Alan Flakpanzer 38(t) Gepard (2007)

[Bill Plunk]

With the holidays looming, there are a lot of distractions so time at the bench is getting precious! Since last weekend cleared the first hurdle with the overall painting, this weekend has focused on the details.

I started in first with the Flak 38 and detailed the sights and control mechanisms. The sights were painted with Aircraft Interior Black since it produces a more satin finish than straight Flat Black. I also painted the electronic sighting scope first with Silver to provide a reflective base and then followed it up with Tamiya Clear Green acrylic to simulate the glass. The various other controls were also detailed and the gun barrel permanently installed after getting a very light drybrushing of Steel along with its magazine. The three ready magazines got similar treatment and were also installed. I used the magazines from the Tristar set as they were the best of the three sets I had to choose from. The Alan parts were a distant third with the Azimut items not all that much better.





Next up were the items inside the fighting compartment that had base painted but now needed to be detailed in their own right. The radios were painted the same Tarp Green that I used on the camo pattern and had their wires and knobs picked out also with Aircraft Int. Black and the dial screens done in Light Gray. The crew MP40s and gas mask containers were from the Azimut set and the gas masks were combined with the Eduard belts/brackets. The seats for the loader and crew commander were first painted in Leather then given a wash of standard enamel Gunmetal and their cusion buttons done in Metalizer Gunmetal with a fine tip brush. Last but not least, a wash of Burnt Umber and enamel Gunmetal was applied to the floor which was then drybrushed with Dunkelgelb to get it to this point.





Shifting to the exterior, the pioneer tools got their turn and were painted up and installed. The tool handles appear very glossy due to having a wash already applied to them but should tone done once sealed up. The clamps were an ordeal to get them to close, several broke loose in the process so while they aren't 100% the way I would've liked them to be, it's as good as it's going to get under the circumstances. Next time around I use clamps like this I'll probably try the install first then paint method and see if that's less frustrating.





The muffler/exhaust got some attention as well. Basecoated along with the rest of the model, I gave it a coat of the Metalizer Gunmetal and then followed it up with a wash of Rust. The metalizer has little metal flake particles in it and these "grab on" to the wash very well IMHO for a nice effect without it looking like it was immersed in salt water for 30 years. I'll drybrush a little Burnt Umber later on to some of the brighter spots before sealing it up with Future.



I also painted the leaf springs on the suspension and did some preliminary weathering before the tracks get installed. So far so good, tomorrow will apply Future to the exterior and interior prior to weathering and also work on the tracks before they get installed.

[Bill Plunk]

Tomorrow marks the start of my vacation for the holidays which means I won't return to the bench until the following weekend for New Years, but then spending a week on the beach at Puetrto Vallarta isn't too big of a sacrifice considering.

Before I could put down the first coat of Future, I needed to take care of some leftover details in the form of installing the spare track runs on the front hull and detailing the rear blackout light. The spare track runs were drybrushed with Steel and then given a light wash of Rust before installation. The Eduard set for the holders has the ends secured with a tiny wingnut and to help this hold a little better, I used the tip of a #11 blade to make a small hole for it to nest in on the hull and provide a better glue surface with the CA gel.



Once that was taken care of, the exterior, interior of the fighting compartment, and the gun were each given their turn under the AB and then the interior only was treated to a pin wash of Burnt Umber and then cleaned up a bit with some straight thinner and pointed brush although I missed a couple spots judging by the photo. It's still a work in progress on the weathering, but so far so good.



The tracks were also given some attention prior to installation in the form of drybrushing with Steel and a lighter wash of Rust than the spare track runs. The sprockets and idler were also drybrushed with Burnt Umber as their first weathering step and the tracks installed with the final pins put in place to make them continuous runs. The idler had been dryfit until this point and was positioned and glued down to produce the desired sag on either side.

The markings were also applied at this point and the Alan supplied decals performed less than stellar. The balkenkreuze were way too large to go in their designated spot and a quick check of the reference photos showed they were the wrong type altogether for Normandy. I dug around in my spares bin and used a suitable set that was left over from a Dragon kit (not sure which one exactly) that were the right type and size. The Alan markings included insignia for one of three units, Hitlerjugend, 9th SS Hohenstaufen, and 10th SS Frundsberg although the kit says they are all for Eastern Front 1945, both the 9th and 10th SS were in Normandy although I don't know about Hitlerjugend. I originally was going to use the 10th SS markings but they fragmented upon contact with water, which was true for all the other markings on the sheet except for one of the Hohenstaufen emblems and the white "number jungle" numerals provided. This didn't worry me too much as the few photos from the Signal book show that the markings were minimal to begin with and even painted over in one shot by the crews when they applied the camo.







Once the decals had a good few hours to snuggle down and cure up, a 2nd sealing coat of Future was applied and it will now sit for nearly 2 weeks before I will get back to it.

Happy Holidays!

[Bill Plunk]

After a couple of weeks off I've been itching to get back to this build and get it across the finish line before the year's out. I may just make it with the progress made today.

The weathering process continued today with the first step consisting of an overall wash of Gunmetal since it would be the darkest shade applied. Once this was in place, I followed it up with a "dusted" coat of MMP Faded Panzer Yellow. This was an experiment to see how it would function as a filter to help mute the Gunmetal and blend in the three tone camo. The MMP powders are different from Mig pigments in that they contain an acrylic binder and when sprayed with rattlecan Dullcoat, vanish as a dusty look and instead become a transparent coat over the Gunmetal. I've used it before on darker basecoats with good success, but wasn't sure exactly how it would work with the lighter Dunkelgelb but gave it a shot to see. Pic below is "pre-Dullcote".



The effect produced turned out to be very subtle, so subtle in fact that the camera and lighting can't pick it up but the colors, at least to my eye, are slightly different, but needed more variation. So I employed some soft artist pastels and a blender sable brush to bring out a little more variation in the scheme. The two yellow ochre shades are perfect for this type of thing, I used the lightest shade to fade/lighten the camo colors just a bit and the middle ochre shade to do the same for different areas on the dunkelgelb.





This too was sealed up with another coat of Dullcote which had a similar affect as with the MMP powders but the pigments don't disappear completely but instead get fixed to the underlying coat. Since this was the final step of the weathering process for the hull, I also fixed the Flak 38 into a permanent position with some CA gel.



Next up were the tracks and running gear. I've been experimenting with mixing different Mig pigment colors to achieve a desired color vs. just using them as standalones. This time around I combined equal amounts of African Earth, Europe Dust, Russian Earth, and Gulf War Sand and mixed them together as dry powders thoroughly before adding water to make it a wash. The trick with Mig powders of course is trying to guess what shade they will dry to when applied wet vs. their dry color as it's always lighter....but since I'd mixed all these up together, wasn't sure until applied what the exact shade would be. A leap of faith of sorts. I applied it liberally by hand with a brush into all the nooks and crannies and let it dry for a couple of hours or so while I went out to dinner with my wife. Upon our return, donned my sanding mask (the powders are very fine and can cause nasty headaches if inhaled directly) and went to work with a stiff bristled brush to remove the excess and smooth it all out.





Once that was taken care of, I carefully drybrushed some Steel to the faces of the track links and various places to show wear.



The overall weathering on this one will stay light due to the fact it's representing a Normandy vehicle and these were delivered to the units there practically brand new at the time of the invasion and didn't survive too long in the subsequent fighting from what I've read.

A few touchups tomorrow and the installation of the radio antenna are about all that's left before this one goes on the shelf.

[Bill Plunk]

Final touches went in place this morning in the form of a light drybrushing of Burnt Umber with a 20/0 brush around the raised details and bolt heads to add a little more depth to the finish. Installed the radio antenna by drilling out the mast post, using CA and some brass wire for the whip, and then painted with Aircraft Interior Black. Then off to the photo booth for the finished shots.