Pz.Kpfw. III Ausf. F

Fabian D.
Having issues with Dragon, again... the PE over the drivers vision port can´t be fitted in as the plastic part. The small trangles on the sides don´t allow the corrrect placement... There is no word said of a clear vision port for the driver aswell. But part M6 seems to do the job, although ist´s maked as not to be used.

H K
Check this Fabian Network54 - Addendum to report
In the E version V58 is the corrected rain guard for use over the drivers vision port.

Fabian D.
Thanks for the link, HK, but most mistakes are already corrected in my instructions... well, Dragon seems to listen at least a bit to his customers.
The plastic pice is already glued in place, but I guess I can live with that.

Fabian D.
Alright, I might have been a bit to early with my prise of Dragon... but more to that later...
It seems like I´ve stumbled across an original pic of my choosen making option, 1.PD, Russia 1941 (the only one you don´t have to apply deacals over vision ports)
[img1]
Which means I have to add the cover on the for the Signal port on the turret

Holger Kranich
😄 Schönes Panzergrau!
Sind das 2 Mg´s neben der 5cm? Hab ich ja noch nie gesehen!

Fabian D.
Danke, "only" 5 different shades of Tamiya with Revell light grey
The double MG34 next to a 3,7 was standard until they introduced the 5cm, but to be honest, I haven´t seen that before either, more or less the reason I bought this kit😉

Wim van der Luijt
It's very weird those double MG's, the grey looks good!

Es-haq Khosravi
Great job!

Holger Kranich
Aha Ausf. F hatte noch 3,7cm... Man, ich muß noch viel lernen😄

Fabian D.
@Holger, Bin jetzt auch erst mit dem kit beim "3er" eingestiegen, ab der G gab´s dann die große Kanone, wobei natürlich später auch noch F damit aufgerüstet wurden...
Thanks Wim and Es-haq... I just had a look, we will see a lot more of that during the next years, as all three new MiniArt Panzer III have double MGs...

Gábor Bélik
Nice solid clolir mod. Good job

H K
The 2 MGs Panzer IIIs are my favorites too.
Great paintjob Fabian 👍

Mike K
I agree. The grey looks awesome.

Christian Meyerhoff
Hi Fabian! This paint job is an excellent interpretation of german panzer grey. This one will be a beauty for sure! Very well done so far!

Albi Hitz
Hej Fabian.
A nice one. I like the paint job. And the additional MG's makes that one to a real eye catcher!

Es-haq Khosravi
Nice job! Are both MG's Coaxial?

Fabian D.
Thanks guys, but I´m not even close to done, lot´s of chances to screw all up (and I already tried 🤔😢
first: I had to do some sanding on the roof after I had the first coat of paint on. Lazy as I am, I didn´t bother too much cleaning it entirely up... which meant that it was quite visible after a wash -> did the Turret roof again.
second: I´ve done a wash with MIG "Blue for panzer grey" (which is in my case rather geen, than blue). For some reason the hull roof (and only that) turned geen, while it worked perfectly on the other parts... As I can´t wash it down, I think I have to do this again.

Augie
I think it looks good 🙂

Gábor Bélik
I Always use dark brown wash. Because IMO the dirt/mud/etc is brown.

Fabian D.
Absolutely Gabor, that was what I did today.😉 I think one could say I have used the blue more as a filter than a wash. I also did some minor drybrushing on some weldseams, but cept it quite subtile.

Alan Rush
Hi Fabian. This one slipped by me for some reason. Very nice finish. The wash and highlighting really add to the slightly weathered metallic look. Great photos to keep available as I look ahead at some armour kits now. 👍 🙂

william wise
looks pretty good Fabian, I have had no luck with getting a good panzer grey yet, I need to work at it some more, But you seem to have nailed really well.

Fabian D.
Thank you both... but I ceep saying, I´m not done😉
I had my problems with the plain panzergrey (just compare to my earlier models), but I guess it´s more about realizing what you have to do in the initial panting/highlighting stage, the basic weathering is "just" practice, simple guides of others can explain that better... (John VK has proven to be "our" expert on this field😉 )

I think we all got the point that weathering darkens the entire thing, so we have to got lighter than we want to end up.
Having some contrast in the paintjob is good, if everything is already blended in before you put the airbrush out of the hand, you will just "dull out" the entire look with your weathering.
Most important (at least I think so) is to work with differnt shades for differnt surfaces of the modell. Ceep the suspension dark, medium for the upper hull and bright tones for top surfaces (with the turret roof brighter than the engine deck).
Simply imagine a lamp which looses it´s intensity within a few centimeters. Place it (only imaginary) above your model, and now paint what you think you see😉

Mike K
That's a solid technique Fabian. One I have used before, and will again. I like the results.

John Van Kooten
If I'm an expert, I don't know😉 but thank you, Fabian 👍 I always just do my best to explain everything as good and thorough as I possibly can 🙂

I am in total agreement with everything you said, by the way 👍 your panzer is living proof of the usefulness of the technique 😄 it looks marvelous!! Really good 👍 Can't wait to see you progress further 👍

Lionel Marco

Only a Panzer III? They aren't build that often, and even less in the first versions...
Even better, your's is really good!

Mike Kryza
Well done - die etwas verschobenen Scheinwerfer sind Absicht?

Fabian D.
Thank you 🙂
John: you gave the best explanations I´ve read about all that AK/Mig stuff... others want you to belive: "just slamm a bit of this and that on, and you´re done", but it´s actually a bit more than that😉
@Lionel I think that´s changing, we will see a lot of early Panzer IIIs in the next years... but I have to admit, I wasn´t really interrested in the Pz III until MiniArt stepped in. I´ve came across this kit cheap, so I decided to do some preperation work😉
@Mike, natürlich, pure Absicht. 😛

Lionel Marco
And it will be great. It's just sad MiniArt hasn't planned yet to do the Ausf. A

Mike Kryza
Hi Fabian - I don't believe that we see a lot of Pz's from Miniart. It seems the parts will be more than 1.000 + 🙁 -😉

Fabian D.
Well... I'm not really giving much on part counts.
There are kits were you've done something wrong if you got parts left. And there are Dragon kits were you end up with the box still more than half filled with sprues.
Shure, the spring suspension for 8 weels of the D is way more complex than the one used since the E... and Mini Art included tracks consisting of triple that what you have with magic tracks. But I'm Shure we'll find that out either this or next week. 🙂

Fabian D.
I recived some new toys today...I´ll do some testing elsewhere first, but had to try the steel pigment. Fantastic look in one go. (It´s actually changing it´s how much it shines, depending of where the light comes from)

H K
The steel pigments look great 👍 You couldn`t have tried them last week before I placed my order 😄 ( just kidding)

Mike Kryza
Hi Fabian - you're right too - let us see what is upcoming...😉

Christian Meyerhoff
This one will be excellent! Looking forward to the result!

Albi Hitz
Nice work with the pigments ....
I like the look ... looks like the real stuff!

Fabian D.
Thanks Guys... I´ve got ist as a package deal: Engines and Metal Weathering Set (AK Interactive AK 087, No) actually I was looking for other stuff in there, but this seems to be the nicest part of the set. Usage is simple, just put it on and polish it a bit. Works gerat, especially in small areas.

Fabian D.
subtile chipping added. Have you spotted it?😉
Pic 18 shows the paints used for it.

Murad ÖZER
How the hell did i skip this one? Another terrific looking build here! 👍

John Van Kooten
Cool! That's really subtle chipping! 👍 I see some on the hatch for the machine guns 😄 Are there more? Because I'm not seeing any 😛 but that would be a good thing: seeing them without seeing them 😄 👍

Nice repair job on the roof of the turret btw! 👍

Fabian D.
Too kind of you😉
John, I've got you some better pics😉

John Van Kooten
Aaaah! Yes, now I see them! 😄 on the turret rooftop and the scuffing around the (machine-)guns and on the rear deck. Really nicely done! 👍 Great pictures too! Thanks for those 🙂

H K
These look fantastic 👍

Christian Meyerhoff
The minor chipping looks absolute realistic from any angel! Very well done!

Fabian D.
Thanks Mates, I´m glad you like it... and I will not ceep my sectet about the chipping.😉
First, there are other ways, which do work, but I like to have some control how it´s working out. So neiter sponge nor chipping solution are an option for the effect I wanted to achive.
Ak´s chipping color is a nice try for slightly rusted steel, but a single layer of it isn´t anayhere near the effect we want to see. So it´s the combination of 2, or even 3 colors. In my case:
light chips with a lighter version of the base color
Steel color (in my case Revells Panzergrey)
Rusty steel (AK Chipping color)
Use a fine brush for painting them, you should use the paints "not to wet" (You´ll get what I mean if you try it) to achive sharp edges. Paint each layer smaller than the ones before. I´ve used a stiff brush or my fingers to rub the AK color a bit down, in order to make it look less rusty and create some steaking (timing essential in this step😉 )

Fabian D.
Alright Mates, that´s it for now. I´m calling this one done.
I´ve just painted the tools and added a bit of dust.

Alan Rush
A job well done, Fabian. Finished product looks great! 👍 🙂

John Van Kooten
I agree! Well done! 👍 👍 Really nice woodwork as well! Love it! 🙂

Mike K
Strong finish.

Murad ÖZER
neat looking vehicle.

Gerald
👍

Lionel Marco

Perfect!

Fabian D.
Perfect? Not quite I´d say😉
Although ithink this is my best work with Panzer Gery so far. Thanks for all the praise 😄

Clifford Keesler
Looks great Fabian.

Albi Hitz
Thats a very nice Panzer III. Nice soft weathering .... nice paint job! 👍

Fabian D.
Thank you two 🙂

Matthias Weiss
Uhhh I like this one! Pz. III is one of my favourites... at least in World of Tanks... 🙂