discussion "Otto, a bottle of Schnapps, if you get him before he gets you!"

[spanner570]

Whilst I was in the loft recently, I found a battered 1/35 Panzer IV in a box, along with a set of Tamiya German Grenadiers. I'd forgot all about them, so I thought it a good idea to 'renovate' them and put them on a diorama, but first..........


I wanted to try and get a rough casting look to the tank, as I sometimes see models which to me are too smooth a finish and lack that roughness which is apparent on most armour - Don't shout at me, as we all have different ideas as to the finished article, this is just my personal take on it.


Here's what I did. I sprinkled talcum powder over the whole model, blew off the excess and with this disgusting brush I painted the whole tank - powder and all -  with Vallejo Model Air in the correct colour. Bingo! It worked. I had a nice rough texture to the castings on the tank. I let this first coat dry and then did two more coats to finish it off.......I'm very happy with the result and luckily my first experiment was a success. Bring on the next chunk of armour!


The brush!!


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I also re-painted the Grenadiers. 


All brush painted with Vallejo Acrylics....


Here is the Panzer IV with it's little chicks....Not too much weathering, more a dusting and a bit of work with a soft pencil. I know the cammo was used, but I'm not too bothered if the number or anything else is not correct, I build for fun.


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You can just see how the talc has given me that slightly rough finish to the castings on this shot.


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Here is the model on a small diorama.


I made the building some time ago on here and this too has languished in the loft, so I removed the cobwebs and combined the two as best I could without having to make a new base for the tank. I didn't add any more rubble but just scattered some loose stuff from the original.


Poor Otto, he's been sent in to root out someone the commander thinks has just taken a shot at them from the destroyed building. A Schnapps awaits him if he is successful....


His mates look on..."Go on Otto, get him!"


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Here's a few coloured ones too...a bit naff but hey ho!


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I hope you like this attempt at a 'reasurrection' of some old and forgotten models.


Cheers all,


Ron

 

[Ian M]

Nice one Ron. The £1000 question. Is there a sniper hidden amongst the rubble? I thing poor Otto is going to have a long wait for his Schnapps. 
Great use of old builds too !

 

[spanner570]

Thanks Ian. You have a good memory. The 'Sniper' G.B from way back! That was fun to do - this time more likely some old fart with an ancient shotgun - so Otto's on a winner me thinks!

 

[monica]

what a great build Ron,I real do like this one,the color and camo looks great,and like the effect you got,


the figures are so good,I do real like that set,good poses,

 

[Guest]

Another great build Ron.

 

[spanner570]

Thanks Monica and Terry. This project was just a bit of fun really. It was nice to drag them out of the dark depths of the loft and 'Re-cycle' them.


Monica, yes, they are an excellent set of figures and were made for the Panzer, although they do fit on a Tiger tank as well - bit more room too!

 

[Lee W]

Nice one Ron


Lee

 

[spanner570]

Cheers Lee, I'm glad you like the 'make over'...I'll have to see what else is up in the loft!


Ron

 

[papa 695]

I think the talc works Ron. Nice job 

 

[Pikeman]

A really good build Ron


love everything about the scene,the tank,figures and rubble are all done really well nice dio

 

[spanner570]

Ian - yes, I'm well pleased how that turned out. It got rid of the flat blandness of the plastic castings and gives the steel a bit of 'texture' - for the want of a better word!


Thanks Stuart, I appreciate your excellent comments.

 

[Gern]

Beautifully done as ever Ron!


Did you fix the talc before painting? I tried some pastels once and they stuck in the paint when I tried to brush it on and congealed in lumps at the end of my brush strokes.

 

[Snowman]

Awesome work, bub! B|

 

[Guest]

Nice one, Ron. I like the rough cast effect where it's visible on the photos - the close-up of the front shows it best, I think.

 

[grumpa]

Great work as usual Ron, love the idea of recycling older kits with minor alterations into new and exiting projects. Maybe a before and after shot of vehicles and figures to be used might be of interest.


It's always sad to look at the "Relic museum"  relegated to the past, and imagine new life, and with improved technique and experience make them even better than before. plus it keeps space in consideration and you don't have to build a kit or kits before even attempting a base, figures and buildings etc... Oh and I like the talc idea, will definitely keep it in mind ..........Jim

 

[spanner570]

Dave, Gavin, Doug and Jim.


Dave, sorry, I missed your question. I can only think your paint was a tad too thick. I used Vallejo Model Air to brush paint the tank and even then I watered it down quite some for the initial coat.


Thank you all for your encouraging posts. Some folks might regard this sort of modelling as cheating a bit - I would call it re-cycling. Far better than it sitting in a box in the pitch black of my loft. Mind you in a few weeks time it might well end up back there! 


Cheers,


Ron 

 

[flyjoe180]

Great job Ron, lots to look at there. The B&W photos add to the atmosphere I think.

 

[Guest]

Great work on this diorama Ron.