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

[reserve]

Nice job on the subtle lightening and don't worry about any sheen present as this will go away with the final flatcoat. You may wish to take the upward facing surfaces a bit farther with the fading...not too much mind. Nice job brother

Regards,
Mark

[deafpanzer]

Agree with guys... it really helped. Keep in mind the paint will go darker if you are planning to do dark washing. Looking forward to your update...

[sfcmikej]

Gary: Thanks for looking my man. What the hell though. I am out of the hobby for a couple of decades and ya'll come up with a freakin' boatload of new terms. Color Modulation... panel highlighting...dot filterin' Jeez I am getting old and can't remember all this stuff!

Mark: Was kinda leaning the same way you are thinking. I like the effect I got but feel I need to go farther. Thanks for the input.

Andy, Carl: Looks like ya'll make it unanimous. I will do some more color mod, panel lightenin' whatever we call it!

Mike

[bbd468]

Feb 25, 2013 9:44:40 GMT -5 sfcmikej said:

Gary: Thanks for looking my man. What the hell though. I am out of the hobby for a couple of decades and ya'll come up with a freakin' boatload of new terms. Color Modulation... panel highlighting...dot filterin' Jeez I am getting old and can't remember all this stuff!

Mike

[wing_nut]

really looking very nice.

[wbill76]

Like the way the gray is headed! Don't sweat that shiny spot, it will disappear under the weathering and flat coats for sure.

[bigjohn]

Hey Mike, I just read through the complete blog. Like you, I got back into the hobby a few years ago. I can say that this is the best place to learn. Man, if you have any questions, just ask! The Pz IV is looking killer. I think your headed down the right track with the panel highlighting. As Andy said, any dark washes will darken the color again.

You picked a good time to get back in the hobby with all these new high tech kits comming out. Get a few cheapos banged out for practice and go for the good ones.

Looking forward to more!, John

[sfcmikej]

Holy cow looks like I am a week early for my monthly update!

Well I finally bit the bullet and built the Magic Tracks. I had a little bench time and just dove in even though I have never done any type of individual link tracks. The advice given and the links to the tutorials helped a bunch. Although challenging they were not as hard as I anticipated and I learned some things that will make the next set easier. Main lesson is that these would have been easier if I had done them earlier in the build. The fenders were definitely in the way. I also found one tutorial that had you build the tracks before joining the two halves of the return rollers. That would have definitely made it an easier chore.

I used the painter's tape method of building the run by sticking the links to the sticky side of the tape and then using Tamiya Extra Thin to glue everything together. I waited about 30 minutes and then pried the tack from the tape and applied to the running gear. At 30 minutes the glue held together well and still had plenty of flexibility to conform to the drive sprocket and idler. Even though the tutorials said it would be so I had my doubts.

On the left track I built runs of about 15-20 links and then tried to glue those together as I installed them. I don't recommend that method. I was difficult to get everything to line up and the smaller runs would not stay glued to each other during construction. On the right side I built the entire run at once, then applied the glue, waited 30 minutes and then installed. Much easier. I joined the tracks at the bottom in the middle and secured with a piece of tape to hold it until the glue cured. All of the running gear is only held together temporarily with blue tack to allow me to remove the tracks for painting and weathering. At least that is the plan. I haven't tried to remove the tracks yet.

BTW Gary you said you were following along as you have one to build; know that the instructions call for 98 links but I found that I needed 99. This did not surprise me as many of the blogs indicate variations.

I also lightened the panzer gray a bit more by spraying more of the Model Master Panzer Schwargrau that I had lightened with Lichtgrau from earlier. I am happier with this color but not sure if I wont lighten it up some more.

Here are some pics. Unfortunately I was so into the construction of the tracks I forgot to take pictures of the process and only have pics after they were installed.

The first pic is me using my life's savings to weigh down the hull so the tracks will cure correctly, along with some painter's tape and some rolled up napkin to induce some subtle sag.



The left side showing some of the sag. I am not as pleased with this side as I am the other but it was the first time ever:



The right side. This side seams more consistent to me:



Another shot of the right side although a bit dark:



From the front at ground level. I have always liked this view of a tank for some reason. I bet the grunt in the fox hole did not share my appreciation of this view!



And lastly from the rear:




I hope I am not over doing the pics. I am still amazed at the level of detail on these kits compared to when I did this in the past. Simply amazing. As always comments, good, bad and ugly are welcome and encouraged.

Mike

[Leon]

Mike looks like you did a fine job on the tracks and paint..Keep rolling with it.

[bigjohn]

Tracks look just fine from here!! Good work. There not so bad to work with once you learn a few tricks. Looks like you have it all under control.

[armorguy]

Tracks look good indeed !

[TRM]

Nice job on the tracks!!!

[sfcmikej]

Leon: Thanks!

Big John: That is what I had read but having never done a set there was some trepidation on my part not knowing how it would really go. I need a few more of those tricks!

AG, Nemo and T: Thanks for the encouragement. Hopefully there will be more to show this week.

Mike

[Deleted]

Mike,nice work on those tracks fella ....With 4 top rollers,a well maintained vehicle wouldn't have a lot of sag in the tracks,so to me they look pretty good.

[wbill76]

You've done a great job with the tracks Mike! Both sides look good and don't worry about them not being the same...track wear, idler tension, etc. would result in different levels of sag anyhow. Looking forward to the next round!

[reserve]

Lookin mighty swell brother

Regards,
Mark

[deafpanzer]

Agree with guys... great work on the tracks. Great tip using tape to hold it down!

[bbd468]

Hey Mike, The new shoes are lovely! I love the stowage as well...looks expensive.

Nice Job bro, and i like the tape tip...ive not thought of that....Thanks!

Gary

[wing_nut]

So what's not to like?