Panzer IV ausf. H, 1/35 scale

Tops on! Getting the top decking on was a bit of a challenge, as there were some issues lining up the joints for the bottom tub. At first, I wondered if I assembled something under the decking wrong, but turns out to be a simple matter of old kit warping. I was able to muscle and clamp what I could, and weathering will take care of the rest

 

Track decking had tricky assembly for the rear flaps, but things seem to be lining up right.

 

I decided to leave the gunners hatch open, even though there’s no interior to the tank… I think it added a little extra to the static display possibilities, and the machinegun is puuurty!

The build construction isn’t far off from completion now. I’ve been debating whether to put the schurzen/skirts on, and thusfar am feeling I won’t…it’ll save me a little build time, as this needs to be painted, weathered, and placed on a diorama, all within two weeks.

Forward momentum with this kit by this juncture… painted a basecoat on the lower hulls’ sides between the tracks area, so that I could paint up the road wheels and put the tracks on. The first thing I noticed was, I’m bone dry on Dunkelgelb! Ugh. Juuuuuust enough with a bit of water to get a decent couple coats on, but I’ll need to either order some or mix my own (I, sure I can find a mix out there somewhere). The road wheels got a coat of black, mixed with some blue and a dab or white for the basecoat, later followed by Vallejo Sea Grey. Overall… good enough until weathering.

 

…yeah, I know, I know…the suspensions on backwards! Lots of mud and snow will take care of that, for anyone that tries to peek under the tank and above the diorama base! Anyway, I then, went back in and touched up the dunkelgelb on the road wheels and returns. 

Getting the rubber tracks on was a pain… to join the ends of the link runs is tough with rubber tracks; I used some CA glue, but needed to pin them together with staples. Trying to get some flex in one run, I snapped the dang thing in half and had to rejoin that. The staples are cool, as the tracks will have mud and snow where they are placed, especially the non snapped on run, which has the staple on the bottom where it will sink into the snow.

 

Next up was the fenders, which were a bit persnickety to get in there… tight fit and needed some clamping to get the seal to the upper deck.

 

Started placing on the accessories, but had to call it a night, as my side was hurting. The turret was popped on to see how she all looked to this point… it’s not glued on and is removable and moveable.

 

So that brings ya’ll up to speed of where the kit is, work-wise. Next session will be placing the rest of the pieces on: probably the schurzen and maybe a skirt or two. Then airbrush the basecoat and camo, and decal; last will be hairspray and then whitewash…As I remember it, I used a crappy, budget brand of hairspray, but it did the job needed… however, I got some Tresseme this time, which is far better a product so, I’ll be excited to see how it works out in comparison. As an aside, I’ve wondered how these chipping solutions work, like the AK Interactive stuff… I think I actually bought some at some point, but will stick with the basics for now.
 Of course, some weathering and a simple diorama will be made, as well… so, she still has a way to go.

it always amazes me you armor guys build so far forward without any paint yet applied. looking very nice so far

AlisterC wrote:

it always amazes me you armor guys build so far forward without any paint yet applied. looking very nice so far

 …we are a special breed, ain’t we!!! I’ve noted a lot of armor builders, especially us geezers, build almost the whole model; before painting and weather…maybe it’s an age of the modeler thing, haha. For me, it evolved mainly because of my history where I didn’t paint models as a kid (well, a small handful of cars and one F4U Corsair, which came out horribly); and the other reason being from bad experiences of where I went to glue tow parts together and one or both had paint pin the glue surface…I’m far too lazy to wipe it clean! 

I’m trying to paint a few items, like roadwheels, on the sprue… a modeler friend does that and I thought, what a wonderful idea in terms of ease in the piece being attached and easier to maneuver my brush on. But for the most part, I never have an issue, because even in a hard to reach area, like under a fender, I can usually get at it with the many brushes I own. Most notable areas needing care in paint prior to assembly ate where the movable turret will attach to the upper hull, and the undercarriage where the roadwheels, sprockets, etc., mount… I really should paint and weather this latter instance more, built as they say, hard to teach old dogs new tricks!