All right guys and gals, rolling off my assembly line is a Tamiya Marder III.
Kinna old kit, but still look beautifull when finish.
Actually I have finished this baby more than a month ago, but I’m still not satisfied with the whitewash camo, so I had to do more searching for reference.
And when that was done, I had to let it sit a while and think as what could I done better after the whitewash. So it is really a time consuming work for this OOB tank, plus work in the office is just slamming.
The only extra thing I add; metal shells and rusty chain to spice up things.
You did an excellent job Ben. The white wash is quite convincing and the overall finish looks great. The muffler look rusty enough and I likethe chain you added at the back, even tough someone will surely tell you that it doesn’t belong there.
I have only one comment and it’s about the tracks. I would expect some rust on them. Especially if that tank is out during the winter, the track would rust very quickly.
Again, this is an excellent representation of the Marder III. You did an amazing job on her.
Here’s some [soapbox] rant rant. (Yes…apparently, two magic words that make a popular posting).
[;)][tup] I’m with Yann on his assessment of your build. Yeah, there will be greif and woe over the chain, but it’s yours and “YOU” like it … so do we.
[8)] A bit of rust & dirt on the tracks is needed. [^] The whitewash turned out just fine. Chipping and exposed areas (especially around the cross & ID number) look natural and pleasingly adequate.
[%-)]…was wondering when you were going to put this out there. Glad to see it turned out very well.
A job well done. How did you do your whitewash? Looks pretty good to me. I think the tracks are too clean also, especially in light of the rusted muffler. Still, a fine build.
First off, it looks like your patience with the whitewash paid off, it’s got a very convincing look/feel to it. [tup]
The look of the tracks however, along with the rest of the undercarriage/lower hull, seem out of place, almost in an “unfinished” state vs. the rest of the vehicle. The sag on the track runs also is a little more pronounced than it would be normally, but I understand the limitations there of using the kit rubber band tracks doesn’t help much in this area.
I’ll bite on the chain…no qualms about you having it on the vehicle, but what seems odd to me is both its placement and the length…it’s too short of a chain to be of much use and draped around the chair like it is gives it an artificial feeling as opposed to “belonging” to the overall finish. Maybe change where it’s located to the fenders?
Great looking finish, I like your rust. I would agree with the others that the tracks need some work, here’s a simple way to fix the sag. I think the sag between the last return roller and the idler is too much and the sag between the sprocket and idlers is not enough.
This is my rendition of this kit, OOB with the kit tracks:
I just pushed 1" lengths of 1/8" dowel between the fender and the track to hold it in a sagging position, then applied liquid cement between the tracks and the wheels. Once it is dry, you can remove the setions of dowel and it will stay in a sagging position. A few things to keep in mind if you try this are 1) The tracks will spring up some after you remove the dowel, so use two pieces on the last length between the rear return roller and the idler. 2) DO NOT over apply the cement or it will melt the tracks in half. Ask me how I know[:(!]
This would also work with the older kits that don’t have glueable tracks, you’d just have to use a thick super glue and apply it before fitting the tracks.
I also wouldn’t call it an “old” kit, it’s still very well tooled even by today’s standards and the only major deficit is the one-piece tracks.
I really like the whitewash look of this Marder III. I agree that the tracks look too clean/new but that’s the only negative in my book. Great job overall!!
Eric - The whitewash is a combo. I only use enamel and oil.
The key is to paint with something that you can blend while still wet, almost like figure painting.
I found that acrylic was not the best paint to do whitewash because it dries to fast.
The tracks I did intentionally not put a lot of paint because I probably want to put it on a dio, but did not know what kind of dio. That is why it looks rather plain.
I’m currently finishing a 1/35 Alan Wespe.I intend to put the same scheme on it including the the same style of numbers.On my build,I want more of the base color to show through the white-wash.Your model is a nice reference.Thanks for sharing.
