Hi everyone, This is my first post here, and this is an ongoing project of mine. I have recently completed a 1/72 Revell Jagdpanther and Two Italeri Easy Assembly M4A3 Shermans. I really had a blast building ad weathering the Shermans, but the Revell was more complex. I struggled and then gave up on the tracks, but came up with a cool diorama idea. An American force of two Shermans and infantry have stumbled upon a Jagdpanther that has a mechanical breakdown. I plan to get both American and German infantry, and I currently have a kettenkrad on the way, so this will be updated. Anyways, here are the Shermans 'Classy Peg' and 'Ase Mae' Close up of 'Classy Peg' Close up of 'Ase Mae' Here is the Jagdpanther. The shine is from the (excessive) chipping. The would not go away even with multiple layers of Matte varnish. http://i.imgur.com/7YiZ9H0.jpg That's it for now. Any comments/suggestions are welcome. Nick
Mate they are sa-weet! Best model display so far IMO...the shine is natural for many real paint jobs, so don't sweat that...all I was looking for but didn't find, is a bit of oil staining and some scuffed bare metal from metal equipment scrapped across it...fuel cans, entrenchment tools, crew and infantry gear etc etc...maybe a bit of metal coming through on the tracks also...well done!
Thank you all! CAC, as for the stowage I have some coming in tomorrow, so I will update it this weekend with the added stowage and such.
Okay, so not only did I add some stowage to the tanks, I also did some other stuff. I purchased the 1/72 Academy Ground Vehicle Set with a Kubelwagen, Kettenkrad, Jeep and jerry cans and oil drums. I also stumbled upon the Value Gear website, which has a huge amount of stowage options, so I picked some of those up too. I had some walls laying around, so I painted them, and some Revell German Infantry. I leave for school tomorrow, so I will return to this sometime in March. I plan to add much more to the diorama, what is shown here is a work in progress. This is what is left to paint. A GMC CCKW, (a finished one is in the back) This one has a painted truck blob, the other can be seen in the back. Also shown is the jeep and Kettenkrad, as well as the rest of the unused stowage and jerry cans from Value Gear. There is another bag of about 40 crates not shown, so I have a lot left over that be used for other projects. Any comments/suggestions are welcome.
of course, to make it a bit more authentic you need to have at least one hatch of the Jagdpanther open (!). Also have the smallest loose track dangling from the ends of the rack wheel instead of a complete bare rack wheel. I find it not "acceptable" for the Jpanther to have both tracks lost; try to fix the one side, and make it appear a mine blasted the other track off (hole in earthy ground, black soot blast stains).. and spray over the jagdpanther (also the shiny wall) with a thin layer of (dry/matt) dust colour hue. Takes the "hard" chips and shine away.
Definitely agree with dude_really's final point, I found removing shine is a great way to enhance realism on my models.
Very nice but IMO that great painting effort deserved a better base model than the "flat track" quick assembly M4A3, though probably they look better to the naked eye than in the "larger than life" pictures you took that highlights the areas where the model producer didn't even try adding details. I haven't been modelling for years but think attempting open hatches and the like in 1/76 would be a lot easier if starting from something a bit more sophisticated than quick assembly kits that may already have hatches as separate parts.
Hi fellas, It's been quite some time since I last posted my work, and the amount of work I had has gone up quite a bit. For starters, I did some research, and it turns out the Classy Peg saw action in the Pacific theater, not the European. I have to work on replacing the name and logo on it. However, for the diorama I've added quite a bit: 2 M3 Halftracks and Soldiers from the Plastic Soldier Company and a M4A3 76mm, also from Italeri. Although it is still very much a work in project, I think I have the basic idea down. A US Mechanized Platoon traveling along a country road stumbles upon a Jagdpanther that somehow lost its tracks and is being repaired. The images show a straight black road, however that is just a placeholder or a curved dirt road. I haven't got the time right now to fully flush out the scenery on the diorama currently. I also bought 3 M5 Stuarts, also from the Plastic Soldier Company. I also bought two M10 TDs from Amourfast. These were pretty basic, and lack a crew, so I might make a little scene of them stopped on the side of the road with figures doing something on the ground. I finished the 2.5 ton trucks as well, and the Jeep,Kettenkrad and Kubelwagon are finished as well. The Value Gear supplies I had really helped me out, and I eventually ordered more, including vehicle stars, names, more stowage, and sandbags. I highly recommend them for any stowage you need. This is very picture heavy Here is an overview of the diorama: This is a close up of the M4A3 76mm replacing 'Classy Peg', this one nicknamed 'In the Mood' The Halftracks an 'Ase Mae' Fallen US soldier Rear of the US column The Jagdpanther. I was able to dull down the shine on it with a nice dry brush of flat earth and matte varnish A bombed out farmhouse (cratering and scorching will come later) German defense along the wall
This is another diorama idea using the 2nd of the 76mm Shermans. An armored rifle company passes a US supply base And another idea using the 3 Stuarts. A platoon of Stuarts are stopped by infantry reporting that there are Germans on the other side of the hedgerow (it will be on the left of the Stuarts) A close up of the new Shermans
The GMC CCKWs and the Jeep The M3 Halftracks US Infantry Kettenkrad and Kubelwagon My entire US collection (so far) Any comments or suggestions would be much appreciated Thanks
Poor Jagdpanther looks a bit overwhelmed! I hadn't known they had that handy hatch in the rear of the fighting compartment, makes a lot of sense to facilitate reloading ammunition, or for a fast bailout! Good job!