Working on my Panzer 38(t) with interior

My next project is another one I started some time ago but never got around to finishing. It's a DML Pz. Kpfw. 38(t) Ausf. G w/Interior smart kit. I chose this kit to learn how to make a realistic interior, and I have to say, it proved to be quite a challenge. Fortunately I have some awesome products available to me that made my life alot easier working on this project.

Here's a picture of the engine and what I was able to do in just 15 minutes of rubbing with a q-tip some cloth and my fingers to achieve a realistic metal looking miniature engine:

I started off my painting some parts black, some lighter grey and some even lighter grey. I noticed that the black parts gave a darker, more steel like appearance while the lighter grey ones gave a more shiney metal finish. I only used a very little amount of powder from the container, meaning that these three will last me a life time.

Wrong Lever!

Here's a project I finished which has been in the works for too long a time. I started this in 2009 while I was very active as a modeler, but never got around to finishing it. Since I've been back at it lately I finaly took the time to finish this small dio.

It depicts a Sherman tank somewhere in Normandy, where the battle tired crew mistakenly drove the tank through a house. I never made something with rubble and I have to admit that I just started on this without much thought, so there's some errors in there (like the front left headlight still intact after crashing through that wall).

During the last fases I did have the chance to test out the mixing cups that were new in stock at modelspecialist.be, and they came in handy very much. There's alot more still to be tested in the future though, like cork and styrofoam, some of Mig's Ammo products and of course, the awesome materials from Ushi van der Rosten.

The tank is a Tamiya M4 Sherman Early Production (kit nr 190) and the figure comes from a miniart kit (nr 35126) with an aftermarket head.

Time for pictures!

Hi there, welcome to my freshly created blog! The idea is to post some of the projects I've been working on and show some of the results I had with new materials and/or techniques. I hope you enjoy reading and please don't hesitate to contact me with your questions!

I'll start off with a project I finished in about 1 week time. It's a 3D printed 1/10 scale model of a garden table, as a gift to the creator of the table in celebration of its 10 year aniversary.

This is how the table looked on the day I received it

The first thing I had to do was prime the table. I've used the freshly delivered acrylic primer from the 'Ammo of Mig Jimenez' range. I was pleasantly surprised by the product and will continue to use it in future projects.

Once this step was completed, the real fun could begin. I did a few tests with a new metal polishing powder by Ushi van der Rosten to see what color would suit the model best. 

One thing I want to make clear is that I didn't have the time to flatten the metal surfaces - both due to time limitations and the material the 3D print was created with. The plastic they used to make the model was very tough to work with and could hardly be sanded. I started with the center inox square and the feet. Spraying them in gloss varnish and then using a cotton swab to rub on the powder, I got a nice looking metal piece fairly quickly.

The next step would be the wooden surfaces. I used Vallejo color 874 USA Tan-Earth as a base color for the wood.

Next up were the wooden segments of the seats and different tones and variations in the base color. I basically used Vallejo 847 Dark sand in various degrees of dillution to lighten up certain segments and areas of the wood.

Since the wood of the table was starting to show a more dry-dirt kind of color, and the original table has a more orange-y tone I decided to give the wooden segments a few layers of Vallejo 981 Orange Brown as a filter.

Lastly I painted the woodgrain, using a thin Winsor & Newton series 7 brush, in the colors 941 burnt umber, 824 German Cam. Orange Ochre, 843 Cork Brown, 847 Dark Sand. I used Distress Ink (color Walnut stain) to darken the panel lines between the wood and the metal. I prefered ink because it is water based and easy to clean up after application.

Link to Imgur album with larger pictures: http://imgur.com/a/cRvCk