Small Scale Military Headquarters

Hey guys, I have been pretty inactive in the hobby for the past few months but I just thought I'd share that I am now back to work! Since my 1/32 JS-2, I haven't really touched the WIP projects on my hobby desk

Well I have really been trying to dedicate the time to get back in the swing of things, and my first objective will be finishing this Panzer III ausf. M conversion:







This far I am completely done with the work on the turret, and I am about 25% done on the hull. The hull is now in my crosshairs and I hope to have it done within a week.


-Kevin

NICE!

* coming along nicely ... I see you've used the turret girdle of the 21st. Pz.IV

....... You did tell me that you were wanting to get back into custom mode again.


- MG

That is looking really great , wish I had the skill, let alone the patience to build like that.

Looks great, I like the work on the mantlet and front glacis.

Late night update!

I made some more progress I wanted to share with you all:

I finished the following:

-Muffler
-Engine intake covers (for wading)
-Front glacis spaced armor
-Extension of engine deck plate
-Underside of the engine deck
-Star Antenna with Adler's Nest antenna housing

-Brake vents are almost finished, just waiting for some Bronco German butterfly wingnuts to cap them off.

-Working on building the schurzen now. I got the pieces all cut out this evening, now onto building the framework.

After that, I prime!

Pictures below!

















You might have noticed all the fenders are ground down to the metal. I got rid of all the cast tools so I could add Archer Fine Transfer's tread plate texture decals after I prime. Then I will add all the fender details.




-Kevin

Kevin,

Again just outstanding work , I'm still waiting on that little project you keep putting off, well, big project

Well if that little contest/raffle thing you've got people stirring about turns into some sort of photo submission thing, it might just give me that little bit of motivation to go tromping around the desert with 20+ tanks and vehicles and take some pictures lol!

Thanks for the compliment btw


-Kevin

Your work is nail, the detail parts are imipressive!!

Your detail is fantastic,great job.

Thanks for the compliments guys, means a lot

I did a few more things tonight, nothing crazy. What has me going batsh*t insane though is some archer water-transfer tread-plate decals. They are essentially textured decals I am using to give the fenders the tread plate look and feel they had IRL. I started off strong and got about 20% through it, but I messed up a few real bad and I am calling it a night. I will pick up again tomorrow.

For now the tank is kind of in a holding pattern until I get some K&S angle pieces to use as the frames behind the schurzen. It shipped today and is supposed to be here next week

Had I known I couldn't make that piece myself (I tried) I would have ordered it a long time ago. Oh well, not like I am in a hurry anyway.


-Kevin

Another late night update.

I was able to add the tread plate texture to the fenders today. If you guys aren't familiar with the 21st Century 1/32 Panzer III, it has smooth surfaces on its fenders, and the real thing had treadplate; so I rectified that with Archer's water-slide decal AR88050 "Resin Panzer Treadplate".



I primed the tank, so the decals would stick to something, and then cut out the shapes that would need to be applied (that took a while ). And some of you are probably wondering, why did you put the decals on before you painted the thing? Well these are the only type of decals that I know of where you put them on under the paint. Since their purpose is to give you the texture as opposed to something visual, they can go on whenever. Below is the shapes I cut for the fenders and the results (which are kind of hard to see):








After that I worked on the schurzen. This was a b*tch and a half. I had originally put this part on hold while I waited for some material to arrive in the mail, but I actually happened upon some at a local hobby store while buying some primer. I guess the stuff I bought from Amazon will go into the extras bin at home. Anyway, I set to work turning that brass angle strip into the two rails that support the schurzen on each side. After many multiples of various expletives I was able to get the desired result below:



Following that little adventure into the world of soldering, I went on to begin finishing the schurzen themselves. I got them roughly fitted to the mounting rails, and now they just need the holes in their centers where the fender braced plug in. I will try and do that tomorrow.





I also did a few other minor things like add the towing clevis extension on the bow armor, and the brackets for the spare tracks


That's it for tonight guys, and I really appreciate all the compliments.


-Kevin

This project is looking great !!!! You do have some great skills

But I just can't get into the small scale.

Thanks PH, means a lot coming from a master such as yourself.

I recently bought a kit that advertises to teach people how to make molds and cast things, so I think I'll be crossing that threshold shortly. The one thing that stinks is that I go on orders to Ft. Rucker in 2 months and once that happens, my hobby time will drop almost to zero for the next year or so. I am trying to finish a few things quickly before then, but I just don't know if experimenting in mold making will be on that list.


-Kevin

PanzerArm wrote:Thanks PH, means a lot coming from a master such as yourself.

I recently bought a kit that advertises to teach people how to make molds and cast things, so I think I'll be crossing that threshold shortly. The one thing that stinks is that I go on orders to Ft. Rucker in 2 months and once that happens, my hobby time will drop almost to zero for the next year or so. I am trying to finish a few things quickly before then, but I just don't know if experimenting in mold making will be on that list.


-Kevin

When you are ready I will happy to point you in the right direction.

If you want .

I'll be in touch with you too PH. I'll need some tips from an experienced caster. I'm working on buy the stuff I need for a pressure casting set up.

pickelhaube wrote:

PanzerArm wrote:Thanks PH, means a lot coming from a master such as yourself.

I recently bought a kit that advertises to teach people how to make molds and cast things, so I think I'll be crossing that threshold shortly. The one thing that stinks is that I go on orders to Ft. Rucker in 2 months and once that happens, my hobby time will drop almost to zero for the next year or so. I am trying to finish a few things quickly before then, but I just don't know if experimenting in mold making will be on that list.


-Kevin

When you are ready I will happy to point you in the right direction.

If you want .

Thanks PH, I will definitely take you up on the offer when the time comes.

And Flyboy, since you're in on this conversation, I remember a little while ago that you make schurzen out of soda cans. How did you cut the square hole in the middle of each plate? Was the aluminum thin enough to use an Xacto knife? I have hit a roadblock as I need to cut the small square holes in the brass I used to make my schurzen, but an Xacto knife can't do the job (brass too thick). Does anyone make square hole punches lol?



-Kevin

Quick search presented this:

http://eurotool.com/products/EURO_PUNCH ... 6-163.html

Not exactly cheap for something I'll use once...


-Kevin

Another quick update:

I received my specialty square hole punch in the mail today ($9.94 on Amazon) and I was able to pop the holes in the schurzen plates. All that is left now is to build the brackets that go through those holes and then add accessories, then paint.



And just because, I thought I'd share with you why I started this project. The motivation behind this build, besides wanting all Panzer IIIs eventually, is because of the FOV Panzer IV G. I always liked how well done this piece was and how well done the schurzen were.



Alright, that is it for tonight. I have reserve duty this weekend, so I probably won't be accomplishing much else for the next few days.


-Kevin

......... coming along nicely


- MG

Thanks Mitch! You should build that 1/30 Nichimo Panzer III M of yours and see if they made one as nice


The building is complete!!! That was one of my more elaborate builds and I didn't even do any interior stuff! It is primed and I should begin painting shortly (today probably).










Detail of what the Archer Resin tread plate looks like:





What is started out as:


If anyone would like a list of what was done to change this tank I would be happy to oblige


Painting begins today!



-Kevin

Forgot to show what tank I want to represent. It is a pretty rare one. The only Panzer III M I have ever seen converted to a befehlspanzerwagen (command tank), believed to be of the 19th panzer division, Kursk 1943:








-Kevin

I did a lot of painting this weekend. All I have to do now is add some grime and oil spots, then seal, then dust and dirt. I will probably do that tomorrow since I have the day off.

First coat of Dark Yellow:









basic Camo:





Accessories painted, washes applied, chipping, and filter done:










-Kevin

Wow! Very Nicely done, from the detail work to the paint job. Great Work!!!!

I was able to get most of the weathering done today. Saying that all i need to do now is add some oil stains and a few grunge spots, I am calling this done. Took it outside on a beautiful Arizona Tuesday to get some better light:

Without Schurzen:













With Schurzen:


















-Kevin