Tomcat's 1/72(ish) Supply Dump

[Tomcat64]

I've had this one in mind since the Big Busty Bomber GB a couple of years back but finally decided it's time to get the project underway.

Last year I built this for the Tracks & Wings GB

Now some of you may have spotted that this is an aircraft, so why am I posting it in the Armour build section? Well my ultimate plan was to pose this overflying a supply dump, maybe in the build up to the Ardennes offensive.

As a result I've picked up a number of 1/72 kits along the way and will pick away at these from time to time in between other projects


I've also picked up some resin supplies from modeltrans in Germany




And once I've got a selection built up I'll start working out how I want to position them around this old classic - it's 1/76 rather than 1/72 but think it should work ok when it's installed in a suitable scenic surrounding.


I've also got some 1/72 resin figures... but umm can't find the safe place where I put them at the moment

So that's the intent declared and this weekend I'll get started on one of the vehicles and post progress as I go - just need to decide which one to go with first!

Thanks as always for looking

[ElCapitan]

Sounds really interesting! Good luck with it

[RangerNeil]

Neat concept - looking forwards to seeing how it plays out

[Stokesy44]

Just a little something eh?

[BigWall]

Great idea! Lots of work ahead of you.

[CygnusX1]

Something small and compact then... I like it; sounds like it's going to be a right result when it's done.

[Hawkmoon]

Nice dio in the making have fun with it

[digger303]

You might be cross eyed after painting all the details in this and needing a little liquid strengthening..

[Tomcat64]

Sounds really interesting! Good luck with it

Neat concept - looking forwards to seeing how it plays out

Just a little something eh?

Great idea! Lots of work ahead of you.

Something small and compact then... I like it; sounds like it's going to be a right result when it's done.

Nice dio in the making have fun with it

You might be cross eyed after painting all the details in this and needing a little liquid strengthening..

Thanks for all the support guys I'm not putting an end date of this one so it may be a while before we get to the final result, but I like to potter away on a quick 1/72 build from time to time in between more complex stuff. And yep Digger I suspect there'll be plenty of liquid reinforcement required along the way

But in the meantime it looks like I missed another kit in the stash - I wonder how many more are lurking around...


I also found the figures from Milicast - I've left them in their polybags for now so apologies if they're not overly visible through the reflections. None of the kits come with figures so I might see if they've got some drivers in 1/72


And to kick things off I've decided to go with a humble Opel Blitz - here's the first box and the parts, not a huge count but I'll probably manage to overcomplicate it somehow. The windows are supplied as a single sheet of acetate which needs cutting out so that might be fun


I'll make a start on this one this weekend

[Tomcat64]

I made a start on the Blitz this weekend, and during construction I was thinking this doesn't feel like a 2011 dated kit like is says on the box; no real locating points, mould lines everywhere. So I did a quick check on Scalemates and apparently the origins for this one date back to an old ESCI mould from 1974!

Anyways here how it's gone so far...

First up the chassis - no real drama here but leaving the wheels & exhaust off until later for ease of painting


Then the cab. I've left this in sections for now to allow painting of the interior and also for the installation of a driver figure that I've got on order. The "glass" is to be cut from a supplied sheet of acetate so I'll need to figure out how to mask that so that I don't push the windows back in when I get to unmasking later


A quick look at the wheels - they're mostly ok, but there's some strategically placed epms on the rear sets


Back to the chassis next to attach the cargo bed frames - all pretty straightforward after the obligatory clean up


And onto the cargo bed itself. I found out later that the boxes (batteries?) slung under here should actually be attached to the chassis... Maybe I'll do that on the other one. The locating points for the mud guards are really vague as well so I've just taken a punt as to how they should go (looks like we've got a wonky one in the picture so I'll sort that out too)


Up top the AM resin cargo load was about 2mm too large in both dimensions so that was "adjusted" with a razor saw, knife & cutters, the rough edges were then disguised under a tissue paper & white glue tarp


And here are all the bits stacked up and held in place with some blobs of blue tack


Next up I'll prime & paint the cab ready for the driver to arrive as well as making a start on the cargo bed.

Thanks as always for looking

[digger303]

[Stokesy44]

Another epic in the making

[Quax]

looks like its going to be very, very good and very, very big in a small way!

Paul

[Tomcat64]

Another epic in the making

Cheers guys

looks like its going to be very, very good and very, very big in a small way!

Thanks Paul - it's certainly a test for the old eyes and fat fingers

[CygnusX1]

That really is a mini Blitz. Shame about those EPM's on the wheels/tyres.
Surprised there weren't more EPM's on the wooden cargo bed... which I see you've strategically covered up with stowage. Nice

[Stokesy44]

1/72 is a young man's game sir.

I salute you!

[Tomcat64]

That really is a mini Blitz. Shame about those EPM's on the wheels/tyres.
Surprised there weren't more EPM's on the wooden cargo bed... which I see you've strategically covered up with stowage. Nice

Yep given the age of the original kit I was pleasantly surprised to find were the only place with significant epms

1/72 is a young man's game sir.

I salute you!

[Tomcat64]

I'm still figuring out what to do with the cab & transparencies, but in the meantime I threw some paint at the chassis, wheels and cargo bed.

Everything was given a coat of Ultimate black primer, followed by Vallejo Model Air dark yellow. I then cut some masks with my dspiae circle cutter and sprayed the tyres with Nato Black - here's the chassis with the wheels attached. The camera is distorting the colour balance and making the dark yellow pop more than it does in reality - will try and get that adjusted for later in the build.


Then the cargo was picked out with a brush using various wood & field grey tones followed by a black wash. The "tarp" was painted in khaki with a brown wash


And everything was put together - oh and the exhaust system was painted using LifeColors rust as well


I'll try and get the cab figured out and will weather the whole thing up once it's all together to maintain some consistency.

Thanks for looking

[Stokesy44]

Well that is just all sorts of good

[CygnusX1]

Looking really good; you can't "see the joins" in those wheels where those EPM's where. Nice job.

[LWWales]

Great start! It's going to be fun watching this all come together.

[Tomcat64]

Well that is just all sorts of good

Looking really good; you can't "see the joins" in those wheels where those EPM's where. Nice job.

Great start! It's going to be fun watching this all come together.

Thanks guys

Since the teeny tiny driver figures turned up this week I've taken a swipe at the cab today.

First up I had to lop the selected driver off at the knees to get him to fit - I might try and adjust the dash on the next one, but to be honest you can't see much of him anyway He's been painted up in Vallejo Model Colours & washes


The cab was assembled around him after I cut & fit the "glass" using the measurements from the instructions transferred to masking tape as a template for the windscreen. The other pieces were just cut to size as required. Need to dust that sanding debris away before priming!


On the chassis I installed a scratch block between the front wheels otherwise it was just clear daylight when the cab was installed


And here's the cab dry fitted, I've added a dash of filler in some of the wider gaps and will leave this overnight before masking the windows and painting the cab up; it's starting to look the right shape now


Hopefully I'll get this one more or less finished except for final weathering later this week - thanks as always for looking

[Tomcat64]

I've managed to get some decent time at the bench this week and finished off the Blitz.

First the cab windows were masked with panzer putty rolled flat on the bench & then cut to shape and gently eased into place, then a coat of Ultimate Black Primer was followed by a couple of coats of Model Air Dark Yellow


Not too many decals for this build - just seven in total but they behaved really nicely




This was followed by a couple of pin washes with Tamiya dark brown & black applied to different areas & seams, and some minimal chipping with AK weathering pencils which worked well but I'm still new to them so trying to find the best way of getting the desired result




I tried to give the impression of the wiper sweeps on the windscreen using Ultimate light dirt sprayed on and then cut back with a damp cotton bud


And finally the pioneer shovel was added (the pick axe broke trying to cut it off the sprue!)


So calling that done for now - I'll probably add additional weathering when the dio comes together so everything is weathered uniformly.

Thanks to everyone that checked in during this build, the next one will be armour and due up once I've got another couple of projects off the bench

[digger303]

I'v just had to remind myself that this is 1/72...awesome dude.

[Tomcat64]

I'v just had to remind myself that this is 1/72...awesome dude.

Cheers mate

[Tomcat64]

Following the trauma of the Miniart SU-76 I decided to switch scales and hopefully build out something quick and easy, so I've decided on this:


This will be the first of four Panthers I'm intending to build in the near future in a variety of scales

Here are the sprue frames


And finally the instruction book, track links and decals


I've been pottering away this week and started with step 1 and the lower hull


As noted in the instructions you need to remove the outer edges of the hull along the grooved lines - this was done with a scalpel and tidied up with a little sanding


There were some prominent EPMs on the side panels, but the ones marked in green will be hidden behind the wheels so no worries there. I did decide to fill the ones indicated in red as at this stage I wasn't sure if I was leaving the schurzen on or not. So these each had a couple of blobs of CA and then sanded flat


Once they were sorted everything went together nicely


Also I've added some weight into the bottom of the hull to give it a little heft


And then added a false floor which will be painted black so there's some depth below the grilles on the rear deck


The next few steps are concerned with wheels and running gear so for the most part we'll skip them for now as they'll be added a bit later


But the wheelsets have been painted up ready; a quick test fit showed some of them are a little snug on the locating pins so will need drilling out


Next was step 6 which added parts to the front of the hull


Some of the sprue gates on the more fiddly pieces such as the gun lock are a little heavy so care is needed to avoid breaking the part cutting it off the sprue (and cleaning up). I've also drilled out the end of the bow gun.


Then moving on to the various tool racks and side skirts


Once again the tool racks had to be removed carefully from the sprue frames due to the heavy gates, there was also a little flash in places but nothing serious.


I was considering trying to remove a couple of panels from the schurzen but in the end decided that the risk of wrecking the part was too high so I've gone with full skirts on both sides for this one - which also matches the decal scheme I've decided on


The skirt attachment points were a little on the vague side so I put those aside to set and moved on to the turret


Once again nothing too much to worry about with this - everything fit really nicely


But the machine gun rail again needed some care in cutting & clean up; the gun itself will be painted up separately and added towards the end of the build


So that's all come along really smoothly this week and has been a proper mojo builder as hoped for. All being well the build will be finished in time for some paint to be sprayed about this weekend.

Thanks for looking

[digger303]

always a pleasure to look

[Stokesy44]

Truck looks good and dinky little panther is quality.

[Tomcat64]

always a pleasure to look

Truck looks good and dinky little panther is quality.

Thanks chaps!

The Panther has been a fun little build so far

[Tomcat64]

I made some more progress and got the build finished up.

Since I left off at the turret last time that's where we'll pick up the thread.

We have the option of Early or Late Panther Gs but all the decal options are for Earlies so that's what we'll go with


I noticed that Revell had neatly supplied a couple of subframes labelled "Early" & "Late" within the sprues to assist with keeping the parts separate. I'd already removed the Early mantlet before I took this shot


Anyway - here's the gun assembly in place


The only minor niggle here is that the mantlet isn't quite the right shape or size, so once installed the gun is permanently set in a slightly elevated position. This could easily be fixed with a little surgery or sanding to the bottom edge of the mantlet but I just went with it as is


And onto the final stage of the turret assembly


The only thing to note here is that the locating hole for part 49 had to be drilled through from the inside. Part 50 is a bit heavy and could do with being thinned out or replaced with PE


So that's the turret done, and back to the hull


I'm leaving the tow cables and spare tracks off for adding later so the only thing I attached here was the headlight; although I did notice some prominent epms on the spare links that needed some attention. They're also present on the main track runs but will be mostly hidden there.


Down the back end it was on with the Early engine grille


No issues there


Onto the rear plate


The jack will be added later, the stowage bins went on with no problem but the towing bar was really flimsy and needed a bit of tlc to get off the sprue and cleaned up without damaging it


Once again we have the choice of early/late exhausts


So the earlies were drilled out and attached


And final assembly


I'd normally leave the turret off for painting but the fit here is really tight and would run the risk of damaging the paint if I was to try and get it back on later so I've decided to put it in place and paint it in situ as it's unlikely to be rotated once finished


Everything was then given a coat of Ultimate Black primer followed by a couple of coats of Model Air Dark Yellow


And that's where we are for now; I had hoped to get the camo under way by now but work has conspired against me so aiming to get started on that this weekend.

Thanks as always for looking

[Stokesy44]

Nice colour on the Panther, looks smooth too.

[Hawkmoon]

All looking good and nice work

[Tomcat64]

Nice colour on the Panther, looks smooth too.

All looking good and nice work

Thanks chaps

[Tomcat64]

I spent most of the weekend masking up the camo pattern to attempt an approximation of this scheme...


My masking attempts were a little ropey in places and needed a bit of tidying up with a brush but here's the basic pattern I ended up with


I managed to knock off the bow machine gun and periscope cover in the process but otherwise it survived intact


To take a break from painting (and delay the application of all those ambush dots) I added the wheels, the sprockets, idlers & rear outer road wheels are all dry fitted to allow the installation of the tracks


And here it is sitting on the wheels


That's all for now - hopefully I can get a start on the ambush pattern this week and get it close to finishing at the weekend.

Apologies for the variety in the colours in the photos, my camera is really struggling with the colour balance of the scheme for this one for some reason so having problems getting consistent results.

Thanks for looking

[Stokesy44]

Nice paint job, have to keep reminding myself how dinky it is.

[digger303]

good work at such a small scale, you'll be crossed eyed by the time all those colored dots are added.

[BigWall]

Very nice. How are you going to apply the dots?

[Tomcat64]

Nice paint job, have to keep reminding myself how dinky it is.

good work at such a small scale, you'll be crossed eyed by the time all those colored dots are added.

Very nice. How are you going to apply the dots?

Thanks for checking in guys - it's definitely been a bit of an eye test

[Tomcat64]

In answer to Joe's question about how I planned to tackle the dots I went old school and did them with a brush over three sessions


I started off by kind of following the pattern on the instructions but then lost my way and just went at it - I'm not entirely happy with certain sections where I think I've overdone it a little, but I'm not going back now


And then here it is with the seven total decals applied - these went down with no problem at all and settled in nicely


I don't really understand why you'd go to the trouble of such a complex disruptive pattern and then slap bloody great red numbers on it... but there ya go!


So that's this week done, the tracks have been primed and base painted so they'll be added next and then it's picking out the pioneer tools and any leftovers and we're nearly there.

Have a great weekend when we get there

[Stokesy44]

A very pimply Panther!

Nice work Squire

[BigWall]

Yikes! I bet that was eye straining. It looks great though.

[Tomcat64]

A very pimply Panther!

Nice work Squire

Thanks mate!

Yikes! I bet that was eye straining. It looks great though.

Cheers Joe

[Tomcat64]

So with a couple of good days at the bench this weekend I managed to get this one wound up

First the tracks were added. This is the first side - the instructions state to use six separate links around both the idler & drive sprocket but this was one link too many so I went with five around the idler instead. Also this way of doing things left a clunky join where the bottom run comes up to the sprocket (arrow)


So for the other side I again used five links around the idler, but also shifted a single link off the sprocket and down to ease the transition off the bottom run and this seemed to work well. The "sag" was simply achieved by using CA along the top of the road wheels and holding the top run down until it was set.


The tracks were then tidied up and dry brushed with a gunmetal shade of some sort.

In the meantime up top the pioneer tools were picked out by brush in various Vallejo model colours.


As well as spare links and tow cables being finished up and added


Here's how it looks altogether at this point


Down the back end the jack was added and the tail pipes rusted up a bit


After a couple of coats of Ultra Matte and left overnight, I broke out the Abt 502 oils and dusted/dirtied it up a little


As well as using Tamiya black panel liner to pick out some of the details


At this point I thought I was done...


So posed it alongside the recently finished Blitz for a bit of a size comparison


Talking of size comparisons... here's the upper hull from the 1/16 Trumpy Panther


And the turret being used for a bunker


I then realised that I hadn't added the aerial that I'd planned - so that was rectified with a short length of 0.2mm brass wire and here it is really done


Thanks as always for looking in and offering encouragement - it's always appreciated

Not sure what's next from the pile... I've done wheels and I've done tracks so maybe it's time for a halftrack...

[Quax]

great job on the Panther Neil, its all gathering together nicely!

Paul

[digger303]

It's a Panther with a great paint job.

[Stokesy44]

Looking good. This is going to be quite a project me thinks

[Tomcat64]

great job on the Panther Neil, its all gathering together nicely!

Paul

It's a Panther with a great paint job.

Looking good. This is going to be quite a project me thinks

Cheers guys

[digger303]

Looking good. This is going to be quite a project me thinks

Yes we are getting to see a lot of the components of the dio completed now. Will be interesting to see how they are combined.

[Tomcat64]

Looking good. This is going to be quite a project me thinks

Yes we are getting to see a lot of the components of the dio completed now. Will be interesting to see how they are combined.

Yeah I'm interested in seeing how this one turns out too

[BigWall]

Great Job!