Dragon Pzkpfw III Ausf. H (5.0cm) Late Production (2020)

[Bill Plunk]

The painting process has begun! Spread out over multiple sessions and days, the main paintwork is nearly done. I started out with a primer coat of Model Master enamel Italian Dark Brown.



Once that had dried, I detailed the wheels and return rollers by airbrushing MM enamel Gunmetal for the rubber portions.



Using a draftsman's circle template, I airbrushed the wheel hubs and return rollers with MM enamel Afrikabraun for the RAL 8000 main color for a DAK scheme. Sprockets and idlers got their finish at the same time.



That led to the main event, getting the basecoat on the hull.



Once that has a chance to thoroughly dry, I'll apply the camo portion to complete the DAK finish and start in on the detail work.

[Bill Plunk]

More progress on the painting front to report! I added the second color for the DAK "Tropen" scheme appropriate for the Tobruk, 1942, timeframe for this vehicle and unit. I used MM enamel Afrika Khakibraun for the RAL 7008 portion of the scheme and airbrushed it free-hand. After some adjustments, I sprayed a highly thinned mist coat of the basecoat Afrika Grunbraun over it to tie it all together.





That's the heavy-lifting done in the paint department, now things will shift into all the remaining details.

[Bill Plunk]

Working on the details always takes time but has the advantage of allowing it to be done in smaller pieces, always a plus!

I started off by attaching the roadwheels and return rollers to the hull and conducted a test fit with the track runs to see what the total number of links would be needed to complete the tracks. 93 links per side did the trick with just the right amount of sag.





That left the remaining details to be handled for the hull. The 6 water cans were airbrushed with MM enamel Schwarzgrau and Light Gray for the crosses using ordinary masking tape to create the crosses. The spare track runs were airbrushed with MM enamel Burnt Umber as their basecoat followed by some light dry-brushed enamel Steel, a wash of enamel Rust, and some raw umber artist pastels to create their look. All of the onboard tools were hand detailed and installed in their various locations along with the "double-stack" spare wheels. I also picked out the coaxial and hull MGs with MM non-buffing Metalizer Gunmetal and gave them a light dry-brushing to round it all out.





For the rear hull, the kit-supplied tow cables were used and hand detailed with a base of MM non-buffing Metalizer followed by light dry-brushing of Steel and hand-painting of all the little clamps to match the camo pattern on the rear deck. For the taillights, I used Tamiya Clear Green for the Notek convoy light Clear Red for the brake light. The muffler exhausts were detailed with a base of Non-Buffing Metalizer Gunmetal followed by a wash of enamel Rust and some artist pastels added to deepen the look and add some variation.



The last photo shows a couple of spots that need to be tweaked a bit with the tow cables and a couple of other spots. After that, the next item will be getting the tracks painted/detailed and installed.

[Bill Plunk]

Tracks are always a key part of any tank build and this one's no exception! I've always liked using workable tracks for the flexibility they allow and the time required to assemble them always pays off at this stage in my opinion. I started off by airbrushing the runs with a basecoat of MM enamel Burnt Umber and followed that by dry-brushing MM enamel Steel. I applied a wash of thinned enamel Raw Umber to blend it together to create the final look.

The sprockets and idlers also got some weathering goodness. I handpainted some MM non-buffing Metalizer Steel on the contact surfaces and guide teeth and followed that up with a heavy dry-brushing of enamel Burnt Umber to get them ready for installation.



The lower hull also got some Burnt Umber attention, I used a round sable brush and stippled it around the running gear to create some scuffing/wear from the inevitable sand/dirt/rocks that would get thrown up by the tracks and wheels.



The installation of the tracks is pretty straightforward. Since the sprockets and idlers are meant to be fixed in place and not rotatable, I fed the track runs into place to make the process easier. The sprocket was installed first to get the teeth positioned correctly for sag considerations and the idler last to allow for adjustments before connecting up the end links into a single run.





I left it on a level surface for an hour to allow it all to set up properly, next up will be sealing it and adding the markings!

[Bill Plunk]

I spent the last couple of days working on the decals not because there are a lot of them but just because it's the "hurry up and wait" phase when it comes to sealing things up and applying them.

The first order of business involved airbrushing a coat of Future over the entire model with the turret separate from the hull. My old trusty bottle (originally purchased in 2005!) had sat unused for 2 years and had started to thicken up noticeably in the bottom since not much was left inside, so I had to add some water to thin it back down to the right consistency. That left some doubt in mind as to how it would behave, so I tested it out on an old scrap model first before committing to the current build. That took some time, hence the 2 days required to be sure. Once I was confident it wouldn't do something odd, I applied the first coat to the vehicle and let it set up overnight. Then the decals (all 6 of them) were placed using the kit-supplied markings for Red 5 (couldn't resist with the Star Wars connection!) of PzRgt 8, 15 PzDiv in North Africa. I used Solvaset to make sure the decals snugged down tight to the hull and let them thoroughly dry before applying the 2nd sealing coat of Future to lock them all in for the weathering process to come.

[Bill Plunk]

Sadly this build will not progress any further due to work/health conditions and was placed on the shelf "as-is" as a "clean" finish.