pictures.

Post by **coladito1** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 2:56 am

Looking great!

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 9:23 am

Thank you guys

I got some more work done on the model, i added some smaller parts to the hull. Some of the specific parts for the 4th Panzerdivision are in place aswell.
The add-on armour above the driver´s visors is made out of many sections of the idler wheel, thats pretty crazy!

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Sat Nov 09, 2013 4:01 pm

The assembly is done now! Really, its such an easy and highly detailed kit, just one big joy to build this thing.

Next i will think of a diorama setting and then i will paint it.

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 4:03 pm

Before i start painting the tank i first want to make the set up for the diorama:

The ruin is from Plusmodel, its made out of plaster.

The exterior is nicely detailed, but the walls on the inside are completely flat. The wall on the right got some treatment from me, i scraped the stone texture in it using an old pair of tweezers. Worked very well!

Then i glued the wall together and applied a coat of Revell "Plasto" filler with an old brush. Later i sanded it down a bit. This way i created a much more convincing plastering of the walls and also filled the gaps between the joints of wall parts.

Resin door glued in place, now i can prepare the actual base for the diorama in order to find out how i could position all the components on it.

Post by **Paul** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 5:46 pm

That's some real nice work Michael, look forward to seeing it all come together.

That tasca kit looks damn nice too

Website · Post by **Panzermeister36** » Sun Nov 10, 2013 5:56 pm

I'm getting that building, that looks awesome!!! It'll look great in a little dio'!

Post by **spruecutter** » Mon Nov 11, 2013 11:48 pm

Looks great built up

Post by **Coen** » Tue Nov 12, 2013 9:18 am

That kit just fell together. Beautiful. I've build several Tasca kits in the past and they've never failed me. Absolutely perfect kits.
They're wickedly expensive and the instructions need extra attention because they're in Japanese, but wonderful to build and the results are fantastic as you just proved.
I love that plaster piece too, that is going to take paint so well. I love working with plaster.
This will look amazing when you're done with it Michael.. I can't wait to see what your placement will be.

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 4:57 pm

Thank you

Next i thought of the setting for the diorama.

I already prepared the tank model and the russian village house ruin so how to present those features and what could i add to it?

I thought a fence would be cool next to the house, so i used the plastic fence which is included in the famous Tamiya "road sign set".

On top the original part, on the bottom you can see the fence after some "improvements". It looked too perfect so i decided to give it some kind of beaten up look to suit the ruin next to it. I cut off the tops of the fence pickets and made the surface rough in order to imitate the wooden structure by using this metal scrubber on my Dremel tool.

Fence in detail.

The whole setup so far, not entirely sure whether it will stay like this or not but so far i like it.
On the front the terrain will be a bit slopy, maybe quite rough. It is possible to adapt the running gear to uneven surfaces as i made the torsion bars on the tank moveable so why not taking advantage of this? We will see!
I might place some more farming tools around the ruin and of course some debris will be added.

The whole scene might be set in autumn or early winter, not sure about that either.

Post by **Paul** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 5:01 pm

Nice to see the layout in progress Michael, look forward to seeing how you create the dio.

Post by **Coen** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 10:16 pm

Did you use the Fimo for the base again... it looks really rough this time.
You've done something different... very cool.
The layout is great, I see a nice story brewing.

Post by **generalgrog** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 5:19 am

Can't wait to see the dio around this build.

Looking great!!

GG

Post by **Jan01** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 7:35 am

Its looking good Michael.

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:51 am

Thank you guys!

I forgot to mention how i made the base, it is not yet finished.

It is just a wooden plate with a styrofoam plate glued on it. Around the edges i wrapped some crepe paper. Then i cut the slope into the foam.

Next i will start cover it with the Fimo Air Basic modelling clay.

Post by **UKscalemodeller** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 2:31 pm

This is going to be AWESOME!

Another dio masterclass.

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Fri Nov 22, 2013 8:10 pm

Let´s continue with the paintwork

First i primed the model with black acrylic paint.

Then i sprayed a coat of Revell Matt16 "sand yellow" over the black priming layer.

Finally i added the camo using Matt39 "dark green". I tried to imitate the suggested camo scheme in the instructions.

Post by **Coen** » Fri Nov 22, 2013 10:14 pm

Mmmm... I really like the look of that sand yellow Michael.
I must see if I can create an equivalent for my future builds with dunkelgelb. I like it very much.
Revel paints are hard to get here so I'll have to mix it.
It really shows off your PzII. That spotty camo looks wonderful too.

Website · Post by **Panzermeister36** » Fri Nov 22, 2013 10:30 pm

Nice work on the camo, it looks fantastic!!!

Can't wait to see the finished model, should be real top-shelf work!!!!

Post by **spruecutter** » Sat Nov 23, 2013 12:46 pm

Looks awesome. The camo is very effective, nice and subtle

Post by **Nige201980** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 11:40 am

great camo work Michael looks amazing

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 1:02 pm

Awesome progress

Love that dio base!
KUTGW

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 2:03 pm

Thank you

I painted the details like tools and wheels with a thin brush. Then i applied the decals using Micro Sol decal softener.

The tracks got primed with black paint, then i applied AK interactive "track wash". Finally i drybrushed them with Revell Matt91 "iron".

Post by **Coen** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 2:15 pm

Looks like we're almost neck and neck Michael, I just finished my detail painting this morning and I'll be decalling later today, and I'm about 50% done my diorama.
Haha

Yours it looking pretty spectacular. I love that camo. It's really well done.

Post by **wappynutter** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 3:16 pm

Gorgeous, beautiful work as always Michael... Fantastic stuff..

You make it all look so easy,your skills are second to none, the local club you mentioned you have joined are very lucky to have you sir....
A Modelling Master amongst us regular guys..

Well done again, i look forward to your next post and video...

....

Post by **Dunhill2005** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 4:12 pm

Alterverwalter!!!!!

Post by **HamilkarBarkas** » Sun Nov 24, 2013 4:57 pm

Thank you very much my friends

Thats the model after i applied a wash (the usual way, odourless turpentine mixed with black oil paint and applied with a big soft brush).

I also got some work done on the tank commander.

Next i worked on the diorama a bit.
First of all i added all the debris which belongs to such a ruin. It consists of chunks of plaster and a smashed brickstone.

The wooden parts are represented by thin sheets of wood. I glued everything with wood glue

Later i will paint the ruin with the airbrush and throw some pigments on it. I´m not sure whether the debris is enough, its hard to add the right "amount" of debris. Maybe i should add some remains of the thatched roof? Not entirely sure right now.