Bronco 1/35 Schwerer Wehrmachtschlepper (SWS) armoured version halftrack

[Panzerwrecker]

Thanks guys

Well Los you could have fooled me, it looks like the real deal to me.

Yes very nice work :thumb2: have fun

Superb attention to detail.

Thank you guys

With the exhaust completing the weathering stages to the lower areas and running gear it was time to move onto the cab and load bed. The wire cutters first required painting. These were brush painted with Vallejo acrylics and the cab tarp received some acrylic highlights. The first weathering step was to apply a diluted pin wash with MIG Neutral wash enamels mixed with white spirit. This was applied in small quantities around all the raised details. I wanted the effect to be pretty muted so after approx. 30mins the areas were cleaned up with white spirit leaving only a faint trace of the enamel wash. AK enamel rust was then carefully added with a fine brush over the larger scratches and scuffs. Abteilung 502 grease was then added to the bottom of an old 1/35 Tamiya oil drum (without the circular bottom portion) and spillage marks added to the load bed floor. These effects will be allowed to dry overnight and checked whether more clean-up is required before moving on

Tool painted, cab tarp highlights and pin wash added



Rust effects added



Oil stains added to load bed floor

[vizenz]

That's a masterpiece!

[Panzerwrecker]

That's a masterpiece!

Thank you

[Panzerwrecker]

I have started adding volume to the scratches and scuffs and dirt and mud has been added to both the top of the fenders and the load bed area. Vallejo acrylic black brown was carefully painted into the centres of the exposed primer with a fine brush and enamel rust effects were spotted on with a brush and then blended out. Graphite will be added to edges to complete the worn look in the final steps.



A drier dirt mix of dried tea leaves, dried sea grass and real dirt was carefully added with a mini spatula, then VMS ballast freeze, added sparingly with a fine brush, fixed it in place. Too much VMS product and you can get glossy tide marks, but I thankfully only ended up with a few areas to clean up. These were effectively removed after 24hrs with a quick blast of VMS Matt Varnish. Much to-ing and fro-ing was then required to get the dried mud tone I was after.






Fixing the remaining sub-assemblies to the chassis is the next step so I can start adding rain marks and then stowage can be added. I can then tie all the mud, dust and rust effects together with a round of OPR.

[Si Benson]

Very nicely done that man :thumb2:

[JR]

Fully agree with Mr Benson , in fact the amount of detail is superb.

[scottie3158]

Very nice

[Panzerwrecker]

Cheers Scottie

[Scratchbuilder]

Only one word to say about this build.... Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.......

[Panzerwrecker]

Taverymuchalot

[Steve Ski]

This is meshing very well, all the weathering is bringin it out. Excellent progress!

[Panzerwrecker]

Thanks for the kind words Steve

[Jim R]

Some of the most realistic and effective weathering I've seen.

[Panzerwrecker]

Thank you very much Jim

[Panzerwrecker]

Very nicely done that man :thumb2:

Thanks Si, appreciated

[Panzerwrecker]

Fully agree with Mr Benson , in fact the amount of detail is superb.

Thanks very much JR

[Steve Ski]

The realism in the weathering effects is astounding, Los. Awesome work!

[Panzerwrecker]

I'm still getting to grips with the updated site and hoping that both existing and new images will sort themselves out soon, so time for a little update on progress.

My intention was always to display the sWS on a small vignette. I had made some rough drawings before building began and had articulated the front suspension and angled the front wheels for this purpose. This was to be a simple base displaying the vehicle abandoned in a field. It would include a small section of road, a shell crater and a telegraph pole and a single figure.

Sketching out the scene it became obvious that whilst the shell crater gave a little narrative as to why the vehicle had been abandoned, adding it would enlarge the size of the base more than I had first intended. To give it more interest I would raise the roadway on an embankment beyond a small ditch.

Cutting out a card template to simulate the size of the vehicle, an appropriately sized shadow box frame was chosen, and a block of styrofoam was cut to fit in it. Some oak wood veneer was ordered, and this will be used to frame the sides. Turning to the Proxxon hot wire foam cutter again I roughly cut three more pieces from offcuts, one for the triangular roadway, one for the embankment slope and one to raise the ground beyond the ditch. These were glued in place with UHU Por adhesive, and the shell crater was then carved out in one corner.

Basic styrofoam terrain contours


Time to get messy.?

Before I added any terrain layers, I sealed the Styrofoam surface with a few coats of diluted PVA and prepared the surface of my workbench for the mucky fall out that would ensue.

Achieving a realistic shell crater was my first goal. My reference images showed large clumps of earth that littered the edge of the crater. Although my little field will be damp and muddy I wanted to portray the ‘clumpy’ nature of the mounds of earth that had been thrown up by the impact and rained back down onto the surface.


With that intention in mind, I started experimenting with materials to find the best solution. Sculptamold is what I normally use for bulking out initial terrain layers and it is really just a dry white paper mâché mix to which you add water. For these initial layers it works great out of the bag but if using as a final layer mixing in some cheap earth toned acrylic is definately worthwhile to assist paint coverage. What I did find whilst playing around with the Sculptamold is that if a slightly drier mix is used, whilst it is drying out, it tends to form lumpy clumps. When these are dropped from a short distance they break into even smaller clumps. They do leave a slightly fluffy texture when split but I figured they would work just great if a fine layer of further texture is added.


To start the ball rolling a fairly wet Sculptamold and cheap acrylic earth toned mix was made up and a roughly one centimetre thick layer was applied with a small spatula over the Styrofoam to form the basic terrain contours. Once this was 75% dry the vehicle was carefully placed on the terrain over cellophane and the outline marked with cocktail sticks. I could then work around this area with additional layers. I would also add front wheel slip marks to show the vehicle had attempted to climb the small embankment before it was abandoned.

For the shell crater a dryer concoction of Sculptamold mixed with AK Dark Mud texture paste was allowed to part dry into small clumps. These were then strategically placed around the shell crater. Some of them were then carefully prized apart to portray clumps that had landed and split further on impact. Whilst still full of moisture a very light sprinkling of crushed dry earth, sea grass and static grass was added to the clumps and allowed to ‘soak in’. This was then left overnight.

First round of crater clumps added to the first layer of terrain mix


The next few terrain layers consisted of a Sculptamold and diluted AK Dark Mud texture paste 'wet mix'. The AK paste gives a great damp mud tone and will match the mud tones already added to the lower areas of the vehicle. The scatter mix consisted of dried tea leaves, chopped sea grass, crushed garden soil with small roots, static grass and a few small stones. This was all mixed together and applied in several thin layers to aid drying.

First wet mix layer


Three layers and 24hrs later


With the surface still damp it was perfect for trial fitting the sWS chassis again. It was pressed gently into the surface with the tracks now providing a perfectly contoured template for final placement. This will be left for a few days to completely dry out so I can then frame it and add the Asphalt texture to the small road surface.

[Jim R]

A great update. Looking excellent.