I’ve decided to start buildin’ this, instead of my Dragon kit I started a little while ago. I plan on usin’ some ModelKasten track links, and the Eduard photo-etch set that is available for it. Tamiya have done somethin’ a little different with the suspension by makin’ it workable, some people think this maybe a gimmick, I don’t think so! Think about it, the combination of the above track links and this workable suspension can only work wonders when this beast will be set in a diorama settin’! Makes me wonder why Tamiya have still included vinyl tracks, when they’ve incorporated suspension like this!
The kit is superb, though! Apart from the amount of ejector pin marks, as you can see, i’ve filled 'em with some Mr. Surfacer 500.
I definately agree that it is a very nice kit. It has it’s advantages over the Dragon kit, and some disadvantages as well. I like that Dragon’s kit has seperate fenders allowing easy replacement with PE fenders. But that is nit picking. I look forward to more progress pics Eddie. Hopefully you can inspire me to start my kit.
The exhaust had to be stuck on now, because it fits in with the air vent at the rear. I usually like to leave these things off and paint ‘em seperately, along with the weatherin’ and rustin’ of it, because for one it’s much easier, and also if you’ve ever used MIG Pigments ‘Rust’ then you’ll know this stuff gets everywhere, and can mark and taint the rest of the hull without any careful maskin’!
In this shot you can see how the simple set up of some wire can help these four torsion bars keep form to the tracks, whilst the road wheels in the middle will articulate and look like the real thing.
Seein’ this Stug perched on rubble and bricks with the suspension and aftermarket track links doin’ their job, will add a whole new dynamic to the look of this thing in a diorama!
This should make an interesting little beast. I actually saw one built up with indie links, and the workable suspension just adds so much to the ‘look’ of the vehicle once posed on some uneven groundwork. Keep us posted.
I actually cut the exhaust into two parts and paint them saperately.
Otherwise, painting will be kinna hard for areas that are already covered by the exhaust.
And since some of my reference pics showed that the exhaust is rather crooked between the left and the right, I can then assemble them just like that.
Oh man, I coulda’ done with that reference, at the time! Oh well! The exhaust can be painted easily in situ, ‘cos it sits proud of the body. When it comes to weatherin’ it, i’ll jus’ stick a post-it note behind it!
I’ve proceeded in airbrushin’ the interior! I pre-shaded it with XF-60 Dark Yellow, and then colour coated it with XF-2 Flat White. This interior has me torn on whether to weather it or not! The thing is, it’ll never get seen. Also, I can’t be assed with the interior set, i’ll show some more wear an’ tear on the floor, and dirty it up some more, I think!
Tigerman, i’m not botherin’ with the interior, now. This tank is gonna’ be completely hull down!
This is what i’ll be usin’ on the Stug! A set of beautiful SK-67’s and an Air Recognition Panel which is gonna’ look awesome, and add a little bit of colour to the Panzer Grey finish of this tank!
The Nazi flag I had over my living room window was too big, so I ordered one from Archer[:D]! It’s a transfer that is supposed to be laid over some Aluminium Foil, and transferred by rubbin’ or burnishin’! [:D]
When it came to preppin’ and paintin’ this kit, I found it to be a very awkward build! I usually like to leave the upper hull off the lower hull, but found that due to my anticipation of fit problems with certain parts, like the hinges on the front of the hull, that secure the upper to the lower hull, I felt it would be better the hulls were in place before these hinges were applied, because they link in with the headlamps too, and I never feel like messin’ around with glue on a painted body! I’m glad I did, because the hinges don’t fit together very well and compromised their fit to the hull, so therefore needed slight modification. This dictated to me, everythin’ I did![:(!]
This kit fits very well, but in general, the way this kit goes together means that it’s not very painter friendly, if you know what I mean! As you can see, I haven’t done any of the tracks yet, and because i’ve already put the two hulls together, it means that i’ll have to snake the tracks around the wheels![?]
I think you’ve noticed that I didn’t care about the interior, in the end![V]
Anyway, the hulls have been pre-shaded with XF-1 Flat Black, and then colour coated with XF-63 German Grey, and finally highlighted with XF-24 Dark Grey.[;)]
the AC flagg will definately be a sweet touch! Looks like the preshading turned out well! Looking even hotter as it comes along Eddie! I love those dry transfer flags!
