BP Models

First up on the list of things to do today was the construction and installation of the tracks. I decided to give the kit-included formers a whirl just to see what they could or couldn't do for me and since all the links were cleaned up yesterday, it was a matter of straightforward assembly. While the kit links are described as "Magic" tracks, they still require glue to hold them together but they do have a tight friction fit that makes it easier. Some use liquid glue for this but I prefer the regular Testor's glue in the black bottle as it provides a little bit more working time IMHO. I started with the left track side, taking care to check which bag of links were the right ones since they are handed. I also used two metal 6" rulers with a cork backing to help keep the runs straight as they will drift a bit if not watched as you assemble them.



I test fit the sprocket formed run and it's a pretty close, although not exact, match. Also determined that the bottom run needed to be about 24 links while the top run needed to be 27 to connect the sprocket form up with the idler form. I left the sprocket run unattached along with the top run and only attached the bottom run to the idler run (confused yet? ) to make it easier to paint and connect it all up after a test fit to make sure I had the right number of links. The runs were painted first with Non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and then drybrushed with Steel. Lastly a very thin (90-10) wash of Rust was applied in single passes with a sable brush and the runs secured together and adjusted to fit properly on the roadwheels. This weathering is only preliminary, more will come in later stages.



The exercise was repeated on the right side but curiously enough the runs did not come out to the exact count of links. Either Dragon provided more extras of one side vs. the other or another reason exists that I'm not aware of, but I had 18 extra links on the left side when it was constructed but only 15 on the right side. It was finished in the same method and installed as well without incident.



Once all that was taken care of, I worked on the details, beginning with the spare track runs for the front hull. Now the instructions will tell you to assemble 10 links of either the left hand or right side type only to go in this area, but just to be a bit different and also a little logical....I created a run of 5 spares for the left side and 5 for the right. Photos of #100 on display in Russia show that there were indeed links of both sides on the front hull, although not 10 in total, so it's plausible enough I think. I also drilled out the end link connectors on each set of 5 and inserted a brass rod to simulate the pins that should be there but aren't on the molded tracks. They were painted the same as the regular track runs but given a little heavier dose of the Rust wash as well as drybrushed with Burnt Umber. I also painted up and weathered by hand the top retaining bracket for the spare tracks and glued it in place. My decision of using 5 links from each made this a tighter than usual fit but I managed to still get it to work out ok. The hull MG was also painted with Gunmetal and drybrushed with Steel to finish it up.



I also painted up the gun cleaning rods and the shovel and axe using my special mix of wood color for the handles and then weathered with burnt umber pastels lightly brushed on to "age" the wood a bit. The metal portions were done with Gunmetal and drybrushed lighthly with Steel.



I also detailed the jack block on the rear hull, using the same methods as with the pioneer tools and cleaning rods. The exhausts were also basecoated with Gunmetal and then given a wash of Rust followed with drybrushed Burnt Umber in places. I also dusted a little bit of black pastel on the rear hull close to the tops of the exhausts to simulate some soot collection there.



Turret was placed to double check clearance on all the important items and now everything is ready for a sealing coat of Future and the markings to be applied before final weathering.

I managed to convince my wife to allow me to use the AB indoors due to the cold temperatures outside in the garage on the stipulation that I wouldn't spray paint...which left me free and clear to use Future and Windex without any problems! So, the Tiger got it's initial coat of Future and the decals were laid down. Using the Gorky park photos as a reference, I used the white balkenkreuze with the interior black outline as one of the close-up shots shows what appears to be a color shade difference on the cleaned-up #100 on display, so I ran with it. Dragon provides the straight white outline numerals as individual decals per numeral, meaning that it took some patience and fiddling to produce the 100 on either side bin, but the end result is worth it. I used Solvaset to snug everything down nice and tight and then applied a second coat of Future to seal it all in and left to dry.





With that out of the way, it was on to the weathering process. I applied a pin wash of Burnt Umber to all the weld lines and around raised features and used some raw thinner to clean up in a few places where needed without issue. After the pin wash, an overall wash of Gunmetal was applied only to the Panzer Gray areas and allowed to overlap slightly onto the whitewash edges to help blend/tie everything together.



Once dry and properly adjusted, a coat of rattlecan Dullcoat was applied (had to do that in the garage but thankfully was far enough along in the day that the temps were at least somewhat bearable!) and allowed to setup for a couple of hours while out to dinner. Upon returning, I mixed up some MiG Dark Mud, Russian Earth, and African Earth together as dry powders and then combined with tap water to create a wet solution applied by sable brush to the tracks, hull, wheels, etc.



This was allowed to air dry which took about an hour or so to accomplish. Once done, the surfaces were attacked with several different types of stiff bristled brush to remove the excess and for the tougher areas, moistened Q-tips were used to tone it down and blend it in.



The tracks were given another pass with the stiff bristle brushes and then Steel drybrushed to restore the raised/worn/shiny areas to the link faces, pins, guidehorns, etc.



I'm going to sleep on this one, literally!, and take a look at it again in the morning to see what areas still remain, almost to the finish line with this one.

I went back and touched up a couple things after taking the first round of pics, most notably the wheels were given some more attention to thin out the Mig effect and allow more of the basecoat/worn areas show through. Before I applied the Migs the first time around, I had lightly drybrushed each wheel with some Steel and Burnt Umber and I wanted this to add to the overall effect. I took a 000 sable brush moistened with water and gently reworked around the wheel rims and hubs and then followed that with some Burnt Umber wash touched to each of the bolt heads. Since all the work with the hull was done, I also applied a touch of glue on the inside hinge points of the gun mount to stiffen it up and keep the gun from drooping all the way down.

Then it was off to the photo booth for the Finished pics.