E-100 part 5 DONE!

Posted by yansick on April 29, 2017
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Here are the pictures of my E-100 tank diorama, finally!

I added a german officer figure on the base. For the uniform, I got inspired by camouflage patterns used by the SS near the end of WWII. But I have chosen a more “sandy” colors, as I find it more interesting on this kind of terrain (soft earth tones). Since it is a paper tank after all, the uniform doesn’t need to be historically accurate.

I also added a touch of vegetation, with some branches, leaves and dried grass. The barren, all mud and earth base was not visually satisfying without plants, in my opinion.

So, it is 99.9999% done (I still have to put a bit of gloss varnish on the tail light).

Enjoy the pics!

E-100 part 4

Posted by yansick on April 22, 2017
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I started working on the base for my E-100 tank. I used Apoxy-Sculpt to sculpt the ground, in wich I embedded  various debris and stuff. I’m going for a war ravaged muddy ground with almost no vegetation.

I airbrushed a flat earth tone on top of the black primer, then I did many touch ups with various earth-like colours. After that, I made multiple washes with different shades of brown, burnt umber and greenish grey.

The scrap pieces of metal and the oil drum were given a rust finish, then a chipping treatment with the hairspray technique.

I ended up adding warmer washes in the end, to have richer colours.

So far, so good. Enjoy!

 

E-100 part 3

Posted by yansick on April 3, 2017
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Weathering almost done. I just have to add a touch of pigments & dust. Some minor details too (painting periscope lenses, tail light, adding machineguns on the sides of the turret).

Enjoy the pics!

 

E-100 part 2

Posted by yansick on March 29, 2017
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I painted my E-100 tank. No weathering yet, just base colors, camo and decals.

I used Tamiya Dark Yellow as the base color, with highlights of a mix of Dark Yellow, White and Buff. The green is from Model Master 4798 Panzer Olivgrün 1943, It is a blueish medium green I find particularly good looking on Dark Yellow.

The tracks were simply painted black then added touches of Red Brown from Tamiya.

The red primer on the guns, on exposed parts of the sides and one of the skirts is Vallejo 70.985 Hull Red.

The skirts are not glued on yet (they were just applied temporarily to the tank with blue tack for the photos).

The fun will begin soon: weathering!!! Yeah!!!

Stay tuned!

E-100 part 1

Posted by yansick on March 20, 2017
Posted in: Scale model. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments

Hi folks!

I want to show the monster tank I am currently working on: The german E-100.

This tank never saw actual combat and was only found as a partly assembled hull and plans. Nevertheless, it was supposed to be equipped with the Maus turret, wich was built (a prototype in fact), so we have a good idea of  the overall look of the E-100.

The model I assembled is from Dragon. I was disappointed by the lack of details (no tools, inaccurate front side plates, no hooks for spare tracks etc. So I decided to improve the kit with some scratch built details.

I am almost ready to base coat this enormous beast. Enjoy the pics for now!

E100 global view.
E100 closer…
Lifting hooks for the turret and hooks on the side for the spare tracks. I also added covers for the periscopes.
Ladder and handles added for the hatches.
An extension to the armor was added under the hull. Clamps and tools were also added. The antenna fixture is scratch built tool.
Front part of the armor corrected, and weld seams added for the fender fixations.
Texture added to the gun mantle. Notice the holes and handles added to improve details on the hatches.
Gun mouth drilled and replaced with a brass tube.
Rear detailed: texture for the exhaust covers, scratch built jack block and jack, etc.
A view of the photo-etched grills.
Size comparison: E-100 vs King Tiger
Size comparison: E-100 vs King Tiger
The E-100 is as large… as my entire Hetzer diorama!!!
Hell! The turret alone is the size of the Hetzer!!!

WWII crates – scratch building and molding

Posted by yansick on January 15, 2017
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I needed some wooden crates to put on my 1/35 dioramas. After looking at various commercial products, I decided to try to make my own, and cast them.

I used various pieces of styrene to scratch build a few crates (the red one is a carved Lego brick, with bits of styrene added).  The rope handles were made with small “strings” of epoxy putty (Magic Sculpt).

Once I was happy with the crates, I glued them on a thick sheet of styrene and used Lego blocks to form the “walls” of the mold.

Smooth-on products were used for the casting: Rebound 25 for the mold itself and Smooth-Cast 300 resin for the pieces.

Apart from the fact that a few air bubbles left some small holes on the surfaces (I later used some epoxy putty to correct that), I am quite happy with the result.

And now I can make as many crates as I need! Great!

E-50 Standardpanzer – diorama part 1

Posted by yansick on January 11, 2017
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Ok, so my E-50 is 99% completed, with dusting and all.

So it is time to begin the diorama. Yeah!

 

Take a look at the process: you will find comments on most pictures detailing the techniques and materials used.

Enjoy! Part 2 coming soon…

An Ikea picture frame is used as a base for the diorama.
A piece of plywood was screwed on the main base to provide elevation for the road in the diorama.
The road is made of foamcore: I used the same technique as for my ISU-152 diorama.
Some improved Tamiya tank traps (I added the welding lines with epoxy putty)
I would like to put this old bike model from Tamiya among the debris… not sure yet…
Some simple wood planks assembled together.
A scratch build shed door, to put on the ground in front of the tank. Putting a door in the middle of the road is a clear way to illustrate the state of destruction in a city…
Random bits to use as debris.
I removed some individual stones from the road to damage it. Then pieces of cork were glued on the “crater” part of the diorama.
A quick dry assembly of the different components, just to get a “feel” for the composition.
Another angle…
And another angle again…
I filled the gaps using Wood Filler putty. I think the earth like texture looks great!
The sides of the diorama were covered with Wood Filler too to simulate soil and hide imperfections.
Another angle to show the ground work.
I brushed some white glue in patches on the road and debris to add some finer sand and rocks. Once the glue was dry, I coated all these areas with diluted white glue (50/50 mix of glue and water) just to bind everything together.
Details of the ground work.
Again, a close-up view of the ground work in the “crater”.
And some sand bags, sculpted from Magic Sculpt epoxy putty.
Another view of the sand bags.
I also sulpted sand bags to hold one of the tank traps “leg”.
By sculpting the sand bags myself, it is possible to bend them in a very natural way.

E-50 Standardpanzer – Weathering

Posted by yansick on December 30, 2016
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The chipping, oil filters and washes are completed on my E-50 Standardpanzer. I also made some mud for the tracks and wheels.

I still have to:

  • Do some retouching on the paint in some areas.
  • Install the skirts.
  • Paint and install the jack.
  • Correct a bit the “sag” effect in the tracks.
  • Paint and install the night vision device on the cupola ( infra-red light ).
  • Paint the lenses of the periscopes.
  • Paint the rear light.
  • Add some pigments and dust to the hull and turret.
  • Add some sooth to the muzzle and exhaust.
  • Add some grime / oil spill to the engine deck and the wheels / suspension.
  • Craft an antenna.
  • Make a small diorama for this beast.
  • Get a glass of Rum and celebrate the new year.

Not done yet…

I think I’ll start with the Rum 🙂

E-50 Standardpanzer – Base camouflage

Posted by yansick on December 16, 2016
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I have been working recently on a very nice E-50 Standardpanzer tank from Trumpeter. The model was easy to build (not too many parts) and is nicely detailed. The only problem is I got it on discount because the box had been opened and the barrel, gun mantle and fixation was missing. I ordered an aluminum barrel on E-Bay, and I scratch builded the mantle and gun fixation.

Since this is a so-called “paper tank” that was never built and never saw actual service, this is a “what if” project. This gives me a lot of freedom, for the camouflage, accessories and diorama.

As for the camo, I decided to go with a polka-dot hard edge ambush pattern. I used a paler shade of dunkelgelb because I wanted more contrast than usual. For the brown, I used Tamiya Hull Red XF-9 as in late war camouflage, the rust proof primer was often lay bare and used as brown in camouflage patterns. The green is Tamiya J.A. Green XF-13.

I tried using the airbrush to paint the dots (with a mask) but it was really tedious. It was also very difficult to be precise on many areas, so I finally decided to hand-paint the dots.

I’m planning to put this beast on a diorama full of debris, a “what if” version of Berlin in 1946, if the war turned out differently than it did…

KV-1 Diorama Done!

Posted by yansick on November 19, 2016
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Here it is! A dirty Soviet Steel Monster on a muddy and snowy Russian field.
I took more photos than usual to get a good view of the snow/mud effects, which I enjoyed making. I am quite pleased with the results.

Enjoy the pics!