Well here is the kit i almost didnt finish, the kit is not the easiest or best in the world and does have quite a few issues but in the end it can be built, it was fun because they always are after the fact but i also wasnt too happy with the finish on this one either and almost scrapped it for that but while not wanting to get into anything this evening i decided to relook it over and after a bit of this and that i finally got it to a point i can live with and it does fill its rightful spot on the shelf which incidently the shelves are almost full and i need to expand with over 60 built vehicles and at least that many more in the stash, so anyway here it is for better or worse.
I think it looks mighty fine myself. Nice and “seasoned” vehicle. I plan to look over the pics closely for your interior. It’s the sort of shape I’m lookin forward to doing a MarderII and I’ll referance these! [:)] Good job!
[wow] Well, looks like that gall bladder has been holding you back. [:O] You blowed past #13 and popped this one out in three days. Has the paint [%-)] even dried yet? I wouldn’t doubt that you could build a second model [(-D] before the paint on the preceding one dries. You know, [#toast] you could make a pretty good livin’ at this. (it would make some room on those shelves)
Thanks guys, Kcmat i have the Dragon marderII in the to do pile and i think will be a nicer kit to build than this one i appreciate the comments.
Steve, lol this was built about 5 weeks back but i got stumped during the last stages when i felt it didnt look the way i anticipated but i think it was a combo of a troublesome build and me losing interest because i was not feeling good at the time so it sat at the back of the bench with a couple of others, i still have two more builds in the late weathering stages and one about 90% built to finish up before i move on, after goin back over this one yesterday it didnt seem as bad as i had thought it was so i touched it up and was ok with it after that. As alway i appreciate your reply’s my friend, thanks.[:)]
This one almost got scrapped? I better not let you near my pile of “finished” builds then [:D]! Awfully nice work yet again…and so soon after that great 232!
Another [tup]!! One of the things I love about your builds is they always have the dingy, dirty, grimy, used and worn look that one would expect from a wartime vehicle! Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t most of your builds done OOB with a lot of emphasis on painting and weathering?
Vtrockin the chipping method i use is straight Van dyke brown oil paint applied with a small piece of green scouring pad that comes attached to kitchen sponges, i dab it in the paint then blot it nearly dry then lightly apply to the edges needed.
Hi Bufflehead, thanks for the words and yes i do build mostly oob perhaps about 75% but i love the painting and weathering aspect of my hobby above all and i only build for my own collection so im easy to please [:)] i do like to dabble with PE though and love seeing others micro detail their work.
Ron, I can’t find a thing wrong with this baby, she’s stunning! I’m awed!
Your weathering technique is particularly striking–will youshare it with us PLEASE?!
Fir instance, on the gun recuperator housing there is an area that is darked than the rest, but it doesn’t look like the product of a wash; more like “scuffing”–how’d you get that?
Also, the scuffing of the seat on the interior shot–it doesn’t exactly look like drybrushing. How’d you do that? You also have some extremely fine chipping going on–stippling with a stiff brush?
Do not withhold thy secrets from us mere mortals, oh Weathering God![(-D]
heya ron[:D]-- man,dude I am glad you didn’t scrap this beauty!-- I LOVE the shots of the fighting compartment!-- VERY impressive!!— this goes right up there with your jsu 122-- which is one of my favorites from you-- dam fine work,ron!![tup][tup]—tread-- p.s. have you figured what to build for the Kursk build?-- just curious![}:)]—lol— tread-[8D]
i really gotta tell you ,you did a darn fine job on this baby.german spg’s are one of my all time favs.if you dont mind my asking what was all the problem about.compartment alignment?[tup]just winding down assembly on the dragon marder II.a few finicky alignment challenges but nothing determination won’t overcome.
Thanks fella’s i have to admit that this one has really grown on me since i finished it up and have had a day or two to reflect on it, i do believe my biggest problem with it was indeed the build woe’s and my lack of positive attitude at the time.
Detailfreak im right there with ya on the love of spg’s i love the ad hoc nature of just bolting a big gun on just about anything that moves heh, the main issues with this kit are indeed the fighting compartment and gun shield but there are quite a few smaller annoyances too,
check out the gaps where the top gun mount plate meets the sloped front plate this piece was anything but straight.
see the nasty seam where the two breech halves meet also the barrel halves the instruction pic shows it better.
Doog, its always difficult to explain my paint steps without images because i flip flop around so much and i never logged this one because of my crappy attitude towards it lol but the chipping was done with van dyke oil paint lightly applied with a bit of the green scouring pad that is attached to kitchen sponges and then the weathering consisted of a wash/filter of very thin yellow ochre i made sure to remove any excess then many all over washes using different shades of brown from very dark to very light after each one the excess removed with down strokes of a dry brush , sorry i cant be more informative on this one. all the effects you mentioned were made by applying thin washes over and over to get a build up.
edit the seat was done with oil paints blended together to get a worn look.
Hi Zoran, the only filter was a yellow ochre but the washes that followed sort of bleached most of it out.
Terry, Eric James and Scott i really do appreciate the enthusiastic feedback.
Tread hehe thanks man but i aint telling ya what im building for the kursk build its a secret lol Steve will probably be able to tell ya though i think he has a spy in my basement, seriously it will be russian for sure and im leaning towards the Trumpeter KV “big” Turret im yet build any of the trumpeter russian kits but i am really liking what i have seen of them.
edit gotta check if these were at kursk lol i was assuming.
