Global Scale Modeller

Hi guys
so as i finished all my builds for this year and i need a fast build for a change i decided to build this kit

i bought it after a saw mr Hollywood modelling do a review of it
and because i didn't have a dessert vehicle at the time i though this could be a nice starting point to make some DAK vehicles

All in all the kit looks pretty good for the price but it still is a older Dragon kit but they just added some extra goodies like a smoke candle holder and some figures and some jerrycans to put on top of the turret

However i am planning to use some extra goodies aswell

so pulled out one of my friul track sets and i order a new barrel and some sandbag armor and stowage to make it look like one of those dessert mules where they loaded all kinds of stuff on the tank
and i think i have a Masterbox crew set hidden in the stash somewhere so i will go and have a look where it is

So now that i got my mojo flowing i will make a start with this build and keep a build log of this build

Untill next time
cheers ,Mark

Little update
as i have been hammering away on this build i thought i could show the first part of the build

So here it goes

as usual the wheels are step 1


The rear plate


the suspension could be made working
well atleast the middle 4 swing arms
if you want to do that to all the wheels some chopping and scratch building is needed on the first and last swing arms


the main part of the upper hull
This is actually a StuG upper hull


all boxed in


the add on armor for the hull


all the details on the engine deck where then added

And then the real work starts

the fenders where bend out of shape and the brackets don't have a very good fit to both the hull and the fenders
but with the help of some ca glue i managed to get them on there and to sit on there the right way without any weird bends in them
i also discovered i didn't place the upper hull add on armor plate correctly so that was fixed to make sure the sandbag armor will fit

As for now the build is going pretty fast and think i will get the hull finished in a few more hours as i will wait with the tools untill later and i will get them some pe clamps as these old Dragon tools only have a blob on them instead of a clamp
but i want to finish all the major building stuff first and i found out that my replacement gun barrel is for the newer smart kit Panzer III so that will require some cutting and modifying aswell

Untill next time
cheers,Mark

Hi guys
first off , Happy new year

So i am back with a new update
i finished the last things this morning and it is now ready for a coat of primer and then some paint


so i started by fitting the gun
because this gun is designed for the newer Smart kits i had to make some modifications
In other words i had to drill out the gunsleve and had to make holes in the mantlet and in the block that is behind it
But it the end it fits
i also had to make a new ring that fits on the end of the gunsleve because that was molded on the barrel of the kit


then the gun was fitted in the turret


The turret parts where glued on the turret
i had some problems fitting the turretbin as the connectionpoints wheren't all that great


the sandbag armor was test fitted


then the stowage rack on the engine deck was build up


the blobs that should look like toolclamps where removed and replaced with these photo etch clamps


the jack had a flat end while there should be raised detail so i added that with some styrene


the tools where put in place on the fenders


the antenna was placed
it only had a small pin so i removed that and replaced it with a stretched sprue antenna


the sandbag armor was glued in place




the stowage was testfitted
there is a lot in the Legend set but most of the jerrycan parts where damaged
so i used some jerrycans from the spares box
i also added 2 helmets and a spare wheel
I want to add a length of spare tracks on the hooks on the front and maybe add some spare wheels and a tarp of something like that


then i broke it down again to get it ready for the primer and paint

Thanks for stopping by and having a look
untill next time
cheers , Mark

Looks very promising so far. I'll be following your build. I have the same kit in my stash and I'll be nice to have your build as a reference. Cheers!

Thank you
it will take some time before it is getting painted though
i have several builds on the go and i really ,really, really don't like priming so i usually wait untill i have several things to prime at once
but all the other builds have wings so it shouldn't take me that long before i have some cockpits to prime and paint and then i will continue this at the same time

Interesting that you don't like priming either. What are your reasons for that? Which primer do you use?

My problem with priming is that I haven't found the right primer yet. I've tried the AK water based polymer primer, but it's a pain in the back to spray it on evenly with my airbrush. It keeps blobbing and spitting big drops. So I resorted back to the "Barkas-style" base coat with Revell 09. It may not be as solid as a real primer, but it provides a smoother surface.

My main reason is that it takes too long between each coat and that it often doesn't go down smooth
besides that it is harder to get out of my airbrush
i just finished a big diorama and the vehicles are the only things that are primed and that seemed to work just fine

Great looking build so far, most impressive details added with the after market packs too. I look forward to following the rest of your build.

Thanks Matt
allthough i said it may take a while before i would prime it plans changed
i already primed it and i think i will start painting it soon
it depends on my paint supply mostly and i have some otger builds aswell so i do whatever i like the most at the moment

Hi guys
just a little update as not all the paintwork is done but the basecolors are on and i only have some detailpainting left to

So here is the paintwork so far

i actually used the same paint mix for the German grey as i used for my Lavochkin build
This basecolor was then covered in 2 coats of satin varnish


Before i put the dessert yellow on i covered the tank in AK worn effects chipping fluid
While that was drying i mixed H310 brown and H403 Dark yellow in roughly a 2 to 1 ratio to make a dessert yellow
I don't have a bottle of H402 so i had to mix it
i then sprayed this.mix over the now dry coat of chipping fluid
for the faded color i used the H403 as this was already in the base color so it looked like a logic choise


i then chipped the entire tank making sure to focus more on places where there would be more chance of paint damage because the crew walks there
i prefer the worn effects over the regular chipping fluid as the chipping can be made much smaller and subtile
it is not visible here but there is some very small chipping in some places where the brush only worn down very small bits of paint

But this is all i have for now
i hope to finish the painting work soon and then it can be decalled and weathered
thanks for stopping by and untill next time
Cheers , Mark

Looks great so far Mark, will be watching this build closely as I just picked up this kit from a local shop today.

This is looking grand. I absolutely love this kit and you are doing quite well on it.
Isn't that sandbag set superb? It looks good on there for sure.
G

panzerdodge wrote:Looks great so far Mark, will be watching this build closely as I just picked up this kit from a local shop today.

Thank you
the kit is pretty good if you keep in mind you don't have a new kit
it is based on older sprues but it still is good
the only "bad" thing are the fenders but in my kit they where warped so that doesn't help
i hope to get the last detail painting finished soon so i can gloss coat almost all my builds at once wich would be helpfull as i don't have to clean the airbrush that much
but i will continue that tomorrow and i will see how much i get done

AgentG wrote:This is looking grand. I absolutely love this kit and you are doing quite well on it.
Isn't that sandbag set superb? It looks good on there for sure.
G

thank you
the sandbag armor looks pretty good but the fit is not the best
i had a lot of work to get the big block on the hull in it's place
i think ot may be designed for the newer kits but i am not sure
it has a very nice surface though wich should take a wash very well
but i will show the results soon
i just want to do all the stowage seperate as that makes it easier to weather them
but once that is done i will post a new update

Cheers , Mark

Very cool, sand bag armor is nice. did you say you were going to put this on a diorama? Again awesome build.

Thank you

It won't go on a diorama though as i am trying to make the stash a bit smaller so i don't take the time to build dio's at moment

Superb
Thanks for sharing, I bought this kit a few months ago so it's good to see this post !
Cheers
Mark

Thanks Mark
there already was a build with this kit on here from Hollywood modelling
i don't remember if he showed a lot of the vehicle but he made a diorama with this kit and another tank
it is a nice kit for the money though and pretty fun to build

Hi guys
time for a little update

I have been working on this a little bit as i was doing decalling sessions and i wanted to have several builds in the same stage of the build so i could do things like a gloss coat on several builds at once
so i decalled it and started weathering it and this is where it is at

the decals where applied
i don't know for sure if DAK Panzers had different sized markings but i had a lot of trouble getting the turret numbers on there
so i used some spare decals that are smaller
the 4 on the left side is a bit higher but i did that because of the bolts around the viewport
after this i applied a second coat of aqua gloss to seal it all in



i then applied a wash using AK DAK wash


after i removed the excess wash i used DAK and Rust streaks from AK to add a few dirt streaks
i only used a little as it doesn't rain that much in the dessert but i like the effect so i wanted some on there


i then used some Mig prod. light rust wash around some bolts and othrr small details for a little bit of rust effects
this light color won't look to strong so it doesn't catch your eye at first glance
i also used it on the spare tracks to blend the rust colors together a bit but i will finish that with pigments


those spare tracks with the wash on there

And this is how it looks at the moment

I don't have any detail pics yet but i will do some when i put it in the land gallery once it is finished

I have to say i am happy with it so far
the colors are slightly different then what i am used to as this is my first DAK vehicle so it isn't the standard dark yellow or tri tone camo that i am used to
but i am looking forward to finishing this and see how it turns out
i still have the tracks that i need to build but i will flat coat it tomorrow and do some work with oil paints
so maybe i will do those tracks while it all dries
i am not really in a hurry with this one and i have several entries in group builds and a buddy build that i have barely touched so when there is some spare time this gets some building time
thanks for stopping by
cheers , Mark

I just caught up on this Mark, gotta say bud... She's pretty.
I built that kit some time ago and I'll be damned if I know where it is now.
It certainly didn't look as nice as yours.
That stowage looks excellent.

Very, very nice!

After about 6 months or so the turret markings changed a bit. The tank numbers first digit (company number) was painted large and the remaining two digits (platoon and tank number within the platoon) were painted smaller.

Yours looks just fine as is.

G

Thank you very much guys
Your comments are much apreciated
i couldn't remove the decals anymore so if it was not accurate there is very litte i can do without destroying the paint that is under the decals
so i would have left them this way
once o have flat coated everything i will put the stowage and other stuff on there as i don't think itwould matter for the last steps of the weathering
so only the tracks remain a thing for the to do list
maybe while watching a movie or something

Hi guys
just a tiny update for now





I painted and weathered the stowage
then i glued it to the Panzer III

Yesterday i finished the friul tracks and was going to put those on there so i could finish this build
but i found out the sprockets where build up wrong
i didn't see it before so that was a bit of a bummer
but during the repairwork on the second sprocket it cracked and i even lost a piece so i don't think i can fix it
instead i will order a set of sprocket wheels from Friul to replace them
but those won't get here untill next week
so this is on hold for now
I hope to get back to this build as soon as i can and finish this
There will be one more update for this build where i will finish this build and ofcourse a sort of reveal in the land gallery
but that is for the future
thanks for stopping by and having a look
Cheers

That's pure eye candy! Well done.

Thank you very much
glad you like.it so far

That is freaken awesome MarkVerploeg, friulmodel tracks are awesome, but you have to be greatful they have the sprokets, I got them with the Porsche jagtiger, again very cool build.

Thank you very much
i haven't received the sprockets yet but it won't take long i think
they should be sent out today and arrive soon

Hi guys
Time for the final update
i finished this build today allthough i will probably make a small base later as i want to take this to a contest and i don't like it when they touch the actual model (they advise you to put it on a base too)

So here are the final steps of this build

It is barely visible but i did some oil dot fading on the tank and once the new sprockets where ready i placed the tracks
they don't have much sag but i didn't like the look when i added a extra link (too much sag)


then i added some oilstains with AK oilstains to get the effect of oil and grease leaking from the turretbearing


some rust and soot pigments where added to the spare tracks and exhaust
and gulf war sand pigments for the rest of the vehicle


the gulf war sand pigment on the running gear


with a big graphite pencil i gave some bare metal effects on the edges of the barrel and some other spots like grab handles and the edges of the hull and turret
I have a big solid graphite pencil that i use for this as u think it works better then a regular pencil
i think i got it from a arts and crafts store


and then i felt it was finished
there is nothing more i think i could do to improve anything at this point
i was going to add a lenght of spare tracks on the front of the hull but that just didn't look right so i left it off

And that is all i have for this build
i hope you like it and i will post a reveal of this aswell
thanks for stopping by and having a look
untill next time
Cheers , Mark

Holy Bats_ _ _ Mark, she is freaken awesome! One thing I noticed you need to trim some wire off your tracks, if you hadn't already? Please tell me that awesome build gets a diorama? Anyway awesome build my friend.

InitialProduction1 wrote:Holy Bats_ _ _ Mark, she is freaken awesome! One thing I noticed you need to trim some wire off your tracks, if you hadn't already? Please tell me that awesome build gets a diorama? Anyway awesome build my friend.

Thank you very much
the pins where sticking out because i don't glue them like they advise you to
They are trimmed but i needed to push them back in the track
it will get a small base at best not a full blown diorama
i stopped building those for now as they take up too much space and i want to take this to a contest but in the vehicle class so i am only allowed to have a small base and 1 or 2 figures with it to qualify

MarkVerploeg wrote:

InitialProduction1 wrote:Holy Bats_ _ _ Mark, she is freaken awesome! One thing I noticed you need to trim some wire off your tracks, if you hadn't already? Please tell me that awesome build gets a diorama? Anyway awesome build my friend.

Thank you very much
the pins where sticking out because i don't glue them like they advise you to
They are trimmed but i needed to push them back in the track
it will get a small base at best not a full blown diorama
i stopped building those for now as they take up too much space and i want to take this to a contest but in the vehicle class so i am only allowed to have a small base and 1 or 2 figures with it to qualify

That's what I do now, build only small to medium, I'm out of room, if they don't do good in shows, I trash them and throw them in my tank box, I have parts everywhere, Lol.

Well i usually keep the vehicle as it is
but i am going to clear out some of old diorama's some time soon
Some will get replaced but others will have the vehicles moved to my giant tubs of doom

MarkVerploeg wrote:Well i usually keep the vehicle as it is
but i am going to clear out some of old diorama's some time soon
Some will get replaced but others will have the vehicles moved to my giant tubs of doom

Heck, I never thought of that, I could put my old builds in tubs, heck that's a cool idea. "Tubs of doom" funny. Toy story 4, tubs of doom, woody's nightmare. Hahaha.

InitialProduction1 wrote:

MarkVerploeg wrote:Well i usually keep the vehicle as it is
but i am going to clear out some of old diorama's some time soon
Some will get replaced but others will have the vehicles moved to my giant tubs of doom

Heck, I never thought of that, I could put my old builds in tubs, heck that's a cool idea. "Tubs of doom" funny. Toy story 4, tubs of doom, woody's nightmare. Hahaha.

They are big tubs frim Ikea
i have 4 really big ones and several smaller ones for storing diorama stuff ,after market goodies and my scratch building stuff
it helps keeping things organized and they aren't very expensive either
The lids are sold seperate though but you can mix and match at the store

Very cool mark, thanks. you should post this idea, cause you might save someones very cool build, although I might be the only one not smart enough to think of this, but I hope not . And you could help someone, Again very cool idea mark.

The Tub of doom idea is actually Lee's idea
he stores works in progress in litte food tubs to keep dust away
i just super sized the idea to store build models that i don't want in my display cabinets