Hey Jerry are you in there or what?

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so time for the next update
this time i will cover the painting stages after the black and white base and the detail painting of the M4A3 Sherman

so here is the painting of the Sherman

the base color i used is mr hobby aqueous H304 olive drab
wich was applied in 4 thin coats all over the kit
this version of the olive drab is brighter then the shades you have from Tamiya and Vallejo
i think that this is a discussion point in general as every one has their own opinion as to wich paint is the best for painting olive drab
but i picked this shade because it would work better with the black and white base and i personally don't like the look of the very dark shade wich could result in a very dark and hard to weather tank


i used mr hobby aqueous tyre black to brush paint the tyres
this paint worked well enough for me but it needed some thinning to make it easier to use


then i used Vallejo modelcolor oily steel on the edges of the sprockets where they are most likely to chip paint and get a polished look as that is the part where the sprocket hits the metal part of the track


the next thing on the list where the tools
so i started out with the wooden tool handles
there is a extra set of cleaning rods on 1 of the stowage parts so that was done at the same time
as a basecolor for the wood i used a mix of Vallejo model color English uniform and white
these where mixed in a 4:1 ratio


after looking at some reference shots i noticed that the tools on US vehicles had a reddish brown look to them or even a bit orange
so i used model color orange brown wich i dry brushed on the tools in lng motions
this way you still get a slight wood grain effect on them


the towcable was painted in oily steel
i think that i will use some rust washes later to make it look old and unused


the spare tracklinks where painted with the same tyre black i used before on the wheels


the head of the cleaning rod was painted with mr metal color aluminium and modelcolor black
the handles are painted in the same way as the toolhandles


the search light and lowest part of the periscope where painted in black



the gunbarrels where brush painted with mr metl color dark iron
it looks a bit chunky in places but with a little polish with a piece of paper towel they look better


after a quick polish with a paper towel and old brush
i use the brush to get to the small places where the towel can't go without damaging parts


i then painted the ammobox on the gun with model color olive drab wich is darker then the basecolor i used
i also did a general dry brushing using model color uniform green wich is a bright green but in thin layers it will look a bit darker and it worked well to highlight the raised details


i then sarted to work on the stowage
the sets i picked only consist of either personal back packs and rolled up tarps
so i decided to use 2 Vallejo panzer aces colors
i used dark mud on the tarps and canvas on the back packs


i then started to use several eath/dust tones to dry brush the stowage
colors i used are , pale sand , dark sand , german camo beige all by Vallejo modelcolor
i used them to highlight the raised detail


a second dry brushing
this time i used the german camo beige mixed with a drop of white to further highlight everything
the drawback is that it leaves a very sharp contrast
so that is something to deal with


to soften the effect of the dry brushing i used colors i used before
the tarps where painted with the beige again and the backpacks with the canvas
but this time to make sure they have some transparency i thinned them with a lot of water
about 50/50 or even 60/40 water to paint
because the drybrushed paints where only dry not cured the effect will become softer as you blend them a little with the thinned paint


the cardboard box was first painted with modelcolor orange brown
and before this had time to fully dry i used heavily thinned pale sand over it
again this blends the colors together a bit but still leaves different tones in the end (when you don't cover everything and keep using a brush on it)


the wooden handles of the M2 where painted in the same way as the toolhandles
this is one of those thing i tend to forget when i am painting


ll the stowage was glued on the tank
for the weathering i don't feel like it makes much difference if the stowage is on there or not
and a complete tank is easier to hold then a small stowagepack


i then worked on the tracks
the tracks where first sprayed with the tyre black i used on the wheels
the metal parts are painted with mr metal color dark iron (brushed on) and then buffed to make it look more like metal
the left is before buffing the metal and the right after


to give the tracks a used look i decided to dry brush the chevrons and the insides with modelcolr neutral grey
left is finished , the right one is from the prevoius photo

a mini reveal of the paintwork




i didn't do the chipping at this point because i want to do some chipping over the decals to make it look like the markings are scratched in some places and i found out that it is easier to remove mistakes with the chipping after the model has a coat of varnish because i use some mr hobby aqueous thinner to gently remove mistakes i make with modelcolor or similar paints but you run the risk of damaging the paint underneath if it is not protected

so that is alli have for now
i will get back to you guys soon with the painting of the jagdpanzer IV and then it is time for some weathering (looking forward to that for a chance)
thanks for stopping by and having a look
untill next time
cheers,Mark

[OliveDrab]

Superb builds Mark I'm with you on your choice of olive drab you used on the M4A3, the lighter shade looks simply awesome

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much
I hope this will work better with the weathering as the colors i can use will be a bit lighter now
If i had the dark shade of OD i would need a black wash to even see it on there
But i am not 100 % sure about the weathering yet
Probably some fading with oils once i get them and a little mud or dust
And my usual routine with washes and streaking wich should look intresting on a OD color instead of the German stuff i normally build

[PaulAyrey]

A stunning thread so far Mark, keep up the good work.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much Paul
The vehicles had a coat of varnish yesterday so i will do the decals today and give it another coat of varnish
I will try to get the update for the Jagdpanzer posted aswell
Then it is time for some weathering so the end is near

[TheTroyster]

I really like that Olive Drab color - I've been using the other two you mentioned and think they are way too dark. Kind of a big build here you're doing. That stowage makes the Sherman into something interesting.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much Troy
Yeah the build will be a bit bigger then planned
That is one of my bad habits
For a gb i usually can only manage to come up with a single vehicle and with Sig's i get all kinds of crazy diorama ideas wich i somehow want to make in 3 months
I am already falling behind as i planned to build and finish the 2 kits in 1 month (wich i can do most of the times) and i wanted to have 2 months for the dio and figures so i hope that the actual building will be done faster then planned to make up for some lost time

[TheTroyster]

Coffee. Lots of coffee.

[MarkVerploeg]

Coffee. Lots of coffee.

I don't drink that much coffee actually
But it will probably be a lot of long nights of modelling just like last year with my entries in the Vietnam and shelf of doom gb's
And if i happen to run out of time so be it
I don't want to cut corners to finish in time

[demarcation]

Awesome work so far mate!!

[TommyKillander]

Love the olive drab, definitely the right choice.

Keep up the awesomeness!


Tommy

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much guys
I am working on the weathering and the figures at the moment
Well when i can't do anything to the vehicles i am painting figures is more like it anyway
I have the painting of the Jagdpanzer pics uploaded but my modem at home crashed so i will have to wait a few days with that update untill a new one arrives
On the other hand i can keep my self busy with the build
So stay tuned as a update should be up in a few days
Cheers

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so i am back with another update
this time i will go over the painting stages of the jagdpanzer IV

i also had a small change of my plan
i wanted a vehicle with a ambush camo scheme but as i already have a Jagdpanzer IV i thought it would be nice to have this one without the side skirts
but the problem was that most ambush camouflaged vehicles had colored road wheels
so after i had a look i decided that i will add the side skirts because i didn't like the look of the colored upper hull and wheels with the large dark yellow space in between them

so i will start there and then go back to the painting



as you can see the vehicle is already in the basecoat
the side skirts are from the kit
they where in full lenghts so i used a knife to seperate each panel
next i used a pair of pliers to bend and dent the panels
i could have been a bi more carefull as i accidently cracked 2 on the panels in the proces so i had to use some TET to make sure i wouldn't damage them any further


so back to painting
the basecolor is Mr hobby aqueous H403 dark yellow
this is made a bit lighter by adding sail color from the same range
it is similar to tamiya's Buff but a little bit darker
the first camo color i add is always the red brown (if i have a tri tone subject)
as i didn't have enough of the tamiya color i used the Aqueous red brown wich has more red in it but the coats of varnishes and weathering later will make it look less red then it is now


then the dark green was added
i used Tamiya xf-61 for this wich was also slightly brightened with a lighter color
in this case i used the buff color to do this


then i started with the dots
i started with the base color
i have heared some other modellers (not on here but at a show) say that you can't do this with the tamiya and aqueous paints as they dry too fast
i don't agree , this is the same paint as the base color but i added a bit more thinner
this makes it possible to paint them without any trouble
brush painting large areas with these paints is a tougher job though as they do dry fast


the red brown dots


and finally the dark green ones


once i had a idea on how the camo looks i can see wich color is above a road wheel
i then counted the wheels that should have a certain color and sprayed them


i then painted the tyres
i used aqueous tyre black for this and again with some thinner in it ,it was brush painted on the wheels


then it was time to paint the tools
i start with the handles wich are painted in a 4:1 mix of modelcolor English uniform and white as a basecolor
i did this with the cutters aswell but thos will get another finish as they are made from bakelite instead of wood


the next step for the tools
the wooden parts where dry brushed with modelcolor smoke
i do this with long strokes so i get a long woodgrain effect on the handles
the cutters where dry brushed with a mix of flat brown nd orange brown
i didn't really liked it at this point


so to fix the look on the cutter handles i used the modelcolor orange brown again but i thinned it with water roughly 2 parts paint to 1 part water
this allws you to add very thin layers untill you get the color you want


i then painted the metal parts of the tools
i used mr metal color stainless steel for this
it is one of the range of buffable paints but if it is brush painted the buffing effect is very minimal with this color


the periscopes where painted black and the interior side of the hatches was painted in the same color as the rest of the interior


i then painted the fire extinguisher (almost forgot the thing)
i used black for the top part and modelcolor extra dark green for the rest


the bump stops where also painted with tyre black as they are supossed to be made out of rubber


the return rollers , idlers and drive sprockets where first painted with mr metal color aluminium
i sprayed this on there , then i buffed the paint to get the shiny result like you see here
once the paint was fully dry i added a coat of varnish (satin i think)
a day later i sprayed 2 coats of AK worn effects chipping solution on them
this needs to dry for 15 to 30 minutes don't wait much longer as you need to get painting once it is dry because this product looses the chipping effect over time
then the wheels where painted with the vehicles base color
waiting for another 30 minutes i added some water on the parts where i think the paint would completely wear off
and this is the result


the wheels where put in place
the drive sprockets are friction fitted all the others are glued in place


the spare wheel was put in it's place
i decided to only add 1 so i don't get the look like this thing just drove out of a service depot


so once the roof was finally glued in place i added the small extension for the gunners sight


and now i have a mini reveal like i did with the Sherman





and you can still see the inside


it still needs the tracks but i have to be honest i didn't have a single day that i was feeling like it to make them
but i have a 3 day weekend starting sunday so maybe i can get them drilled out and burnished then
the vehicles are already half way through the weathering stages and i can start the oil fading tomorrow as the varnish base is still drying
so if all goes according to my plan i can have a little trip to the hobby store next week for diorama supplies and still finish both vehicles and the figures
but it depends on the oil paints if i can finish the vehicles that fast , i never used the oil dot fading before and i have no idea how long it takes for them to dry (only that it can be a slow proces)

so that is all i hve for now
i hope you like it
thanks for stopping by and untill next time
cheers ,Mark

[Coen]

Beautiful work as always Mark.
Very fine detail work bud. That will really carry it on the end.
Nicely done.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much Coen
But it seems i have more free time now as i learned that i will be out of a job from monday on
It sucks but the restaurant i worked at is going out of buisness
On the brightside more modelling time (keep possitive)
I am in the middle of drilling out the friul tracks and will give them a good wash once i am done
Then i will start the burnishing tomorrow and hopefully finish the vehicles
And maybe get some more work done on the figures

[OliveDrab]

That's very fine work Mark, can't wait to see more
Sorry to hear about your job situation.

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much OD
Well there is nothing much i can do about the job situation except look for a new one
I am not too worried about it , well not more then needed anyway
I have today planned for finishing the 2 vehicles as the tracks are burnished at the moment so all i need to do is add fuel and oil stains , dirt and mud and assemble those tracks
Then i can continue with the figures and after that the diorama base itself

[MarkVerploeg]

Hi guys
So for now i have a little teaser on the vehicles
I finished them half an hour ago so not all the pics for the updates are uploaded yet
The sort of reveal photo's are ready to go so i thought i would post a few and try to do the updates on them tomorrow as updates uasually take me a hour or more to make (slow at typing)

So here is the Sherman






And ofcourse the main subject of this build
The Jagdpanzer L/70






So that is all i am showing for now
I hope you like them so far
Thanks for stopping by and untill next time
Cheers Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so as promised here is the first of the 2 updates about the weathering stages of the vehicles

i will start with the jagdpanzer IV


once the painting was done i covered the entire model with a coat of Vallejo satin varnish
i think that the satin varnish is good enough as a base for decals
if you use some decal solution to make the decals set better they will go down on the surface without any problem
once the varnish was dry i added the decals and the chipping
i added the chipping using a sponge and Vallejo modelcolor german camo black brown wich is a very nice color for this
i applied the chipping around hatches and on the plates where the crew would be walkingwhen they get on or off the vehicle
i didn't do this on the parts where there is zimmerit as zimmerit is a mix of sawdust and concrete so it can't rust but only show small amounts of rust where metal parts stick through the zimmerit coating but that would be more like streaks then actual rust



i aslo made some chipping on the wheels and the side skirts
i actuall added more chipping to the side skirts as they would shake around while the vehicle is on the move so they would bump in to eachother all the time causing a lot of paint chipping and damage on the edges of these plates



after the chipping was done the vehicle was covered in a coat of Alclad aqua gloss
once that had time to dry i applied the wash
i used AK DAK wash for this ,wich i use for most of my german armor
the wash is a dark brown wash wich looks pretty similar to raw umber for those who use oil paints for their washes



i then started to remove all the unwanted wash that was on the model
i only want the wash to be around the raised details and in the recessed places



i then started the streaking effects
for this i used the AK streaking effects for dark yellow vehicles but there is some ruststreaking on there aswell but only on the dark yellow and red brown because this color is very similar to the other streakingcolor it would be nearly invisble on the dark green
the streaking effects are basicly a thicker wash wich allows you to make the streaks by pulling the paint down with a moist flat brush



to complete the streaking effects i used a flat number 2 brush wich i moistened with thinner
be sure that the brush is only moist and not soaked as you will only need a small amount of the thinner as too much thinner will remove the streaking all together
the streaking is very hard to see on the sides of the upper hull part because of the zimmerit but the same would happen in real life as the dirt will go down 1 layer and then fills up that recess before it goes down to the next
the effect is more visible on the side skirts wich are flat


to have some more rust and especially on the dark green i used some mig prod. light rust wash
this is easy to see on the dark green and provides you with a bit of contrast with the light orange rust on the dark back ground
i also used this around some of the rivets


and again using a flat brush i "refined" the streaks a bit




i also added some of the rust wash on the wheels and various tools like the jack and the shovel (not in the photo)
once all that had time to dry the vehicle was covered in a coat of satin vanish from Vallejo


then it was time to bring out the oil paints
i used the following colors
sap green
transparent white
napples yellow (light yellow)
cadmium yellow (bright yellow)
permanent red light



the oils where applied in dots all over the vehicle
i used the lighter colors on the upper parts and the dark ones on the lower parts
the red was only used on the engine deck
that was tip i had from a book wich suggested that it gives a warmer look to the part of the vehicle wich actually becomes warm in real life
i however just followed that suggestion to see how it would turn out


to work with the oil paints i used a number 4 and a number 8 round brush and the same AK thinner i used with the washes
i removed almost all the paint leaving a thin layer on the model to fade the entire vehicle


after about a night of drying time i applied the final clear coat wich is AK's ultra matte varnish
i only thin this a little but so it still won't spray very well but i raise the pressure to about 30 to 35 psi wich helps to make it spray very smooth and gives a very nice and even finish



i then started to work on the friul tracks
i start by drilling out the holes
then they had a bath to remove the mold grease
and after a quick drying using a old towel they where put in the Ultimate burnishing liquid
and as you can see the result is very nice
i still had some airbubbles or grease residue on them but all on the outside of the tracks wich can be covered with pigments later



then the tracks where fitted
the drivers side track is damaged but that is par of my plan as the Jagdpanzer will look like the track is hit by a HE shell wich caused it to break and the crew then abandoned it as they where under fire so they didn't have time to fix the track


something i should have done earlier in the build but i wasn't sure how i wanted to make the rust effects on it
so i started out with the old rust from the Ammo for Mig rust set


then using the dark and medium rust from this set i made spots all over the exhaust
i did this to get some color variotion later on when i add the pigment


i also added a ring of shadow rust around the welding seam of the exhaustpipe


i then added mig prod. railroad rust pigment on the exhaust


the same pigment was added to the spare tracks


just before the pigments i added some bare metal to the model
i used a regular HB pencil for this wich i moved up and down several edges all over the model but all are places where you would expect regular use of a hatch or part
i also repeated this on the edges of the side skirts as those would hit eachother all the time when the vehicle would be on the move


i also added some oilstains on the engine deck and the roadwheels wich would often leak some oil


then it was about time for the pigments
i use the Ak dust effects as a fixer instead of the regular fixing agents


i started out by brushing on the dust effects on the lower part of the vehicle


then the dark mud pigment was added
this will simulate the darker wet mud


the the europe dust was added
this should look like the slightly moist/drying mud


then the dry mud was added
i used this only in the middle between the wheels and places where there would be more sunlight to make the mud dry


the wheels where also covered with the dry mud pigment


then using a cotton bud/q-tip to remove the pigments from the running surfaces of the wheels


the insides of the mudflaps also received some pigments
and the tracks where covered with the european dust pigment


i then started to add the dust layer on the vehicle
i make small spots of pigment and use a large (#8) brush to cover the entire panel


and then it looked like this


i added some black smoke pigment to simulate soot around the exhaust pipe


the same was done on the tip of the barrel


to make it look a bit more intresting i used the pencil again to make the edges look like they are in bare metal
i covered both the inside and outside
i then added the side skirts for the last time and called the jagdpanzer IV finished

and now i have a sort of mini reveal for this vehicle









and that is all i have for now
i will try to get the update for the Shermn up as soon as i can find some time to do so
so i hope you like it so far
thanks for stopping by and untill next time
cheers,Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so i am back with a new update
it is a bit later then i planned but a few things got in the way and i kind of forgot that i still had to post this update
but here it is and this time i will go over the weathering of the M4A3 Sherman



i started with the chipping
i used Vallejo modelcolor german camo black brown and a small piece of sponge for this



once the chipping was dry i sprayed the model in a new coat of alclad aqua gloss to seal it in
the bottle instructions call for a drying time of about 6 hours but i usually do the sealing at the end of the day and it can dry during the night
i then applied the wash ,this time i used the AK OIF/OEF wash wich is meant for modern dessertised vehicles
but you can use it on dark green vehicles aswell as it has a very dark brown color



i then started to remove the excess wash using AK thinner and a flat number 2 brush



the next step where the streaking effects
i used AK OIF/OEF streaking for this wich is the same color as the wash but it is thicker
as a experiment i used Dark green streaks on the lower hull to get a effect of wet streaking but it didn't work out all that well so they where removed completely




then with the use of the same brush and thinner as i used in the previous step i started to make the streaks thinner and thinner untill i got to this result
after this had enough time to dry (3 hours) i sprayed the Sherman in another clear coat but this time i used Vallejo satin varnish wich will serve as a base for the oil dot fading


i then went on to the oil paints to do the fading
at this time this was my first attempt at this technique
i used the colors you see above wich are
sap green
olive green
permanent green medium
transaprent white
napples yellow
pale yellow


i then applied the dots
the darker colors where used on the lower parts of the hull and turret
then i started to use lighter colors as i worked my way up and the lightest colors went on the flat surfaces of the hull and turret


i used AK thinner and a large (#6 or 8) round brush to pull the oils from the top to the bottom


once the most of the oils was removed i had this result
i think i removed a little bit to much but for a first try i am happy with it


the overall look after the oils


i applied the last coat of varnish after the oils had a day to dry
i prefer the AK ultra matte varnish for this as it dries very fast and gives a nice finish
it dries very fast when you use your airbrush as a blowdryer


i then applied some fuel and oil spills
they are both done with AK products that where made for these effects


the barely visible exhausts where painted with the Ammo rust set
i used old rust as a base and made dots with dark and medium rust


and here the Mig prod. railroad rust pigment is applied
you can still see the spots through the pigments


i applied the Mig prod. rust effects wash on the towcable
it will build up more in the recessed areas so it only looks partially rusty


i also added some of the rust wash on the boogies
and i did the first step of the mud
i don't use a pigment fixer but i use Ak dust effects wich is a very thin and flat drying dust colored wash
this is brushed on all the parts where i think mud would be able to get to and where it could be for a long while


i added the first pigment wich is dark mud
i use this color to get the look of wet mud



the second color is european dust wich looks like moist mud but still gives the look like it is already drying


and in the most expossed places i added dry mud pigment


i then added the dry mud pigment on the tank by making small spots like you see here


and with a big flat brush they where moved over the surface of the tank


the tracks also received pigments
i used the european dust and dry mud for them


i started to put them on the tracks like this


i then blanded them together with a big brush
this also helps to cover the entire track surface
as a last step i rub my thumb over the chevrons to clean them a bit
pigments will stick to your fingers as those have a little bit of natural grease and oils on them so it helps to remove the unwanted pigment
do make sure you wash your hands after this as you don't want to get our pigments all over the place


the tracks where then placed on the tank


i used some black smoke pigment on the muzzle of the gun


to finish the barrel i used a HB pencil and rubbed that on the inside and outside of the barrel to make a worn effect


and some black smoke pigment on the exhaust
this was the last step of this vehicle build
it will get a commanders figure later on but that is not finished yet

so like i did with the Jagdpanzer ,here is a mini reveal for the Sherman








and that is all i have for now
i hope you like it so far
thanks for stopping by and untill next time
cheers,Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
i guess it is time for a update as we are in the last month of the build and the deadline is coming closer
i honestly forgot that i still had to do this update for the figures as i have finished them about 10 days ago but never thought about posting a update for them

so i tried a new method (for me anyway) to paint figures
i Always find the skin tones the hardest of figure painting so i was looking for a new method to make it look better and make it a bit easier

but here is what i did with the figures for this build
i didn't actually primed them as i am not happy with my primers lately so i used a dark grey from tamiya to use as a "primer"

i started out with painting the eyes
i used Vallejo modelcolor paints for all the paintwork so i will just call out the color names from now on (saves me a lot of typing )
the white is actually Ivory as white would look too bright , the iris is painted with dark prussian blue


the darkest and first color i used is dark skin tone but i mixed in some english uniform wich is a light brown to make it darker
this will be my basic shadow color aswell


i then used basic skin tone wich was applied all over except the parts that would need the shadow color


then i found the shadows to be too light so i mixed some basic skin tone and flat brown and re apllied the shadows


then more basic skin tone to tone down the shadow


after about 5 highly diluted layers it was looking okay to me


i then mixed the Ivory and basic skin tone to make the highlights
allthough they are a bit hard to see here ,you can see where it is as it is still glossy
after the highlights i was happy with the skin tones and continued with the uniform


again i worked from dark to light
so the shadow color for the olive green uniforms is military green


i used german camo olive green as a basecolor for the uniforms
being carefull to not paint over the deeper folds in the uniform


to make the highlight color i mixed a tiny amount of pale sand into the olive gren and dry brushed it on the highest parts of the folds


for the ammo pouches and parts of the overall gear i used khaki


most of the figures have this big bag on them wich i painted with a light green color wich was mixed with pale sand and a drop of olive green


the handle of the shovel and the case of the bayonet are painted with olive drab
the metal parts where painted with mr metal color stainless steel


the boots where painted in leather brown while the soles where painted in flat brown


the helmets where painted with mr hobby aqueous khaki green wich was the recommened color form dragon


i used some field grey to drybrush the helmets with the camo netting on them


the belt buckless where painted with gun metal grey
and then the basic figures where painted
but some of them where different as 1 has a radio and there is a medic aswell


the basecolor for the radio is olive drab


wich was then dry brushed with field grey to get a more faded look


the tank commander is painted with the khaki for his entire uniform
small details where painted with gunmetal grey and leather brown





then they where all painted up
with the exception of the guns but those will be added later on
i then coated them with alclad aqua gloss


once the aqua gloss was dry i applied some mig productions dark wash


and then i removed most of the wash again
i only left it in recessed places and the bigger shadow areas
once the wash was dry again (i left it over night) i sprayed the figures with AK ultra matte varnish

so now on to the guns

these leadfoil strips will be used for the slings


i made these rings with lead wire

i did that by coiling it around a styrene strip and make a cut on 1 side to get them into single rings


2 of these rings where added to each sling


and the ends where folded over them and glued together (with ca glue)


i then needed some small strips


the small strip where used to make the small buckles on the slings


and then i glued the slings to the weapons


as a basecolor for the wood i used a mix of english uniform and white


to make the woodgrain and the laquered effect in 1 go i use the color smoke wich is a semi transparent color that i applie with a brush with very short bristles
i then drag the paint over the gun to get this effect
i also did this with the M1A1 carbines allthough that was wrong (incorrect color) as they where finished in a more orange brown laquer then a brown one like on the BAR and M1 Garand but i don't haave such a color and wasn't going to get bottle for just 2 guns


the metal parts where painted with mr metal color dark iron and then slightly buffed on the edges


finally i painted the slings with leather brown


then the guns where added to the figures
i used a little drop of ca glue in the hands of the figure and then push the gun into the hands

and with that step done they where finished
i didn't apply any pigments as i ran into a problem for the diorama itself ,but i will get to that in a moment
so here are the figures for this build





so as i said i ran into a problem with the diorama
i don't have enough materials for my Original idea and the shops near me all ran out of it or simply never have these foamsheets i use
i could order some but i am affriad that they will be damaged quite a bit before they reach me
a second problem was time and to be honest my motivation
my plan would require a lot of scratch builing and a full interior of building
and all of that would have to be scratch build as i don't have any after market stuff for things like that
so i tried to come up with a new idea and after a few days i came up with something that i feel like building

my new idea is to make a bridge that is crossing a small river that runs straight through a town
the Sherman will be on the bridge and the jagdpanzer IV will be standing in front of a building on the opposite side of the diorama
the figures will be standing near the JP and a few will be scattered around as they will be on guard duty
i have started building this new diorama idea and hope to get the first part done soonso i can make a new update
so i guess i need to get going now as we have only 23 days left and i do want to finish in time

so that is all for now
i hope you like it
thanks for stopping by and untill next time
cheers ,Mark

[Easymodelling]

Hey,
Great work on the figures!!! Wich figure set did you use?

[MarkVerploeg]

Thanks
There are 5 figures from the "advance to the Rheine" set
2 are from the US Bazooka team set and the tank commander is from one of the US tank crew sets
All of those are dragon figures
The remaining 2 where pre build and painted Tamiya figures wich i had for a long time and those where repainted

[demarcation]

Those figures look the part mate and I love your gun slings!!

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much
The slings are pretty easy to make allthough i normally use paper to make the sling and lead for the rest
But lead is easier to shape allthough it is thicker then paper

[MarkVerploeg]

hi guys
so i guess it would be time for a new update
the build is actually going well and i am hppy with the progres of the last few days
in fact i only have a few more parts that i have to make and a few small gaps to fill but most of the building work is done by now

so for the building of the diorama i will make several updates as there is a pretty big amount of work to cover
but i will start with the things that i have done first

as my original idea was proving itself as a bit too much i had to come up with a new idea
so i settled with a small road with a bridge on one end and a storage shed in the background
and since i started with the bridge that is where i will start now
my main material for the entire build will be blue isolation foam sheets in various sizes

i started out by marking the opening on the bridge and the bank of the river where the bridge will be attached


i then cut the panels to get the basic shape of the bridge
i later used some sanding sticks to get a smooth finish on the parts where i made the cuts


once i sanded the cut out parts i used them as a mold for the curved sections
the larger square parts will serve as the "legs" of the bridge


i then made a big pile of strips with the foam sheets wich i will use to make the interior part of the bridge


i simply glued all the strips together and folded them over the 2 supports i placed in each opening
one tip though this method was not working that well so using larger sheets wich you can put on top of eachother to make the curved part would probably work a whole lot better and would be stronger way of building aswell


so while the glue on the bridge was drying i started to work on the road surface that will go on top of the previous part
i started out with the sidewalks ,to make a curbstone i used the dark grey Ultimate sanding stick to sand down the edge to make it a bit round after that was done i carved in the tiles to finish it (not in the photo but you will see it later)
i used a ordinary pencil as my scribing tool for the entire build wich for me works just fine


to make the road itself i used a large slab of the foam sheet wich was cut to size
to make the shape of the cobblestones i used the paint brush you see in the photo
i pulled out the hairs and used pliers to make it square
this can now be used as a stamp to get the basic shapes in the foam sheet


here is the result after i used the stamp
cobblestone roads never look that straight as a brick road so i was happy that it looks a bit random and not too nice and neat


then i used my peencil to make small dents in each stone
i did this to get a look like the stones where cut and worked over with a hammer and chisel as was normal in the old days
the stones get smoother as the road gets used more but that can take years and years
then the road and the sidewalks where glued into place


i used the pensil again to draw stones in the foamsheet
this was done on both the inside (over the sidewalks) and the outside of the bridge


and again i applied the same effect with the little dents on these stones aswell


and then the bridge looked like this
i still need to do a lot of sanding and trimming at this point but you can see where this is going


i then started to work on the base
i glued the sides on wich are balsa wood
but as this was going to slow for my liking i used nails aswell


i used foam core plates to make this grid on the inside of the diorama
it will serve as filling for the rest of the build
if i was to use other material i would have needed to buy more and i decided to use the stuff that i already have first


then the road sections and sidewalks for this part where cut to size
i used the same methods on these parts as i did before on the bridge


all the detail wa carved in and they are now ready to get glued together


but before i did that i added some details like a sewer cover and some drains
these are from miniart , i think it was the street accessory set


to give the parts a little bit more surface to be glued on to i put a sheet of paper on the grid first
the sections i made where then glued on the paper and then the paper was glued on to the grid
i still needs a bit of filler in places but nothing too serious i think


many old bridges in Europe have a sort of concrete layer on them
i heared it was applied to make it stronger but i am no engineer so i don't know
but as the reference photo's i used all showed this i made a similar thing
i used DAS clay wich i rolled out into thin layers and i then applied that over a glue covered surface of the bridge
the big benefit of the clay is that you can sand it
so it it is uneven (like in this photo) you can simply sand it untill it is smooth



then just for the fun of it i placed the 2 vehicles of this build on the base to see how much room they need and how it looks so far

and that is about all i have for now
at this point the bridge and the road parts of the build are done (minus some touch ups)
so next time i will do a update for a small fence and the storage shed wich are almost done and i think i will get to finish them with in the next day or the day after that

thanks for stopping by and untill next time
Happy modelling and ofcourse Merry Christmas if i don't get back to this build by then but defently before the end of the build
cheers ,Mark

[Mylightweight]

This is looking awesome

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you
I will try to post a new update soon

[MarkVerploeg]

Hi guys
i hope everyones Christmas was good
Just like last year i will have to race to the finish line and like usual i am falling behind with my updates
so now i will do a small update on how i made the fence and the building since i talked about the road and the bridge last time


so lets start with the fence and brickwall that will devide the building and the road
i cut out some small part from the foam
i used the large parts as a wall and the taller parts as collums
those collums are made up by glueing 2 of them together so it will be twice as thick as the wall in between them
the metal fence parts came from a miniart kit and are glued together


the next step was to scribe them using a hb pencil
in 1:35 scale a brick is roughly 7mm long, 2mm high and 3mm thick so those are the messurements i used


to add some intrest to the wall i decided to make a part that was shot with a HE shell
i simply used 1 of the walls i made in the previous step and followed the lines with my knife to cut out several rows of the bricks
i tried to make the damaged parts as random as i could by having the second and third layers sticking out from behing the first and by removing more in some other places


then the foam parts where glued together using 2 part epoxy glue and left to set for a while


to complete the damaged part i used 2 seperate parts of the fence and while holding them with pliers i held them over a burning candle
Once the styrene is soft you can shape them anyway you want
but do be aware that styrene can get burned or even can go up in flames so be carefull


the damaged parts where glued to the wall first
not that you have to follow that order but the other fence parts where still drying from glueing them together


and then the last fence parts where glued to the wall
and that is the wall all finished up and ready for painting

So on to the next step of the build
this is how i made the storage shed for the diorama
i could have tried to make a other kind of building but i choose to keep it a bit more simple to save some time


so i started out by cutting the major parts from the foam sheets
because i will be using miniart parts again i used them as templates to cut out spaces for the windows and the doors
i think they are barn doors actually but those where the only big doors i had and i didn't have balsawood thin enough to make some of my own
and they don't look too bad so why not use them


a mock up setting to see if it will actually fit on the base


i then glued everything together using 2 part epoxy glue and a bunch of needles
My mom is a diabetic and has these needles to check her sugar levels but she received a new machine and i got a box of unused needles from the old one
i use pliers to pull them out of the plastic holder and then push the needle in the foam to hold everything together
but i guess clothing pins could work aswell if you fill up the holes after you glued everything and it is dry
i then glued in some balsawood sheets that will serve as a base for the roof


i then glued in the windows and in the bottom right corner you can see a bit of the gutter i used


a better look at the gutter
i replaced the styrene pipes with some evergreen styrene tube as that looks better in my opinion and saves me a lot of sanding as the kit pipes where made up by small sections and in 2 halves aswell


the roof tile section is from Noch (railroad modelling)
to make the best of the 1 sheet i had i cut it in 2 so i can cover both roofs with 1 sheet
it is a 3D foil and has a preglued back so you can put it on like a big sticker


here they are placed on the building
theee where some gaps at the sides but i will cover those with lead later just like they did in real life back in the day (and even these days)


i used some lead foil to make clamps for the drainpipes


i then started to cut out the windows from clear styrene sheets (evergreen has these and there are 3 or 4 sheets in a pack)


to make some damaged windows i used my knife wich i held upside down (cutting edge toward the ceilling) and carved in some spiderwebs
and a little hole in the middle to make it look like a stone or some shrapnel flew throuh it
you can do several of them in a single window if you want but i did only 1 in most windows


i then glued the clear parts in the windows
this was not very smart as i needed to be more carefull once i painted the windowframes later on in the build
so my top tip : leave them out untill you have painted it all and then add them


i also found a wall light in my stash
this is from a streetlight set from Plusmodel nuber 1 or 2 i can't remeber and i have both
To make it easier to attach it later i glued it on a nail so i can push it in the wall instead of using more 2 part glue


here it is on the wall
i also carved in some bricks in some places
i want to make a plastered finish with some damaged spots so i only added small brick areas and the rest will be covered later on in the painting stages


and then it was ready for some paint
i also found a little bicycle in my sparesbox and deciddd that would look nice on there so i added that aswell


and finally i gathered some small stuff to dress it up once the painting is done
i will go for the look of the storage shed that is being usdd as a fueldepot so i will scatter the jerrycans around that part of the diorama while some GI's move through that part to see if it is cleared from the enemy

So that is all i have for now
the building stages are over and the diorama is ready for painting
I actually finshed painting it and the varnish is drying now so i will try to do another update for the painting stages tomorrow if i can find the time and while the washes are drying

I hope you like it so far
thanks for stopping by and untill next time
cheers , Mark

[TommyKillander]

Fantastic work done here, can't wait to see it finished


Tommy

[MarkVerploeg]

Thank you very much Tommy
it will be finished soon i hope
i want to have it done by the end of the sig and as it looks now that can be done
i will do the washes and the flat/matte coat today and some sand and gravel for the river or stream today
then i have a few days left for the water and the debries on the rest of the base

[MarkVerploeg]

Hi guys
so yet another update for this build
everything is going well with the build and i am now pretty sure i will have it done in time for the end of this sig

So for now i will try to show what i have done for the painting stages
i have tried to use some washes but the diorama simply has too many recessed details to work and the foamboard suck up the wash even after a few coats of varnish so i won't use them and do all the weathering with dry brushing and pigments
but for now it is time for some paint


i started with the lower parts of the bridge
they often have a concrete like layer to protect the bridge from the water and the erossion it causes
so to replicate that i started with a coat of Tamiya german grey wich i applied in a random pattern but not covering the surface completely


with a sponge i applied thw second color wich is vallejo modelcolor neutral grey


to finish the concrete look i sprayed a transparent layer of vallejo modelair pale blue grey


then i turned my attention to the sides and the top of the bridge
i painted everythin from the sides of the bridge to the road in vallejo modelcolor neutral grey wich i applied with the airbrush as it is a pretty big surface to paint with a brush
the embankment wall is painted in light grey


i then started to add different colors to the bridge


these are the colors i used for it
i also mixed a grey color from the neutral grey and white in a mix of 5 parts white to 1 part grey
that is the lightest color i used for the stones


i then dry brushed the sides and top of the bridge with modelcolor deck tan
a color that i used a lot during this build
this very light grey color blends the previous colors a bit and it makes the bridge look old like it was expossed to the sun for a long time


the embankment walls where first dry brushed with modelcolor orange ocre with i dulled down a bit with some light grey


as i wanted the look of the wall being made out of sandstone i then dry brushed it with the deck tan to make it look worn and discolored
many churches in Europe are made with sandstone and over time they take on a grey and pale color and i think this method looks pretty similar to the real deal allthough it could use some pigments or a wash at this point to finish it


the walls for the fence where base painted with the same light grey i mixed for the bridge


i then painted the bricks using saddle brown from vallejo
to save time and effort i used a sponge instead of a brush because the sponge will go over the surface but not in the recessed lines unlike a brush that would make me to paint each brick 1 by 1


i sprayed the metal fence with a basecoat of old rust from Ammo


and i added some spots of dark rust to make it look a bit more intresting


because i didn't want to spend the time to seal the fence and then use chipping fuild i decided to use a sponge to apply the paint
i picked german camo olive green from vallejo for this
it still gives a chipped effect but on thin objects like this is work much faster


Then it was time to work on the storage building
i started out by painting the window frames
because i put a bit too much olive green on my pallet for the fences i decided to use it on the windows aswell


i found several photo's of buildings where they has a inregular surface like they splattered the plaster on it
so in order to make that i tried to use tempera paint wich is supossed to work for this
but i didn't had any luck with only the paint
so i mixed in birdcage sand with the paint and stippled the mix on the building
this time it actually worked and because it was a bit soft i could sand down the splatters that where too big


i used valllejo german camo black brown as a base color for the roof tiles wich i wanted a bit darker then they where


to finish them i dry brushed vallejo flat brown on them but i tried to make it look very random so it doesn't look too uniform


the doors where basepainted with my usual mix of English uniform and white in a 4 to 1 mix (right door)
Then i dry brushed them with vallejo smoke to make it look like they have a woodgrain in them (they where actually very flat)


the hinges and nails where painted with mr metal color dark iron


the gutter and rainpipes where painted in mr metal color stainless steel


to finish the roof i added strips of leadfoil along the edges of the rooftiles
again something that is done in real life and lead foils looks better then something i could paint so it was a easy choise
The only thing i will do to them is to apply a flat varnish to get rid of the shine

Then it was time for the biggest part of the painting stages : the road

after i painted the cobblestone road in a base color of neutral grey i drybrushed it with vallejo luftwaffe uniform wich is a blue grey color


as a second dry brushing color i use the eeck tan again
you can clearly see the difference between the color of the finished color on the left and the blueish color on the right


i then put everything together to see if i wanted to change anything and i painted the drains and sewer lid with old rust from ammo
i will finish them with some pigments later


And that is all i have for now
the way it looks now i will do 1 more update wich will be about the debris in the streets and the painting and finishing of some stuff like street lights and junk that will be laying around and ofcourse the final steps to finish the entire build
hopefully it will take me 1 or 2 days from now to do so
wich means that i will finish it in time for the end of the year and this SIG
thanks for stopping by and having a look
untill next time
Cheers,Mark

[MarkVerploeg]

Hi guys
it is time for the final update
i finished the build last night so i will post a final reveal once i am finished with this update

So lets start with the river or stream

this is all the stuff i will use for it
there is :
White glue
fish tank sand
gravel
stones (medium sized , about 1 to 2 cm in size)
vallejo still water
some earth colored acrylic paints (burnt umber , raw umber vandyke brown)
and ofcourse real water


I mixed a drop of water and glue with the sand
then i use the paints to color the sand in what ever color i like



while the sand mix is still wet i push in the stones and gravel so they will be held in place once it is dry


then after about a day the sand is dry
So i poured in some of the still water
i had a bit of bad luck as there was a leak and on FB i said that i would be doing the rest of the layers with resin
but unfortunately the can of resin that i had was dry so i couldn't use it
so i plugged the hole by burning the leaking still water with a little burner and continued to apply layers of still water
the bad thing is that you can apply a layer of 1 to 2 mm at a time and it takes 24 hours to dry
So that took some time to do


I decoded to make a little concrete floor in front of the shed
but i didn't have enough foam board left so i made it a different way
i started out by stippling mr surfacer 1000 on the foamcore sheet that serves as the base for the building and i front of the building


then using a sponge i dapped on vallejo liggt grey and neutral grey to make a base layer


to finish the painting i sprayed it with pale blue grey form vallejo
i only sprayed it in a light coat so the various tones that are under this coat can shine through


then i turned back to the fences and wall
Like i posted in my last update i didn't had any luck with washes as they where soaked up by the foam so i had to turn to the use of pigments only
i used Panzer gray (fading) from mig prod. To get a aged and dusty effect on the walls
the bottom one is before and the top after the pigments
But at this point i consider them finished


The same pigments where used on the street and sidewalks
allthough i only applied it on the sidewalks for now as i will have a ton of rubble on the street so i will apply that once the rubble is done


speakinf of rubble , that was the next step
i have 2 of these boxes from RT Diorama that have course and fine rubble and some bricks
i also have these rubble blocks from Helmuts strongholds (don't know they are still around)

these are ceramic parts in various shapes and sizes that came in a small rubble set they used to make


to make sure wthat there won't be any white spots showing through the rubble later i gave them a coat of paint
i used saddle brown and neutral grey for that but i didn't spend a lot of time on them , just a quick slap of paint nothing fancy or precise


the rubble blocks where then glued on the base using diluted woodglue


i then started to apply the other rubble
i don't have photo's of the layers being applied but you can let your imagination go wild when you do this
i didn't use glue to hold it in place but several coats of hairspray wich i ofter use as a glue for small and light stuff on diorama's
it also works with snow powders as it is colorless and has a pretty strong bond


because the rubble was is a bright orange terracotta color i sprayed it with the saddle brown from vallejo wich is the same color i used for all the previous brickwork


to add a bit of extra detail to the scene i want to add some old newspapers that will be scattered on the street
these are from Plusmodel and they are artical number 165
they are printed on both sides and you can crumble them up and shape them how ever you like
i used the diluted woodglue to glue them in place


here are the newspapers scattered on the street


oncd the paint was dry i applied mig prod. rubble dust pigments over the pile of rubble


allthough very hard to see i also applied brick dust pigment to give more color variation to the rubble


i then applied some of the panzer grey pigment on the concrete floor in the background
i later added some European dust to make it look dirty


then it was time to paint the small extra stuff for the dio
they are not in the picture but i also painted the streetlights in this color
i used Ammo of Mig rust paints (old and dark rust)
They where then given a coat of satin varnish to protect the paint
and later i applied a coat of chipping fluid for the next step



i then painted them in the colors i want
i use tamiya paints when i do this kind of chipping because they dry fast and they actually chip better then other paints i tried to do this with
i used German grey and dark yellow for the fuel cans and drums
the street lights where painted in dark green



they where then moistened with water and chipped using a brush and a toothpick
the streetlights where then placed on the diorama without any further weathering as a wash would be hard to see and 1 will be covered with rubble dust anyway
the other one was dusted with European dust pigment


the fuel supplies however where varnished with a satin varnish to protect the previous layers
once that was dry i applied darka wash from Mig prod. wich is basicly just a black wash


i then removed all the unwanted wash from the cans and drums


i then flat coated them using AK Ultra matte varnish
and to finish them of some dust was apllied with European dust pigments


the bicycle was then painted


and covered in a layer of dust (European dust pigment) to make it look like it is in the street for a while


then everthing was ready for the diorama so i started by adding the vehicles and figures on there


and finally the fuel canz and drums where put on there
just to give the idea it is a fuel dump
and the infantry men looking to see if Jerry is hiding in the shed


and then i called it finished

So that is all i have for this build
it was fun to make but a bit much to do in just 3 months
I will post more pictures in the reveal section
so i hope you like it
thanks for stopping by and having a look
ofcourse all comments , questions and ideas are welcome
untill next time
Cheers , Mark