Hobby Boss Sdkfz 222 Leichter Panzerspahwagen 2cm

[bbrowniii]

Superb Bill. Just superb!!!

[wbill76]

Thanks Boyd!

[Leon]

Nice work on the shading Bill! Looking really good.

[wbill76]

Thanks Leon! Now we enter the 'fun' phase of the build.

[desertrat]

did someone say funtime? .....

[wbill76]

Apr 21, 2015 13:19:56 GMT -5 desertrat said:

did someone say funtime? .....

you know it!

[DeafStuG]

Nice lots colour paints on the interior parts and exterior parts!

[afvfan]

Great paint, Bill. She'll look good when the weathering's added.

[M1Carbine]

Bill - looks fantastic.

Bob

[TRM]

Love the pre-weathering weathering Bill!! Shades look sweet! That stuff is going to really pop with a filter!! Well done!

[mrversatile]

very nice, Bill. Really doing this one proud

[wbill76]

Thanks Jeremy! I think I've hauled down almost all of my different paints on hand at one time or another for this particular build.

Thanks Bob (afvfan) and Bob (m1carbine)! It's a Bob-Squared reply! Glad you like how it's turning out.

Todd, pre-weathering weathering, that sounds about right! Been working on some of the equipment details that mount to the exterior so I have them handy and can make sure they blend in properly with the rest of the weathering stages.

Gil, thanks as well, doing my best! This one's about to set an all-time duration record in terms of time for completion I think. It's the only project I've been working on since the start of 2015.

[dierk]

Only just catching up with this one - weather's been too nice to spend time sitting in front of the computer...Very impressive work - loving it!

[wbill76]

I hear you on the weather temptations vs. the bench Dierk! Thanks as always for stopping by.

[reserve]

I may have referred to this kit as difficult and complex perhaps. It is. I remember feeling as though it took forever to complete when I did mine and I took a bench break for about a month after it was done if I recall correctly.

Hang in there brother you're doing it proud

Regards,
Mark

[wbill76]

Apr 25, 2015 8:27:18 GMT -5 reserve said:

I may have referred to this kit as difficult and complex perhaps. It is. I remember feeling as though it took forever to complete when I did mine and I took a bench break for about a month after it was done if I recall correctly.

Hang in there brother you're doing it proud

Regards,
Mark

Thanks Mark! I knew when I started it that it wasn't going to be a fast one due to all the interior details. Definitely not a weekend warrior type of kit!

[wbill76]

A good bit of progress to report on the weathering and details front. First up was a round of chipping and wear on the field-applied overcoat on the original Panzer Gray. I used MM enamel Panzer Schwarzgrau and a cheap brush to dry-brush and stipple in some chipping and scuffing in places where natural wear would happen in terms of the crew moving around the vehicle, using tools, etc.



I used the two lightened shade mixes from earlier and dry-brushed them in various places to blend some of the chipping work back in and look less stark. More layers will get added later as well so this isn't the final finish by a long shot. It was time however to add the rest of the exterior details so the shovel and special jerry can rack were added and I scratched up a small tarp using some paper towel cut to size and bound with a strip of PE to simulate a belt strap. The paper towel was soaked with some of the Woodland Scenics scenic cement and after it had dried enough to handle, I shaped it with tweezers and then adjusted it to fit in the spot next to the jerry can rack where it's finishing its drying so it will hold its shape for painting.



Other details were also added on the opposite side in the form of the spare tire, fire extinguisher, and jack. I left the fire extinguisher in panzer gray for a little visual variety and used the 70/30 lightened shade for the jack for the same reason.



Tail lights were picked out with Tamiya Clear Red. I used the tip of a wooden toothpick for this due to their small size and then did some very light touch-up in a couple of spots. Now that I see how the jack looks in the pics I think I'm going to give it a little more attention before it gets all sealed up.



Wheels were dry-brushed with the 50-50 lightened shade since I hadn't dealt with them yet and I also chipped and weathered the loose bits and hatches that are yet to be installed. The turret top screens got their folding support arms for a tarp covering at this point so they can be ready for installation later to the turret.




Now came the moment of truth, time to permanently install the gun mount into the turret and then add the guns. Due to how small the contact points are for the gun mount, I used the vehicle to help provide some support for the turret and the mount inside the hull. I added glue to the two contact points then carefully maneuvered the mount into place and held it with tweezers while the glue caught enough to hold it. After the mount was solid, the MG34 and KwK38 were added to round things out for the day.






Will let all that set up nice and solid and then see about adding the wheels and getting ready to seal this one up for markings and the rest of the weathering steps.

[Leon]

Great progress Bill! Nice start on the weathering and chipping and glad to see the gun mount played nice and there were no issues.

[DeafStuG]

Great weathering and chipping.

[wbill76]

Me too Leon! Thanks for checking in.

Thanks as well Jeremy, always fun to start putting on the layers for the weathering.

[TRM]

And just like that, it begins to jump right off the bench!! Looking mighty fine there Bill!!

[afvfan]

Curiosity got me looking. Any idea when the switch was made on the rear convoy light? Some pics I ran across had the 2 lens set up like yours, while others had the 4 smaller lenses.

[wbill76]

Thanks Todd! Yesterday was a very productive day in addition to work done the previous couple as well.

Apr 25, 2015 20:46:16 GMT -5 afvfan said:

Curiosity got me looking. Any idea when the switch was made on the rear convoy light? Some pics I ran across had the 2 lens set up like yours, while others had the 4 smaller lenses.

Bob, the interesting thing is that they are, in fact, the same light design. They have a flip up cover that displays the standard 2 lenses for daytime use and then the cover would be put down to reveal the 4 smaller lenses for blackout driving at night. The vast majority of kits and models have it with the cover down and the 4 green lenses exposed, so that's what we've come to expect as 'normal' for the rear Notek light. I thought it was kind of different/neat for Hobby Boss to mold it that way vs. the 'normal' 4 lens setup that we typically see. Of course, even better would've been a separate PE cover and the choice to display either way but we can't always get everything in a single kit!

[desertrat]

awesome, really coming to life now, really like the weathering , and still more to come!!!!

[wbill76]

Thanks DR! You're just in time for the next installment...

Continuing on from yesterday's fun, I added some missing details to the wheels and the turret mesh cage using some 0.5 mm white styrene rod. The wheel hubs don't include the tire stems, so I painted a good length of the styrene rod with MM enamel Gunmetal, glued it into place inside the hub, then cut off the rod to the desired length. Rinse and repeat 4x and voilà! For the turret cages I sanded a 45 degree angle to the ends of the bracing rods that hold the cage in the open position and then glued them in place with CA. The rods are positioned roughly in the middle of the hinges on the real vehicle so I counted in five of the mesh squares from the end as a guide to keep it consistent.



It was time to mount the wheels to the vehicle so I hauled out the base and made sure that the tires sat properly and didn't 'float' since the base's surface isn't perfectly level and some small adjustments were needed to the different tires since the suspension doesn't articulate. I let the vehicle sit on the base for a good couple of hours to ensure they wouldn't shift and allow the glue to really grab hold.





With the wheels firmly on, next up was adding the screens to the turret. I used regular CA for this and held them in position with tweezers until the glue caught and held them. The angled support rod I added earlier also helped with this by providing a little extra contact/bracing to hold them at the right level. Then I added the open hatches for the driver and the engine compartment to round things out. I also did a quick check with the base and figure placement for the one crew member who's inspecting the engine and everything still plays nice together, always a plus!





Just about ready to seal this one up for the markings and the rest of the weathering phases.

[afvfan]

Apr 26, 2015 13:10:14 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Bob, the interesting thing is that they are, in fact, the same light design. They have a flip up cover that displays the standard 2 lenses for daytime use and then the cover ....

My brain must have been cramping yesterday when I asked that silly question. I knew that! I guess it was just not seeing the "standard" 4 small lenses that got me confused, I don't know ..... such an idiot I sometimes am.

[wbill76]

No worries Bob! Been there, done that, myself more times than I can count. The Germans finally did figure out that it was too complicated and just replaced it with the single tubular-style convoy light eventually!

[deafpanzer]

Awesome! Just awesome! You are getting closer to the finish line. Definitely one of your longest builds to date... how can a little armored car keep you occupied for so long?!?!? Crazy huh? So much details...

[wbill76]

Apr 26, 2015 20:31:02 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Awesome! Just awesome! You are getting closer to the finish line. Definitely one of your longest build to date... how can a little armored car keep you occupied for so long?!?!? Crazy huh? So much details...

Devil's always in the details! Just like your B24. Throw in figures and a base and it becomes a time sink.

[deafpanzer]

LOL! Welcome to my world... that's why I can only barely do 3-4 builds year. It will be one of builds I will remember for a long time until somebody enroll me into a nursing home.