Pz.Kpfw.IV.F2(G) from Dragon WIP New Shoes!

[sfcmikej]

Mark,

Thanks for the input. I got must of the peices stuck on and a coat of Tamiya Primer. Still no Panzer Gray though.

Mike

[406 Silverado]

Looking good so far. Got mine on the 'to finish' list.

[sfcmikej]

Sorry for the long delay. I have just a small update. I am ready for paint and have primed the tank with Tamiya gray primer. Hopefully tonight or tomorrow night I can get on the first base coat.

Here is what she looks like with primer:







Sorry for the crappy pics and yellowish tint. Still trying to figure out the camera thing.

Mike

[bbd468]

Hey Mike, Build looks nice and clean fella. Tracks a comin' next?

Gary

[sfcmikej]

Hey Gary I have been procrastinating on the tracks. I have never done any Magic Tracks or any other individual link tracks. Got to psych myself up for it.

Mike

[bbd468]

Feb 6, 2013 18:42:16 GMT -5 sfcmikej said:

Hey Gary I have been procrastinating on the tracks. I have never done any Magic Tracks or any other individual link tracks. Got to psych myself up for it.

Mike

Hey Mike,

The Magic tracks aren't that bad once ya get use to em. When you go to make your curves around the sprocket and idlers and the like, put them together flat on your bench in small runs of 6-8-10...what ever your comfortable with....just make sure you've used a fair amount of cement. Once the cement has melted the track together and are a bit dry but pliable/bendable, thats when you shape carefully around the the sprockets, idlers and such to your liking. Make sense? There not bad at all once you have a couple kits under your belt...but hey..know body likes the track building part anyhow! Thats how i go about it Mike...hope that helps bro.

Gary

[deafpanzer]

Your Pz IV is looking good and clean! I've delt with Magic Tracks before and they are not that bad. Of course I love Friuls but with rising prices for those Friul tracks I do see myself using Magic Tracks again...

[Leon]

Mike nice looking build so far

[wing_nut]

Mike, don't worry about the size of the update when it's that good.

This is the SBS I used to learn indy tracks and I've done it this way ever since.

www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=1737

[wbill76]

Nice progress with the primer Mike, looking forward to more. The gents have you covered in terms of dealing with the magic tracks, just be sure to check the links before you start gluing to be sure they are 'clean' at the contact points as any little nubs or fractional MM will have a negative effect on your fit tolerances.

[fightnjoe]

mike she looks clean and crisp. looking forward to seeing paint.



joe

[danb.]

Great work Mike the pzIII is really coming together nicely DML pzIII's are great kits still got to finish mine come to that :/ keep it going buddy.

Dan B

[Deleted]

coming along nicely

[modelfreak72]

Bring on the PAINT!!!

[406 Silverado]

Love the look of the workhorse IV. Can't wait to see the next update.

[sfcmikej]

Gary: Thanks for the info on the tracks. I will be trying them this weekend.

Andy: Thanks for the comment and the encouraging words.

Leon: Thanks buddy.

Wing Nut: Thanks for the link to the SBS. I need all the tips I can get.

Bill: I will check them carefully. I had them with me when the Super Bowl started. Damn game proved too interesting to get any work done.

Joe: Thanks. I am looking forward to paint also!

Dan: Thanks for looking in.

Snipersmudge: Thanks a bunch

ModelFreak: I am trying!

Boss: Trying to get er done.

Mike

[sfcmikej]

OK Folks. I have the first coat of Model Master Enamel Panzer Schwarzgrau '39-43' shot through my Badger airbrush. Man is that a DARK color. Waiting for it to dry/cure for a while before handling. I mixed it 60/40 Mineral Spirits/Paint. Heading out with the better half for dinner Hopefully pictures upon return.

Mike

[sfcmikej]

Paint update! I got the first coat of Panzer Gray on it. The color looks much darker in real life then in the pictures. I am going to try my hand at color modulation and that should lighten it up some.

Here are the pics. I have some touching up to do then start on the modulation:











Still having a bit of trouble with the photos being yellowish.

Mike

[TRM]

Looking good with some color on it Mike!!

Thinking the pic "thing" might be the incandescent and the settings on the camera. If you have the ability to change what you light source is, in camera mode, simply click through the settings until the picture appears brighter. If it is a low watt bulb, that might be the issue too. Just keep messing with the setting, it will work out!

[deafpanzer]

Awesome! It got paint!!! Agree with Todd about camera setting... if not no worries as you can always take pictures outside when it is nice if you wish.

[sfcmikej]

Todd: You were right. Played with the white balance. This pick is a bit dark but the yellow is gone and the panzer gray is closer to the way it really looks.



Andy: Thanks for looking in. It is monsoon season here in NW Florida so no outside pics for a while.

Mike

[deafpanzer]

PERFECT!!! Now it really looks great! No kidding about the monsoon season... my parents live in SW Florida. LOL

[wbill76]

Much better on the pics! Panzer Gray provides so many opportunities to play around with CM and fading/weathering, looking forward to seeing what do with it Mike.

[bbd468]

Looks great Mike! The pic is MUCH better now. Lookin' forward to more fella.

Gary

[reserve]

Hee hee it's grey lovely dark grey, lookin the part it is. One thing I neglected to mention to combat the blueish tinge these will sometimes develop as fading and weathering progress is a dark raw umber filter, this will snuff the blue in short order. Something you probably already know but I figured I'd mention it anyway at the risk of being redundant

Regards,
Mark

[406 Silverado]

Yeah that pic looks a lot better. Use a white poster board for the back ground and it will pop more.

[sfcmikej]

Mark

Thanks for the tip. I did not know that. This is my first build in decades.

Mike

[sfcmikej]

Hey boss thanks for the tip. I have a white background I can use it is just a pain to get my area cleaned up enough to use it!

Mike

[sfcmikej]

Good Lord it has been two weeks since the last update! Some of you talk about how many models you will complete in a year, I am going to go with how many years it takes to complete a model! As usual life is getting in the way of the fun stuff. Work, weather and we a prepping to move to a new house so everything is in a flux. I noticed after I took the pics some of the dust and debris that settled on the tank from the packing. All of it blows off without a problem but I was unwilling to retake and resize pics again for the sake of some dust.

This is my first attempt at color modulation. I painted the base coat of Model Master Enamel Panzer Schwarzgrau 39 - 43 and it was pretty darn dark. I lightened the base color with Lichtgrau. I have no idea what ratio. I added some to the base coat and spray a little and kept doing that until I liked color. I was going for a subtle look and have no idea if I achieved it or not. Not sure if it is too subtle or too stark. Opinions strongly solicited, good or bad. The first two pics are about the same angle before and after color mod. Sorry for the crappy pic on the before and it's the only one I got.

The before:



The after:



Besides the better picture taking I think the CM helped.

The rest:















There does seem to be a shiny spot on the turret top. It is more obvious in the photo than in reality. I think it is from adding more thinner to the paint as I was starting to have some spotting from the airbrush. I am thinking that the weathering and flat coat will resolve it eventually.

Mike

[bbd468]

WELL, its about Damn time Mike!!! Nice update bro. Looks more like panel highlights rather than modulation. Thats what i call it anyways. I prefer the panel highlighting myself. Keep it comin Mike!

Gary