nightshiftmodeller

HD photos

This kitty is a tad bit shady

Post-shading = done, markings = done

My friends, we've got a new record! 😁 Three-tone camouflage and markings done in 3 days? Damn! 

But it wasn't all smooth sailing. First of all, I don't know if it was my bad luck or something, but those damned AK RC weren't as great as I thought. When I started lightening the green using dark yellow, it was turning into a very desaturated, almost greyish tone. The brown, on the other hand, was getting a slight purple tint. I would probably have to mix them a little more and add ...

Camouflage!

My friends, remember the Jagdtiger from a year ago? Painting that one took roughly 5 days if I remember correctly? And that was just a plain camouflage without any post-shading. And now I managed to paint the camouflage in one day and that includes another round of airbrushed pinwash 😁 

Tomorrow I'll add highlights to all colors, even the yellow base coat (just a few touch-ups though). AK RC paints are very nice indeed, I sprayed the olive green straight from the bottle without ...

Dark yellow = done

My friends, AK Real Colors are pretty sweet for post-shading! 

No alchemy, no messing around, just straight from the bottle. I started with a rather dark reference (can't remember the number, but it'll be in the video) sprayed in the corners, then I gave the model an overall coat of the RC060 followed by a round of Grime (that's my mixture of black and brown) around every detail. This helps a lot! I wasn't sure how I wanted to approach the shading at first, but a round of airbrushe...

Moment of truth (and physio!)

My friens, a coat of primer is that final judgment which always shows us any flaws, imperfections (or perfections 😁) in our build. I was very pleased to observe how the Zimmerit texture came to life and it turned out exactly the way I hoped it would! 

I went with Mr. Mahogany primer instead of black because as I was listening to one of the episodes of Sprue Cutters Union podcast, they talked about something interesting. How different undercoats affect your paint, a quick example...

HD photos

Last sight of this model before it gets all covered with paint :) 

Early video

Yesterday you said tomorrow, so JUST ZIMMER IT!

YES, YOU CAN! 

And we're, at last, ready for paints!

My friens, this is shaping up to be my biggest project so far! But it makes me feel very excited to see how it'll turn out in the end. 

The resin figures from PanzerArt are just beautiful, hands down the best figures I've ever seen. The dude with his arm against the roof had his legs spread wide open (they're all designed for a StuG III which has bigger hatches), so I had to give him a bath in boiling water and "close" his legs together 😆I still don't have a clear idea about the...

Photo etchings volume two and some good news

My friends, I finished adding the details on the rear of the tank and I also did some scratch building :) At first I wanted to use the plastic tube for gun cleaning rods because it's not included in the PE set, but I figured making one from copper sheet wouldn't take so much time. Good news, I filmed the process! 

Also, thank you all for your nice comments. Mom's feeling better already and I just came back from the doctor. Well... I'll be on crutches for 7 more weeks, but I can do ...

Photo etchings vol. 1

My friends, once the basic construction is finished, it's time for the sweet golden PE to enter the game and pimp the model. I've done some of the most important stuff so far and PROBABLY found a photo of the vehicle I'm building, but from the other side. There's no way of telling if it's the same tank, but I'll take it (hence the bent fender). Now for the less fun stuff, tool fixtures and clamps, which were all repositioned to the engine deck.

It might seem strange, but yes, this is th...

HD photos

Zimmerit kitty wasn't so fun to photograph, so I'm really "looking forward" to the next photo session with the completed build 😁 

QnA

Let's talk about some heavy topics!

Small models

Yup, it's just what the title says, small models on their own :) But now I have the Zimmerit completely done. It was a nice change of pace to solder something again, but I forgot how messy of a process it is! Especially when you're sanding off the excess solder. A combination of tin powder and soldering flux all over your hands, yuck! 

I've got a ton of things that must be finished today, so I'll probably report back tomorrow! 

P.S. the damaged storage bin was smashed wi...

Plastic details and tiny welds

Ma friens, I got every piece of plastic done. The model is pretty much ready for photo etch! Looks kinda "empty" at the moment, but the magic lies in the PE! Bent mudguards, side skirts, 3 storage bins and other goodies! 

I made the tiny weld beads from the missing tool mounts on the sides. Those are made from stretched sprue because it's easier to create REALLY tiny welds compared to epoxy putty. Especially on a flat surface with no scribing. The trick was in attaching the PE fixt...

At first, I wasn't sure about this...

... but it was a good idea! Presenting the Jagdpanther with active suspension will make the model, and the whole scene, more dynamic in my opinion. Wheels are, as usual on these German subjects, superglued together into one sub-assembly. I'm still not sure about the scenery, but all I need for now is that one elevated section of styrofoam because the running gear was modeled around that. It can be easily placed into the diorama later down the road and trimmed (or expanded) to the desired shap...

Just zimmer it ✔️

My friends, this was intense! Every plate of the Jagdpanther was seriously enjoyable, but the front, the most important one, was tough, mainly because of my poor planning. I decided to zimmer it all in one go and it started becoming too hard to work with about two hours in 😅 

But hey, I'm glad it's done and just like with the Tiger F13, it's a very satisfactory feeling when you do it yourself. Zimmerit in real life was never perfect, in fact it was truly hideous in most cases, b...

Early video

Diorama time! 

Also, next week is gonna be a QnA video, so if you have any questions, post them below! 

Glue it, weld it, zimmer it

My friends, there's nothing better than starting a new project and running out of glue 😁 But now my stocks will last for at least a while. On other news, I welded the hull using the traditional method, added a few more bits here and there and started applying the Zimmerit. 

Needless to say, the lower hull was the absolute worst. Hard to reach, hard to smear the putty in a thin, even layer, hard to make straight lines with a hobby blade... I'm glad none of it will be visible on t...

New model, let's go!

My friends, it's that sweet, sweet moment when you crack open a new kit, and it was the perfect start of the week 😁

I technically started last night when I did a quick Zimmerit test on my guinea pig SU-122. This one will have a square pattern, something between the MAN and MIAG patterns (MAN has large squares, MIAG lots of small ones, this one is something in between). I used Tamiya Epoxy Smooth Type putty and it's excellent for the task. It has the consistency of a modelling clay, i...

HD photo(shops)

My friens, as always when a diorama gets finished, I bring you a series of pictures and one of them has a scenic background 😁 That's the final dot after every project and now onwards to Normandy 1944! 

Another diorama for the collection!

My friends, here's the final look of the diorama. I've read your comments on the previous post and there were some good insights. However, I've had a little family emergency which caught me off guard so this will have to do this time. I'm currently editing the video so I have a long night in front of me. I'll try to catch up with you all tomorrow! 

And it's decided. The next one will be Jagdpanther G1 from Normandy. I have figures, photoetch, metal tracks and I'll make a Zimmerit f...

Early video

Monsieurs 

Enamel washes, terrain "chipping"...

My friends, I just made up that term "terrain chipping" on the fly, because that's exactly what painting individual stones and straws feels like 😁

But I've gone over the whole base with enamel earth tones, the same ones like on the tank, painted the small stuff and glued all of the features in place. I mentioned gluing the tree on Thursday, well... that was actually the thing I started with yesterday! I glued it in place, sculpted the root system, painted it, added some fallen branch...

Today was a good day

Every day is a good day when you get to smell Mr. Surfacer 1500 😁 

I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to be more productive and lay down the base colors because something tells me I have a lot of work ahead with enamels and painting all those loose rocks and straws. 

Airbrushing grass is one of the most satisfying things ever and nothing will change my mind on that 😁 The other is painting the ground and seeing every texture come to life. 

The groundwork...

Ready for airbrushing

My friends, it's that stage where the groundwork, static grass and a few PE weeds are all in place 😊 The vegetation is not done though, I'll be adding some laser cut plants after everything is painted - ivy, ferns, etc. 

The ground is again a homemade mud paste: PVA, dirt, fine sand, all smeared over the surface and sprinkled with more dirt and sand. The tank was later pressed into the ground so it won't float above the surface. Track marks were also added with a small section o...

HD photos

No, these don't do them too many favors, but I'm not trying to hide any flaws from you :) It's a good reminder how much room for improvement I have in the figure department. 

Finally ready for the serious stuff :)

My friends, the multi-colored diorama base you've been seeing for a few weeks is no more. It's ready for ground texture, vegetation and all the extra fun stuff 😁The only thing that makes me slightly sad is another mishap in my composition. The road is perfectly diagonal, so much so it connects both corners of the base, lol. I should've predicted that, but to my defense, when I was planning the layout I was trying to avoid as many "empty" spots as possible, because these mean extra features...

Tankers done

My friends, there's a moment when things are just done and any extra work or effort to improve them would be detrimental. Yup, this is the case! 

But let me talk about a small detail which drove me nuts. All it takes is one weirdly sculpted or positioned hand.... The left fist on the guy with the blue collar gave me nightmares. I spent about 4 hours constantly repainting it, yet it constantly looked weird. It's probably the unusual position of the hand or something... it's strange ...

Early video

Forest service, at your service! 

That's enough leather for a lifetime!

My friends, I got both leather jackets done and on top of that I painted their belts, pistol holsters and other small things which luckily weren't made from leather 🥲 

I also added some dirt and weathering on their pants, completely with acrylics because I didn't feel like speckling enamel earth tones on them 😁 It was done with a combination of glazing towards the bottom and stippling on their knees. First layer was done with AK Burnt Umber and darker stains were added with B...