DML Bison II

[Mence]

Looks like a really neat kit, I like it, great job!

[wbill76]

Rob, thanks, the tools are always the fun part...they never quite come out the same way twice but I've been getting more consistent in how they turn out. Glad you like them.

Chris and prof, thanks for the comments as well!

Dicky, it's always one of those "crossed lines" when you begin the weathering process...same as when you've got a model with a ton of PE or resin and you start to paint...the process has to move forward to get to the finish...that's what the WIP photos are for, to remember what it looked like in the prior stages. This one won't be heavily beat-up (I tend to be somewhat moderate in my weathering approach) but will be nice and dusty to reflect it's time in Libya.

[wbill76]

Made some good progress with the Bison II this weekend, enough to justify an update at any rate!

The weathering process is always one that tends to go a bit slower, mostly because the stages require a good amount of time to complete and layer properly. First up was the application of an overall wash of 90/10 thinner/MM Raw Umber. This provides some "grime" to work with in the next step of the weathering process.



Once that was on, the next step was the application of some dot filters to fade the paint work and add a "dusty" look to the finish since this is a desert theater vehicle. I chose MM enamel Light Gray, Armor Sand, and Raw Sienna for the dots. Working in small sections at a time, small dots are applied and then blended together with a square tipped blender brush lightly dampened with clean thinner until the desired result is achieved. I wear a paint breather mask throughout this process due to the thinner fumes involved.



This shot of the glacis gives you a kind of before/after look...the area on the right has already been filtered while the area on the left has the dots applied but not yet blended together.



After a few hours of patient work, the result is achieved.



In order to bring out some of the detail and provide some depth to the finish, the next step involves applying a pin wash of 90/10 thinner/MM Burnt Umber with a 10/0 pointed brush.



The wash will "bloom" a bit in places, so after hitting all the areas, I came back with the same 10/0 brush and clean thinner and removed/adjusted the excess wash where needed.



Will let that sit overnight and take a look at it again with fresh eyes to see if any more adjustments are needed before sealing it up in preparation for the pigment treatment.

[eastrock]

Progress looking great, Bill!!! especially the SBS

[Jaymes Crowther.]

Mr Pun it is a pleasure to see your builds once again your distint finishes are awesome and the way you explain our sbs and build is really educational awesome work.

Jaymes

[wbill76]

Thanks eastrock, Dicky, and Jaymes, appreciate the comments! I started back on my MBA course load today (quantitative math...sounds about as inviting as you would expect!) and hopefully that won't deter me too much from the bench on the weekends.

[spud]

Very nice bill i like your explinations on the pics

[wbill76]

Thanks Spud! Much appreciated.

[TRM]

Thanks for posting Bill!! Great work as always Sir!! And in agreement on the SBS, great work my friend!!

[tonylee-Rest In Peace]

Luverly Bill, she's lookin great

Looking forward to the weekend sitrep.
Tony

[eastrock]

I hate Math, Bill! its one of the subject I barely manage to pass in college lol

[wbill76]

Thanks T and Tony!

Eastrock, math is always one of those subjects that people either love or hate...there's very little gray involved! So far in prep for the first class day I've had to go through 160 pages of text book and completed over 500 problems...and I still have another 50 pages of text and 107 problems to go through tomorrow to be ready by Thursday! That's the intensity of the program I'm in...each class only runs 6 weeks so every week a ton of stuff is crammed in.

[406 Silverado]

More pics please........(LOL)

Your usual wash mix ey Bill. Looks great already with the wash on her. Really makes the small details stand out. I can't wait to see what hit's the bench next.

[wouter]

Nice work on the Bison Bill! And lovely SBS as well!!!

Cheers

[wbill76]

Dicky, thanks for the vote of confidence but you should demand a recount of the fingers/toes accounting department!

Rob, LoL funny guy! Thanks for the comments as always!

Wouter, my pleasure...I try to keep SBS logs of how I do things as I tend to not remember the exact recipe othewise...which can make it hard to remember if I want to repeat it again later on (or even better, to remember what NOT to do!).

[rm6239.]

Bill

Great work mate, after just tackling my first set of MK tracks, can I ask how you got yours so flexible, mine are ok but nowhere near that flexible and I would like them to be.

cheers
Rossco

[wbill76]

Apr 20, 2012 5:59:55 GMT -5 rm6239. said:

Bill

Great work mate, after just tackling my first set of MK tracks, can I ask how you got yours so flexible, mine are ok but nowhere near that flexible and I would like them to be.

cheers
Rossco

Some MK tracks end up stiffer than others...all depends on the set and how they go together. The key is to be very thorough with the clean up of the sprue attachment points, particularly if there are any that are on the front of the link, as just a fraction of a mm there can cause the links to bind every so slightly and make them stiff.

As I recall, you're building a set for a 38(t) family vehicle? I've built several of that type and they tend towards the stiffer side vs. the type I'm using for this build. The Pz II links already have one pin molded in place and the 2nd pin added while the 38(t) family links have pins added to both sides. HTH!

[rm6239.]

Bill

Thanks for the info mate, will file it away for my next attempt with MK tracks.

cheers

Rossco

[406 Silverado]

Great bit of info Bill, will be helpful when I do finally get my first set of MK's, whenever that may be.

[wbill76]

C'mon Rob, you know you want to build a set! It's a "bucket list" item that's due for crossing off.

[406 Silverado]

Bill I'll check at the show for some of the MK tracks and may just cross that off the list my friend.

[robbo]

Stunning build Bill.

I had it pointed out to me about the half a swastika on the palm tree badge that is missing. Hope you don't mind me pointing that out

[wbill76]

No worries Robbo...it's missing because DML made them ridiculously difficult to assemble...the arms of the swastika are separate tiny pieces and I couldn't figure out how to get them in position correctly after multiple failed attempts so let it go. They do that because of the regulations against publications of swastika's in France and Germany and is the "norm" for all of their kits that include DAK markings unfortunately.

[wbill76]

Work continued with the focus on getting the tracks completed and ready for installation. First up was an airbrush application of MM enamel Burnt Umber to provide the base color tone. I used long strips of masking tape to hold the track runs during painting and made multiple passes to ensure all the nooks and crannies received paint.



The Burnt Umber base is a nice dark brown color and to create a metallic look, I dry-brushed MM enamel Steel with a round 000 brush. Heavier dry-brushing was applied to the contact surfaces like the inner guide horns that would be in constant contact with either the sprocket or idler. For the exterior surfaces, the focus was put on the track face contact areas.



After the dry-brushing was complete, I applied a wash of 90/10 thinner/MM Raw Umber enamel to blend the Steel back in to the overall finish while still preserving the wear/shine in the desired areas.



The tracks are now ready for the pigment weathering along with the vehicle itself. I applied a sealing coat of MM Lusterless Flat in the spray can to remove any remaining gloss from the Future coats and to seal in the filtering weathering applied earlier. The Lusterless Flat has the added bonus of providing some "tooth" to the finish which will make it easier to apply and manipulate the pigments in the next stage.





The pigment weathering will come next and should be the last stage before this one gets across the finish line.

[wbill76]

Thanks Dicky! Tracks are always one of the fun areas of a build for me...with a bit of luck this one ought to be finished next weekend (fingers crossed!).

[eastrock]

Bill progress looking good!!! great SBS also

[rm6239.]

Bill

Nice progress, looking forward to the next stage.

cheers
Rossco

[406 Silverado]

Up to your usual high standard for painting tracks ey Bill. Always a good thing when the tracks get paint. Looking forward to the pigment update.

[wbill76]

Thanks Rossco and Rob, appreciate the comments as always! I had hoped to get the pigments on yesterday but as usual my ambition outran the time on the clock.

[tonylee-Rest In Peace]

You Texans don't know how to run, you always stand your ground.

Could the history books be wrong???
Tony ;D