1/35 Dragon Leopold--Build Complete: 89 hours over 21 days!

Modeling Subjects Armor
61

Mike,

I drybrush the MM Steel and it dries pretty quick. I then follow along with black artist pastel (the stuff in the harder square blocks) in powder form rubbed with a small fine brush over the MM Steel. This is not chalk but real artist pigment and it binds with the base paint and MM Steel pretty readily even when dry. If too much gets applied, I use a stiff bristled brush to work it in more or go over it with lighter pigment to achieve the same thing.

It’s true if you seal pastels, they lose their dusty look. In this particular case, I’m sealing it because I want the sooty look to “sink in” to the crevices/shadow areas and will come back along it and apply lighter levels if needed/desired. It’s a technique that has taken some practice to develop, but I like the results. I had to seal it because some of the pastel was getting on my fingers from handling and I was starting to see sooty fingerprints show up in very unusual places. [:0] Ordinarily I do weathering as a last step but this monster is requiring a little different handling due to its size and numerous sections.

As a side note, I did not work on the Leopold today but focused on the T34. Hopefully my parts will arrive tomorrow and I can keep on trucking with her and take care of the remaining bits. [:D]

62

Thanks for getting me straight on the pastels Bill. You’re not going to believe this but I have been using the wrong pastels? I’ve been trying to get a weathered look with pastels using regular chaulk pastels not much luck using them. I just picked up some soft pastels by Loew Cornell from “Michaels”. I’m anxious to try them out. I also purchased some “Artists oil pastels”. I’ve had some minor success with them using a mineral spirit mix for doing some weathering. Hell! if I don’t have any success with these pastels I might go back to my old interest. Starving artist. semper fi, mike

63

Mike,

The type I use is from Hobby Lobby, Mungyo Earth Tones, and I apply it without using a liquid medium of any kind. Just rub the brush over the block to pick up the fine pigment and brush it on the area it needs to go. The regular chalk works for weathering if you grind it up or use sandpaper to get a fine grade powder but that’s a lot of work IMHO. [:D]

64

Well Bill, I’ve got pastels up the “WAZOO” so I guess I better start showing some results I’m sure that given some patience and experience I’ll start to reap the rewards of working in the pastel medium. I apprieciate the pointers you’ve shared with me. Sorry to be taking everyone off this great project of yours. Semper fi, mike

65

Wbill, do you work? [;)] I wish I had your time becuase you are banging these projects out like tomorrow is the Apocolypse!![:p]

66

Wbill, I agree with Mo, you are a modeling machine. I dno’t think I could afford to keep up with you pace, even if I had the time. Unless I decided to spend my boys college fund[}:)] Seriously, you are making amazing progress. I suppose I am just jealous[:D]

67

I have a simple answer…No Children. [:D]

It’s also been extremely quiet in the work arena for a long time now…it’s starting to get scary, I keep waiting for the big disaster/storm to break…our company is adopting Six Sigma as a methodology and I’m slated to be the regional Black Belt, so my modeling time will be curtailed somewhat over the course of the next few months, but not too severe I hope. [:D]

68

Day 16 Log: September 20, 2004

Errors/Issues: 1

The USPS was kind enough to deliver my replacement parts today. Dragon customer service can’t be beat…they clipped off the parts I needed and sent them to be in a bubble-pack envelope…4 E5 and 1 G9, 1 G44 just as I needed, nothing else, and no charge. I have this vision of their warehouse stocked with canibalized kits waiting for someone to say they need part X…pretty cool when you think about it.

The issue I encountered had to do with the extendable ladders. Turns out I built the first one way back when to be too long! The instructions are again misleading on this and the second time around set me straight. Fortunately, I was able to correct it without too much trouble. There should only be one rung on the top section before the next one nests, not two as I originally interpreted the diagram.

I again had to fight with shallow pin holes and the tendency of the ladder halves to roll or twist off center, lessons learned from the first ladder assembly helped and this ladder took 1 hour less due to already knowing the rung configuration, just as I predicted it would. [:D]

Steps Completed:

Used the replacement parts supplied by Dragon to build the second ladder arrangement. Also rebuilt the gun elevation axle clamp half that my cat spirited away. [}:)] Both are now ready for painting, which will be done tomorrow weather permitting.

Total Time today: 1.5 hours

Total time to date: 71 hours

Progress Pic:

69

Great work on your K5 wbill76,
Your progress pics have provided some of the best looks at the K5 that can be found anywhere on the net. This is particularly helpful to me for my recently completed scratchbuilt K5 (1/160 scale) Thanks for describing your MMsteel weathering technique.

I’ve read what I could find on the K5’s but Does anyone know how many K5’s there were? and where they were predominitely used and targeted at? I’ve seen pictures where there were 4-5 of them lined up and firing (I guess on those turntable things) but I have no idea when/where and at what these were pointed - what a diorama that would be in 1/35 scale [:D]

70

Ibeam,

A great resource for information on the K5(E) series can be found here:

http://www.aopt91.dsl.pipex.com/railgun/Content/Railwayguns/German/k5.html

They say between 25 and 28 were produced with the first ones entering service in 1940.

Very nice work on that scratchbuild!

Thanks for the compliment on the log, it started out as a whim and has slowly taken over virtually my entire existence… [:D]

Speaking of which, here’s the latest installment!

Day 17 Log: September 21, 2004:

Errors/Issues: 1

I placed the retaining clamps for the gun elevation axle and they were an extremely tight fit. I cleaned them of paint, made sure there weren’t any seams interfering, and they still went on incredibly tight. End result is that the gun is virtually in a fixed position, every attempt to elevate it produces enormous strain on the clamps and actually popped one clean off before it would elevate up. It doesn’t bother me as I’ve planned to have the gun in the loading position all along, but for those who build this wanting to have a fully workable elevation mechanism, you’ll have to watch out for this and possibly shave down the axle pins to get the desired result.

Steps Completed:

Every get really in a grove so that time just disappears on you? That happened to me today with the weathering process. I intended to work on this for just a couple of hours but I got rolling and couldn’t stop. I blame the MegaJug Diet Pepsi from KFC, but that’s another story.

–Painted the assembled parts yesterday to match up to the cradle.

–Weathered the front end ladders as well as the side ladders off the cradle as it was much easier to do this than if they had been mounted and then weathered.

–Prepped and weathered the upper deck rails. They have a lot of sprue attachment points but came off easily enough with minimal cleanup.

–Weathered the upper cradle deck area in preparation for placing the rails.

Total Time Today: 4 hours

Total time to date: 75 hours

Progress Pics:

Additional comments:

Tomorrow will be the final assembly. The ladders will go on and I’ll have to be very careful with the handling from that point onward. Still need to get the decals on and complete the weathering on the lower cradle. Figures haven’t been touched either. This one could go over the 100 hour mark at the current rate… [:0]

71

Dang! your building this thing super fast! Looks incredible. Nice wear ant tear too. The painting is superb! Cant wait for more pics.

72

[:D] Bill,thats a great looking kit,me i would not have the cash to get the kit never mind the paint.but it looks great,keep up the log on this one.[:D]

gdarwin[roy]

73

Day 18 Log: September 22, 2004

Errors/Issues: None

Steps Completed:

–Attached the ladders to the front end of the cradle as well as the sides near the loading deck.

–Weathered the lower cradle surfaces on both sides.

–Attached the handrails to the upper cradle deck perimeter.

–Added safety chains to the ladder entrances on the loading deck. One chain positioned in the closed position, the other left hanging in the open position.

Total Time Today: 2.5 hours

Total Time to Date: 77.5 hours

Progress Pics:

Additional comments: Will seal up the gun cradle surfaces with dull coat and apply a gloss coat to the lower sides only since all the decals will go there. If all goes well, the only thing left will be the figures for this weekend. The finish line is in sight!

74

I have the trumpiter leo, and am currently working on it (well i have some of the rail trucks done on one of the carriges) and it is a complicated kit also. looking at your log and compairing the two it seems the trumpiter kit is a little more detailed, but doesnt come with men (have to buy them seperately), has only one shell, and costs more. trumpiter has some cheesey turntable thing that doesnt look like the one on the box, and doesnt look like it would work, so i opted for the straight track( I used all the pieces and came up with about 5 feet of rail bed so i can put a flat car on behind it) both kits seem to have the same railbed problems though. if this one turns out good, i think i might opt for the karl mortar from trumpiter next.

its nice beeing able to read your log and see what you have to say about that kit, i think some of the things will help on mine. I dont usually build armour so i think im going to try to “borrow” you weathering technique [:D]

thanks for all the info in the log
jim

75

Jim,

I’m glad it helps even with the Trumpeter kit! The Trumpeter kit is more complicated, 1100+ parts vs. 758 for the Dragon kit and is more expensive. I had thought about getting it but the turntable wouldn’t have been practical and Dragon’s figure set is specifically made for use on their kit and has multiple posing options to boot without having to resort to surgery. Trackbed is straight rail and came out to 43" in length and 6" wide. Height depends on the elevation of the gun of course. [:D]

76

Well Bill! it looks like you’ve just about reached the end of the tracks. She’s a beauty for sure and been a real pleasure watching it all come together. Your log has been invaluable and I do hope you keep a record of it just in case I get the urge to build big. Semper fi, mike

77

Mike,

No worries there, the log will be converted into a full document and posted up on my web page once the build is completed. I’m too attached to it now to let it go!! [:o)]

Here’s tonight’s installment:

Day 19 Log: September 23, 2004

Errors/Issues Found: None

Steps Completed:

Today’s efforts were very straightforward with very little fuss!

–Applied gloss coat to cradle sides and dull coat to non-decal related surfaces.

–Applied decals to both sides of the gun cradle. Used entire sheet provided (no spare/extra decals in this set!) for the various Deutsche Reichsbahn stencils. Wierdest one was a single word “Spezialwagen” which makes sense of course but typical of German labelling…would anyone seriously confuse this with an ordinary railcar? [;)]

Total time today: 2.5 hours

Total time to date: 80 hours

Progress Pic:

Additional comments:

Decals will be left to cure overnight and a final overcoat of dullcoat applied along with some weathering to blend in the white with the rest of the worn/sooty look of the carriages. Also found a few areas that need a bit more attention (always happen when you start taking pics since the camera doesn’t lie!) and will fix those tomorrow as well.

Saturday will be the figures (hopefully) and maybe, just maybe, I can wrap this one up before I have to leave for the week on business…otherwise it will be left hanging until I return. [:D]

78

bill i can honestly say i dont want this one to be finished. this is one of the most informative threads i have read.

joe

79

Beautiful job, Bill!
Curious–how did you paint the wheels? Is that a straight flat black with a silver dry brush, or did you use some other technique? Regardless, it’s quite convincing.

Gip Winecoff

80

This is a huge model when finished , I will be getting one of these as well real soon