discussion Peter's German Half Track - 1:48 - Mtl.SPW.Sd.Kfz 251/1 Ausf.D

[pjgtech]

Been busy today, more progress....
Camo pattern painted on the figures.


And the accessories added to the figures, eg: bread bag, water bottle, gas mask, etc. You can just about see that the figure on the right, is slightly bigger than the other , original kit two figures.


Tracks also now added, I painted them first on the sprue, using the AK paint pens, bit fiddly to do the tracks at this scale, (link and length) but they went on ok.


Added the MG to one of the kit included figures, as depicted on the box art, there is an option to have the MG on the rear of the half track too.


More internals painted and installed.


Dashboard decals added and steering wheel, etc.


Rear seat backs and rifle racks and storage bins and fire extinguisher added.


Main upper body shell added, fit was quite good.


Side skirts and storage bins added, taped up to pull the very slight gaps in whilst its setting.

 

[pjgtech]

As I'm just using the AK paint pens I am therefore limited in my paint colour choices, as even though I have a set of 35, they are all pretyy much basic colours, so the colours will not be exactly period correct, I'm just doing the best I can with the paints I have.

I obviously could use my (many) other paints, Tamiya, Revell, Mr Hobby, etc, but I sort of set this one up as a challenge for myself, to see how far I could get just be using the paint pens. Yeah, thats a great idea, lets make the model more difficult than it needs to be, Lol..... But hey, sometimes you just gotta challenge yourself....

Once I start the diorama that will go with this kit,, I will then be using my "normal" paints on the base, scenery, etc, and I will be using my airbrush too.... I'm just sticking to the AK pens for this kit.

 

[Darian Frey]

interesting challenge just using the paint pens - it'll be interesting to see how you get on - they looked like they were useful for painting the camo uniforms though, I might have to pinch that idea - what colours did you use?

It's all looking excellent!

 

[pjgtech]

interesting challenge just using the paint pens...... what colours did you use?

The Tamiya kit obviously recommends the proper Tamiya paints, so I had to just use whatever was closest in the AK pen set, and I ended up with a light green and a mid brown over a sort of pale buff/green base. I do notice with the paint pens that the colour is often lighter than that shown on the guide/and pen tip, and you sometimes have to go over it and put another coat on, but I do like them.
I think the base layer (trousers) was RCM018 Dunkelgelb and I think the camo was green (RCM022 Interior Green) and the brown was (RCM007 Brown).

 

[pjgtech]

Ok, so the AK paint pen part of this build is now done. I managed to build the whole thing and only use the AK paint pens, and it did not turn out too bad IMHO, see pics below.

The model has not had any primer and has not had any clear coats, its just had the paint from the paint pens and thats it.
NB: Just before taking the photos I added a some AK panel line black, just to highlight some of the panel lines, door hinges, locks, figure accessories, vehicle accessories, etc, and to make it pop a little bit more.

The next phase of this build will be some weathering, which obviously I cannot do with the paint pens, so it will be getting a clear coat then some enamel pigments and washes, eg: a dirt wash, a grime wash, a rust wash, then a snow/ice/frost coat to simulate the "winter" look..

But here are the photos so far.

 

[pjgtech]

First idea for the diorama base.....

 

[John Race]

Those pens certainly allow for some great detail Peter. Impressive work. Off to show Matron!

 

[Valeron]

Impressive use of the pens. Never used them myself.

 

[Darian Frey]

That's a really impressive build and painting with just pens - they do work obviously. Thanks for the info on the colours.