DML Sdkfz 251/22 Ausf D

[bbd468]

I gotcha bill....thanks for the info buddy. Very useful when i finally aquire and build it.

Gary

[wouter]

very nice work Bill, and soooooooooooo glad to have an update

Never realised Dragon added workable tracks in some of their kits

Cheers

[wbill76]

Thanks OJ! Glad you like the scheme!

My pleasure Gary...just don't let Andy know or he'll start yelling about secret DML agents and such again.

Wouter, so far as I know, these are the only kits that DML has produced with workable tracks, so they are kind of an anomaly in that regard...but a nice one! Glad you got your update fix in time.

[wbill76]

Continuing on from last week's efforts, I finished up with the tracks. First order of business involved test-fits with the sprockets to see how many links were needed to account for the different suspension lengths on either side. Turned out that I needed 54 links for the left (shorter) side and 56 links for the right (longer) side. Because of the scale effect of the link parts' design and the lack of a movable idler to tension things, this means that the longer side is a little looser than the right but both sag acceptably so no cause for concern.





A quick trip to the spray booth and the tracks received a base coat of MM enamel Burnt Umber. I used strips of masking tape to hold the runs while painting to make life a little easier and ensure paint got into the visible nooks and crannies. Once that had dried, I dry-brushed some MM enamel Steel to create a metallic look followed by a wash of MM enamel Raw Umber to tie things together and tone down the Steel a bit. Final piece of work was to hand-paint the rubber cap blocks individually using MM enamel Gunmetal.



That brought me to the "hurry-up-and-wait" stage of applying the decals. I airbrushed a coat of Future to seal the base coat in preparation for the weathering stages to come and let it air dry for about an hour. Markings for the 251/22s were fairly limited based on available reference photos so I added some crosses to the hull sides and rear and also added the Wehrmacht license plate to the hull nose that seemed to be a common feature. Using the photo from Panzer Tracts 15-3 for the vehicle that I've been replicating in terms of interior details, I used the "number jungle" decal sheet that DML provides to create the plate number WH-1810156 out of individual number decals. Examination of reference photos show that the rear plates weren't a common sight so I left those off on the rear mud flaps.



2nd coat of Future was applied to seal in the decals and it will now sit and cure thoroughly before the weathering process begins next weekend.

[bigjohn]

Thats some great prgress Bill! Your on the home strech now with it!

[bbd468]

Hello Bill,

Shes a beauty Bill! Very nice indeed. Rest asured - the next 251 series halftrack i do will be this very kit.

Gary

[wouter]

yup great work Bill, nice to see the tracks fitted and painted! Lovely decalwork mate, especially the license plate is a nice addition since you made a different numbercombo

Cheers

[406 Silverado]

Best part is coming up....the weathering. Cool so far Bill.

[wbill76]

Thanks BJ, getting close!

Dicky, thanks as always! I use the enamel Gunmetal (not to be confused with the Metalizer Gunmetal) because it's got a bluish/gray tint to it that simulates vulcanized rubber very well especially after it receives a dull coat and then weathered with pigments. HTH explains the method to the madness!

Gary nice to see the influence of this one on your next HT choice! It's definitely got an iconic feel to it and would love to see one receive your treatment. Look forward to it in the future.

Wouter, it's one of the nice features of the DML kits in terms of customization options...the only downside is of course working with the 10 separate decals that compose the plate...and getting them all to line up nice an pretty! Glad you like it.

Rob, the fun is about to begin! Too many good football games on yesterday or I would've gotten a start...it's one of those stages though that can't be rushed and needs good blocks of time to work on properly so next weekend ought to see some good progress.

[TRM]

Sounds like you need a TV in the mancave Bill!! Weathering A la football!! Real purdy job btw!!

[deafpanzer]

NO NO NO! I am not going to allow this to happen... I am not buying the kit. (biting my lips) Really looking real good. Can't wait to see it weathered next...

[wbill76]

Thanks T! No TV in the office/workbench area...that would make it very hard for me to do my work during the week! Bad enough that the bench is right there constantly whispering to me. That and the fact that I don't want to risk any errors due to sudden exuberance or depression depending on how the game is going.

Andy, you know that resistance is futile...

[Deleted]

I just love the colour scheme on this...can't wait to see her getting dirty
Seriously though, real nice build buddy

[406 Silverado]

I hear you Bill, need one of the blocks of bench time myself. Been months since I had serious bench time.

[wbill76]

Thanks Steve! Appreciate the comments.

Rob, I know it must be tough the past few months...but you'll get some time hopefully here in the near future. I finally got through my Statistics class and am glad to have it behind me...only 4 more classes to go in the MBA program before I'm done.

[reserve]

Gettin close and lookin good, brother. Congrats on completing statistics, not an easy course of study to be sure.

Regards,
Mark

[bbd468]

Stoppin' in to say hello Bill. Lookin' forward to your next update!

Gary

[wbill76]

Thanks Mark...the whole class can be summed up by the fact that the final week's homework was worth 1 point on the final grade total but took 3 hours to complete. Not because it was extraordinarily difficult...just a lot of time to do each problem and work through the steps. Definitely glad it's over!

Gary, should have an update for the gang tomorrow. Spent some time today working with the dot filters and after checking what NFL games are available, looks like I will have a good chunk of bench time available tomorrow as well!

[reserve]

Gawd, aint that always the way? Funny how institutes of higher education always get to charge more by including non essential courses for the purpose of "Expanding your horizons".

Regards,
Mark

[Deleted]

Love the camo,Bill,and I can't wait to see you work your magic on the rest of it

[modelfreak72]

Getting caught back up! Sweet camo job, like the milti color wheels! The magic tracks go together the same as the AFV tracks. Bring on the weathering!

[wbill76]

Mark, well business is all about the numbers and I did learn some useful things from the class but the sadism of the time involved nearly did me in...especially when in the real business world the types of calculations called for are all done by software and never done manually! ;D

Thanks Chris!

Modelfreak, glad to have you pop in! Weathering has begun...stay tuned!

[wbill76]

The fun thing about the weathering process is that it can totally transform the look of the previous paint work depending on how you go about it and what end result you want to achieve. I've been using reference photos of a surrender depot vehicle in Bohemia in 1945 and decided that a dusty appearance works best for my Pakwagen...so the following steps are designed to achieve that end.

First up I laid down an overall wash of MM enamel Raw Umber. The initial effect of course is that it darkens the finish but the real reason is to provide a foundation for the additional steps as the Raw Umber will get blended in with other colors and not left on its own.



Once that had dried, the next step was the application of dot filters using MM enamel Flat White, MM enamel Raw Sienna, and dots of the MM enamel 50/50 dunkelgelb/light gray mix I used to airbrush earlier on. The dots were applied in small sections at a time to avoid having the dots harden and begin to dry. Using a square-tip blending brush lightly dampened with clean thinner, the dots are worked in together along with the Raw Umber wash coat from earlier to create a filtered and streaking effect.





While the Pakwagen doesn't have a lot of raised detail or panel lines, there's enough there to justify using a pin wash to pull it out and deepen the finish. I used a thinned mix of MM enamel Burnt Umber and a pointed 10/0 brush to apply to the different areas and then came back with some clean thinner to remove any blooming and correct where needed. I also installed the Pak 40 permanently in place now that all the major manhandling is done.



Next up will be working on the pigment weathering for the lower hull, suspension, and tracks.

[406 Silverado]

oh yeah we have an update, and it's the best part too....weathering. Looks great Bill and I like the 45 old dirty and dusty part.

[spud]

Very Nice Bill

[wbill76]

Thanks Rob! Weathering is always the fun stage because it a) is the transformation stage and b) is near the end!

Much appreciated spud!

[bigjohn]

weathering looks great Bill. I love the streaking effect you have achieved!

[wouter]

ooh man, this looks saweet. Still a fan of the dot method (I use oils for that) because it makes it quite easy to get a nice faded or dusty appearance. I really love what you are doing with this one Bill, this just looks superb. Nice explanation as well.

Keep it comin' partner!

Cheers

[deafpanzer]

Camo now looks perfect once weathered. I really dig the camo scheme you have chosen for your 251! Really like the aggressive streaks too...

[wbill76]

Chris S, BJ, Dicky, and Andy, appreciate the comments and support!

Wouter, thanks as well! The dot method is an extremely versatile one IMHO and has become a standard tool in the arsenal that I experiment with constantly. Glad you like it!