nightshiftmodeller

Welds!

My friends, the textures on the turret are now complete, and I don't know what to do next! :D

I might add the few remaining details from the kit such as the periscopes and hatches (dry-fitted, of course), and move on to the hull. I find it easier to have the basic outline of the model in front of me before I start with the more creative aspects of the build such as shell impacts, modifications to the model, etc.

This time I didn't use my sharp plastic screwdriver thingy made fro...

A hefty boi

My friends, I started working on the turret yesterday. Keeping things relaxed as I'm also working on that little surprise I promised you earlier :)

All the weld lines are rescribed with a chisel, the flame cuts are finished according to the real Maus turret (I used a needle file, a hobby blade, and a Tamiya scriber). I actually went back and looked at some SBS photos of my old Maus for inspiration :) I used a large AC drill on low RPM to drill out the "pegs" that hold the steel plates t...

New model

My friends! With the Panther diorama finished, I'm ready to slow things down before Christmas and then take my usual week off during the holidays.

But that doesn't mean I won't be building models - quite the opposite! I bought this E-100 a couple of weeks ago as my next project, and it's gonna be different. Probably the first what-if tank on the channel since the Ball Tank, but also, I want to go back a couple of years and focus mainly on the build and weathering. Get as much out of the...

Early video!

Good morning, my friends! Here it is! :)))

Let me know what you think about the little surprise!

p.s.: The link for the surprise is in the description if you open the video on Youtube

Sweet photos

My friends, here are studio pictures of the finished scene. I decided to call it "Courtesy of U.S. Air Force" :)

I'm halfway there with the video, and I think it'll be finished later tonight. I'll start uploading it immediately and once it's online, I'll post it here for your viewing pleasure!

And the finished diorama!

My friends, with the figures glued in place, it's time to say that this year was a success because somehow I managed to finish every project I planned for it! :)

I'm currently working hard on the video. I just finished editing the voiceover and tomorrow I'll put it all together. Although there are two live entries that I need to film as well, but the video will be totally worth it :)

Figures done!

My friends, these have to be the most difficult figures I've ever painted! It's not that the sculpts are bad or anything, these are Alpine figures, after all, but I just find US soldiers difficult. I noticed this even when I was painting that single paratrooper for the watermill diorama. The more gear, pouches, backpacks and whatnot the figure has, the more time it takes you to paint everything.

Also, the black and white preshading technique doesn't work so well on lighter colors, so t...

Just the figures remain!

My friends, I finished the terrain and integrated the tank into it.

The base was first post-shaded with greyish earth tones (Tamiya Flat Earth and Buff + German Grey) and then flooded with enamel earth washes - the same tones and principles I applied to the tank. A bit of dry-brushing with Rainmarks Effects was employed to add light to the raised areas around the crater. The boulders and smaller rocks were then picked out with acrylics as usual.

Once I glued the tank to the turr...

Tank is ready!

My friends, it's time to paint the groundwork so I can glue the tank in place and make the final adjustments and effects.

The rest of the weathering was carried out in the same fashion, a combination of brush application, blending, and speckling - sometimes with thicker, sometimes with more diluted paint.

The polished tracks were treated with the Dark Aluminum AK marker and some blended light rust tones. A fun little detail was painting the outer cleats with a brighter aluminum ...

It's finally on the right track!

My friends, these were some of the scariest weathering steps I've done, but I think the almost-finished side of the running gear shows some promising results in the end.

An overturned tank showing its belly is a completely different weathering subject than we're normally used to, as the part that stays completely out of sight is displayed in all its glory. And it's also the dirtiest part of the vehicle, not to mention, least documented in reference images.

The rest of the tank h...

It took me a while, but...

... it's now ready for earth effects and other tasty weathering!

My friends, it took me a few days to get it to this stage, because as it turns out, there was a lot of stuff to sort out! My weekend was two birthday parties in two days, in other words, it was quite horrible, but I got back to work on Monday.

The rust tones took a bit longer to finish, but I think the pale orange rust on the oxide primer adds nice contrast and visual texture. There were other rusty details such as...

Chipping underway

My friends, I applied the washes, highlighted the small details, did all the steel chips and now I'm applying the rust tones with oil paints. This process is much more fun than I remember! Of course, more chipping will follow once the rust tones are in place - chipped weld beads and Zimmerit!

Just a quick update before the weekend... I'm working on something else that's model-related, and I'll show it to you once it's all ready :)))

Some colors

My friends, I finished the airbrushing! This was my first experience with the new lacquer AK Real Colors on a camouflage. So far, I have only used them for some base coating, and I really like how well they flow. There's almost no dry paint build-up on the needle. Just the oxide primer areas were sprayed with a mixture of Tamiya paints.

The process was like this: apply all the base colors including the camouflage, then add shadows and dirt stains with AK black brown ink, then add highl...

Early video

It's a bit shorter, but it's here :)

3D bricks

My friends, thank you so much for all the nice messages you left me after the last post. Here are some 3D printable bricks I designed some time ago. They all come pre-supported and in convenient "packages". I did some test printing and they came out perfectly! They are all measured in real life and scaled down to 1/35 scale.

The most "worthy" type is the large hollow brick which is quite common and offers a lot of visual detail. The elongated bricks are also pretty unique, and I'm incl...

HD photos

My friends, thank you for all the nice messages you left me under the previous post! The video is ready for later today, and here are some photos of the unpainted scene!

It's ready for paints

My friends, I finished the construction stage of the diorama. Laminating with veneer was extra painful because of the size of this base. I don't have a large enough sheet to wrap the entire base with the woodgrain going vertical - which is the easiest way to wrap a round diorama with veneer. With horizontal woodgrain, it's much more difficult. As such, the filled gap in the back is an eyesore... but it could be worse. I finished the diorama with a sore throat and runny nose because last Wedne...

Tank done!

My friends, all the PE is in place and I also did some extra adjustments on the Zimmerit with putty.

I don’t know what happened, but 4 or 5 years ago when I was building the Tiger, PE clamps were a breeze. Now they were pure agony! Either the PE quality is worse or I’ve just become rusty.

It made me search the stash for 3D printed alternatives, and although I didn’t find them, at least I found a 3D printed extinguisher and headlight from Heavy Hobby.

The storage tub...

This Zimm ain't no time-saver!

My friends, the Zimmerit is finally in place, and I gotta say something about it. For someone who doesn't feel like sculpting their own Zimmerit - it's a great choice. The detail is crisp and the texture is beautiful! But the amount of time you'll spend matching the individual sheets, trimming them to fit perfectly, thinning the sides so it looks more in-scale... well, by the time it was done, I would've finished my own Zimmerit from putty.

But the trick to make it look fully integrate...

Takin’ shape

My friends, unfortunately I couldn’t spend too many hours on it today, but the tracks are on and some details have been added. I figured out a neat way of integrating the resin Zimmerit into the surface so I’ll film the process on the front plate or somewhere.

Also, if you find the lack of PE on the back plate disturbing, it’s because the Voyager PE ignores the Ausf. A early variant even though it’s meant to be “universal”. But it’s not a big deal, the only prominent deta...

Wheels and tracks

My friends, this took several hours of my life!

The Panzer Art damaged wheels are real life savers in this situation. I even managed to bend one of them in hot water. It’s interesting how you can “compose” a scene even with missing wheels and their placement.

The Panzerwerk tracks are absolutely beautiful and they go together so easily! But my back already hurts a lot, so I’ll continue tomorrow 🫠

First steps

My friends, the Panther show is officially on the road, and here's the initial construction and a basic layout of the diorama!

It didn't take me long to choose a circular base for the scene. The worst thing was deciding the diameter! :D The scene is 19cm across and the Panther might or might not protrude ever so slightly. I know that I'm breaking my own rules with it, but I think it will add to some dynamism in this case.

The tank's construction will be slightly different from al...

Early video

Finally, at last! This video was a metric ton of work, pretty much non-stop since Monday until yesterday evening, but it's long, it's colorful, and it's here! :)

The first "just for fun" evening project

My friends, here are a couple of figures I painted with my girlfriend last weekend. It took us two evenings, and it was really fun! Of course, this was all done off-camera. Just some quality time at the workbench.

This has all started when I got rid of my old Anycubic Photon Mono SE and bought the brand-spanking-new Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra. I bought it as another, better tool for what I do - printing diorama accessories and details for models. But as you can imagine, the new printer is ...

New project!

My friends, it's time for the final project from this year's bucket list! After this one, I'll create a new list and spice it up with a bunch of new ideas for projects :)

The concept is simple - a Panther that's been flipped upside down by a nearby bomb explosion in Normandy. Two GIs will be walking past and inspecting it. As you can tell by the photos, I'm not going to recreate any specific vehicle, but come up with my own composition, just taking ideas from different pictures.

HD photos

We didn't have a photo montage in a while, although this one is pretty subtle. I actually used the Google Street view of the real location as the background in the title photo :D

Enjoy the pictures!

Finished, at last!

My friends, this diorama is heading to the display cabinet. The DEF Model figure was pretty fun to paint, with very crisp details and everything - and good figures are always easier to paint. This time I tried a slightly different skin tone with less contrast. When I'm painting military figures, the facial features are often very "harsh" and "deep". The stronger shading IMO helps to enhance the military look of these figures. I wanted to retain the smoother feminine features with this one, so...

Just the figures now!

My friends, the groundwork is finished. Well, that was quick! I don't know what was behind it, but probably the fact that the buildings were so much more fun and I just subconsciously gave more effort into their painting and aging. The base was just the standard procedure, although I spiced it up with lots of dried, trampled grass inspired by Google Street View of the real place, and also dead leaves in the corners. The scene isn't an autumn diorama (hence the dandelions), but decaying leaves...

Building finished

My friends, this is for real! The architectural part of the diorama is finally ready. Now I understand why facades are so much fun - because you're spending all that effort on a limited area, but when you take the same approach to an entire building (or two), you might go crazy!

I might do some additional adjustments when the groundwork is painted, especially some moss accumulations or fallen leaves in the corners, but for now, I'm putting this aside and focusing on the terrain.

...

More wood effects

My friends, I'm just dropping you a quick update on the barn door. THIS IS THE MOST FUN PART OF THE ENTIRE PROJECT!

I still have those 3 plywood pieces on the right side to finish, but I don't want to rush them and I'm already tired today. Oh, and yes, that shredded, pink-colored piece of plywood is in the reference images! :) In fact, a lot of the effects are directly interpreted from the references. I'm just adding more color variation to the individual pieces because it's just so da...