Global Scale Modeller

Hi guys
Well first off i don't know if this is the best place for this build but it look that way to me
So this will be the build thread for my entry into the half track sig
As i kind of promised that i would enter
And as i have my big entry in the shelf of doom gb wich needs a command or communications vehicle this looked like a great solution
After checking with the judges ( 1 actually) i was allowed to build.this and later put.it in the big dio along with my leopold
So this way i hit 2 birds with 1 stone

But here is what i will be building

the box art


kit content
All still nicely packaged


the instructions with correction sheet and the goodie card
The pe star antenna is huge


wheels and small stuff
2 sprues of each


more basic 251 parts


hull parts


more hull and interior parts


the slide molded single.piece lower hull ,seats and clear parts


sprues F and G these are what is needed for this version as.they contain all the radios and antenna parts

So that is all there is in the box
I think this kit is re released very recently as a cyber hobby kit aswell
The kit i have is about 10 years old now but is still very good
As it comes from the time dragon started to take lead of the market and their kits became a whole lot better then before

So i am looking forward to building this as all the other stuff on my bench is already build and most are restoring builds from a few years back
Wich are all for the shelf of doom build

A update should follow soon as i started building the first steps already
Thanks for watching
Cheers Mark

I'm just taking to half tracks as I got hold of the Drilling 251/21 kit from a guy at my local club. They share a lot of sprues so I shall watch this with great interest.

mannloon wrote:I'm just taking to half tracks as I got hold of the Drilling 251/21 kit from a guy at my local club. They share a lot of sprues so I shall watch this with great interest.

Yep a lot of parts are the same
But the drilling is a ausf.d wich has a different upper hull and sides
The rear door is different aswell
But the basic vehicle is the same though

I do like half tracks. They are so versetile.
This looks a good kit

Nige99 wrote:I do like half tracks. They are so versetile.
This looks a good kit

If it is like the rest of the dragon 251's it is good
At step 3 still no problems
But the joining of the upper and lower hull parts can be a pain in the bum with the ausf.c models
The ausf. D with the single piece rear is easier to build imo

hi guys
so i think it is time for a little update
i have been hammering away at this build all week before i had to work and a bit after work

i have the building stage completed up to the point that i have to paint
there are some parts missing on the build but that is because these are likely to break when i join the upper and lower parts of the hull
so those will be added when the interior is completed

but here are the progress pictures

step 1


step 2


step 3
this can be a bit fidely to make
the suspension is made up from 2 large halfs wich clamp the steering parts
to make the steering working you have to make sure you don't spill glue in the clamps on the ends
the steering bar (wich connects the 2 front wheels) needs no glue and snaps on there


step 5
no i can still count but i skipped step 4 as that is about the wheels
the interior is not that hard to build in this step
this is a common step in all the dragon 251 kits i have build 4 up to this point and this comes with each kit
the only drawback is that the instructions don't include a drawing that shows the positions of the holes that you will have to drill
so a bit of messuring was needed

step 6

the drivers section
this is a common bit aswell


step 7
this is the joining of the interior to the lower hull
make sure that you place the interior in the middle as it will make it dificult to place the sides if you don't


step 8
the sides where added
the radio stand was glued in there aswell
the radios are still seperate as this is easier to paint them
the rifles will be added later aswell
i still have a lot of already painted k98k rifles so i will use them instead of the kit supplied parts


step 9
the upper hull
this includes the instalment of the viewports
these are clear parts wich can be a bit brittle and are sensitve to snapping if you're not careful


still step 9
i used humbrol maskol to fill in the viewports and protect them for the painting process




so this is not that hard to build as it took me about 5 or 6 hours up to now but the hardest part should the joining of the 2 hull parts wich often have a hard time to line up propperly
so all the parts ready for painting
they are primed at this point and will be painted as soon possible as i want to get this done
it will be part of my entry in the shelf of doom build and the other builds in that entry need paint aswell

thanks for watching and untill next time
cheers Mark

Looks a nice complete build look foward to the paint going down

Tiger131 wrote:Looks a nice complete build look foward to the paint going down

thanks mate
it is being painted today so i hope the next updte won't take too long

I'm going take an interest with this Mark. I don't "dig" AFV's as a rule....but...but...times are a changing. I feel like I'm missing out on whole new level of madness only doing 'planes.
Carry on sir!

Thanks
Just try 1 or 2 afv's you know just for fun
I'm not all that big in planes (anymore used to though)
But i can enjoy a plane every once in a while as i noticed this year when i build 3 in a few months
I will be doing some next year but those will be bigger builds as they will be eduard limited editions with all the pe and resin
I have the SU-27 ub and Good morning Da Nang kits already and i will be getting the F-14 Danger zone
The US jets will be build as vf-84 Jolly Rogers and the Flanker is just for the looks and the awesome camo they have
But i am really looking forward to them and i am trying to clear the bench a bit so i will have the room i need to build those kits

Nice stuff Mark, wish Eduard would do a British Phantom. It's a different process to aircraft though mate that's the ball ache......

Joesdad wrote:Nice stuff Mark, wish Eduard would do a British Phantom. It's a different process to aircraft though mate that's the ball ache......

I started with planes actually
All revell and most where 1:32 scale and 1:48 rockwell B1 so building wise i should be fine
The painting and weathering will be different but i think it will work
If i am unsure about something i can ask around on the forum as i am sure the real plane boys will have the awnser

In general terms then Mark:
Aircraft..... Assemble, paint, weather.
AFV'S..... Paint, assemble, weather, chip, weather, filter, weather....
Or is that too simplistic
I've got Coen's ace guide on weathering, he's opened the door I just need to step into the room

lookin real good so far...keep it up great job!

Joesdad wrote:In general terms then Mark:
Aircraft..... Assemble, paint, weather.
AFV'S..... Paint, assemble, weather, chip, weather, filter, weather....
Or is that too simplistic
I've got Coen's ace guide on weathering, he's opened the door I just need to step into the room

Well weathering is a bit more elaborate on afv's
But tanks can be assembled to comletion and then painted
with planes you can asmost start painting right away

Art17847 wrote:lookin real good so far...keep it up great job!

Thank you

nice. looking good there mark. you have had a good time got a half track some were in the stash .
.

martin57 wrote:nice. looking good there mark. you have had a good time got a half track some were in the stash .
.

It is a fairly good kit
I painted the interior today and am working on the weathering
There are some mistakes in the instructions though and a small fitting problem with the radio frame as it had some surgery on the back of a panel
It was hitting the back rest of the seat on the left of the frame
I just don't remember wich parts where mixed up
They where for the hinges of the back doors but i do know that i placed after making sure the plate wich holds the hinges was the same size as the bracket
The instructions want you to place the smallest plate on the biggest bracket so that can't be right
Good luck with finding and building yours

Nice progress Mark. Looks and sounds like an okay kit. Can't wait to see what you do with the Dio.

Russ72 wrote:Nice progress Mark. Looks and sounds like an okay kit. Can't wait to see what you do with the Dio.

Thanks Russ
It won't get a dio of it's own though
It will be part of the shelf of doom build
I found that after the blitzkrieg years these half tracks lost their function as command vehicles and where replacing the older radio trucks as the provided more protection and are better for off road travel
So it will be the leopolds radio car in the dio
But it will take some time before that is finished

Another great start Mark. Should be a fine end result, look forward to seeing this progress.

PaulAyrey wrote:Another great start Mark. Should be a fine end result, look forward to seeing this progress.

Thanks Paul
I hope it will live up to the expectation

hi guys
so another week has passed since the last update
the last time the interior was build and was ready for paint

up to this point the entire vehicle is build
but here is how i got to this point


the interior received a base coat of tamiya dark yellow
the chipping or wear and ter on the floor is done with a sponge and vallejo model color german camo black brown
this is my go to color for chipping on a dark yellow base
the seats and backrests where painted in steps
the first layer is vallejo model color English uniform then it was dry brushed using vallejo modelcolor smoke


the radio equipment was painted seperate from the rest
the fronts where painted black after they received a coat of the basecolor, dark yellow
a small nuber of details where painted white such as the tuning displays
then i dry brushed the front plates with some vallejo gunmetal grey
they where finished with some mig productions neutral wash


the mp 40 smg's where painted with gunmetal grey aswell
the k98k rifles are from my stash of pre painted weapons (not a smart move to do as i think i can get a better result now)
i didn't bother to remove the epm's on the inside of the stowage bins as they will be invisible once the top is installed
and i will be adding some stowage aswell so they will be covered anyway


the kit decals where used and after 2 coats of micro sol they where ready
i added a drop of satin varnish on them once they where dry to get the effect of glass covering the dials
gloss would have worked better but i didn't have any at the time


the roof was added to the hull
i masked the interior with some masking tape to make sure i won't get paint on the finished interior once it gets painted
the fenders and several other sub assemblies where build while the paint was drying


the frame antenna and the telescopic star antenna where installed


viewed from the right hand side


the brackets for the back up jerrycans where glued on


the 2 other antenna's where placed aswell


all the remaining parts ready for painting
mostly wheels but the mg 34's are there too

and that is where i am at right now
there are some other builds i am working on besides this and just like this vehicle they will go on the diorama for the shelf of doom build
but i think this build won't take very long anymore so the last update shouldn't take me long
the next time i will cover the painting and weathering of the exterior
so i hope you guys like the progress and let me know what you think
cheers Mark

Its really looking good......the radios and dash look awesome......excellent work

Very good work with interior Mark. I look forward to more

Art17847 wrote: Its really looking good......the radios and dash look awesome......excellent work

thanks Art
glad you like it

AchtungPanzer wrote:Very good work with interior Mark. I look forward to more

thank you

I was thinking to buy this one for a really long time,i am glad that someone is building it.
Till now seems good
Keep up the good work!

billk wrote:I was thinking to buy this one for a really long time,i am glad that someone is building it.
Till now seems good
Keep up the good work!

Thanks mate
The only problem comes with the placement of the back panel and the upper half of the hull
They are a bit hard to get in place and have a nice fit at the same time
But when you cut away the locator pins on the upper half the fit should go smooth
And dragon 251's are nice kits
The ausf.D is a bit easier to build then the ausf.C but those are still.great kits only a bit harder or time consuming to build
But defenetly worth building

This is gorgeous. Every time I look at one of your threads you're making some vehicle that I shouldn't be in to seem appealing. Very impressive Mark.

Thank you very much Mannloon
Glad you like it
It is not done yet though
I have started on the exterior painting but got a bit iritated by the crappy color callouts for the camo schemes
And the ab was working against me altough i am to blaim for that ( bad cleaning )
So i spent some time working on a other build
But i think this build could be finished rather soon atleast i hope so
As long as the Vietnam build doesn't drain all the mojo
Cheers Mark

hi guys
so after a rather long break i finally finished this build
that means that i will cover all the last steps in this update

so here it is


last time i was almost ready for painting
these parts are primed using ammo for mig grey primer
i often use cocktailsticks for the painting process
just stick on a bit of white tag and place the parts on the stick


the wheels where first painted with revell nr.09 antracite wich is a very dark grey and a nice color for rubber tyres


i bought a quick wheel mask for this kit wich you can see here
they are re-useable so that comes handy
they are not very cheap so i think the best thing is to get one for a chassis that you have 2 or more kits for
like this one i have 4 other 251 kits left in the stash so it won't go to waste
but i started with painting the back of the wheels ,then using the cocktail stick i popped them out of the mask and flipped them over to paint the front
after that was painted i left them to dry for a few hours


then on to the vehicle
it is painted with tamiya paints
dark yellow as a base color and red brown for the camo stripes


the radio antenna was painted with the same base color as the rest of the vehicle
the telescopic parts where painted with mr metal aluminium and then buffed
this was done because i think the paint would scrape of rapidly when the antenna was being extended and retrackted
i did find a bit of text that mentionned that these antenna's where made from plane aluminium so that is why i picked this color


the tools where painted with mr metal dark iron for a dark metal color
the handles where painted with a base color of 4 parts english uniform and 1 part white (vallejo modelcolor)
then i dry brushed the parts with vallejo modelcolor smoke
this is a glaze type of paint and almost specific for this kind of use


i then used a sponge and vallejo model color german camo black brown
this is a good color for chipping on a dark yellow base color


some scratches on the sides


a better look at the mg 34
the wood was painted in the same way as the tool handles
the metal was done with mr metal dark iron and buffed around the raised details



i then used some eduard license plates on both the front and rear
they are pre printed and only need a drop of ca glue to be placed
you can compare them with the better known zoom sets by eduard to spice up your aircraft cockpits



the decals where applied using micro sol and once dry a coat of micro set
this makes for a nice snug fit on the model and makes the edges of the decal film extremely hard to see


then the weathering started
i washed the vehicle with mig productions dark wash (for the photo moment )
then i applied AK interactive streaking grime for dark yellow vehicles
all you need to do for this effect is to paint vertical lines on the vehicle
keep in mind to do this on vertical surfaces only


then using a flat brush (number 2) and some mig thinner (mineral spirit) i soften the streaks from the previous photo
don't soak the brush but get it moist
then drag the brush downwards over the streaks with the least amount of pressure ,just let the brush do the work
and before i forget the streaks need to dry first ,for about 15 to 20 minutes


this was repeatede with rust streaks also from AK


then the muffler needs rust
i mix tamiya x20-a with mig productions pigments for this
this layer is made with russian earth pigments


then spots of old rust and standard rust where applied


then a last coat of old rust to blend it all together and the muffler is done


i still needed the tracks to go on
and to get build
they are painted with tamiya gun metal (sprayed) and the black rubber blocks where hand painted with vallejo black


tracks whare put on
i think i forgot to mention this before but for a bit of color variation i painted a few wheels german grey
to make them look like replacement parts that where put on in a field workshop
i then started to apply dry and ark mud pigments to the tracks and wheels


the back doors where opened and glued to make sure they don't fall off

and that is all folks
i don't know if i am in time for the sig but i tries anyway
some photo's are of a other sd.kfz.251 but i did the weathering on them at the same time so the process is the same aswell
i just forgot to make photo's of the right vehicle
so thanks to the guys for putting this little sig up and ofcourse thanks for watching
untill next time
cheers Mark