Jagdpanzer 38(T) Hetzer early 1/35 Takom

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 10:30:23 GMT -5 brandonk said:

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

Thank you kindly. They can be a lot of fun. Takom does a nice job with these kits, though I must say that Rye Field Models does it just a bit better. I built their Stug III early with an interior, there were only a couple of snags, but I believe it was operator error and not manufacturer.

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 10:41:30 GMT -5 ossie262 said:

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

Why yes it is, and thank you kindly Ossie.

[thug626]

Dec 8, 2023 11:12:29 GMT -5 tcoat said:

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

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...

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. One missing with a bent bracket or two.

[Green KreationZ]

Dec 7, 2023 3:55:16 GMT -5 thug626 said:

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.

It sucks you were not able to get the roof to be removable. Nonetheless, you have done a spectacular job! 

[thug626]

Thank you kindly. I had high hope for making it a “convertible” Hetzer. Maybe with this one under my belt I can pull it off with a Mid or Late Hetzer.

[thug626]

I've gotten started on wear and tear on the paint. Some of it is good old chipping with the hair spray technique. The scratches are using a sharp edged scraper and dragging it lightly across the paint.

The first three pics are prior to the wear and tear process.  This one is a dry fitting of the wheels.  


The spare tracks are mounted.  




A comparison pic of the raw base coats on the left, and scratches on the right.


A couple of spots went through to the plastic.  A couple of touch ups will be needed.  




The tracks on the right have the graphite rubbed on.  

[reserve]

Sweet! I have the late version in the stash, and here I swore I'd never build another interior kit

[moparmadness]

OK, what a great idea about using the scraper across the paint for scratches! Looks very realistic!

[thug626]

Dec 10, 2023 19:31:52 GMT -5 reserve said:

Sweet! I have the late version in the stash, and here I swore I'd never build another interior kit

“Do it! Do it now!” <spoken in the voice of Emperor Palpatine>
You are welcome….bwahahaha

[thug626]

Dec 10, 2023 20:08:52 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

OK, what a great idea about using the scraper across the paint for scratches! Looks very realistic!

Thank you kindly. A technique I picked up along the way. Just passing it along.

[thug626]

Today, I got the tracks and schürtzen mounted. Prior to that, I got some weathering started on the lower hull, as these areas would be visible but more difficult to get to. I opted to cut the schürtzen into their individual parts, leaving one off on the left side. I'll need to tend to the areas where is was supposed to have been placed.

[M1Carbine]

Brother it is so warms my heart to see your builds again. Every time you knock it out of the freaking park. I am so glad you are back! Love ya Brother.

-Bob

[moparmadness]

I’m rolling into a 1/35 Tamiya Hetzer after the Tiger. I hope it looks half as good as this one! 🍻

[thug626]

Dec 12, 2023 19:18:23 GMT -5 M1Carbine said:

Brother it is so warms my heart to see your builds again. Every time you knock it out of the freaking park. I am so glad you are back! Love ya Brother.

-Bob

Good evening Brother. Thank you kindly for the high praise. It’s good to be back. Love ya Brother.

[thug626]

Dec 12, 2023 20:17:09 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

I’m rolling into a 1/35 Tamiya Hetzer after the Tiger. I hope it looks half as good as this one! 🍻

Thank you kindly for the high compliment. I am looking forward to seeing your build. I have heard good things about the Tamiya Hetzer.

[handiabled]

I just caught up with this again, your paint work and weathering look amazing. I really like the streaking effect on the wheels you achieved

[thug626]

Dec 13, 2023 3:15:22 GMT -5 handiabled said:

I just caught up with this again, your paint work and weathering look amazing. I really like the streaking effect on the wheels you achieved

Thank you kindly. The streaking is done using several AK effects and mineral spirits. I also use Abteilung oil paints along with Windsor & Newton oil paints.

[406 Silverado]

You've got the processes for the wear and tear down pat with all of the grunge and scratching that you're applying to the hull and roadwheels. The added attention to detail and weathering on the tracks just puts the cherry on top Dave. This is some good stuff man.

[thug626]

Dec 13, 2023 4:53:56 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

You've got the processes for the wear and tear down pat with all of the grunge and scratching that you're applying to the hull and roadwheels. The added attention to detail and weathering on the tracks just puts the cherry on top Dave. This is some good stuff man.

Thank you kindly. I just came in from the shop having gotten more weathering done on the beastie. I have been refining my process for weathering the T-Rex tracks. They can be a bit delicate in some regards, but they have a lovely level of detail to them. I’ll get some pics up later on my progress.

[406 Silverado]

Dec 13, 2023 5:08:54 GMT -5 thug626 said:

Dec 13, 2023 4:53:56 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

You've got the processes for the wear and tear down pat with all of the grunge and scratching that you're applying to the hull and roadwheels. The added attention to detail and weathering on the tracks just puts the cherry on top Dave. This is some good stuff man.

Thank you kindly. I just came in from the shop having gotten more weathering done on the beastie. I have been refining my process for weathering the T-Rex tracks. They can be a bit delicate in some regards, but they have a lovely level of detail to them. I’ll get some pics up later on my progress.

I'll definitely be looking forward to that Dave. Lots of good info to take in on this one.

[thug626]

These are the preliminary finished pics. I need to set up an area with better lighting for pics. The work bench lighting great for working, not so much for pictures.

















Thank you for having a gander.

Cheers.
Dave

[moparmadness]

The most satisfying part of the build. When you can stand back, admire it, and call it done! That’s a cracker of a kit.

[M1Carbine]

Dave - Now thats what a proper Hetzer should look like. Beautiful

-Bob

[thug626]

Dec 13, 2023 20:54:52 GMT -5 moparmadness said:

The most satisfying part of the build. When you can stand back, admire it, and call it done! That’s a cracker of a kit.

Thank you kindly. There are a few steps that one has to slow down and think it through. All in all, it was a fun kit.

[thug626]

Dec 13, 2023 21:00:51 GMT -5 M1Carbine said:

Dave - Now thats what a proper Hetzer should look like. Beautiful

-Bob

Bob, thank you kindly. I'm thinking the next one, I want to put in a small dio/vignette. Articulated suspension (that's going to take some planning) and churning the hell out of wet snowy soil.

[handiabled]

Your combination of weathering techniques look excellent! I'm looking forward to this builds finished beauty shots

[deafpanzer]

Catching up! I really love those scratches that you have created on the little beast!

[thug626]

Dec 14, 2023 3:03:30 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Your combination of weathering techniques look excellent! I'm looking forward to this builds finished beauty shots

Thank you. I need to get some more background mats, as mine were destroyed when we moved.

[thug626]

Dec 14, 2023 14:20:50 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Catching up! I really love those scratches that you have created on the little beast!

Thank you. Some are actual scratches the rest are done using AK pencils

[brandonk]

Absolutely killer work. This thing is badass!!