German Ingenuity 39(H) 10.5cm LeFH18(Sf) auf Geschutzwagen

[scottie3158]

Richard,
very clean tidy work as always. Great skills with the AB.

[Steve Jones]

Nice shadow work Richard. Looking forward to seeing all the detail painting

[rtfoe]

Thanks gentlemen. On the subject of airbrushing...it is not always the size that matters but how you use it...sound familiar :smiling2: I've got a 0.3 needle but to get thet results you need to know the properties of liquid flow and the blowing of gases and the impact and distance of the surface. Let me explain...paint leaving the needle is at its sharpest at the point. The smoothest flow would be the thinnest of thinning you can get of the paint that still holds pigments of color. The right amount of air to push paint over the needle.
You can get a very thin line if your airflow is set to its minimum, paint thinned to its maximum and needle closest to the surface. I would often remove the crown to expose the needle...one to get close nearly touching the surface and two to lessen the turbulance caused by the blowback within the crown.

Oops continue later ...have to pick up the cat from the vet.

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

Hi, I'm back...

...two to lessen the turbulance caused by the blowback within the crown.
Cheers,
Richard

The crown on the nozzle tip protects the needle but because of its cone covering air hitting the surface gets blown back into the nozzle area causing paint to build up thus creating splatter or you get a messy line. That is why some fine airbrushes have a cone that has holes around it or it is shaped like an actual crown. This helps with any blowback.

The other thing I forgot to mention is the control of your finger button on the dual action trigger. If you're light with your touch you might be able to control the amount of air released but you'll get finger cramps in no time. Then of course the pull back to release the amount of paint wanted. It's always press then pull back...not pull back and press. To avoid accidental splatter clear the nozzle with a few spurts of air just before you point it at your kit or have a finger palette to test on before you move onto your kit.

You can get very thin lines by masking. Anything that comes between your nozzle and surface is a mask.
Practise spraying on an uneven surface...this helps with your hand coordination to automatically vary the distance of your nozzle to the surface.

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
Richard

[rtfoe]

From airbrushing I move onto the hairy sticks...I picked out the radio in black...very basic here...



After dry brushing the dials and picking out the shell casings with brass and other equipment I moved onto giving a light wash to the interior



I teased the wash into corners and added rust stains..just a little.





At this point there is no chipping but a slow build up of the wash



I dry brushed some steel to the edges. I haven't decided on how much dirt is carried into the compartment. Have to see what the crew has stepped on in the diorama.
This is where Trumpeter has failed, they should have left some shells off the rack instead of keeping it full.



The compartment is still dry fitted and can be separated for easy adding more detail.

Cheers,
Richard

[Allen Dewire]

Hi Richard,

Great color on the interior and it blends well. As far as the full ammo storage racks, you might want to consider the 39H being freshly unloaded from the railhead at the front. I mean fresh from Baukommando Becker's Paris workshop to the Normandie area and turned over to it's new owners. The new owners have filled the racks and stored their personell gear on board. Then it is off to join up with the rest of the arty battery…..

Just a thought my friend. You probably have a great plan for the dio anyway. You always do...………...….

[Lee Drennen]

Nice update Richard

[Guest]

Beautiful work Richard.

[Si Benson]

Very nice Richard, that paintwork looks excellent :thumb2:

[Guest]

Amazing work and good info for a novice airbrush user, thanks.

[scottie3158]

Richard very nice and tidy work as one would expect from you.

[rtfoe]

Great idea Allen...might take you up on it but I have something in mind. Thanks. Also thank you Lee, Peter, Si, Andy and Scottie for your kind comments.

The interior of these vehicals were kept clean and stocked as they were in a sector of France just preparing for an invasion. There must have been days of cleaning perhaps mock drills and the surprise inspections by the brass namely Rommel himself.

I forgot to show the hairy stick I used for the detail I painted...



Now back to the chassis and the tracks...they are the stiffest I have come across...stuffed with Viagra I suppose :tears-of-joy:



I had these but thought I'd save it for another build...



I decided to use an old technique of drilling holes to the sidewall and securing pins over the tracks to keep them down...



I cut the pins halfway the width of the tracks so they are not so noticeable.



Some dirt and grass will further hide the pins. Later I painted the whole assembly in black.



Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

In those first pictures with the tracks, it almost gives the impression that they’re pre-formed tracks that you put on upside down. Not only very stiff but also a bit too long, by the looks of it. The pin method appears to have worked well, though.

[Steve Jones]

Nice work on the tracks. They are always the Achilles heel on my builds. I might send the next set over to you to put on for me LOL

[rtfoe]

Hey Jakko and Steve, thanks.

Ya they look upside down but were really a circle before installation. I wish they wrap themselves or for the individual link ones already assembled.

Cheers,
Richard