Dragon JP c/w Zim-Final Photos (28.07.13):

[deafpanzer]

Agree with Bill... I don't see anything wrong with the tracks... maybe just add more dirt and rust. Your JP is looking cool!

[Hinksy]

Jun 2, 2013 19:23:21 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Just out of curiosity Ben, why do you want to strip the Fruils and redo them? They look like they've got a very nice foundational finish already to work from in terms of future weathering or other steps?

Cheers guys

I've looked at them again and will scrub them to remove the old Tamiya Weathering Mud from between the links. I'll tidy them up as these were one of my first Friul Tracks and a bit untidy.

Some AK Track Wash to darken them up plus pigments and filed raised areas to show wear will do just fine.

Back to work today so no more modelling this week - dammit!

Take care fellas,

Ben

[Hinksy]

Hi guys,

This is a sort of 'pre-post' - I'll get some photos up later as I'm not finished yet.

The basic build is complete so today I've had to put my primer and paint head on!

After the disaster that was my last 'build' I'm VERY VERY VERY nervous for some reason so I've washes the surfaces and have primed the tank with Mr Surfacer 1200 from the rattlecan. Boy it dries lovely and very smooth, almost TOO smooth! It hasn't got much tooth but dries perfectly. I reckon the Surfacer 1000 would be the best.

Wheels are also primed but only with the cheap Halfords primer - it's very good and effective.

I'm going to paint the tools now so they can be fitted as soon as the basecoat is on. Talking about basecoats and my anxiety about the painting I'm going back to the simple, tried & tested method od a black pre-shade and a basecoat of 50/50 Tamiya Deck Tan/Dark Yellow - the best DY shade that there is (imo).

>>>>>(Views needed here):I was going to use my AK DY Modulation set but my research suggests and proves that a build with many flat sides and angles to catch the light really lends itself to this method and the AK kit itself. I'm looking at my cabinet and think the StuG's and Panzer III/IV's would be a better choice. Like I say I'm nervous and want to get it right so I'm using the proven methods.

In my stash I have that Dragon Zimmed StuG III G which is going to be a great build and will definatelt allow the Modulation effect to look so much better as it has all the angles and corners etc.

Do you guys agree with my choice of keeping this simple and saving the modulation kit for my StuG III G when I've got my confidence back. I'll be relying on my weathering skills ro make this one pop. I can still lighten the Tamiya mix basecoat up by adding a bit of extra deck tan to post shade areas on them big sloping sides of the JP can't I?

Proper photo update later chaps,

Ben

[Hinksy]

Blog update continued from the last update above posted earlier:

Hi fellas,

Okay - things are moving on good!

Primer is on and looking sweet. Wheels are prepped and the tools have been given a basic coat so they've started to actually resemble tools. I'll tart them up and make them look pristine tomorrow - they'll be fitted when the basecoat is done. I've fitted a long crowbar and a Fire extinguisher now so they'll take on the basecoat colour - everything else will go on after basecoating.

Paint will be a simple DY base with some light small randon markings made using Rotbraun and Olivgrun Vallejo Model Air. I may yet decide to go for a simple DY.

The grills at the back will need the odd hole clearing - I found they clear better when fully dry.

All being well, by this time tomorrow she'll be rigged with some nice tools and ready for decals next weekend















Thanks for looking fellas,

Update tomorrow - fingers crossed everything will go fine!

Take care,

Ben

[bbd468]

Ahhh, shes lookin a tasty morsel brother Ben! Nice touch on the tire nicks.

[wbill76]

Some good progress there Ben. As for your should-you-or-shouldn't-you question in the pre-post, well that's all down to what you want to do and when! Remember there's no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to using CM or any other technique in terms of when/how, it all comes down to what you want to achieve yourself on any given build. You'll have to try it sometime if you want to use it or at least see how it turns out for you, so the answers to your questions are already there...you just have to choose!

[Hinksy]

Hi fellas,

Proper Weekend Update!:

So, on a very positive note I've laid the basecoat (The simple DY - Tamiya Dark Yellow XF-60 and Deck Tan XF-55 mixed roughly 50/50). It's the best DY there is imo.

I added some pre-shade lines and after the initial application of the basecoat it was looking good and showing through well BUT I decided it looked a bit plain and after looking at the colour options and not really being taken I looked at the box art and found inspiration! It shows my JP (with the Composite Barrel) with a DY base and a very faded cammo scheme-it looked ideal. I remembered what I did with my Elefant and how I made the cammo look faded so out came the Rotbraun and Olivgrun Model Air and fine small squiggles were applied and then the ab was loaded back up with the DY mix and the PSI set very low so I set about about misting a fine layer of DY back over the cammo to fade it. This will look even better with the further weathering to come.

I'll be getting the road wheels on next weekend and will start the detail painting of the Periscope Lenses and MG barrel etc before I start the weathering. I'm thinking dried mud around the running gear & 'grass' caught up in the trapped mud (I have some 'Mud in a Pot' to try out)!
I'm thinking light to medium chipping, plenty of streaking effects and mud effects from AK. You can't beat some well applied mud effect by blowing ab air through a loaded brush onto the lower areas of the model around the fenders.





I'll be clearing up the PE Grills below with a pin very shortly:



First lot of tools - the Jack Block is going to be detail painted with Oil Paints. Here is has a coat of Raw Umber W&N Oil Paint on it - it will take a day or two to dry 100% so I'll go back to it next weekend to finish it off as I will with the tool metal and wood sections:





Nice butt:



I've left the hatch unglued so I can weather around it properly. I'll be modelling it shut for now but it might prove handy to be able to show it open sometime in the future. It pushes to and closes securely:



Ready to go:



I hope you like her so far guys - I'm really pleased with todays progress!

Y'all have a good week,

Ben

[deafpanzer]

Dig the camo job on your JP!!! Keep it coming...

[Hinksy]

Jun 9, 2013 17:10:42 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Dig the camo job on your JP!!! Keep it coming...

Hi Andy,

Cheers for checking in matey

I decided to go for a freehand thin cammo like on the box art but although it looked great when first applied it wasn't the look I was after.

As I'm going to be building an earlier JP that a bit beaten and bashed I decided that I wanted the paintwork to back up this look so I did what I did with my Elefant and 'misted' a layer of DY back over the cammo surfaces allowing the lines to show through (like a pre-shade) giving the effect of a sun exposed old soldier!

Looking forward to getting stuck into more of this one now - it's been a real fun build so far plus I haven't got to worry about tracks this time - they are ready to go!

Back to work tomorrow mate so update next weekend and no overtime either so the weekend belongs to me!

Ben

[wbill76]

Making good progress Ben! Camo pattern looks good, your best yet IMHO.

[Hinksy]

Cheers Bill!

That comment has made my day!

Roll on next weekend!


Ben

[ceresvesta.]

comming up more than nicely! well done.

[Hinksy]

Jun 10, 2013 8:10:24 GMT -5 ceresvesta. said:

comming up more than nicely! well done.

Thanks buddy!

Ben

[Leon]

Fine job on the camo Ben.Your making good progress on this.

[Hinksy]

Jun 10, 2013 19:29:46 GMT -5 Leon said:

Fine job on the camo Ben.Your making good progress on this.

Thankyou Leon,

I'll try not to dissapoint. I'm juggling a few ideas around in my head at the minute (there's plenty of empty space in there ) about how to attack this beast from an appearance angle.

Undecided as yet. I'll get the decals and filters on and see where it takes me.

Thanks for the generous comment,

Ben

[sollie]

aiai, been a while since I was on the forum, Nice progress I see. Lokking FW to the next batch of picks

[bbd468]

Nice camo Ben, love the subtlety of it. Shes gonna weather up real nice bro!

[Hinksy]

Jun 13, 2013 10:47:52 GMT -5 bbd468 said:

Nice camo Ben, love the subtlety of it. Shes gonna weather up real nice bro!

Cheers bbd

I'm really pleased with the cammo too. I did something similar on my Christmas build Elefant but that wasn't intended. The cammo on that wasn't great so I just tried 'misting' a light coat of DY over the cammo colours and it gave it a really nice sun-bleached, faded look. I intended to do it this time and it worked perfectly. You just need to be very careful with the subsequent washes etc so you don't lose the faded cammo.

Anyway, the whole weekend is mine (this week has FLOWN by) so I hope to get a fair bit done. Definately decals and filters and finishing touches on the tools (and clear out the few paint clogged holes on the engine deck PE grills). Hopefully pin washes too plus I want to remove the Periscope lens masks and paint the lenses.

Last week the carpet monster ate the clear lens that fits on the holder mounted on the rear left hand stowage box AND the Sledgehammer too. I've got to check the spares tub to see what can replace the hammer and I need to make another round lens.

QUESTION: Apart from the Vallejo gloss varnish I won't need the airbrush any more and as I stripped it down for a good clean after last weeks paint session I'm wondering if I can avoid using airbrushed paint again on this build. I'm referring to the bashed in rear stowage bin made from Dragon DS Styrene that I added. As it has a slightly different Zim pattern I want to show it like it's been 'borrowed' from another knocked-out tank. I want to paint it hull red then brush Future on it followed by a very rough DY coat. I'll then scratch and chip it to show a really rough looking box. Will well thinned paint, brushed on top of the hull red coated in Future and hairspray, chip away ok or will it need a thin airbrushed coat? I'm not going to slap the paint on, I'm going to put it all on all on very lightly so I'm assuming it should be fine when I attempt to chip and scratch it? Will this work ok in your opinion?

Thanks lads,

The usual Saturday update will be tomorrow (on Saturday)

Ben

[Deleted]

Great work on the jagd Hinksy love the colours used very effective. As for your question I would say you should be fine using the method described or just use a fine brush and some torn sponge to add the chipping you want.

[Hinksy]

Hiya fellas,

Snipersmudge - thanks for that. Thinking about I reckon I'll take that route

Even though I've not been working today I've had a really busy afternoon which didn't leave me with much time to get stuck into a lot of modelling work but I have been able to get a gloss coat on, lay the decals and apply a second coat of varnish to seal her all up ready for the weathering to come.

I have put on a couple of coats of 'Brown for Dark Yellow' SIN Filter. Tomorrow I'll be making up my own wash to go on as I don't want to use a ready-to-go wash which might darken up that light cammo too much. Tbh the Filters and Mig's Dark or Brown Wash used as a pin wash MIGHT suffice.

I've gone with the decals I originally planned to use (the black '314' numbers) as the other options either don't use decals or have big bright coloured numbers on them which I'm not keen on. This should have the single piece barrel with it to be truly accurate but as that got messed up I'll make do. The lenses have been painted with Vallejo Model Colour 'Periscope Blue' and the single convoy tube light thingy has ben painted with Tamiya Clear Blue. The Jack Block has been moulded with a nice grain effect so I've painted it with Mig's Light Rust Oil Paint and will give it a dark wash tomorrow to show up the grain detail.

Tomorrow I'll chip up that battered stowage box, sort out and paint the tow cables, get some base rust painted on the exhausts and get her ready for streaking effects which will be applied next weekend. I can really get stuck into this one now!

Photos:





















I hope you like her so far guys,

More to come tomorrow!

Ben

[Leon]

Ben,the JT is really looking good.

[Hinksy]

Thanks Leon - really appreciated buddy

[406 Silverado]

Very nice Ben. The camo is nice and subtle.

[afvfan]

Great progress, Ben! It's been a bit since I last checked this out and you're doing wonders.

[Hinksy]

Awww shucks (insert blushing face here),

Thanks for the great feeback guys - I'm proceeding slowly and carefully as due to a lack of time due to being MEGA busy with my work and one destroyed Panzer IV (my last wip) due to a second of sheer rage I just want a good solid build in the bag! I mean, Is that too much to ask?

Dammit! I've only built one kit this year and we're already into June! Well, that said, I do know I'd rather build three great kits in a year than six awful ones!

Today will see a second round of filters and more detail painting before I start the serious weathering next weekend.

I've got sone of Mig's 'Mud' - one pot of 'Europe Dry Mud Fine Texture (P500) and one of Rough Texture (P501). It looks like Chocolate mousse - mmmmm!

migproductions.com/2013/01/introducing-new-mud-family-just-mud/

I was thinking about gently weathering the lower hull walls behind the wheels with simple pigment fixed with thinner and then building up tiny accumulations of muck around the suspension arms and around the back like mud that has been thrown up by the tracks. I have some reed grass so I was going to add some to it to give it a 'churned up ground' look.

Update later!

Ben

[Hinksy]

Hiya fellas,

I've just been looking through the builds going on across the various sub-boards - excellent work all round fellas

It's been a super busy couple of weeks at work BUT the old JP build is moving along nicely.

I've put on a good few layers of SIN Filters, Brown for Dark Yellow and Brown for Green. A nice effect was obtained.

I usually make my own washes, usually W&N oil paints and odourless thinners. I find them to be very dark out of the pot for a lightly coloured AFV so I thought it wise to thin it down a touch with AK Odourless Thinner and the effect was great. It's been lightly applied, not slapped on and it hightlights the Zim effect ideally.

A bit of AK chipping colour acrylic and the unbeatable Berol 'Karismacolor' Karisma Silver 949 were used to add some chipps and wear effects. Some Mig Grease stain has been slightly thinned and added to the rear engine deck.

Tomorrow I'm going to get some nice streak work applied to all sides - nothing heavy as I don't want to darken it down too much - and then I'll be switching my attention to the lower hull and adding some pigment and Mig Mud around the drives and idlers and rust build up on the mufflers. I also decided to paint that beat up rear stowage box with hull red. I'll be painting it with Klear in a minute and then adding hairspray tomorrow before painting it in a different shade of DY and chipping it right up. There are several big patches on it that are Zim free and I definately want all of them showing as Hull Red.

Then onto the running gear and tidying the Friuls up - another couple of weekends now should do it I think! I'm seriously looking forward to tackling that Bronco Panzer II D now!

Question: I've seen a few JP's with a cover for the Bow MG port hanging on the end of a small chain handing down the frontal armour. I don't think there's a part like this in the kit. Any helpful comments re the cover, guys?

A few photos - I hope you like her so far:









I've still got to add some detail to the Jack Block, fit the small tow cable and find a replacement hammer (carpet monster)!







The Stowage box on the right - to be be re-painted in a faded DY and chipped using HS exposing the hull red:



I hope you like her guys - more tomorrow!

Comments and suggestions very welcome!

Take care,

Ben

[AndyArgent.]

Great stuff on this Ben,MORE PLEASE

[Leon]

Looking great Ben.You have some good looking effects going there.

[tonylee-Rest In Peace]

My turn Ben

The little hatch below the antenna is for throwing out the spent shells when the tank is buttoned up during battle and shouldn't have oil stains
around it.

Second, new battlefield evidence has turned up.
A guy found one of those tail lights while metal detecting a battlefield that was pretty much intact and the glass tube looked almost black.
He took the end cap off and shined a small light in it and the light shown up as a dark green and not blue.

Take it for what it worth but all else looks really good Ben
Tony lee

[Hinksy]

Jun 22, 2013 15:10:02 GMT -5 tonylee-Rest In Peace said:

My turn Ben

The little hatch below the antenna is for throwing out the spent shells when the tank is buttoned up during battle and shouldn't have oil stains
around it.

Second, new battlefield evidence has turned up.
A guy found one of those tail lights while metal detecting a battlefield that was pretty much intact and the glass tube looked almost black.
He took the end cap off and shined a small light in it and the light shown up as a dark green and not blue.

Take it for what it worth but all else looks really good Ben
Tony lee

Thanks for the feedback guys - really appreciated!

No worries Tony - I need to learn about these little things so it's good to know. I asked for comments!

Obviously I'm a bit peeved about the hatch but that can easily rectified - I've got some streaking effects and, eventualy, some pigment work to do so I'll be able to sort the hatch out and tone that grease effect right down. I'll take some Thinner to it now to see what will come off but I'll know for next time.

Again, interesting to know about the tube colour but that will be nigh on lost between muck thrown up at the rear so I won't stress about that too much.

Again, thanks for the great feedback chaps - great stuff!

Ben