Dragon Panther II in 1:35

[Guest]

Finally, time for the third color! The addition of the red-brown really made it all click together. I think it looks fantastic. I also threw on both painted antennae.







Some close ups. I will make the shades and tints of these circles more consistent later. Some are a lot lighter in areas than others.



Now the moment I've been waiting for very much... I put on the tools and it looks AWESOME!! The spare tracks will be painted later.



To do list: Finish painting tracks (I mixed a lighter black for these, should look better than plain black), paint infrared lenses, add scuffing.

[monica]

some very nice detailing work going on hear,liking the look of this one,so far,
keep it going look forward to next up date,

[Guest]

Update time! Woo! Been busy! Lots of small changes, so let's get to it!

It's time I unveiled my work with the sponge method. (: I am so happy with how this turned out. After a bit of experimenting inside the lower hull (my "bin of secrets," because I practice all the techniques I've just learned in there and nobody sees it but me!), I began applying somewhat heavy wear on the main areas of traffic. I decided that this tank crew regularly enters the tank in the same spots, hence the paint has been worn down to the metal below. Also if I remember correctly, many panzer crews had metal somewhere on the bottom of their boots, so metal scraping against the same areas of paint on a daily basis would definitely cause some major paint wear in my opinion. I used Mig Jimenez's article on his 1/16 King Tiger weathering for reference.

Here are the photos of my first attempts.




After this, I spread to other areas of the tank. Anywhere you see a lot of bare metal is where my crew would regularly step onto the tank.








After the hull, the turret obviously came next. Again, "heavy traffic" areas have been worn down to bare metal.





Then came time for the turret number. I somehow lost all my big decal sheet with a bunch of different numbers and colors on it from my KT kit. ): I had to use another KT kit's decal sheet for these. I also tossed on two Balkenkreuz decals because it seemed the sensible thing to do.

[Guest]

Really wish more than 20 images per post was allowed... Oh well, moving on!

It was time to paint the rubber tires on the road wheels! This is always so tedious. Anything in scale modeling that has to do with running gear is my least favorite. So repetitive!


Afterwards, I gave 'em the sponge treatment!



The lower hull also got some nice scratches. I figure I'd go heavy on this part because it's the part most likely to get messed up easily.


After consulting many sources, I decided the best option to paint the infrared lenses would be to do an almost-black red. I took a page from my Cobra King book and bought a clear Tamiya color. Red! First, I put down a bottom layer of flat black. Then I painted the clear red on. This way, the lens looks black directly from the front and red when you move it around. I am very pleased with the result!!! If it's not very easy to see, there are a few more pictures later that make it easier to see. I also painted all the periscopes using the same method, but clear blue. Same as on Cobra King.



So, I told myself I wasn't going to do this, but I did. I kept looking at the infrared device and it just looked more and more "off." After looking at War Thunder's Panther II and its infrared device, I concluded I had to add the wiring and stuff. It just looks right! I grabbed some string from this kit (meant for the tow cable, but I used copper wire for that) and some super glue and went to work. Here is also where you can really notice the subtle red to the lenses.



Next came the smaller wire on top. For this, I used an unraveled strand from the aforementioned copper wire.


Here's a picture that shows the alterations thus far as well as the red in the lenses, but for some reason, to me this really looks like it was taken in a museum!


Then came the third alteration. I'm not sure what this is supposed to be, maybe a belt that aids in elevation of the device. *Shrug* Whatever it is, I added it! First I had to drill a hole since in War Thunder, this goes through a hole into the turret. This took some hefty aligning, since I really only had one shot! I held an object between two parts, marked the spot with a pen, and hoped for the best.


Somehow came out perfect! I then scrounged around for something as thin as that quarter-circle thing and found that of all things, a thin bar on the Aber engine deck PE fret looked right for this!


Glued it in place to find it was PERFECT!

[Guest]

The final modification was a small bulge of armor to protect the hole that the bar extends down into. This was confusing since I thought I was going to have to mold something weird with putty. Luckily, I dug through some kits and found that a small unused piece in my Jagdtiger kit fit the bill just right! I think it was meant to hold the antenna on some other Dragon JTs. I don't fully remember.



The first step was to do some trimming of unneeded bits. I cut off the little side bulges and the long extension around the rim. Afterwards I drilled a hole in the middle to mark the furthest point that the hollow would extend to.


Then I drilled another hole or two and cut away the excess bits. Fantastic!


Time for final fitting! It came out better than I could have hoped.


After all the alterations were done, I painted everything! I'm so happy with how it came out!!! Here is a shot of War Thunder's infrared device, then two images of mine. I don't have anything to replicate that chain thing so I'm leaving it out.

[Guest]

At this point I learned the techniques for rust stains and stuff. I applied it first to the turret in areas I thought made sense.


Then I decided I'd do a final dry fit before the last stages of this build (before I glue the hull together and stuff). Very, VERY happy with how this looks. I wish I'd remembered to do some battle damage before first painting though, hehe... ops:


After that, I remembered I needed to detail the dents and scratches I made in the side skirts so long ago! Silly me... I also put some in the upper glacis. In my mind, these would have been heavy scratches and dents that would have cut clean through the paint and rusted over time.






Also decided to weather the mufflers finally. I applied a heavy layer of cement and stippled the surface with a brush. Then I put on some enamel paint, burnt sienna and burnt umber. My first time using enamel paints by the way.


Got around to sanding down the surfaces of the tracks which would see constant contact with something. I imagine rocks and dirt getting caught between the wheels and the tracks would weather the underside and obviously constant contact with the ground would weather the opposite side. I sanded down the areas I deemed appropriate.




So, that's all for now!! We're entering the final stages. I think next I will do the gloss coat and final staining and stuff. Mud, etc... Then a final matte coat to seal it all up! Can't wait!

Also, I figure I will show you guys my newest acquisition... Amusing Hobby's brand new Panther II prototype kit! This is supposed to be an accurate Panther II hull, with the proper hatches for the driver & radio operator. It also features what we imagine the actual Panther II turret would look like based on drawings. It's supposed to be a hybrid of the regular Panther turret and the Schmalturm. If I remember correctly, the Schmalturm was developed from this.

The mold quality is EXCELLENT. A bunch of nice features with this kit. Very happy I got it.


Someday I'll get to work on it! In the meantime, see y'all around!!! I appreciate your comments and feedback!!!

[monica]

real nice going on this one,Ryan,
do like the camo,not an easy one,for that,well done with it,
real like the added ,wires,and bits and bobs,your done,dose add to it,makes,
it look real,
nice work with the chipping like how,you have done it back to bear metal,

[Guest]

monica Many thanks!! ^_^ I really like the octopus camo now that I've done it. There are so many little details to it that people wouldn't notice on the first few looks. I had to keep looking at my reference picture when laying out the frame!

I wasn't sure about adding the wires and such because I didn't realize I had the materials but now that they are added it looks so much more believable. Now I have to make sure I have those materials for my two E-75s...

Thanks! A friend said that it would still rust regardless of being scraped by metal-bottomed boots. I will add these final rust stains on the bare metal parts after the gloss coat.