Global Scale Modeller

Lovely work as always

As you say that primer looks silky smooth. I also love the small addition of white to the black for wheels - very effective

Very nice finish there mate, looking forward to the cammo

Turning out really good, I especially like the chipping to the fighting compartment and the gun. Not too much, but looks the part.

Arrr it's just the normal excellent work from Stokesy ......ho hum.....

Yup that's a cracking bit of paint mate - looking forward to seeing how you camo it up now

SMAddict66 wrote: Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:14 pm Lovely work as always

As you say that primer looks silky smooth. I also love the small addition of white to the black for wheels - very effective

Kevthemodeller wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 8:33 am Very nice finish there mate, looking forward to the cammo

Rugash wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 9:46 am Turning out really good, I especially like the chipping to the fighting compartment and the gun. Not too much, but looks the part.

digger303 wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 12:55 pm Arrr it's just the normal excellent work from Stokesy ......ho hum.....

Tomcat64 wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 1:30 pm Yup that's a cracking bit of paint mate - looking forward to seeing how you camo it up now

Thanks Guys. There's something about Tamiya paint that just agrees with me. The only other paint I've used that compares is Mr Hobby. I find both spray beautifully without any tip dry and with great coverage.

Fired up the booth again yesterday.

Applied a little more of the base coat as there were a couple of areas that were showing too much primer underneath and also one of the sides had some muck on it where my fingers had left marks

Tamiya dark green and red brown then decals applied. The scheme I'm going for is from Italy in 1944, not your usual tri-tone coverage, the pictures for this version show a camo of small splotches with a lot of the base still showing.

















Next up is detail painting then chipping. I'll need to varnish over the decals then its oil filters, gloss and a dirt wash. Then its the tracks and finally finishing off the interior by painting the ammo, adding in the small bits and bobs like to binocular sights and the crew

very very nice....

Very nice work with the paint!

spiffing job mate lovely. I agree with you about the tip dry.
With those paints you can leave your airbrush cup full of paint come back a hr later and just keep spraying as well. Although I am thinking of dropping Tamiya and just sticking with Mr Hobby because of the bigger range and colors being more of a match.
cheers

You have a lovely light touch when spraying camouflage free hand. It looks gorgeous

digger303 wrote: Sun Oct 11, 2020 3:54 pm spiffing job mate lovely. I agree with you about the tip dry.
With those paints you can leave your airbrush cup full of paint come back a hr later and just keep spraying as well. Although I am thinking of dropping Tamiya and just sticking with Mr Hobby because of the bigger range and colors being more of a match.
cheers

Thanks mate and I agree. As I use up my Tamiya stocks I will look to replace with Mr Hobby.

SMAddict66 wrote: Sun Oct 11, 2020 3:59 pm You have a lovely light touch when spraying camouflage free hand. It looks gorgeous

Thanks. For some reason I found the green much more controllable than the brown. I think it comes down to lack pf practice, I just dont spend enough time at the bench, especially with my airbrush.

Its a bit like hitting a great golf shot and then hitting an absolute stinker from the same place next round. You scratch your head because you dont know why it happened.

Pleased with the outcome though and cant wait to work with oils on all those flat panels.

Stokesy44 wrote: Sun Oct 11, 2020 4:08 pm

digger303 wrote: Sun Oct 11, 2020 3:54 pm spiffing job mate lovely. I agree with you about the tip dry.
With those paints you can leave your airbrush cup full of paint come back a hr later and just keep spraying as well. Although I am thinking of dropping Tamiya and just sticking with Mr Hobby because of the bigger range and colors being more of a match.
cheers

Thanks mate and I agree. As I use up my Tamiya stocks I will look to replace with Mr Hobby.

Just become aware that Mr Hobby added another 5 new tank colors ( some months ago ) 511-516 and about another 10 colours from the sets that weren't available individually before.....so on my shopping wish list for next months payday.

digger303 wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 1:11 am

Just become aware that Mr Hobby added another 5 new tank colors ( some months ago ) 511-516 and about another 10 colours from the sets that weren't available individually before.....so on my shopping wish list for next months payday.

Mr Hobby do sets? I didnt realise. I shall have to investigate.

Great work on the camo mate - top job!

That's coming along very nicely indeed

Oh yes looks like being another superb build mate

Kevthemodeller wrote: Wed Oct 14, 2020 11:08 am Oh yes looks like being another superb build mate

Thanks Kev,

Got a long weekend coming up so hope to finish her by Monday.

A bit more progress. Chipping done using the sponge dabbing method, a mixture or black and dark brown. I also painted the tracks with Vallejo metal color burnt iron and dry brushed flat aluminum. I also tried to add some sag to the tracks with CA glue.











I'm glad I cut the black with brown, its given the chipping a proper rusting effect.





Next up is oil filters then I'm going to put the crew together. I've decided to go for the camo reversible suit colors for the crew, it was that or field grey (boring) or white (no as I'm not white-washing the vehicle).

So, camo it is - lets not make it easy eh?

Decided to put the crew together. Very nice detail from Tamiya. There's a commander looking through binoculars, 2 loaders (one standing as he rams the shell home, 1 kneeling with a shell ready) and the gunner. I've mounted them on sticks for ease of painting.



Then I decided to paint the brass shells that i bought as an extra from Tamiya. Four AP and four HE rounds. The 4 HE rounds go into the bins, 2 of the APs will be in the arms of the loaders while the remainder go in the other bin. I think they look very cool after painting. There's also 5 spent cartridges which will be placed on the floor of the fighting compartment at the end of the build.





The bins look nice in position





Getting busier looking now, should be like a game of sardines once the crew go in. The rear doors will be glued in the open position at the end as they were opened when the gun was firing (so the blurb says).





Oil filters on the hull next then I'll start working on painting the crew.

Very nice progress! The shells look great

Really nice work...

very very nice.... as others have said, nice shells

Great looking chipping, lovely finish on the shells

That's coming along really nicely mate - the "well-used" look and the finish on the shells are great work

Thanks guys. The shells are Tamiya after market brass. All I did was paint the pointy ends.

Sessions are going well this weekend.

One of the gang asked me offline about the seam on the gun breach - whether it was a seam on the real thing or not. I have to confess I missed it originally but it has bugged me on and off during the build, especially when it appears in pictures.

I cant help but think there shouldn't be a seam as the block would be a single cast for strength. I sanded down the seam and repainted it. It still needs a tiny bit of filler and another coat of paint but its looking better already.



I applied the oil filters on the hull. Looking for that weather streaked look where the paintwork is sitting under a level of dust and rain streaking. Italy was hated for its dust so its reasonable to assume the vehicle would have had it baked on by the sun and rain as it headed into the 44-45 winter. With the crew in their camo suits I'm showing the vehicle in a late autumn setting, its cold but no snow yet.

Still got some decal silvering which is frustrating - its only visible from certain angles. I don't know why it happening. I used microsol, maybe I didn't roll the decal hard enough onto the surface.









Its back to the airbrush now with a gloss coat for the hull and grey primer for the crew.

Ultimate primer for the crew then base coated in Tamiya dark yellow





Then it was back to the hull for a Ultimate dark dirt wash.



Once the wash was done and cleaned up I mounted the final bits in the fighting compartment. Mounts on both sides for the MG and the dual periscope sight on its swing arm. Also added the breech block finally. I'm pretty sure I can still fit the gunner in his seat with the breach open. That is not a position I would want to be in personally - glued to the sights while that thing pings out next to my head after every round!



Filled the seam on the breach, repainted and chipped



Here's the hull with the wash all cleaned up.











Shell bins added, that's the full kit done.





And the final act - opening the rear doors as they would have been positioned when the gun was firing. It makes the fighting compartment brighter as more light can get in. It should also show the crew off better so I will have to make a good job of their camo suits!

I got a lot of catching up to do to get to this level

Very nice! That wash just totally knocks it up a notch or two!

Weathering is once again nothing short of amazing

Cannot wait to see what you do with the figures, as I seem to remember you painted a figure a while back that was another ‘stunna’

digger303 wrote: Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:52 pm I got a lot of catching up to do to get to this level

You and me both my friend

I agree with Phil above, you've really got this weathering down to a fine art!

Paul

SMAddict66 wrote: Tue Oct 20, 2020 2:32 pm Weathering is once again nothing short of amazing

Cannot wait to see what you do with the figures, as I seem to remember you painted a figure a while back that was another ‘stunna’

digger303 wrote: Mon Oct 19, 2020 2:52 pm I got a lot of catching up to do to get to this level

You and me both my friend

Quax wrote: Wed Oct 21, 2020 11:41 am I agree with Phil above, you've really got this weathering down to a fine art!

Paul

Gentlemen,

Your comments are most appreciated but you are are far too generous with your praise. Thanks for coming along for the ride on this one. I hope to work on the figures over the weekend to finish her off.

The lads have already said it mate but that's a cracking job.

Looking forward to seeing the figures finished up and added to the final result

As above mate top stuff

Tomcat64 wrote: Fri Oct 23, 2020 3:35 pm The lads have already said it mate but that's a cracking job.

Looking forward to seeing the figures finished up and added to the final result

Kevthemodeller wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:31 am As above mate top stuff

Thanks Neil and Kev.

Finished off the crew today. Tamiya paints for the camo and helmets. Here they are in their base colours





I then applied a wash and a dry brush to finish them off



And in they went. The gunner is wedged in, the rest have tiny blu-tac balls on the soles of their feet to keep them from wandering. All nice and cosy

And before anyone tells me off, yes the travel lock for the gun is still 'on'. At some point during the build I must have broken something within the gun mount because all the tension went from the mechanism. The result is a distinct brewer's droop if I drop the travel lock. I may try and find an unobtrusive way to glue the mount but its such a complicated thing I haven't figured out how to do it yet.











I was back at the bench for the last few shots, hence the increase in the light quality.











And that's it. Final thoughts? Its a beautiful kit from Tamiya and I've loved every session on it. Its the kind of kit that makes you want to grab the next one from the stash and get stuck in again, hoping to replicate the fun you've just had.

As always, thanks for joining me for the ride, all comments are very much appreciated. I find posting on the forum enhances my enjoyment of the kit and its a privilege to share with you guys.

Stay safe and keep building friends.

This is amazing Stokesy! The weathering, gun detail, camo, shells and figures all pull this together so tightly! AND reversible uniforms? It all blows me away! Very well done and it tells a nice story.

Great work Stokesy
The uniforms for me are one stand out area, faded and actually look like fabric...
The other that stands out the most for me is the weathering of the vehicle with fading, rust, paint chips where you would expect after months or years of use. Not over done either....
Overall it's magic

Oh yes another top draw build mate, the cammo, weathering, figures and those shells

Awesome work mate.

The figures really finish off what was already a cracking build - great result!

Tomcat64 wrote: Mon Oct 26, 2020 2:48 pm Awesome work mate.

The figures really finish off what was already a cracking build - great result!

Kevthemodeller wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:20 am Oh yes another top draw build mate, the cammo, weathering, figures and those shells

digger303 wrote: Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:07 am Great work Stokesy
The uniforms for me are one stand out area, faded and actually look like fabric...
The other that stands out the most for me is the weathering of the vehicle with fading, rust, paint chips where you would expect after months or years of use. Not over done either....
Overall it's magic

BigWall wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2020 10:17 pm This is amazing Stokesy! The weathering, gun detail, camo, shells and figures all pull this together so tightly! AND reversible uniforms? It all blows me away! Very well done and it tells a nice story.

Thanks everyone. I'd certainly recommend the kit. Not a single issue all the way through and nicely priced too.

I have missed a few posts, that is looking great!

what a good kit, this tank hunter and its crew are amazing!

Have you planned to add some soldier gear like blankets, individual weapons, etc.?