Well another FB group I left (The Panzer Page, TPP for short). The group may be a bit more advanced than the “Mediocre modeler” group but with FB you still get a mix of random people there. The latest thread that caused my self-ejection is this discussion where a person posted some PE handles for…
Final reveal: Jagdpanther ausf. G1, sPzJgAbt 559, Ardennes, 1944 (Meng TS-039)
The Jagdpanther (Sd. kfz. 173) is a tank destroyer based upon the Panther chassis. It houses the powerful 8.8 cm Pak 43/3 cannon in a turretless casemate hull, givnig it a very sleek look and is one of cooler looking German designs. The Meng kit is based off of their excellent Panther kit which I’ve built…
Final reveal: Ryefield Model 1/35 Tiger I Late Production: s Pz. abt 505, nr. 312 at Kowel, 1944 summer.
I have painted this kit non-stop for over 2 weeks and it took it out of me. Learned A LOT and honestly I’m not sure I’m done, but I’ll let it sit a bit. Some highlights: The Zimmerit application has massive flaws and it really affected the finish quite a bit. One of the aspects…
Quitting the Medicore Modeler’s Group
I am a big fan of Andy’s Hobby Headquarter’s YT Channel. He is a great guy with great personality, he explain stuff clearly and his techniques are simple. This makes modeling approachable and certainly I got back into armor modeling largely because of him. He has create a FB group Mediocre modeler’s, the joke being…
Buying kits from China – my experience with buying direct from Taobao.
Ever since I started doing armor modeling, I have gradually shifted my purchase pattern. In the days of Gunpla, buying direct from Japan makes sense. HLJ and such has regular 20% off on kits, combined with SAL shipping it makes for very reasonable pricing. The only way to get it cheaper is to buy the…
Final reveal: Panzerbeobachtungwagen III Ausf. F(Sd. Kfz. 143)
This is my “target practice” model where I try a bunch of weathering techniques on. It’s obviously a bit heavy handed since I was throwing experiments at it, but I learned a lot and this feels like I’m making progress where different elements were mixing together and I had a better sense of how layering…
Build Review: Ryefield Model 1/35 5015 Late Production Tiger
Introduction The iconic Tiger had a relatively long life in its service, and Ryefield had previously captured various versions of it in a DAK version (5001), early (5003), Fehrmann (5005), middle (5010) and now late (5015). The original releases came with interior and later ones without, including this kit. The late production is mainly distinguished…
Build review: Dragon 6332 1/35 M3A1 Half-Track
This Dragon 6332 halftrack kit is yet another kit I’ve gotten from one of the sales. Halftracks were a very useful concept in WW2, the first time I encountered it was in the movie Kelly’s Heroes. It looks very different from regular tanks so I was interested in checking it out. This kit being touted…
Build review: Dragon 6819 1/35 Sturmpanzer Ausf.I als Befehlspanzer (Umbau Fahrgestell Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.G)
This kit pops up very often in sales, often for below $25. Here is the official description from Dragon. It’s a more advanced kit so perhaps that’s why people weren’t biting. The kit is relatively recent (2015), but in fact is a slightly updated version of 6596 and 6500 which were the original ones with…
Build review: Dragon 6860 StuG.III Ausf.A MICHAEL WITTMANN, ‘LAH’ (BARBAROSSA 1941)
I got this kit as a surprise due to a seller error. The kit’s code is one off from the Stuka zu Fuss I was trying to buy and the seller sent the wrong kit; we had an arrangement to fix the deal and I got this kit for about $23, which wasn’t bad. The…