1/16 Panda Pz.38t - WIP - 6/29 - Running Gear Weathering!

[doogsatx/]

Received this monster as a review sample the other day. I'll probably be keeping WIP shots back until the review is written and posted, but so far so good.

[blankingline]

Looking forward to the build. Looks like I'm in the front row. Have got my coffee and cake to keep me going
Steve

[TRM]

Monstrous little guy...looking forward to it!!! I'm in!!

[Leon]

WOW that is a biggie.Count me in.

[Thomas_M/]

Great to see you to check this one out. Will take a decision whether to buy this kit or not depending on your opinion on it, Matt.
Sweets and Coke ready! Pictures, please!

[wbill76]

I've been wondering how this would build up, looking forward to seeing it progress when you can post it Doogs!

[doogsatx/]

I will say that so far, the main hull is going together pretty well. The rear plate has some fit issues, but I'm trying to focus in its relation to the engine deck, since the sides will be mostly concealed by the running gear. I'd rather gaps where they are invisible.

[pt109]

May 18, 2013 20:08:05 GMT -5 doogsatx/ said:

I will say that so far, the main hull is going together pretty well. The rear plate has some fit issues, but I'm trying to focus in its relation to the engine deck, since the sides will be mostly concealed by the running gear. I'd rather gaps where they are invisible.

That's a beautiful B25....

[spud]

Oh that would be nice if its a decent kit.

[doogsatx/]

Review is still a-writin', but who cares...

Here's my favorite feature of the kit so far - separated wheels and tires! And no seams to sand down.



Early buildup. Not much support for the fenders.



After spot welding the fenders with Tenax, I did the PE supports. These suckers are thick - annealing is a must.



Where it stands now...really digging how it builds up to truly represent the added frontal armor of the Ausf E/F, which doubled their frontal armor by just bolting another 25mm in place.



For a size comparison, here it is next to my test mule 1:35 M4A4

[Deleted]

Wow! that's a monster! looks like a quality kit

[Deleted]

I like this, a lot.

G

[detailfreak]

Hey Doogs,great to see this build,is there any interior detail? Looking forward to your review.

[doogsatx/]

Plowed through most of the turret last night...still have several little bits to attend to, but this thing builds up nice and quick.



Another cool feature is the cupola. It consists of a lot of pieces (10 to be exact), but it's pretty easy to place it around the locating tabs on the turret, spot-weld it with solvent glue, then lift it clean off. This will come in super-handy for installing the vision port glass late in the build.



Also a close look at the wheels. The leaf springs are pretty well done - I think they'd be cooler using actual metal strips, but they're so obscured by the large wheels that it'd certainly be an "I know it's there even if nobody else does" exercise.

[blankingline]

This kit is looking very nice. I think I will have to look out for one. Now when is the next model show? Keep the photos coming
Steve

[wbill76]

Moving along nicely with the big-scale 38(t) Doogs! Level of detail is pretty neat on this as well.

[Leon]

Doogs this is looking very nice indeed.Plenty of exterior detail

[TRM]

This is crazy good!! Making some nice progress!!! WOW, this would be fun to PAINT!!!

[Tojo72]

Wow.looks like some nice details on this one

[doogsatx/]

Nearly done with the initial build...have to paint the screens on the engine hatches basically, then I can close those down and move on to the fun stuff. A few pics!

[wbill76]

Very nice! Just out of curiosity, why are all the hub caps missing from the road wheels, sprockets, and idlers? Is that necessary in order for them to remain removable for detail painting?

[doogsatx/]

No reason...they'll be going on ahead of paint

[vlpbruce]

I'm in on this. I want to get one of these and turn it into a Marder III. Looking at your review, I might just get two of them!

[doogsatx/]

May 22, 2013 10:28:31 GMT -5 detailfreak said:

Hey Doogs,great to see this build,is there any interior detail? Looking forward to your review.

Missed this til now - sorry!

There is some very light interior detail, mostly in the turret.

[deafpanzer]

Looking good!!! 1/16? I better save it for the day when I am much older. Sorry I didn't realize you are that old already...

[doogsatx/]

Primed everything up with Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 (best primer EVER) last night and tonight...



And went to start in with the AK modulation set.

Not a fan. At all. Even the darkest "shadow" shade seems too light. WAY lighter than the Lifecolor schwarzgrau I used on my Pz.III...I could possibly imagine using it for a 1/48 build with the lightening effect and all, but the lighter shades? No way.



So tomorrow I'll be going back to the Lifecolor. I find LC a pain to paint, but I guess it's my go-to now for a dark, rich Pz. Gray...

For reference, here's the LC schwarzgrau on said Pz.III:

[Thomas_M/]

The usual fast and high quality progress I know you for, Matt!

Nice to follow you on this kit. On the LifeColor paints: I guess you use them with their own thinner? Have airbrushed two or three shades of their rubber colour collection with my H&S Evolution with no hassle so far.

Thanks for this SBS here!

[doogsatx/]

May 29, 2013 2:49:17 GMT -5 Thomas_M/ said:

On the LifeColor paints: I guess you use them with their own thinner? Have airbrushed two or three shades of their rubber colour collection with my H&S Evolution with no hassle so far.

I've actually had solid results thinning Lifecolor with Testors universal acryl thinner. I find their thinner leaves things way too watery for my taste.

Another thing I've found is that Lifecolor only goes down well over other Lifecolor. First coat, even over a solid primer coat, is always a thin, runny messy, but the next pass goes down very well. It's weird like that. It also changes color as it dries, making it awful to work with for shading purposes...but since this is a one-shot deal, that's not a concern this time around.

[deafpanzer]

I remember that Pz III L very fondly.

When I used MC set on my builds, I found myself adding a drop or two of darker or lighter color if you want it to be perfect too.

[doogsatx/]

Busted out the Lifecolor RAL 7021 last night and painted the 38 up right.

Apologies for the crap iPhone pics. I have better ones but won't have a chance to route them through the computer until later tonight at the earliest.