Charlie Cheetah Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Stepping away from my comfort zones again, this time trying out a WW2 german tank. This is my first ever tracked vehicle. The kit is the 1995 tooling of the Dragon Early Production Jagdpanther, the kit shares many parts with the later variants and does not have any molded on "Zimmerit" coating, so I had to apply my own. I decided on using a wood filling putty to replicate the Zimmerit because its easier to work with, a bit more forgiving if I make a mistake, and once dry is easy to chip away for the well weathered and battered look. After masking what I didnt want any putty on, I simply spread the putty as evenly as I could, then let it dry for a half hour to an hour before engraving in the tile pattern. Once it was dry, I brushed on some water lightly with a wide chisel tipped brush to softern the detail a bit and rub away any loose putty. Some putty was then chipped away here and there to show some wear. I had actually started with the road wheels. There are 32 individual raod wheels, not including the drive sprokets, idler wheels and return wheels. I kept them separate then airbrushed the base coat of Tamiya dark yellow. I hand painted the rubber rims using Gunze tire black. Probably wasnt wise of me to pick a kit with individual track links as my first tracked hehicle, especially considering I have 3 kits with 1 piece vinyl tracks and a few with Dragons Magic tracks. Some of those would require a bit more skill and experience to build so they will come later. The kit has 5 sprues of individual track links, 42 per sprue, with 2 attachment points per part. Soooo, I have 420 cuts to make, followed by another 420 attachment points to clean up, not doing them all at once. I've been doing half a sprue or a whole sprue in one sitting. I am about halfway through them right now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 (edited) Charlie Goodness what a Lot of sprue....looks like a challenge but I am sure you will cope and do a great job on this Jagdpanther. Good start ..Keep up the good work and post more pics soon. HOLMESY Edited July 29, 2011 by HOLMES Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie Cheetah Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 I think Im on the right track, all pun intended. Joined the links together without glue at first using double sided tape and masking tape to hold everything together temporarily. Once I had lengths of track long enough, I used Tamiya super thin to bond the links together then set them aside to dry for a while. Cool thing is after a half hour or so, the cement has set enough to hold the parts together but is still pliable enough to bend or adjust the position of the individual lengths. I am making sections that I will be able to assemble together after painting and weathering the tracks. The road wheels are only dry fitted to aid in the postioning of the track links. Hmmm, My home made red oxide looks a little too rosie in the pictures, more of a salmon color in real life. Still not sure if its the right color for the radiator vents interior walls. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 Charlie, the tracks looks GREAT... The home made red oxide on MY monitor looks dark red... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie Cheetah Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 Charlie, the tracks looks GREAT... The home made red oxide on MY monitor looks dark red... Thanks. Im thinking I will scrap the red-oxide for now and repaint the rad vents a dark grey instead. Wanted a little visual interest beneath the grills since my kit does not have the PE mesh. But if I cant get the red-oxide right, theres no point really. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie Cheetah Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Got the hull primed today, also did the base coat on the tracks. I used a mix of Tamiya red-brown and semi gloss black with a hint of Gunze tire black (only because I didnt have enough of the semi gloss black). Airbrushed that on and that alone really brings out the detail of the track links. I did a few random links with a slightly lighter shade of the same mix., then used what was left as a filter coat. So once that sets up I will do a wash of either rust or raw umber, then do some drybrushing with a metallic color. Do I have that order right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Charlie, Dunno know about the order but the tracks look impressive and great to ME. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Charlie Cheetah Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 Oops, looks like I forgot to update the finished product! Wrapped this one up a few weeks ago. Camo was done freehand and loosely based on the '44 Normandy schemes. Weathering was done using a oil paint pin wash, a few filter coats of Tamiya Buff and some spots of dirt using Tamiyas weathering stick. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ro-Gar Hobbies Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Excellent finish! Robert Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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