Bronco Pz.II Ausf. D - WIP Update (21.07.13)

[Hinksy]

NOTE - BUILD ON HOLD

Hiya fellas,

I've made a quick start on the Bronco Pz.II - a nice kit by all accounts.

The plastic is nice, the PE is really nice to work with and the instructions are fine - the English is pretty poor but it's good enough to work with!

It's obviously going to be a quick build which is just the ticket - a perfect base to try my newly purchased AK Panzer Grey Modulation kit on.

The Friuls look good and I've got some RB barrels to use instead of the bland kit items

Photos:









The two rectangular screens here are PE:





Thanks for looking guys,

Next weekend is all mine so I'm hoping to get the basic assembly complete next weekend. I had to work from home today (it was pretty quiet though) and I also had to spend some time watching the first Brit win Wimbledon since 1936! Hurrah!

Have a good week chaps,

Ben

[deafpanzer]

Of course count me in! Used AK MC on my Tiger earlier and it worked great. Thought I'd let you know instead of airbrushing the lightest tone... it works better to hand brush the highest points.

[wbill76]

Off and rolling Ben, have fun with this one!

[Hinksy]

Cheers fellas,

Looks like it's going to be a fun build - lots of juicy angled sections to try the CM kit on.

I thought that really light colour looked TOO light but like you say Andy, dry brushing or some very low pressure tiny area airbrush spots. Definately something to practice with first.

I'd say this to a very good Tamiya kit but only half the price PLUS you get some very nice etch, a great glossy instruction manual and plenty of clear parts too.

I'll be interested to see what other kits these guys put out. I've still got that Bronco Comet in the stash too

Have a good week chaps,

Ben

[TRM]

Got me hooked Ben!! I am trolling through the new Hobby Boss Ausf. J right now...just has not reared it's head amongst all the other things going on. Looking forward to more of your progress!!!

[Hinksy]

Hi guys,

Got a bit more done today - she's starting to take shape.

The hull is done now - tomorrow the Fenders and if I've got time I'll start on the turret (I'm having the photos of my last wip Jagdpanther done tomorrow afternoon and have a meal to go to tomorrow so might not have a lot of time to spend on her but the Fenders will definately get done.

I've assembled the wheel rims and have took them off now and bagged them up for painting later. The really nice part of this kit is the separate rubber portions which I can paint separately then fit onto the rims.

Work so far:







Dry fitted wheel rims and here you can see them tyres - they'll look sweet all cleaned up :





Thanks for looking guys,

Update tomorrow,

Ben

[Deleted]

Lookin gooood!

[Hinksy]

Jul 13, 2013 14:25:08 GMT -5 @dogfish7 said:

Lookin gooood!

Cheers Dog!

[danb.]

Great start Ben the PZ II looks like a stunner of a kit will be keeping a close eye on this 1

Dan B

[wbill76]

Making nice progress there Ben! When you get to painting the hubs and rubber rims, just remember not to get paint on the inside of the rims or the hubs where the rims slide on, the tolerances there are a friction fit and any added paint layers may cause the rims to not fit and/or split under any kind of force.

[Leon]

Progressing nicely Ben.Keep it coming buddy.

[TRM]

Nice clean building!!! I feel some painting is in the near future!!

[Hinksy]

Cheers guys,

Bill - re what you mentioned about the friction fit of the wheels - it honestly wasn't something I'd even thought about!

I've decided that the rubber portions of the wheels will have loops of 1.5mm micro masking tape inside the centres of the rings whilst being painted and I've put more tape onto the rims where the inner sections that protrude from the hub centres that push into the rubber portions. Apart from the whole friction fit thing obviously the glue won't be affected either so thanks for the heads-up on that one

I've got the rims mounted on matchsticks now ready for painting. The tyre areas are still on the sprues.

As you'll see in a minute the Fenders and hull are all complete. I've left off the fronts of the Fenders to show some extra track off.

I've got everything on but have left the shovel and axe off for painting later but have fitted the starting handle as it can hardly be seen behind the box on the Fender. The Jack is on but I've left the block off as I want to try and paint that up really well with some woodgrain on show plus the bracket that holds it in place will look better painted separately.

I primed it earlier as I wanted to get some gaps filled and it helps keep the tiny lifting hooks and PE in place. In my ongoing search for the ultimate primer his time I've tried some Mr Primer Surfacer 1000.

All I've got left to do is the Turret - I'm keeping it simple and not bothering with the clear parts and opening vision ports. It will all be buttoned up so the only bit of assembly to go is the replacing of the kit barrels on the guns with the RB Barrels.

Then it's just the Friuls! I'm not going to chip this up or weather it heavily - I'm hoping the colour modulation works really well so a bit of light streaking effects, pigments and filters will be fine.

Photos:









So close!



I'm off work on a couple of chill-out days on Thursday and Friday this week so by next weekend I'll be looking at getting stuck into the start of Friul assembly and the beginning of the whole CM thing

Have a good week fellas and take care,

Ben

[wbill76]

Making good progress Ben! Instead of using masking tape, you can just use the rubber rims themselves as 'masks' for the hubs at least...that's they way I did them on the Marder II D. Makes it much easier to ensure paint doesn't get in where it's not supposed to be. Put the rubber rims on the hubs and do all the paint work you need to, then pop the rims off and paint them separately. At the very least that will cut your masking needs in half if you decide to go ahead and mask the rubber portion's inside areas when you paint them.

[TRM]

Nice job getting the prime time stuff under way!!

[Leon]

Ben,good to see the primer on buddy.

[Hinksy]

Jul 14, 2013 19:03:59 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Making good progress Ben! Instead of using masking tape, you can just use the rubber rims themselves as 'masks' for the hubs at least...that's they way I did them on the Marder II D. Makes it much easier to ensure paint doesn't get in where it's not supposed to be. Put the rubber rims on the hubs and do all the paint work you need to, then pop the rims off and paint them separately. At the very least that will cut your masking needs in half if you decide to go ahead and mask the rubber portion's inside areas when you paint them.

Hmm, that's simple and logical - that's worried me! It must be the heat mate

Anyway, so far so good - nice little kits ain't they

The PE looked spot on but I accidentally deleted the pre-primer photos dammit!

Like I say I'm off work for 4 days straight later this week so hope to get the job done pretty soon. A nice simple build is what was needed!

Cheers guys,

Ben

[Deleted]

looks a smashing kit that nice work

[Hinksy]

Jul 16, 2013 3:09:36 GMT -5 @snipersmudge said:

looks a smashing kit that nice work

Thanks Smudge!

I'm very much a fan of Bronco now - I've only ever built Tamiya and Dragon so this makes for a nice change.

This kit can be bought for £20 - I paid £25 for mine (posted). The PE is excellent, don't know about the decals but they are Cartograph so should be fine.

Even the cheapest NEW Tamiya kit hovers around the £30-£45 mark at my LHS. For the price these offer so much more than any Tamiya kit.

Nothing will ever come close to Dragon imo but these Bronco kits will make a nice change every now and then. With the Friuls and RB Barrels on she'll kick butt!

As I've mentioned previously I'm not beating this one up, covering it in scratches and chips or slopping mud on it - I'll try the Colour Modulation process and when I'm happy with that some Dullcoate, rust on the muffler and some light pigment work will do. I think it will be nice to show off a nicely painted model. I mean, there's no rule that says you MUST heavily weather your models (is there?) I've built Tamiyas new(ish) Pz.II built as an Ausf. A if I remember correctly? I like these little tanks and a nice selection of all the variants should make for a nice display on a single base.

I've been loking at the Bronco Ausf.J Pz.II for a future build - I think it's based on the 'Luchs' chassis. That looks very nice.



My next WIP is the Dragon SiG.33 on the Panzer III chassis OR the Dragon StuG III Ausf.G with Zim - any preferences guys? I'll let you decide for me!



OR



Also, remember that beautiful Pz.IV I built then smashed in a stupid fit of rage? Well, I've got her again for attemt number two!



So, what do you want to see built next - the SiG or the StuG?

I've only got today and tomorrow at work then I'm off for the next four days so hope to get cracking with the Pz.II.

Cheers lads,

Ben

[Tojo72]

Looks like a nice kit Ben,I have never built Bronco either,but your build is moving along nicely

[thug626]

Hello Ben,
It's good to see one of your builds again. And, this one is moving right along. Keep up the solid work.

Dave

[Hinksy]

Cheers guys,

Dave - I've got the next two days off work now as holiday so hope to get the build completed either tomorrow or Friday.

I'll start the Friuls when the assembly is done as when I'm on a roll painting and weathering etc I don't want to have to break off to assemble bleedin' Friuls!

When the Friuls are done - paint on!

Ben

[Hinksy]

Hi lads,

Sorry I've been off the grid a bit this work but with work, the two days holiday that were booked for Thursday and Friday cancelled due to too many people being off 'sick' at work (this 90 degree heat causes a lot of illness apparently) - model time has been at a premium!

I've been working from from home today and it's been really quiet so I've got the Pz.II D assembly completed. You'll see from the photos I've still got to prime the turret and wheels midweek so I can get on with a bit of the old Colour Modulation next weekend.

I'll make a start on the Friuls this week too. 20 odd links assembled every morning/evening is a nice way to get them done - boring to assemble but look great complete!

Barrels are on (RB) and I had to replace the awful kit antennae as it was nigh on impossible to remove from the sprue without damaging it - it had 4 attachment points so that's an RB replacement too.

Not a bad kit overall. I'm sold on Bronco now and will be looking forward to starting the Comet

Here's where I'm at:











I'll keep the kit links - they'll come in handy!



I hope you like her so far guys,

Have a good week,

Ben

[wbill76]

Making good progress Ben, just about ready for paint!

[deafpanzer]

Really looking great my friend! Looking forward to see more... please! LOL

[Deleted]

Hey Ben the Pz. II is coming along nicely .
I like that Sig. 33 for your next build . All of that open interior for detailing !

[Hinksy]

Cheers guys,

I was supposed to be having the 'pro' photos of my recently completed JP done on Friday but that didn't happen as I had to go into work! I've now arranged to go round to Godfather Dave's house NEXT weekend to do the photos of my JP so I can wrap that thread up and get my entry in the MoM sorted.

As for the Pz.II, the plan is to go all out and get the Friuls done this week i.e. a few before work and a few after work. 2o links per session won't take half an hour so 40 a day should be easy. 5 days = 200 links assembled = two 92 links runs with some spares!

The wheels are now on big matchsticks ready for priming and obviously the turret needs priming too. The RB upgrade barrels look soooo much better!

BILL - after you had primed you Marder II wheels were you able to remove the 'rubber' friction-fit portions again so they could be painted with ease or did you leave them on?

How did you find the wheels and suspension btw - Imo they weren't great and dont line up too good? Probably just me?

Andy - more photos will come, patience is a virtue

Carl - I think the SiG it will be. That or the Pz.II. After seeing the one being done done by Gary I really want another crack at it and get it right this time!

Have a good week fellas,

Ben

[Leon]

Awesome work Ben,looking really sharp buddy.

[wbill76]

Jul 21, 2013 17:53:39 GMT -5 Hinksy said:

Cheers guys,


BILL - after you had primed you Marder II wheels were you able to remove the 'rubber' friction-fit portions again so they could be painted with ease or did you leave them on?

How did you find the wheels and suspension btw - Imo they weren't great and dont line up too good? Probably just me?

Ben,

When I painted mine, I did the order like this: 1) primer on hubs and rubber rims with the rims on 2) painted rubber portions while still on the hubs (airbrushed) 3) removed rubber portions from hubs 4) airbrushed hubs using circle template to mask the parts where the rubber rims slide on 5) replaced rubber rims back on hubs.

As for the wheels and suspension, I didn't encounter any major issues with getting them to line up correctly but you do have to be careful with the suspension arm alignment at install. Bronco also designed the wheels so that they have little inserts inside them that are supposed to help stabilize and hold the wheels on the tapered mounts of the suspension arms but I found that not to work all that great vs. say the polycap type of approach you would see on a Tamiya kit for example. Have you been using my build log thread as a reference? There are some differences between your kit's design and the Marder II D I think, so you could have some issues there with the suspension arms that I didn't encounter, not sure. modelerssocialclub.proboards.com/thread/4765/bronco-marder-ii-update-07

[Hinksy]

Cheers guys,

Bill - that's sound. Cheers bud. Not sure about the wheels but they are seriously wonky when dry fitted. The Friuls will sort them out fine but some rims push right onto the arms and other's won't?

If you were wondering why the rear turret vision slot is grey it's because the Carpet Monster appeared and took one of the Bronco ones. The one on there is a Tamiya one!

Time to get them Friuls on!

Thanks for the kind comments guys.

Ben