Painting - A to Z

tanker · Post by **tanker** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 1:52 am

This is a comment/question related to painting. Before we begin to paint we have to remove the excess sprue material and smooth out those mold separation lines. When I was doing the Pz IV H pack I had to remove the line the neatly bisects the schirzen. What I encountered was that instead of a raised line where the mold halves joined the schirzen were actually slightly thicker (thousandths of an inch) on the top than on the bottom. So instead of a line that could be easily shaved with a sharp Exacto blade I actually had to use a burnisher to smooth the metal down. This actually worked fairly well though it was a bit more work because the schirzen as made of panels and you don't want to smooth the detail line between panels. Tricky at best, but I think I did a fairly good job.

The tool I used is a very small burnisher set I got from Micro Mark, and of the four blades in the kit I used the very small conical one. I must note that I also use the magnifying lenses. The old eyes just don't see as well that small anymore.

Does anyone else use this technique, i.e. a burnisher rather than a scraper? If not what do you prefer?

Tanker

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 2:00 am

I use both the x-acto and a home-made burnishing tool as well as re-scribing the schurtzen after its all done. This step is missed by many (for all miniatures) and it shows up in the close-ups now routinely available from our digi-cam monster-megapixal cameras!

Troy

tanker · Post by **tanker** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:05 am

Troy,

Nice Panzers. It also looks like you managed to burnish off the mold line on the turrets. Or is that detail just not showing up in those photos? I haven't tried that one because it just seemed to small and that the detail would be covered by the paint anyway.

Tanker

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:53 am

Get out your mag glasses - its scraped away too!

Troy

tanker · Post by **tanker** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:11 pm

Ritter wrote:

Get out your mag glasses - its scraped away too!

Ok, I'm suitably impressed... and frightened.

Tanker

tstockton · Post by **tstockton** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:24 pm

I can see it now...

Coming soon to a theatre near you...

Rick Moranis

as Troy Ritter

IN

"HONEY, I SHRUNK THE TANK!"

Regards,
Tom Stockton

tanker · Post by **tanker** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 8:55 pm

So that's how he does that. He starts with real tanks and shrinks them. Must be rough on the crews though.

Tanker

voltigeur · Post by **voltigeur** » Thu Feb 22, 2007 11:41 pm

As a former Infantry man I can assure you the crews started out pretty small.

Only interservice humer

Mk 1 · Post by **Mk 1** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:02 am

Voltigeur volunteered:
As a former Infantry man I can assure you the crews started out pretty small.

Cama contributed:
"Wow, you really are going for armour". I'm 5'5.

One of the "lads" I wargame with is Nick. He is about 6'4" tall. He commanded a platoon of M1A2s in Iraq for the 81st Washington National Guard (as a part of the California Guard's contingent).

Now if that doesn't put paid to the notion that tankers have to be 5'5" ...

... I'll just add this:
Before he came to the states and joined the Guard, he served in a cavalry unit in the Army of the Republic of Ireland.

He was actually TALLER than the armored vehicle he served in!

(Quick quiz: what is the GHQ catalog number for the models he needed to buy to build his original unit?

)

jb · Post by jb » Fri Feb 23, 2007 3:15 am

Mk 1 wrote: Now if that doesn't put paid to the notion that tankers have to be 5'5" ...

...I had a driver in my tank that we nicknamed "Lurch". I'm glad he didn't screw up much,because if you had to talk to him face to face you needed to stand on a BIG box!

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 5:05 am

Hey All!

Staff and 8.8cm L/71 PaK 43/41 and crew finished.

Map is 1/285th scale - hand - drawn...NOT!! Scale-reduced map of Russian 1943...ink-jets are amazing!!

8.8 cm ammo and cases scratchbuilt.
Crewmen modified from standard German Infantry grenadier (rifle removed, reposed), artillery crewmen (added 8.8cm ammo to walking figure and reposed).

Troy

jb · Post by jb » Fri Feb 23, 2007 9:15 am

Nice job!, what did you make the "shells" from. Also the red and white stick on the trails,was that a survey stake used to help determine a position?
Now this printer you have,what is it again? Please?

fullmetaljacket · Post by **fullmetaljacket** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:09 am

ok ritter you are getting ridiculious with the detail, you an almost see the city names on the map. Amazing work beauitful work, when are you putting on your first painting class in real life i will be there.

fullmetaljacket

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:21 am

Hey JB and Fullmetaljacket.

The shells are needles - cut and but end sanded flat.
Originally the 8.8-cm PaK L/71 was based on the proven FlaK 18 360 degree mounting. Later the 8.8-cm Pak 43/41 AT gun was based on the carriage of the 15cm sFH 18 heavy artillery. The range stakes if I am correct, are left overs sFH 18.
I just used my cheap HP Photosmart 7660 printer (not the ink cartridges mind you!!) and shrunk an image I found on the internet with MS Word. Printed it at the highest DPI and presto - scale map!

Painting class - one day, hopefully able to attend a Huge con in the US! Love to put on a How-to in person!

Troy

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:29 am

Finished a 12cm Granatwerfer 42 Heavy mortar position (German OBA for my Canadians at Carpiquet scenario).

Not too impressed with the spare rounds but will redo them when time permits (damn Salute 2007 deadline). Loader converted from standard standing rifleman (my personal favorite most uselessly posed figure

- no offence GHQ

). Commander from same blister Officers map case removed - arm bent. Loaders taken from 2 sources - Panzerschreck loader - head repositioned. Other figure, NVA Mortar loader, head lopped off, gasmask canister added and new head glued on.

Mortar taken from NVA mortar in H/W blister. Removed the extra support pewter - darn near lost a finger-tip!

BTW, the scale difference between the modern and WWII Infantry and support weapons is somewhat notice-able but there isnt a better 12 cm mortar anywhere! The sculpt is beautiful! Could also pass for Russian 120mm mortar (Germans actually copied the Russian model).

Sandbags made from FIMO.

Troy