About half of all the photos I have of Sturmpanzer IVs show them with canvas covers over the base of the gun, used to keep dirt and dust out of the opening for the ball mount, as seen in this example;
So I thought I would make one out of lead foil for my old Tamiya Sturmpanzer;
The problem is that it looks like the creature from Alien sucked onto the face of my model.
Just for reference, here is a shot without it;
Something just doesn’t look right about it…suggestions for improvement, or should I just leave it off?
I realized most photos show the cover being a darker color than what I have depicted, but I though I’d opt for a more weathered look, besides, it stood out even more when I painted it darker.
I’ve got three Brummbars built, and I’ve always modeled it without.
Incidentally, I didn’t think it looked that bad as it was–just that the color was a bit weird. I would try it again with a brownish OD tint to it; that’s what I get from the picture.
I will agree the color looks weird, Polly Scale Panzer Olive Green…go figure. [B)]
A lot of the photos make it appear almost black when new. I’m fairly sure these should be some shade of dark green. I think I will try some brown tones on it and see how that looks…unless someone has a better idea?
I’d suggest a feldgrau, m’self… Then highlight the folds and wrinkles with Afrika Mustard (or whatever the color of the dirt around it is, since it’ll be the same color as the dust) and a lightened shade of feldgrau…
Trouble with the mantlet covers is that they don’t last long on operational vehicles, and the crews don’t change 'em because they’re a PITA… Lotta times, they don’t find their way back on after a trip to the third-echelon maintence because the wrenches up there don’t like 'em either, so they oftern don’t get put back after the gun’s been pulled out… Also, they don’t keep dust out, their function is to keep water out, and they suck at that too…
Well, I don’t think it looks any better after a transparent Burnt Sienna wash…hum…maybe I will try the field gray…
I thought about making it out of tissue, especially for the ease of making folds, but I didn’t want to commit to the whole white glue / harden on the model gig. This way, I can take it off, repaint it, and put it back on…or throw it away, without screwing up the model’s paint job. I might try covering this one with tissue though, I think it will help make the folds better and the texture will also improve.
Use water to just dampen the tissue for easy manipulation. Once you like it, let it dry a bit. After that, color it using acrylic with a/b. Once dry, the tissue will be hard like tin foil.
That’s some excellent work there Kykeon. I’m right in the middle of a GB with the Tamiya Brummbar, I need to do this as well for it does add a nice touch.
A long time ago I used to make the canvas cover for the T-23 mantlet out of plastic bags. Enough primer and paint and it worked good enough back then.
I know nussink about ze covers, but that is one nice-looking Brumbar. How’d you do the Zimm?
I can say this, thought. In the photo, it looks like the cover is of a darker color. Certainly not C-130 interior green. I agree with Doog in that the color may be the only thing that’s not entirely right about it. Just a thought.
Ditto…I actually think it looks rather good and is certainly something that stands apart from most modeled Brums…finding the right color for seat covers, tarps, mantlet covers, etc. has alwats been a challenge; I think that the safest bet is to always go with a muted, earth color—like khaki, or khaki drab (these seem to be universally recognized “military” colors)…I, personally, have never cared for most tissue attempts at this type of thing as the “grain and folds” most often look outta scale…I believe you have a winner there and the only improvement you could make would be the color, and what you have now for that isn’t a deal-breaker in my opinion…another thing to consider is that in the ref pics most of the folds seem to be sagging towards the bottom…you can also see what appear to be attachment hardware for the cover…molding the wrinkles and folds a little finer and using gravity as a guide could make the cover appear less “uniform” and more realistic…Sweet Brum…
I noticed that in the pic, the cover folds downwards at a slanted angle following gravity lines. In yours, the folds are radial, emanating from the center I think thats what gives it the “alien suck” look.
and Oh I wish I could build something as good looking as your Sturm!
The “gravity sag” is an important observation, as mine does appear to have radial folds instead. [] The modeler has been flogged and sent to his modeling room without any beer…
I have covered the cover, (can you do that?) with tissue paper and sculpted some sagging folds into it. It is starting to look a little less like a toilet plunger/alien suck thing…
The Zimmerit on this model was made in a rather unusual manner. I used the Zimmerit plates that came with the old Italeri German Tank Accessories set, sanded them down and cut them into thin strips. These strips were half as wide as the row spacing of the original plates. I then applied them with liquid cement and filled any gaps with thinned Green Putty. Came out pretty good, IMHO.
Waiting for the glue to dry… Manny says Khaki/Khaki Drab, maybe I’ll give that a try, though my color plates are trending dark green, which is what the photos look like.
It does look good in B/W. We’ll see what the next incarnation looks like in a little bit here.
I love the alien. Where did you get it? THe brumm is sweet. I have one in my stash, only wish I could get it half as good as yours. But covering the cover will get you a -25 on your quiz. Sorry, memory from college. Had a proffesor that would hit you like that if you said current flow.
I to agree the color is a bit funky and wouldn’t know about the gravity sag. Looks like your barrel is more elevated than the ref picture. BUt then again what do I know.
