My Panzerhaubitze 2000

[Gern]

Hi Ron. Welcome back and thanks for the vote of confidence!

A bit more progress. I've finally finished the tracks - yiiiiippppppeeeeee!

They're sprayed with Vallejo acrylic Gun Grey with AK enamel Tank Track wash added. I'm pleased with the way the wash turned out - even though you'll notice one set of tracks is noticeably darker than t'other. That's down to not measuring wash:thinner ratios carefully enough. I just used a large brush to transfer some wash into a small mixing bowl and added white spirit - then found I only had enough for one set of tracks so mixed another batch the same way.

Note to self: Remember to mix enough to complete the job next time. Or measure the ratio properly!

I'm going to leave them as they are since all Tigers had two different sorts of track. One used for transport and one for combat. I think these are combat tracks which would have been stored somewhere - and who is to say the tracks were properly covered in storage? Maybe one set was indoors while the other was outdoors; or maybe a tarpaulin cover was loose or summat. Anyway, those are my excuses for leaving them as they are!

Thanks to Paul (tr1ckey66) who provided some great info, I've filled the top gap in the turret. I'll have to wait until the turret is assembled before doing the bottom gap, but I'll do it the same way.

I got the main gun centred in the mantlet by using some paper to wedge it in place. Once centred, I used white tack to fill the breech around the barrel and glued the retaining plate into position.

Going to get the wheels painted now, then the bottom hull.

Gern

PS Forgot to mention I used tap water as a thinner for the Vallejo rather than their branded thinner. I found the paint didn't thicken up like treacle as it did before and finished the tracks beautifully.

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[papa 695]

Very nice fix on the turret Dave. and with a bit of weathering/mud on the tracks i doubt you would be able to tell the difference in colour. great work alround so far dave keep it up and the pictures comeing

On a side note Dave i got the Bronco Ting Yuen you told me about a great looking kit with some nice detail

[Gern]

Thanks Ian. I got an idea about a dio. which will mean no mud/dirt so I may not be able to cover up the difference. We'll see.

That Ting Yuen is good - I suspect it's too good for me to be able to cope with all the really tiny details. Really looking forward to seeing what you make of it.

Gern

[Gern]

Mornin' all. Bit more progress.

Got the turret finished ready for painting - except I have to find another fix for the barrel. Despite surrounding it with white tack in the breech, and adding another steel rod drilled through both the barrel and breech assembly, it still drops to the bottom of the mantle! I think I'm going to fix a small wedge inside the mantle and hope I can get it far enough down so it won't be seen.

I have to thank Paul (tr1ckey66) yet again for his pictures which allowed me to fill the gaps behind the gun. I don't think my fix is exact, but it will do for me.

I was going to replace the thin cable which fits along the side of the hull but I've managed to get it cleaned up to my satisfaction. A bit of steel paint and some weathering and it will be OK. I can't say the same about the thicker cables which sit on top of the deck. I'm going to replace these with some real cable which I found (see picture).

I found this in my local pound shop. It's actually a safety lock for a bicycle - I've got to get another one next weekend so I'll be able to show you. Just cut the lock off and strip the plastic coating and it's almost a perfect match. It's a bit awkward to cut and bend and I need to work out how to fix it to the towing loops but it looks much better than the original.

Gern

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[papa 695]

Hi Dave looking good. Is it just the barrel depressing ? if so why not use a bit of sprue and glue it to the underside of the turret top so it sits on top of the breach keepit it up and level

[Gern]

Thought of that one Ian, but trying a small wedge first as it's easier. If that don't work then I'll do as you suggest - thanks.

Gern

[Guest]

Looking good Dave. I remember my Tiger. its sitting in the window of the local model shop waiting for a customer. Keep up the good work.

Andy

[Gern]

Grrrrr!

Second time I've had problems with Vallejo Air. Last time I found it setting like treacle in the cup of my air brush, now it's drying in different colours!

I started spraying the turret after mixing Vallejo Air 71.025 (Dunkelgelb RAL 7028) about 40:60 Thinner:Paint with a drop of retarder. I'd shaken the bottle 'til my arm almost fell off and mixed it in the cup by back-spraying. It went on fine - a nice uniform colour with good coverage. Then it started to turn green in places as the paint started to dry! It doesn't show well in my pictures I'm afraid but there is a big contrast between the colours.

This is probably because the paint wasn't mixed well enough, but I'd like to know how to mix it without doing myself a serious injury!

Gern

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[Gern]

Got some more done.

I've finished all the wheel sets and got them painted. Thank the gods for rubber tyres. I know some folks don't like them, but I love 'em. Think of all the masking, painting and touch-ups they save! Maybe not perfect but with a bit of road dirt I think they'll be fine.

Bought another cycle lock so now you can see where I got my new cables from. I was going to cut the plastic cable free and leave the 'sleeve' attached to the loops; drill a hole in the end of the sleeve and glue in the new cable. I'm not sure I can do that as the new cable may be slightly too big. I scrounged some poly tubing from the ex (you might see it in the photo) - it's what she uses for the air supply on her tropical fish tank. I can use this as a replacement sleeve if necessary - I'll just have to leave part of the original sleeve on the loop and carve the diameter to fit in the new sleeve. Some superglue will hold it together well enough I think. I'll decide which way to go when I cut the loops free and measure up properly.

Got the PE mesh fitted and painted with a first coat. Used Gator glue for the first time and just brushed it over the support frame. Well easy and much nicer than trying to do that with Superglue!

Gern

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[Centurion3RTR]

Thought that cycle lock was going to be too big but now we can see it side by side it's bang on Dave, the Tiger is going to look the business mate. Just had a thought too (don't have many), how about wetting the new tow cables for them to rust then wipe down with wire wool?

Have fun, John

[Gern]

Save me weathering them wouldn't it? Good thought John, though I will try it with the offcuts first just in case. I wouldn't mind a few drops of rust showing on the paintwork underneath, but I don't want the whole thing going rusty.

Gern

[Centurion3RTR]

Save me weathering them wouldn't it? Good thought John, though I will try it with the offcuts first just in case.Gern

I'm going for a rest now lol, yeah good idea with the offcuts. Try them first hehehe.

Have fun, John

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Dave

i'm terribly sorry, I've missed most of this, just catching up now! I can never find the thread!!! That's no fault of yours just my stupidity.

Anyhoo, this beast is coming along great. The fix on the turret looks fine, like John I was a bit sceptical of the bike lock idea but having seen the comparison with the kit part it is surprisingly similar! I would recommend Anealing any cable first before use as it makes it much more mailable and easier to work with. Simply heat the cable up till it discolours from the heat and, after it cools, it should be a great deal easier to bend.

The Vallejo 2 tone problem is a new one on me. I can only think that the pigment is falling out of solution in the AB cup.

I'm sure you know by now but spraying a beast like this requires a lot of paint! In fact I base coated mine first with Tamiya rattle can (although the colour is way too dark). I then mixed largish quantities of paint in progressively lighter shades in small jars (the kind you get with airbrushes) and sprayed these in steps to get the paint fade and variation. If you vary your shades too and use a filter on the paintwork after I doubt hat you'd even notice the 2 tone effect.

Looking forward to seeing this come along.

all the best

Paul

[Gern]

Some more done.

Got one of the new cables cut to length and used it to replace the plastic cable supplied. The pics show I've kept the original towing loops and joined the new steel cable just using that bit of poly tubing I scrounged off the ex.

I'm going to cut away the cable bits from the cleaning rods and use the PE frame from the engine grids to make new frames for the rods. The new cables will just sit loosely in this new frame.

Thanks John (centurion3RTR) for your idea about 'weathering' the new steel cables. I've soaked a test piece in a container of water for a couple of nights. You wouldn't believe how much the real rust is going look like rust on the kit!

I've included a picture to compare the different paint shades I've got. The turret was painted using Vallejo Dunkelgelb originally and overpainted with Revell enamel Matt 88. The hull has just had one coat of the Revell so far. I know there should be some variation but I don't think it should be this much (it's a lot worse than it looks in the pic). I may have to prime the whole thing with Halfords Grey (which will cover everything) and recoat.

Paul - I've done the painting in sections: turret, then the hull top, then the wheels. I've used the same paint tin for all and apart from the turret, I'm happy with the very minor variations I've got. Don't think I'm going to be able to live with such a large variation on the turret though. I'll see when I've got it all together. (I also suspect you're right about the pigment in the Vallejo paint).

Gern

PS I appear to have included a couple of pics I've already shown. I don't know how to delete them so they'll have to stay!

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