Jagdpanzer 38(T) Hetzer early 1/35 Takom

[thug626]

Here is what is currently occupying the bench at this time. It's the early Hetzer by Takom with a full interior. I had hoped to be able to make the roof removable, but the long and short of it, it didn't work out. Still, it has been a fun build.
This is going to be a bit of a data dump, as I've been working on it for a wee bit and this evening it got its base coat.  I'll break it up into a couple of parts to make it more manageable/digestable.



The engine was a small kit unto itself. No surprises really.








The hull interior. This is mostly a dry run.







Paints used were Mission Models and Vallejo. Weanthering was done with AK washes.

[thug626]

Continuing on with the the Hetzer data dump....

The main gun is quite its own assembly. Very nicely detailed.







Working on the fitting of the main gun.

[thug626]

Part 3 of the data dump....

Getting the primer laid down. This was Mission Models Red Oxide Primer









The rear deck mesh and exhaust system are in place.


Prior to the primer on the front, I laid in some weld beads for the periscope armor.



Which brings us to tonight. The base coat was laid down, again using Mission Models paint.






There is a bit of overspray on the wheels. This will be touched up once the camo is completed.


The track are by TRex. They are 3D printed resin. There was a bit of a learning curve to getting them together, keeping them together, and allowing them to articulate. Once I got the technique down, it went rather quickly. I painted the tracks with Mission Models Railroad Tie Brown. Once the paint is on them, you can see the foundry marks.



Thank you for having a gander at this build. Now that it's all caught up here, no more data dumps.
Cheers
Dave

[Tojo72]

Looks like a great kit,you nailed it.

Couldn't have been fun jammed up in one of them.

[robbo]

That is a great looking interior

[moparmadness]

I love a good Hetzer build! Excellent subtle chipping on the interior.

[deafpanzer]

It is really looking great!!! I ran into few during Band of Brother tour back in 2016 and it always left me wondering how in the world can the crew fit inside those little machines... I bet it was very tight! 







Have you decided what kind of camo scheme for your little baby yet?

[thug626]

Dec 7, 2023 6:15:56 GMT -5 Tojo72 said:

Looks like a great kit,you nailed it.

Couldn't have been fun jammed up in one of them.

Thank you kindly. At least the loader has his own hatch. The commander, gunner, and driver all have to share a hatch. The driver being the furthest from said hatch.

[thug626]

Dec 7, 2023 6:28:08 GMT -5 robbo said:

That is a great looking interior

Thank you kindly. It is by no means a push button assembly, but if one takes their time, it'll come out rather nicely.

[thug626]

Dec 7, 2023 8:26:43 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

I love a good Hetzer build! Excellent subtle chipping on the interior.

Thank you kindly. I was going for a lived in look. I have had pleasing results with Tresemme hair spray and Mission Models paints.

[thug626]

Good morning Andy, I remember you posting pics about that trip. Great pics of the Hetzer. At 6'1" and 245#, there is NO way this "farm truck" is going to fit in one of those. I'll just peek my head in and have a lookieloo.

[kyledehart5]

Wonderful work here. That engine and interior are works of art.

[handiabled]

Your interior detail work looks outstanding!

[thug626]

I started the camoflage. today. Since the camo was freehanded, I opted to freehand it as well. There were fine lines I had never tried spraying before, and I must say I was surprised at how well it went. I opted not to go with "showroom fresh" paint. It was applied in the field, a depot at best. So, that's the artistic license that I am running with. Again, everything was sprayed with Mission Models paint.



In the following picture, some of the camo looks awfully orange. Honest, I swear, it does not look like that in person. I am relearning the digicam all over again.







I am contemplating cutting the side skirts and applying them individually. That is the reason they are not yet painted and mounted.
Thank you for having a gander.

Cheers,
Dave

[406 Silverado]

The detail and time that you're putting into this is insane Dave and that interior does indeed have that "lived in" look. This also looks like a great kit to spend this amount of time on as Takom included a TON of detail to begin with for the interior and that includes that power/ drive train....WOW! Too bad you've gotta cover it up and all but at least you shot some photos before closing everyhing up.

What airbrush are you using to pull the camo off? 

[thechaos]

Great

[tcoat]

That exhaust rocks my world!

Since it is a Takom kit I will assume the skirts are a nice scale thickness so shouldn't need thinning but as you said separating them will look more realistic. You can vary the height and gap of each panel just a tad so you don't end up with a bunch of perfectly straight lines.

[deafpanzer]

WHOA! The camo came out great! Freehanded? Impressive!!!

Ditto to Joe's question about airbrush! I am hoping to get a new airbrush after Christmas.

[moparmadness]

Dec 8, 2023 8:06:28 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

WHOA! The camo came out great! Freehanded? Impressive!!!

Ditto to Joe's question about airbrush! I am hoping to get a new airbrush after Christmas.

Shes coming along wonderfully!

[brandonk]

Man, that is beyond cool. Love those full interior kits. Your work is awesome.

[ossie262]

Hi
That’s a busy little kit and looks great
Ossie

[thug626]

Dec 7, 2023 23:31:10 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Wonderful work here. That engine and interior are works of art.

Thank you kindly. This build has me eyeballing a couple more kits with interiors that are in the stash

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 3:03:11 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Your interior detail work looks outstanding!

Thank you kindly.

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 5:37:37 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

The detail and time that you're putting into this is insane Dave and that interior does indeed have that "lived in" look. This also looks like a great kit to spend this amount of time on as Takom included a TON of detail to begin with for the interior and that includes that power/ drive train....WOW! Too bad you've gotta cover it up and all but at least you shot some photos before closing everyhing up.

What airbrush are you using to pull the camo off? 

Thank you kindly Joe. One of these days I'll build something that has been out in the elements for a long time. The building of the interior was done with the intention of being able to remove the roof. Logistically, it didn't work. It did allow me to brush up on some skill sets and work with a couple new mediums (at least for myself). No knowledge is wasted.

I use an Iwata Custom Micron CM-C+ first generation. It can be a bit persnickety sometimes, but thats the trade off working with the paints I use. Can't have it all.

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 6:52:21 GMT -5 thechaos said:

Great

Thank you kindly.

[kyledehart5]

Beautiful work on that camo as well. This is excellent work throughout.

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 7:23:59 GMT -5 tcoat said:

That exhaust rocks my world!

Since it is a Takom kit I will assume the skirts are a nice scale thickness so shouldn't need thinning but as you said separating them will look more realistic. You can vary the height and gap of each panel just a tad so you don't end up with a bunch of perfectly straight lines.

Thank you kindly. The muffler has a PE heat shield over it. I primed the exhaust with a dark red oxide primer, them painted it with Vallejo Rust Texture effect. The assemblies were then glued to the vehicle, and then hit with a light coat of hair spray prior to painting. This way I could reduce the paint on the exhaust system as though it was burned off. An effect with an exhaust system that I had been wanting to try out.
The side skirts are tapered at the edges to give the impression of thinness. They would still work, but the OCD hindbrain is wanting to go a different route. Utilizing the brackets from the existing skirts, then scratching some skirts out of styrene stock. Maybe a bent bracket or two?

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 8:06:28 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

WHOA! The camo came out great! Freehanded? Impressive!!!

Ditto to Joe's question about airbrush! I am hoping to get a new airbrush after Christmas.

Thank you Andy. I use an Iwata Micron CM-C+ first generation. I've been running this one for some time now.

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 8:33:55 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

Dec 8, 2023 8:06:28 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

WHOA! The camo came out great! Freehanded? Impressive!!!

Ditto to Joe's question about airbrush! I am hoping to get a new airbrush after Christmas.

Shes coming along wonderfully!

Thank you kindly. It is an Iwata Custom Micron CM-C+

[tcoat]

Dec 8, 2023 11:00:02 GMT -5 thug626 said:

Dec 8, 2023 7:23:59 GMT -5 tcoat said:

That exhaust rocks my world!

Since it is a Takom kit I will assume the skirts are a nice scale thickness so shouldn't need thinning but as you said separating them will look more realistic. You can vary the height and gap of each panel just a tad so you don't end up with a bunch of perfectly straight lines.

Thank you kindly. The muffler has a PE heat shield over it. I primed the exhaust with a dark red oxide primer, them painted it with Vallejo Rust Texture effect. The assemblies were then glued to the vehicle, and then hit with a light coat of hair spray prior to painting. This way I could reduce the paint on the exhaust system as though it was burned off. An effect with an exhaust system that I had been wanting to try out.
The side skirts are tapered at the edges to give the impression of thinness. They would still work, but the OCD hindbrain is wanting to go a different route. Utilizing the brackets from the existing skirts, then scratching some skirts out of styrene stock. Maybe a bent bracket or two?

Well. If asking my personal opinion...