1/35 Mini Art Panzer IV Ausf. H

[406 Silverado]

This indeed looks the part Dave and doesn’t look over done to me at all. All the little bits at the end is where I usually make a list of things left to do so I can start crossing things off of it as I get them done. It also helps me to feel a sense of accomplishment with all the tedious little tasks at the end of any given build.
(It also helps with my CRS disease).

[noname]

That is an excellent paint job. Keep going. Your getting into the good stuff.

[406 Silverado]

May 29, 2023 20:07:59 GMT -5 noname said:

That is an excellent paint job. Keep going. Your getting into the good stuff.

What he said......I'm definitely hooked.

[stikpusher]

Very very nice! Everything looks first class on this Panzer.

[bbrowniii]

Man, this came together so well!

Really nice job on this.

To answer a question you asked WAAAAAAAAY back in April (I think), for masking wheels, I do the same thing you do, the only difference is, I got one of those circle template things from Staples and I just find the hole that best fits my wheels and use that, and tape off the holes on either side to avoid any overspray. Works pretty well but, what I like about your method is that the wheel seems to have a much more positive fit to the mask. The circle template is kind of thin and flimsy, so that bond can be a PITA to hold sometimes.

But, back to your kit - MAN I love that! I agree with one of the other comments - I don't think you over-scratched the shurtzen at all. Are there a lot? Yes. Is it too much? Nope. And your weathering has toned the scratches down so they are not nearly as prominent, so they look even better.

Awesome. Just awesome.

[chromdome35]

Apr 29, 2023 9:20:48 GMT -5 hasenpfeffer said:

Nothing really major to report. I managed to get the primer on all the parts and then the German primer color. I'm gonna try to do the hairspray thing, but I don't have a lot of experience doing it. Meaning I don't have a set process for paint on paint. I tried a little yesterday on the side schurzen and am not totally happy with the results. I used Tamiya paints for both layers thinned with Mr. Leveling Thinner. I am thinking maybe I should use a lacquer based paint for the base (primer color in this case) and then whatever for more durability of the base layer, but there are just so many factors that affect the results.

Anyway, that aside, I did manage to get the wheels painted the base color. I was having trouble (and always have) holding the wheel mask template in a position where I could easily spray them. I have an Alliance Model Works mask that I bought some years ago. So I was basically using my index finger to push the wheel lightly from the bottom while using my thumb and middle finger to hold the mask. This was quite tedious and tricky - even if it does still beat hand painting. So I set out to build a type of jig that would allow me to insert the wheel from the bottom and locate the mask in a way that I could just put the wheel in and paint.

My very low budget solution was to drill holes in some pretty thick evergreen stock for this purpose. I made it 2 layers (glued together with Extra Thin) only because I didn't have anything thicker and I wanted the wheels to be positively located for the painting. They are rough, but only need to hold the wheels in place. The holes are just big enough for the wheels to fit in - there is very little wiggle room. (I drilled the holes slightly smaller than the wheels and then fine tuned it with sandpaper wrapped around a Sharpie.) I then stacked random stuff underneath so that the wheel was flush to the mask and I could properly position/center it. A few pieces of tape and Presto! Now all I have to do is insert the wheel and go!  The main benefit being that I don't have to perform circus acts to hold the wheel and mask together while painting. The mask itself is for the Dragon kits, but it is close enough to work well on this one.

Somehow I missed this great post! I love your ingenuity! I have just been using a circle template from hobby lobby but I like your idea more and am going to give it a shot. I recently got a circle cutter that I thought I would try to use to cut masks with, I am going to use it on my Panther g build.

Thanks for the great detailed post. +1 karma for you!

[deafpanzer]

I really like how the camo came out!!! Two thumbs up from me! How did you like the kit by MiniArt? I am in middle of building GAZ (Ford) kit by MiniArt and I am about to give up! Too many tiny and fragile pieces and pretty overengineered kit to build so it made me wonder if other MiniArt kits are like that?

[hasenpfeffer]

Jun 10, 2023 7:30:28 GMT -5 bbrowniii said:

Man, this came together so well!

Really nice job on this.

To answer a question you asked WAAAAAAAAY back in April (I think), for masking wheels, I do the same thing you do, the only difference is, I got one of those circle template things from Staples and I just find the hole that best fits my wheels and use that, and tape off the holes on either side to avoid any overspray. Works pretty well but, what I like about your method is that the wheel seems to have a much more positive fit to the mask. The circle template is kind of thin and flimsy, so that bond can be a PITA to hold sometimes.

But, back to your kit - MAN I love that! I agree with one of the other comments - I don't think you over-scratched the shurtzen at all. Are there a lot? Yes. Is it too much? Nope. And your weathering has toned the scratches down so they are not nearly as prominent, so they look even better.

Awesome. Just awesome.

Wow! you're too kind. But I'm glad you like it. There is still more to come as it isn't finished yet. Only the lower hull is partially weathered. I am going to try to devote time to this and finish it up in the next month or so. I still have 3 Panzer IIIs and that Panther to do too, and summer isn't my most productive bench time.

Jun 10, 2023 7:59:28 GMT -5 chromdome35 said:

Apr 29, 2023 9:20:48 GMT -5 hasenpfeffer said:

Nothing really major to report. I managed to get the primer on all the parts and then the German primer color. I'm gonna try to do the hairspray thing, but I don't have a lot of experience doing it. Meaning I don't have a set process for paint on paint. I tried a little yesterday on the side schurzen and am not totally happy with the results. I used Tamiya paints for both layers thinned with Mr. Leveling Thinner. I am thinking maybe I should use a lacquer based paint for the base (primer color in this case) and then whatever for more durability of the base layer, but there are just so many factors that affect the results.

Anyway, that aside, I did manage to get the wheels painted the base color. I was having trouble (and always have) holding the wheel mask template in a position where I could easily spray them. I have an Alliance Model Works mask that I bought some years ago. So I was basically using my index finger to push the wheel lightly from the bottom while using my thumb and middle finger to hold the mask. This was quite tedious and tricky - even if it does still beat hand painting. So I set out to build a type of jig that would allow me to insert the wheel from the bottom and locate the mask in a way that I could just put the wheel in and paint.

My very low budget solution was to drill holes in some pretty thick evergreen stock for this purpose. I made it 2 layers (glued together with Extra Thin) only because I didn't have anything thicker and I wanted the wheels to be positively located for the painting. They are rough, but only need to hold the wheels in place. The holes are just big enough for the wheels to fit in - there is very little wiggle room. (I drilled the holes slightly smaller than the wheels and then fine tuned it with sandpaper wrapped around a Sharpie.) I then stacked random stuff underneath so that the wheel was flush to the mask and I could properly position/center it. A few pieces of tape and Presto! Now all I have to do is insert the wheel and go!  The main benefit being that I don't have to perform circus acts to hold the wheel and mask together while painting. The mask itself is for the Dragon kits, but it is close enough to work well on this one.

Somehow I missed this great post! I love your ingenuity! I have just been using a circle template from hobby lobby but I like your idea more and am going to give it a shot. I recently got a circle cutter that I thought I would try to use to cut masks with, I am going to use it on my Panther g build.

Thanks for the great detailed post. +1 karma for you!

Thanks, Brian. I turns out that Quick Wheels (or one word) basically does this with several slots, maybe even so you can do all of them at once? One side anyway. But yeah, the point was the major PITA trying to hold everything just right while painting. This definitely makes it much, much easier. I was also just wondering if the Cricut can cut thinner evergreen. That may be a way to cut the correct size hole for the mask part of the jig. Circle templates just don't have enough sizes to work unless you can live with some over or under spray of the rim. When I was trying to size the Panther rims they needed at least a 1/64" accuracy which most circle templates don't have.

Jun 10, 2023 10:34:56 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

I really like how the camo came out!!! Two thumbs up from me! How did you like the kit by MiniArt? I am in middle of building GAZ (Ford) kit by MiniArt and I am about to give up! Too many tiny and fragile pieces and pretty overengineered kit to build so it made me wonder if other MiniArt kits are like that?

Thanks, Andy! I'm assuming that you saw what I thought the shortcomings with this kit are. I don't know about other MA kits - even though I have a couple more unbuilt ones. I guess I would say that it is an advanced skill level kit. I don't want to dissuade anyone from trying one if they're up for it. But like you said there are a lot of small parts and several tricky assembly steps. I mean the turret was 6 parts that weren't easy to locate in space. If you get it right it is engineered well enough to fit together wonderfully. But they don't make it easy to get there. Overall I'd say there is a great amount of detail - and since there is I was expecting more in some other areas where there isn't. But man it looks good when it's built. (LOL - and talk about over engineering, you should check out the cupola pics in my duel Pz III thread. RFM is over the top - by a mile IMO.)

[chromdome35]

hasenpfeffer

Thanks, Brian. I turns out that Quick Wheels (or one word) basically does this with several slots, maybe even so you can do all of them at once? One side anyway. But yeah, the point was the major PITA trying to hold everything just right while painting. This definitely makes it much, much easier. I was also just wondering if the Cricut can cut thinner evergreen. That may be a way to cut the correct size hole for the mask part of the jig. Circle templates just don't have enough sizes to work unless you can live with some over or under spray of the rim. When I was trying to size the Panther rims they needed at least a 1/64" accuracy which most circle templates don't have.

A silhouette should be able to cut very thin (.1mm or .2mm)sheet styrene. That is an interesting idea. I might try it out on my wife's Silhouette.

[deafpanzer]

Cool! Really appreciate your honest opinion about your MiniArt kit. I will post my GAZ Ford build when I have the chance and it is probably the most least favorite kit I have built so far but hey I am not giving up yet! LOL