Fil d'information

Rui S
Looking good 👍

Olivier
Very good start !

Jennifer Franklin
Looks great so far, following.

Robert Podkoński
Looks good already. Keep it up!

Thomas O'Eh
Looking good so far! I have the item on order, also planning to build a RAF Polish sqn from it, 315 in my case. Curious about your comment: What's wrong with the canopy? According to the manual a Malcolm canopy should be included?
Did you consciously choose the rear wheel bay color to be the same as the rest of the interior? My references show a zinc chromate yellow (e.g. Tamiya XF-4) for the rear wheel bay…

Łukasz Gliński
Thanks Thomas.
Yes, the Malcolm hood (aka blown) canopy is not present in my kit, only the "straight" one.
However I managed to modify it using some UV resin, it will have to do the job.

Lost_Erik
Good pogress. 👍🏽
I'd like to follow this build.

Francois Royer de Vericourt
You're more than invited to.
Cheers

Prieur Gaël
N'oublie pas de bien diluer ta peinture ! 🙂

Francois Royer de Vericourt
Promis

David Taylor
I see you have the sand tires on.French foreign Legion perhaps.

Francois Royer de Vericourt
My intention is to do a véhicule used by a French paratroop regiment in Algeria.
Not certain of what tires they had ; may have changes depending on the periode ans the area of operation..

Lost_Erik
Ahhh. The process...
How do you like the brass set?

Francois Royer de Vericourt
The Edouard set is nice but requires somme additional scratch.
If one intends toi leave hatches closes, then Eduard set isn't realy required.

David Taylor
I have the interior set from Scorpion miniature models which is a very comprehensive set.

Francois Royer de Vericourt
Could you share some pictures of the kit or the instructions ?

Lost_Erik
Looking good!

David Taylor
Hi Francois.If you go to my stash list its all there.Failing that Scorpion Miniature models.

Francois Royer de Vericourt
Found the instructions, thanks. They are going to be helpful for m'y scratch building and painting.

David Taylor
Anytime.

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

coporado
Build completed so far. Still waiting for the metal barrel. Quite challenging to attach the Zimmerit- PE parts. Was annoying when it comes to round shapes on the turret front armor. Treating those metal parts with some heat, made them much more handy to shape. First time using Friul tracks, very time consuming, but the best track result I´ve seen so far 🙂

Spanjaard
looks certainly good already🙂

coporado
Thanks bud!

coporado
Lower part of the tank was painted and received weathering. Tracks were mounted and connected. Rear fenders were the installed. Next is masking lower section and painting the upper parts.

Christoph Kunz
Nice job. I'm taking a seat.
Is it going to be some "Magdeburg-stuff" again?

coporado
Thanks, Christoph! This time its Normandy subject 🙂

Christoph Kunz
Next time I'll read the headline.
Stupid me...

coporado
The tank received several rounds of paint. Starting with red brown primer, followed by dark yellow as base color and finally the camo pattern. Next is detail painting, and weathering.

coporado
Initial weathering steps were conducted; chipping the Zimmerit and the metal surfaces.

coporado
Weathering of the exhaust section using acrylics and enamels.

Spanjaard
looks fantastic

Neuling
I agree. Very interesting dents and battle damage.

coporado
Thanks, Gentlemen! 🙂

Nick N
The exhaust looks awesome! How did you make that?

coporado
Thanks, Nick!
The exhaust was painted in a medium grey first. The parts having armor plates underneath were left in the original painting, as these area is less affected by heat and corrosion. Then a warm white followed by a reddish brown was applied using the sponge technique. Next was rust tones painted and blended with enamels. Colors of the original camo scheme where then applied with a sponge in the areas with less corrosion, to turn out the different stages of heat impact. Finally the upper parts received a slightly black shade to simulate the exhaust fume grime.

Nick N
Thanks a lot, this is very inspiring 🙂

coporado
Tank completed, time to start the dio 🙂

coporado
Kick off for the base. Styrofoam is the desired material for house, road and pavement. As the road and pavement is covered with lots of dirt and debris, I added cobblestone only randomly. For the road thin sheets of styrofoam were shaped using a 3D printed rolling pin. In order to create more texture the stones were carved with a pencil. For the pavement an old brush was used to shape the small stones. Everything was painted in several greyish, brownish, sandy tones with acrylics.

The shape of house was cut with the Proxxon hot wire. To make the facade more interesting I added some "decoration" around the upper windows. A border seperates the upper and lower floor. Next is closing the gaps between the decoration elements at the upper windows and cover the lower floor with wood.

Doubtingmango
Just found this. Stunning work with great narrative!

coporado
Thanks Doubtingmango!

coporado
Slowly taking shape. Lower floor fassade updated with some wooden panels. Dirt and debris was added to the road and pavement and painted with the airbrush. I used the same colors I used for weathering the tank tracks. Next is windows and door installation and of course detailing the interior.

Christoph Kunz
good work, in speciall the wood paint, tip top

coporado
Thank you Christoph! 🙂

Pietro De Angelis
Great work, congrats!

coporado
Thank you, Pietro! 🙂

coporado
Lower and upper floor and walls were detailed using Balsa wood and wallpaper. Added windows using Balsa and lasercut as well as some transparent plastic for the glas parts. Also the infantry miniatures arrived meanwhile.

coporado
Scratch built some interior from balsa wood and plastic residues. The attic floor was installed. Next is finally building the lower floor entrance and preparing the roof.

Rui S
I'm in 😎

coporado
Welcome aboard, Rui 🙂

coporado
More detailing on that house and a testfit with the first infantry guy.

Doubtingmango
The paint work on the tiger is fantastic

coporado
Thank you!

coporado
As an important detail, I added the sign with the shop name where the Tiger was abandoned in Villers Bocage in 1944. Also the advertising was printed in a suitable font and prepared for installation.

coporado
Slowly getting there. The roof was installed, using Juweela roof tiles. Final details added and glued to the interior. Next is painting the two fellows passing by.

coporado
First uniform almost completed, some more blending is needed on that trousers. My very first time painting camouflage uniforms, challenging but fun once in the flow 🙂

coporado
1/2 completed, hope to improve the camo on that second mini 🙂

Spanjaard
speechless with that camo....

Christoph Kunz
top work! 👍

coporado
Thank you, spanjaard and Christoph!

Pepe
😍😍😍😍😍

coporado
Thank you, Pepe!

coporado
Skin parts of 2nd mini done

coporado
2/2 mini´s completed - heading for the finish line 🙂

gorby
Your figure painting is unbelievably good!

Neuling
So it is.

coporado
Thank you gorby and Neuling! 🙂

Spanjaard
you need t stop using that cruel device to miniaturize humans for your dios..... 😉

Dave
Great work with your camouflage. This dio is going to look good.

Jan Peters
Beautiful paintwork on those figures, model and base are excellent too.
This is going to be a great diorama.

David Taylor
Fantastic figure detailing.

coporado
Thank you all for your kind comments!
@Spanjaard: Once you pulled the trigger on that device once, you cannot stop doing it ever and ever again 😄

Final details have been attached to the house.

Wishing you all a merry merry Christmas and happy new year and of course happy modelling!

coporado
Finally completed 🙂

Marc .
Excelent diorama with beautiful painted soldiers!

Rui S
mlike it, a lot. Slava Ukraine 🇺🇦💪✌️

Marc .
Thanks you Rui S.

John E
Beautiful!

Neuling
Yes!

István Szücs
Great color combo, excellent!

Robert Podkoński
I wholly agree with everyone above - congrats!

CasModeler
Very clean build.

Jack Aaronfeld
Thanks guys, I think it turned out pretty well. Not the exact shade of blue I was after but it was pretty close

Martin Oostrom
A stunning colour for that car. Top job

Christian W
This color looks strange on the car. But it works. When you see, how many colors were available for the 300SL then this is a welcome change. I'm a big fan of unusual colors. The built is flawless. The red interior looks crazy with this color. But good. It fits somehow.

I painted my Revell 300 SL blue too. There was a discussion on the point that this color "is not realistic". Jajaja. Keep you informed before you telling bullsh. Of course there was blue: 12 shades of blue (9 uni , 3 metallic). At the end of production, Mercedes offered 46 different colors! Most people know the SL in silver maybe black and ivory too, some in red. But those were just a hand full of so called "basic colors". The standard color was silver and at the end 1 of 3 were silver. Of all the production cars 166 had a special ordered color. And based on thet number, half of them had any kind of blue.

Sorry for off topic.

Jack Aaronfeld
Thanks for the comment Christian, the colour was inspired by a real 300SL I came across whilst looking for examples - it's cyan so slightly lighter than mine but it was spec'd the same way with the red interior and the invory on the steering wheel and shifter. I can't recall if it was painted in that colour from the factory or if it was custom, but there is a writeup on it somewhere.
I really wanted to avoid painting it in silver because it's been done a million times and I wanted something unique

Dominik Weitzer
somethin unique - perfect in my opinion! I like more extra colors than "boring-every-paining-stuff" a la red Ferrari or in this case silver Gullwing.
well done!

Spanjaard
it may have not be my choice of color 😉 but a fa fantastic build nevertheless (and colors are a true personal choice anyway)

gorby
Beautiful job!

Cam Saunders
Awesome job bud

Dave
That is a beautiful shade of blue for that car. Nice work.

scalemates
merci!

Roland Sachsenhofer
A few first pictures of the 'Stratoliner': in contrast to Academy's B-17B, this kit shows a love of detail, but the accuracy of fit has gone to hell. The parts are also very roughly moulded and all have to be shaped with a scalpel and sandpaper. Nevertheless, the whole thing is great fun - the Boeing 307 not only seems to be big, but also quite voluminous thanks to the shape of the fuselage!

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat, of course!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Feel welcome, Robert!

Cuajete
Great! I have the military version, so I can't miss this one.

Roland, I'm sure that after the Mil Mi twins you'll be able to do this without so much effort.

Good start! 👍

Pietro De Angelis
Double effort, double satisfaction, this too will not disappoint expectations!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you, mates, for these encouraging words!
Cuajete, a C-75 version will follow in a few days as a contract build. I'm glad to have already had some experience with this not entirely un-tricky kit.

Roland Sachsenhofer
A little filling here, a little sanding there.... and everything will be fine.

Marco Gallmann
A lot of filling indeed, i take a seat too

Cuajete
Roland, I'll be happy to see that C-75 🙂
The cracks between the pieces in this kit are huge. But you are a great, experienced tamer of crowding plastics. Cheer up!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thanks for the encouragement - I'll take that literally: off to the putty rodeo!

Ben M
I'll join the putty rodeo, lol

Cuajete
😄 😄 😄

Nicolas
Count me in as well.

Zbynek Honzik
It's gonna be a ride again, Roland! Taking a seat!

Ben M
Wow. This may be the worst fitting kit I've ever seen.

Łukasz Gliński
Oh man, what a lovely fit 😄

Roland Sachsenhofer
Yeehah!! Thank you all for these appreciated comments, mates! 🙂

Finn
Hope you make it to the other side (Lord, Give Me Patience, and Give It to Me Right Now!)

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Roland Sachsenhofer
Good prayers are welcome!
Something is happening here too: wings and fuselage have found each other - now I have to find the tube of filler!

Juergen Klinglhuber
🙂 - one tube enough?

Cuajete
Roland, this seems much worse than the Mil Mi. It should be a crime to sell these sufferings with all the money they cost and a monument should be made for you for what you are capable of doing by transforming the beast into beauty.
Cheer up!

Skyhiker
How did I skip this?

David Taylor
Looks hmm, challenging.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you all mates!
I like the thing with the monument.... I can already see the plaque on it: 'donated by the grateful putty industry'.
But what can I say: the C-75 arrived today.... and will soon be joining its civilian sister on the workbench.

There are a few things that I would like to do completely differently on this second run. For example, the fuselage windows: I'm going to make them from scratch out of clear film I cut myself..... that will - must!- simply look better!

Skyhiker
Well it's not a Bandai... It's more like a Bandaid kit. Nothing a lot of super glue can't fix!

Skyhiker
I just saw the price for this kit... Holy sh*t Batman that's nuts.

Ben M
Gotta wonder if the 1977 amodel vacform is better

Hans-Jürgen Haag
O you are addicted to pleasure! 😉

Bernd Grün
Modeling the hard way, Roland. Admire your persistence with that kit. 👌

Roland Sachsenhofer
I take your words and your interest in this building as strong motivation and encouragement! Thank you for your feedback!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Putty queen! But the whole thing is actually half as bad, I'm already looking forward to the wet sanding.

Gordon Sørensen
Great work towards making this kit. I thought Starfix kits had a bad reputation for fit - seems Batkits wants to de-throne them…

Michael Kohl
Oh, an overweight looking putty queen I've missed here. But not any more. 😉

Consider clear resin for the windows of your second build. Just cover the outside of the windows thoroughly with Cela-Tape and pour the resin in (jep, bubbles are a pain). The glue residue from the tape which tends to stick to the outside of the windows after removal of the tape can easily be removed with IPA.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Michael, that sounds very appealing - a technique I've heard of but never tried. I have two questions: Can you give me a tip on where I could get the clear resin? Do you have any idea how dangerous it can be to my health and how best to protect myself? Thank you in any case for the inspiration!

Ben M
I found clear resin on amazon. It is epoxy based, so standard precautions apply - wear gloves, do not expose your skin to uncured resin, over time you can gain a severe allergy. Use in a ventilated space, I do it in my garage.

Łukasz Gliński
For the first trials I bought a cheap small bottle via the internets sold as "jewellery resin". It's about 25g.
Or you can try this one: UV Resin 17ml (Green Stuff World 8436574503784, No)

Roland Sachsenhofer
So, mates, after some quick thinking I have ordered a bottle of UV Resin and will use it on the C-75 - somewhere I should try it out first! 🙂 Many thanks for the ''push'' and the advice - I'm looking forward to it!

Łukasz Gliński
Just remember not to use it in a sunny room - it can cure before you spread it 🙂

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you for the tip! I will also keep my sunny disposition in check

Roland Sachsenhofer
I need a lot of patience with this project: the road to a result that I will be happy with is proving to be a long one! So it's only after a long time that there are a few new pictures here again: the roughest filling and sanding orgy is over, but the first layers of Alclad are still in need of touching up. Slowly, however, the end seems to be in sight, so that I can already work on building up several aluminium tones during the final sanding work. The last three pictures of this new series show such a working state.
Since I want to depict the 'luxury yacht' of the legendary Howard Hughes, the surface will be kept in shimmering and polished aluminium tones, similar to what I have seen in pictures. By the way, I'm going to completely rebuild the fuselage windows - so don't worry about their rather wild appearance! 🙂

István Szücs
Everything fits well, I don't know, what is your problem 😉

You did a great job!

Michael Kohl
I see that you resumed your studies in Gap-ology with an intesive F&S-course (filling&sanding). We expect your defence of the final result any time soon. 😉

Ben M
Great work carving an airplane out of putty.

Cuajete
Great (hard) job so far with this huge mass of plastic, Roland.
Cheer-up!

Roland Sachsenhofer
I had a lovely time reading your comments! Gap-ology as a course of study, which all modellers will probably take at some point, meets with my fullest approval! 🙂 Well, the idea of 'getting' a model out of the filler probably also coincides with an experience that many modellers already have had....

Skyhiker
Wow, that fit is amazing. So crisp, so clean. No filler needed at all. Goes together like a perfect snap kit. Bandai's got some real competition there... Or NOT. Roland you're doing a great job. Gap-ology. Love it. You know your starting to get good when a model like this becomes normal. I truly find them the most satisfying because when they are finished and look great you know it made you work for those results.

Ben M
I agree. I am a member of the non aligned movement. I only build kits where the parts do not align.

Roland Sachsenhofer
NAM - the "Non Alignment Movement" - has a new disciple: it is indeed very satisfying when a roughly correct shape emerges from such a pile of polystyrene and putty- thank you Skyhiker and Ben! 🙂 However, I realise that this is not for perfectionists, a few compromises and acceptances have to be made....
I learned another lesson in modesty here: it's not a good idea to assume that you can optimise the sequence of building steps by being so cool. Then you can end up like me here: because I wanted to simplify the not very visible equipment of the landing gear bay by leaving out parts, I got myself into a bit of a mess. Now I have to improvise in order to mount the undercarriage in a stable and safe manner. One of the ways I did this was by drilling a piece of wire - and a similar piece of wire to get the resin tyres stable on the undercarriage leg.

Michael Kohl
But the landing gear looks surprisingly fine.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you Michael, I'd like to hear that! The resin wheels are bought in - actually a B-17 part.
In the meantime, the fact that I've been working on the kit again for the last few days has borne fruit - I had to force myself to do it.... 🙂 But now it's almost done; tomorrow I want to apply one last coat of Alclad colour and then start rebuilding the windows. I'll show you a few -not quite up-to-date- pictures of Haoward Hughes Stratoliner

Jennifer Franklin
It's coming along nicely; Gapology -- love it.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you very much, Jennifer! 🙂

Cuajete
Great, Roland! 👌
Happy Hollidays!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you, happy Holidays to you as Well- and a merry time to you all, mates!

Robert Podkoński
You've done it, Roland! I admire your perseverance and skills!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Finished at last! A somewhat complex build with a result full of all kinds of compromises - but at least a nice big model 🙂 -and a legendary model at that: Howard Hughes had this aircraft converted into a 'Flying Penthouse' so that he could fly round the world in luxury in the summer of 1939. Unfortunately, due to circumstances, nothing came of it...
The (few) decals were a dream to work with - and I learnt a lot for number two: the Stratoliner as C-75 in the USAAF's livery is waiting in the stockpile!
Thanks for all your interest and motivating comments!

Dave
Glad to see it complete. Looks Good. Just sorry about the couple of tubs of putty needed to complete it. Give you credit for your patient and determination.

scalemates
thx! this was fixed FS34062

scalemates
👍

scalemates
thx and fixed! (also 50 other reviews fom this forum)

Robin (WhiteGlint)
The cockpit looks really nice. 👍 Is this all out-of-the-box?

Motatim Stanislaw
Thanks all! Unfortunately, yes. I'd add a rivet, but I don't have a riveter.

Motatim Stanislaw
Relatively normal, on 3 out of 5. True there is no numbering on the sprue ah and grooves under the details, there are crevices

Motatim Stanislaw
Return. I lay in red for a very long time, I decided to take it, a beautiful plane

Skyhiker
La La la

Mr D
Very nice 👍👍 great build nice aircraft 👌

Ben M
Really nice build, the paintwork is top notch. Love the weathering, and that's a great livery that you chose.

Motatim Stanislaw
Thank you Mr D and Ben. I myself mostly like the result!

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Great work! Nicely done rigging too!

Motatim Stanislaw
Thanks, Robin!

Michael Kohl
Very convincing weathering indeed.

Spanjaard
and it appears multiple times

Spanjaard
and for PlazaJapan, the link leads to error page

scalemates
on it

Robert Podkoński
Looks great!

Mid Franconian
Thanks Robert! I had such a fun time with this kit. In fact it is already finished but I want to share some in-progress pictures. It went together smoothly without any issues. Japanese aircraft of WWII had never really interested me until a few months ago. Now I am on fire and discover a long neglected area of great kits, cool markings and very interesting historical facts 😄. That is one of the great pros of our hobby - it never gets boring.

Mark Sherwood
Looking good,. True, the hobby does not get boring.

Alberto
I like the paint job 👍

Robert Podkoński
I knew that it is already finished from your project photo 😉 But WIP photos are (in a sense) even more interesting 🙂

Villiers de Vos
Very nice progress. Your attention to detail will pay off.

Johan van Meerloo
Thank you! Will be hard with the old kit though.

Nicolas
I build both kits in the past. Intrested too see what you can do with it.

Johan van Meerloo
both are interesting, this one is total crap but will try to make the best of it

Robert Podkoński
Good job so far, Johan!

Johan van Meerloo
for the crap kit it is, its going on quite okay now with some colour on it at least, hopefully the cannopy wont ruin it all due to the bad kit

Skyhiker
I would have sanded those rivets off and reriveted both planes. But I can understand not doing that. Getting raised rivets to look good in silver is a real challenge.

Johan van Meerloo
too less quality for this kit

Pietro De Angelis
Nice couple, good job!

Robert Podkoński
Good job so far, Johan. Keep it up! (and do not mix the parts from both kits 😉

Nicolas
Good start. Following

Johan van Meerloo
awesome, its to compare the new and old revell kits

Cuajete
An old kit with a good work... Following!

Ben M
I enjoy kits that don't fit! 👀

Maciej Bellos
That's some work there! Looking forward to the next steps.

Nicolas
👀

Alec K
Taking a seat. Nice progress 👍

B. M.
Very nice so far! 👍🏼
What did you use to fill up these gaps?

Cuajete
Well done so far 👍

Dave Flitton
Watching!

Gary Victory
Really nice work on classic....i remember building this kit back in '80's. Looking forward to see your progress.

Łukasz Gliński
Following, looks like a good riveting practice 😉

Robert Podkoński
Watching!

Celliers
Thanks for all the comments.

@B. M. - I used Mr Dissolved Putty for the gaps.

Clement
Nicely done!

Dave
The paint looks amazing. Nice work.

Alberto
Great job so far, looking forward to the rest 👍

Michael Kohl
Yeah, 20 pieces do not automatically turn into a quick build. 😉.
Great job. You lifted that ancient kit to an entirely different level.

J35J
Impressive work, always great to see an old kit come to life.👍🏻

Cuajete
I agree with J35J 👍
Great progress!

Chris T. An
Very nice work so far. I really like the metal colors. Apparently it doesn't always have to be airbrushed. It's great that it works with a brush and polish.

Chris T. An
Very nice work so far. I really like the metal colors. Apparently it doesn't always have to be airbrushed. It's great that it works with a brush and polish.

The Blytonian
Nice. Enjoying the build?

Someday, fingers crossed. On my opportunity buy watchlist.

Desert Marlin
Yes! It's a great kit. I got one of the special edition with the white metal German Shepherd and the Ernst Rüdel figure. The combinations of parts between Jg 1 and Jg 2 are something to be mindful of however. There are several decals for the car parts so I'm still sorting through that. Time and care must be taken on the cockpit and the figures as there is a lot of posing and seating to be performed before everything is painted. And I am coming back to this one after having started it almost 15 years ago...

Desert Marlin
Completing the cockpit makes the whole project move along!

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Rui S
I'm in too 😎
I've a big Stuka in my stash too, so I'm learning here.

Desert Marlin
Excellent!!!

Villiers de Vos
Booking my seat.

Desert Marlin
Something about having two Pak36 under the wings…

Rui S
More photos?

Desert Marlin
Hang on one...

Desert Marlin
Okay, here are some of the current status pictures...

Gary Victory
Nice progress DM.

Alberto
It looks promising 👀

bughunter
Wow - nicely looking instrument panel!

Rui S
I agree 👍. How did you get from picture 5 to picture 1 😮 🤔

Desert Marlin
Thanks! Picture 5 is wet decal on gloss coated panel. Then two days of working the decal with Mr. Decal Setter and Solvaset. Then gloss coated panel and decal. Then Alclad semi-matte finish. Also used some Tamiya panel line accent between instrument bezels. Then each instrument is given a glass lens using Micro Krystal Klear. Not perfect, but in a dark cockpit it seems okay. The real color and detail will come from the pilot and gunner/radio operator figures…

Rui S
Thx for the explanation. Beautifully done 👍

Dave
This Stuka going to look sick

Desert Marlin
Aye!!!

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work on the figure painting.

Desert Marlin
Takes a lot of time, but I enjoy it!

Desert Marlin
July 1941...

Rui S
I'm not an expert or a spoiler, but I think the 'Kanonenvogel' apeared long after that 🤔
The G1, Specialized tank destroyer evolved in 1942-43.
Basically a conversion of the Ju 87D-3 with attachment points to carry two 37 mm Flak 18 (BK 3,7) cannon in streamlined fairings outboard of the main undercarriage legs. (Cannon attach­ment points could be exchanged for bomb racks.) Standard defensive armament; often had improved ground vision panel in the cockpit floor.

Desert Marlin
You are probably right. I am just building the version I was provided by Hasegawa, which over the years, have not always been accurate! In any event, I find the story (800 takes destroyed) and the era, Kursk 1941/42 to be interesting for sure. This particular Jg 2 scheme smacks of a summer deployment without the eventual knowledge that the impending winter would bring!

Desert Marlin
I may have misread the history on the last photo...

Rui S
Battle of Kursk. Summer of 1943, from 5 July 😄
The Gunner looks great. Well done 👍

Desert Marlin
True about Kursk. I had worked from the Barbarossa reference which was probably too early for the Ju-87G for sure. Thanks for the compliment! The Hasegawa figures are definitely not 3D printed! Lots of carving to get them in better shape...

Desert Marlin
Got Ernst Rüdel painted…

Mark Sherwood
Those figures Mr Marlin are exquisite. 👍🥸🤟

Desert Marlin
Much appreciated!

bughunter
He is scowling rather grimly!

Desert Marlin
He's showing his teeth. It's really difficult to paint that…

Desert Marlin
Just about ready for pictures of the pre-primer stage…

Desert Marlin
Welp…
Now I gotta get the canopy on…

Mr D
Always stellar work... Nice to see WW2 subject from you now....... good luck with the build 👍👍

Desert Marlin
Thanks Mr. D. The decals for the inside of the canopies seems to be a little too much work when I can mask the interior and paint the correct color...

Desert Marlin
So, the Pilot's hood is really not good. I suppose the middle hood could be too short, but the Pilot's hood is also too tall. About 1 mm too tall. So, if I shave down the bottom of the pilot's hood, I wonder if it will better fill the gap between the back of the Pilot's hood and the middle hood? It seems the gunner's hood fits pretty good.

bughunter
The clear parts are really clear 👍

Neil
Looking great 👍 following...

Desert Marlin
Well, the canopies have taken days longer than I anticipated. I am almost done with the last (gunner's) canopy. Clearly from the complexity of the gunner's canopy, he had a pretty unenviable job. It looks like the limit bar inside the gunner's canopy, which limits the swing of the guns to prevent damage to the airframe, also limits the visibility of the gunner too!

Mr D
The canopy is clear ...you should have a good view of pilot , nice job on crew👍
What have you used to mask the front canopy? or is it just protection?
Coming along nicely 👌👍

Desert Marlin
Masking has been a combination of 3M Scotch Transparent tape and Tamiya Masking Tape. A little bit of Mr. Masking Sol R and Micro Mask. Just really trying to keep the interior of the canopies very clear for now. The Gunner's Hood is really a ton of work. The interior frame is done except for a little cleanup after the exterior is painted...

Mr D
Be worth it in the end ... Looking good, thanks for scotch tape tip .
Good luck with everything 👍👍

Jennifer Franklin
I love the German shepherd; it's a great touch.

Erik Leijdens
Excellent work so far! The figures are very well done, the clear parts are really clear!

Desert Marlin
Well, Now it's time for coating, weathering and markings!

Desert Marlin
I think I'll let the paint dry for a while and work on the Pak 18 cannons…

Villiers de Vos
Nice work on the splinter camouflage.

bughunter
Wise decision to let the paint dry. Patience at the right moments saves reworking later 😉
Looks good, do you used enamels?

Desert Marlin
I have saved my Model Master RLM74, 75, and 76 for just this time! I used Mr.Color Yellow for the stripe and bottom of the wing tips! The Testirs thinner is no good for these paints since it was sold to a different manufacturer and is now unable to properly thin the MM paints. Fortunately, the Squadron enamel thinner seems to be an excellent substitute! Base was Mr. Surfacer 1500 black and grey.

Mr D
That Tamiya Saw looks like a bit of kit worth getting 🤔.
The Dog will be a nice touch .... Natzi's liked an angry dog 🐕.
Was Ju-87 used for a defensive role??
Enjoy following your builds 👍👍

Desert Marlin
Thanks all for the comments! Mr. D, the Kannonenvögel was used as a Tank Buster on the Eastern Front.

Mr D
Thanks 👍

Desert Marlin
Ernst Rudel claimed 800 tank victories in this aircraft.

Desert Marlin
I may need to add a little flat coat on the dog...

Jennifer Franklin
That is a pretty darn good paint job on the dog.

Desert Marlin
Thanks Jennifer! It was a fun subject!

John
Looking great! I enjoyed this build, but I cheated and used the montex canopy mask set. Totally worth it!!!

bughunter
This German shepherd reminds me of my father's dog - yes, great paint job.

Mr D
The Dog has turned out 👍👍 Great.

Desert Marlin
Thanks guys! If anyone knows the story of what the dog's name is, I would really appreciate knowing that! Cheers!

Desert Marlin
Found it!

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondi

Desert Marlin
Adding the plumbing to the cannon.

Desert Marlin
Plumbing and paint... and a little weathering!

Desert Marlin
The mounts for these Kanonen are really solid!

Villiers de Vos
I am still nailed to my chair.

Desert Marlin
Ugh... I think I bought this kit in 2007. That means the decals are... 17 years old. Very brittle to say the least. I am using Mr. MarkSofter which is excellent in this case, but the spiral decal for the spinner is really trouble! We'll see what I can do with it...

bughunter
I hope the decals are still on the sheet! In this case you can protect them with this product. It creates a very thin "rubber" film on top so they do not fall into parts.
Liquid Decal Film (Microscale MI-12, No)

If you do not have it, Gunze Mr. Metal Primer can also be used, but I would use an airbrush to avoid that the brush tip dissolve decal parts. Background: I had a decal paper for self printing decals and in the manual this Gunze clear coat was recommended to protect the print before applying the decal to the model.

John
You might be better off painting the spiral, but the trick is matching the off-white color Hasegawa insisted on printing their white color decals in back then.

Desert Marlin
Thanks Frank and John! I have the film but did not use it. I have used the film in the past and it is a great option! I was trying to slowly work the spiral on and soften the film as I went. Still broke in a few places, but I think I can correct it a bit. John, as for painting it on, I should have got that route but I had constructed that part of the kit so many years ago. I would have had to break it down and start over. I actually tried to undo some of the construction so I could get the spinner and oil slinger off the prop but would have been too much damage. So, between touch-up and weathering I think I can overcome the damage. I agree, their off-white is a bit odd, but I think the Vallejo white, ivory and grey can make the difference! Thanks for the encouragement!

John
Ah, having to "undo" construction would certainly complicate matters. I ended up painting mine for the exact same reason, cracked decals. Tamiya white with just a touch of XF-57 buff and XF-59 desert yellow was a good match for the decal color but the vallejo mix sounds workable too. I think it's asking a lot of decals, especially old Hasegawa ones (which, let's face it, aren't that great when new) to conform to that spinner. Too bad Hasegawa didn't see fit to include masks for that, but Eduard-level kit goodies were still some years in the future! Nice job on the Shepherd, by the way!

Desert Marlin
John, you are absolutely correct on all points! Thanks for commiserating!

Desert Marlin
I may. try the Tamiya mix and see how that does! I will probably try to beat down the decal with some Solvaset.

Dave
I wish you luck

Mr D
That's a difficult decal to do at the best of times 🤔,
At least you have a good pattern to paint in, lve had this happen on new HB and Tamiya decals.
You will have it tidied up soon.
Build is looking good 👍👍

Desert Marlin
Next step is to sand out the rough surface...

Desert Marlin
Well, I ran out of Tamiya White…

Dave
Bummer

Desert Marlin
It'll be here in a couple of days…

Jennifer Franklin
You must be patient Desert Marlin, I hate waiting.

Desert Marlin
Weathering has begun. Thanks Jennifer. I failed to be too patient and switched to the Vallejo paints for the spinner...

Desert Marlin
Sadly, the two cross decals on the lower surface of the wing just won't cooperate. So I have decided to remove them and paint them on...

Jennifer Franklin
Your paint job looks better than the decals probably would have.

Desert Marlin
I'm starting to paint them now...

Jennifer Franklin
lol... i wonder what I was looking at 🙂