1/48 Suyata Panther A maintenance diorama

[Joe Rix]

Super progress Dennis. Everything looks good and it will be thrilling to see all that detail picked out once painted. Nice and effective technique on the shells. I like it.

[DennisM]

Jun 6, 2023 11:36:29 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Jun 6, 2023 8:43:44 GMT -5 armornutii said:

   I never thought 48th armor could have that much detail. Truly opens many doors for a cross genre dio. Simply awesome. Nice work on the shells Dennis those look real...had to do a double take.

That it does. Back in the 70’s, there was a decent amount of 1/48 armor available, between Bandai and Aurora. The Aurora kits were klunky, and the Bandai kits with their full interiors really were pushing the limits of mold technology at that time. Then they all went away. Fast forward 20 years or so and Tamiya brings back the genre with a vengeance. And those new kits are sweet! But they stick with only WWII subjects for so long, and have only scratched the surface of post WWII subjects. Hobbyboss even jumped on the bandwagon with lines of T-34 and Sherman variants that Tamiya did not cover. If all the 1/48 kits now available had come out back in the 80’s, I think that I would have stuck with 1/48 across the board. 
Like you said, it’s makes for some great cross genre diorama possibilities. A Storch alongside a DAK Panzer spearhead showing Rommel conferring with the tankers. A Blackhawk or Kiowa doing something similar with Abrams & HMMWVs… Sherman’s rolling onto an airfield full of Japanese fighter wrecks…

The Tamiya kits are really good, especially after they abandoned the die cast hulls.
The HobbyBoss T-34's are decent enough.
This kit so far is amazing. I will have to try out their T-90 and Tiger kits soon.
If a few of these get built up decently enough and word gets around, they might take off.
I will do my best...

SO I didn't like how the projectiles looked on my previous post so I tried something new.
I thought they just looked like painted blobs and didn't have a metallic look like i see in reference photos.
I primed with black and then airbrushed with silver.
I then gave several washes of acrylic smoke black.
This is crazy zoomed in but I think it shows a metallic sheen now

[stikpusher]

The shells turned out great. They do have a metallic sheen appearance.

And that Suyata T-90 looks very impressive! Would make a great sparring opponent for the Tamiya 1/48 M1A2 kit.

[chromdome35]

Man those shells look great! I love these tank and gantry kits. I've always wanted to build one.

[tcoat]

Jun 2, 2023 11:18:01 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Man all those interior bits are just screaming for paintwork to bring out all that detail! This is like a full interior big bomber kit, where it’s a shame to close all that work inside.

Ahhhh but therein lies the beauty of a maintenance diorama especially with a gantry. The turret can be moved aside or even placed upon blocks in front of the tank and all the rear decking and covers (even the rear lower panels) can be removed and leaned against the side or stacked on the ground. 
You can open up something like 80% to view. 







 

[stikpusher]

This is true… heavy field maintenance does open up a lot of possibilities to show off innards.

[DennisM]

I am looking into the possibilities of the maintenance diorama.
The problem is while I am going gangbusters with progress right now, that will undoubtedly slow down at some point.
With the ending of the GB in December I need to realistic about this.
I have some ideas that will not take up too much extra time.

Also posting the best picture I could find of what seems like original colors for the engine bay in case anyone needs it.

[stikpusher]

Yes, my understanding is that the engine bays on WWII German AFVs was in red primer. Certain components had certain colors specified beyond that. It’s been awhile since I read up on the subject.

[DennisM]

I am thinking of removing the engine deck panel and showing more of the engine like in the pic above. I think I detected a slight hint of blue on the valve covers so I want to use some artistic license to liven it up a bit.

What do you guys think? Too much?

[tcoat]

Jun 9, 2023 12:15:10 GMT -5 DennisM said:

I am thinking of removing the engine deck panel and showing more of the engine like in the pic above. I think I detected a slight hint of blue on the valve covers so I want to use some artistic license to liven it up a bit.

What do you guys think? Too much?

Once you dirty and dust up the engine it will be more subdued.

[Tojo72]

It's all good,it's a good visual

[stikpusher]

Personally I'd say go with a gray color for the whole engine, rather than blue on the valve covers. Most military engines tend to be painted in a low visibility color.

[DennisM]

Looked at some more references and Stik is right, it is gray.

Didn't have much bench time over the weekend but the hull interior is starting to come together.

No weathering yet

[Tojo72]

Don't be pressured,extensions will be granted if needed

[deafpanzer]

Looking good... kits with full interior totally scares me and now I am even more scarier! LOL

[Joe Rix]

Your progress is just amazing Dennis. This is such an incredible kit that you are doing justice. Great info on German interiors. I don't see myself doing an armor kit with full interior but, it is an absolute pleasure watching you build yours.

[stikpusher]

Looking real sharp! So much detail in there!

[Medicman71]

That really looks cool!

[reserve]

Yer killin it brother lovely work

[406 Silverado]

Jun 12, 2023 9:44:33 GMT -5 DennisM said:

Looked at some more references and Stik is right, it is gray.

Didn't have much bench time over the weekend but the hull interior is starting to come together.

No weathering yet

Man this thing is just crammed with details and it's all in 1/48 scale!! I am SO glad I have this one in my stash and it wasn't even that expensive considering all you get in the box. Sprue set on top of sprue set!! My head is spinning with each update Dennis. Looking forward to more buddy!!! 

[DennisM]

Sorry, I dropped off the face of the earth for a bit. Back at the bench with a quick update. Everything is just dry fit, but getting super close the calling the hull compartment done.
I have a lot of catching up on posts to do

[Tojo72]

Interior really coming along nicely,especially being a smaller scale

[406 Silverado]

Aug 4, 2023 21:36:10 GMT -5 DennisM said:

Sorry, I dropped off the face of the earth for a bit. Back at the bench with a quick update. Everything is just dry fit, but getting super close the calling the hull compartment done.
I have a lot of catching up on posts to do

Now that.....is amazing especially when you factor in that this is 1/48 scale. Such detail and great painting of it at that. We were just talking about you at the Nats today Dennis and was wondering where all the great progress of this build was and that you were missed around here. Great to see some updates on this puppy and GREAT to see you back in here buddy.

[Joe Rix]

Absolutely fantastic workmanship Dennis. Stellar paint and detail going on there. You're doing an excellent job of capturing the realistic appearance.

[Leon]

That hull interior looks great Dennis!

[reserve]

Yessir I'd find a way to open up as much of that as possible in the display it's too nice to hide

[hasenpfeffer]

That looks frickin' sweet. I just can't bring myself to do a full interior kit. At least not yet...

[adt70hk]

Quite simply WOW!!! Have enough trouble with buttoned up armour.... Let alone this.

[handiabled]

This is really coming along well! The details in this are being done wonderfully

[rbaer]

I'm still scratching my head at the fact that this is 1/48....