Tamiya 1/35 Panzer IV D figure cleanup.

[Mike]

I guess I'll start here. This figure is from the 1975 boxing so it's an oldie, but a goodie. I've already been to the point where I was about to just start painting this figure up after I clean up the seams on the Gunner figure that hangs in the hatch, but I've been undecided on whether or not to clean off all of the molded on wires and add my own. So I think it's going to be necessary to go that extra mile just because I want to. Some of you already know me and this isn't something I will usually shy away from. The figure will benefit in detail and thus, realism. I'm not a fan of molded on wires anyways. They never look good.

So here it goes; I've already begun to carve off the wires so I can get to the basic shapes underneath and rebuild or carve the details back where they should be. I've already identified some of the trouble areas that will be needing more than just basic cleanup.

Tamiya Panzer IV D figure cleanup by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

The collars are in dire need of redefinition due to the wires being molded over them and this will definitely be a problematic area. I will have to add the Eagle onto his right breast as that's just plain missing due to the sculpt and the wire travelling directly over it. Looks like the original sculptor just left it off. I'll see if I can fix this with a bit of carefully carved thin Evergreen sheet. The microphone wires travelled directly over the belt buckle and that needs to be fixed, again with a bit of stretched sprue or Evergreen later. A bit of his tunic at the bottom is oddly out of place and I'll address this with some Milliput, along with his pocket flaps which are barely even existing and I've already lost a little of them in my cleanup process. 

So this is a lot of work for such an old figure, but it will be worth it. Besides, this is what I find to be fun for me. The added details will bring this figure up from mediocre to presentable, and yes I know there are better figures already available. I find it challenging to work with what's "In the box" and it can be daunting, but I'm almost always surprised with what I can end up with just the kit provided and some little bits of sprue, card stock, and creativity. Especially when it comes to the subject of older Tamiya figures. Once I clean up the shoulder areas and define some of the shapes I'm continually surprised by just how well they were sculpted to begin with. With just how well the other parts of these kits are usually molded I find it strange how the figures get so poorly molded on the sprue and lose some of their wonderful details. Tamiya has done wonders lately on producing some of the best sculpted figures I've seen in a standard release kit. Absolutely gorgeous figures in modern times that almost rival some of the resin figures out there. But these old figures always need some TLC to shine their absolute best.

Join me in this little adventure. I just know these figures will be the cherries on top of my Panzer IV build and elevate it just that much more. 

[kyledehart5]

I still know nothing of figure work. So it’s always a pleasure to follow along with people on their figure work.

[Mike]

Well I hope you might learn something from following along with me. That's why I like to share my processes.

Here is the figure after a second round of carving and scraping.

Tamiya Panzer IV D figure cleanup by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I commonly use Tamiya Liquid Cement to smooth out small scratches from the process. The next thing I need to do is spray it with Mr. Surfacer 500 so I can see where I need to make more corrections because the original dark grey plastic this figure is molded in makes it hard to see what needs to be fixed.

[Mike]

So far, so good. I can see that I've mostly got his tunic cleaned up and I see how much work is left around his collars. I've had to be careful not to lose his tie in the process, but I may just sculpt the missing detail in with Milliput.

Tamiya 1/35 Panzer IV D figure cleanup by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

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[406 Silverado]

You're cleaning the base figure up very well so far Mike. I'm definitely with you on molded in wires.......on anything. They just never look quite right. Good idea on using liquid cement to smooth out scratched up and irregular areas. Watching for more......

[Mike]

I'll have more later, Joe. My blood sugar got too high earlier and I was getting a bit low on enthusiasm. I'd forgotten to eat again.

I had to sharpen up my home made chisel to get some more work done, but I'm comfortable with where it's at for now. I still need to fix his belt buckle and clean up around his neck and shoulders.

Since I'm just a novice sculptor there's nothing I can do about his face though. All three of these figures look like they've just had their dogs die. I don't know who sculpted these figures, but grief was definitely a subject they knew how to sculpt.

They're either really depressed or freshly reanimated corpses. I wouldn't put either cenario out of limits when it comes to Nazis lol.

[406 Silverado]

Dec 29, 2023 5:30:30 GMT -5 Mike said:

I'll have more later, Joe. My blood sugar got too high earlier and I was getting a bit low on enthusiasm. I'd forgotten to eat again.

I had to sharpen up my home made chisel to get some more work done, but I'm comfortable with where it's at for now. I still need to fix his belt buckle and clean up around his neck and shoulders.

Since I'm just a novice sculptor there's nothing I can do about his face though. All three of these figures look like they've just had their dogs die. I don't know who sculpted these figures, but grief was definitely a subject they knew how to sculpt.

They're either really depressed or freshly reanimated corpses. I wouldn't put either cenario out of limits when it comes to Nazis lol.

 Jeez......I forget to eat all the time. By the time I get home I get asked by my wife if I've eaten and lots of times the answer is no. lol 

I hear you on the facial expressions of some of these figures that come in the boxes and your analogies are spot on. Sometimes box figures have a look on their face like they are on the toilet too. 

[Mike]

Dec 29, 2023 5:38:56 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Dec 29, 2023 5:30:30 GMT -5 Mike said:

I'll have more later, Joe. My blood sugar got too high earlier and I was getting a bit low on enthusiasm. I'd forgotten to eat again.

I had to sharpen up my home made chisel to get some more work done, but I'm comfortable with where it's at for now. I still need to fix his belt buckle and clean up around his neck and shoulders.

Since I'm just a novice sculptor there's nothing I can do about his face though. All three of these figures look like they've just had their dogs die. I don't know who sculpted these figures, but grief was definitely a subject they knew how to sculpt.

They're either really depressed or freshly reanimated corpses. I wouldn't put either cenario out of limits when it comes to Nazis lol.

 Jeez......I forget to eat all the time. By the time I get home I get asked by my wife if I've eaten and lots of times the answer is no. lol 

I hear you on the facial expressions of some of these figures that come in the boxes and your analogies are spot on. Sometimes box figures have a look on their face like they are on the toilet too. 

LOL! Yeah, sometimes. Tamiya has been knocking it out of the park lately though. One example I've recently decided to never use was the Commander figure that came with the Panther Ausf. G. Dude has no neck! That's why I used the sitting figure with the commander's arms and sat him on the cupola hatch like I did. I don't know if you even remember that figure. I had to repaint him several times before I was happy with that face lol.

Here's an update on this current figure though; 

After I replied to your message last night I decided I was awake enough to do more work on him. I fixed the tie, added the breast eagle, fixed his tunic and added the pocket flaps. That eagle was decidedly difficult to get shaped properly but I think I got it into close enough shape that paint will define it later.

What I didn't notice until I was cleaning up his neck and collar was two odd impressions on either side of his collar. The other two figures had these as well and I filled them both in with sprue glue. The problem with sprue glue is that it takes so long to harden so for the interest of keeping this thread moving I opted for Bondo as it only takes about an hour at most to cure up in such  small amounts.

IMG_20231229_161125527_HDR by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

IMG_20231229_161057495_HDR~2 by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I'm not sure why all three of these figures had such impressions. It's not something I've come across before. Easily fixed though.

IMG_20231229_161109380_HDR by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

IMG_20231229_161018782 by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I'm working on the belt buckle replacement now and I have a plan for replicating the throat mic unit so that will be present like the original molded on one was. I can't wait to see how he paints up after all of this work. I've tried not to overdetail my additions so they blend well with the original detail levels and I hope it will end up looking like it could've come off of the sprue as intended. Just with better definition.

[Mike]

Just a quick note that I haven't stalled on this figure. I received a set of the Border Models German Panzer Troops and I've been distracted by building and painting one up for a quick review.

This figure is ready for painting but I want to clean up the Gunner figure so I can paint all three at the same time.

[handiabled]

The subtle changes you have made really made a difference with this.

[Green KreationZ]

I’m glad you’re posting this process. Looking good so far!

[deafpanzer]

It will be a great toot for many of us here. Thanks for reminding me why I prefer to use resin figures cause I am either too lazy or in a hurry.

[Mike]

Dec 31, 2023 9:58:25 GMT -5 handiabled said:

The subtle changes you have made really made a difference with this.

Honestly Tamiya did most of the work for me lol. But I do agree that these things did make the figure a bit better. Carving off those wires was quite a chore, but it did go faster than I assumed it would.

Thank you. Just one more still to go and I'll have them all painted up and detailed.

[Mike]

Dec 31, 2023 10:04:07 GMT -5 Green KreationZ said:

I’m glad you’re posting this process. Looking good so far!

No problem at all. It's what I like to do. I didn't invent all of this myself after all. lol. It must be shared.

Thank you for the cudos!

[Mike]

Dec 31, 2023 16:19:33 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

It will be a great toot for many of us here. Thanks for reminding me why I prefer to use resin figures cause I am either too lazy or in a hurry.

I'm very happy to help. The one thing I've never been able to properly describe is my processes for painting figures. I've come to figure out that I don't always use the same methods for every figure. I guess I just have too many ways I've learned to lay it out as one coherent process.

I love resin figures! Lots less work to do and way more details. There's no foul in using them exclusively. I've found that using these older figures sharpens the skills though and I can definitely use more of that.

[Steve Zuleski]

Hey Mike, you're getting it done, progress is looking good. Any time I need to do a reconfig, adjust, or even scrape and redo, it can be tedious and time consuming, but this is looking spot on.

Resin figures do in fact give you more leeway, but some of the styrene figs just can't be beat for poses, etc. It can be a toss up, imo.

Ruck On, Bby!

[Mike]

I've just recently finished these figures and I must admit that I think I'll probably revisit them again in the future. I've of course painted them up as fresh troops in nice fresh uniforms and there's really no contrast. They look plain.







I'm still trying to get some motivation for making a photo booth or at least some spot with good lighting for taking pictures and these looked a lot better on my phone. But you can basically see that there's nothing great about these guys. You can't even see the difference between the darker black leather bits, the headphones, and the cloth. Boring.

[Steve Zuleski]

They are looking good from here, Mike. Once you get a booth set up you'll be able to play with lighting, cam settings, etc. You'll feel more comfortable once you play with that for a while.

[dodgy]

From what I can see I think you've done an excellent job Mike.