Academy Patton...Finished

[fightnjoe]

Well folks how about an aircraft guy changing direction just a tad and including armor in his build list.

I know I have built a few armor kits but I have been presented an opportunity and I am going to wander that way.

First up is this, The Panzer Page on Facebook is hosting The Dan Jayne Memorial Tribute Build 2017 edition. I have entered with this...

First up is a quick shot of whats in the box....

Didn't take long at all to start it up. First step, road wheels. Cleaned up and now done. Second step, begin to detail the lower hull.

Next up is more for the lower hull and hopefully soon.

I have not given up on aircraft but cannot pass up an opportunity.


All comments, critique, and criticism are encouraged.



Joe

 

[helios]

Academy Patton

Looking forward to your take on armor.

 

[MrT]

Academy Patton

 

[moon puppy]

Academy Patton

Not going to chop this one up are ya Joe?

 

[fightnjoe]

Academy Patton

Appreciate you all looking in.

This one will be oob. Concentrating on the construction and the paint work. But in the future who knows.




Joe

 

[fightnjoe]

Academy Patton...Lower Hull

Time to update.

Time was spent working the details to the lower hull. So far so good. The wheels and the return rollers are ready to go but left off the hull to accommodate painting. This puts me through step four in the instructions.

Next up is the upper hull.


All comments, critique, and criticism are encouraged.




Joe

 

[fightnjoe]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

A bit of a double update tonight. I had planned on just the update for the upper hull but work on the turret proceeded very quickly. In fact that completed the "construction" phase. Under ten hours total.

The detail went on without issue, well other than the parts I had to take off and redo because of builder error. No tweezer pults, no carpet monster attacks. Easy peazy as some would say.

Pictures.

Upper hull

And then on to the turret.

Like I said pretty simple construction on this one. Of course it was out of the box and the only things that I modified were the cables to the headlights and the rear antenna on the turret has a wire wrapped as I sanded out the previous detail. The main gun was two pieces and there is a bit of a warp but I have gotten it better than it was.

Painting can commence.


All comment, critique, and criticism are encouraged.




Joe

 

[moon puppy]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

 

[MrT]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

The A5 uses the same headlight as the M60 which does not have any external wiring.

Looking good though

B)

 

[fightnjoe]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

T many thanks. I will fix it. I found some decent photos but the rear of that light is hard to see. In a couple it looks as if there is a cable. Definitely shows the research is only as good as the photos you find.

Many thanks for looking in and the information.



Joe

 

[MrT]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

T many thanks. I will fix it. I found some decent photos but the rear of that light is hard to see. In a couple it looks as if there is a cable. Definitely shows the research is only as good as the photos you find.

Many thanks for looking in and the information.



Joe

Anytime.

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

 

[jknaus]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret


James

 

[Duke Maddog]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

Ah! My all-time favorite tank. You are doing well my young padawan. Welcome to the Dark Side again... we have cookies!

One comment: check the front of your hull where the top and bottom meet. There's a very slight gap in your glacis plate.

Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[fightnjoe]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

Many thanks all for looking in.

Ah! My all-time favorite tank. You are doing well my young padawan. Welcome to the Dark Side again... we have cookies!

One comment: check the front of your hull where the top and bottom meet. There's a very slight gap in your glacis plate.

Looking forward to seeing more.

Ahh I see what you are talking about. In the set of pictures without the turret the upper and lower hulls are not glued yet. The set of pics with the turret the hulls are glued into place and the seam is taken care of. Many thanks for the help my friend.


Joe

 

[Duke Maddog]

Academy Patton...Upper Hull and Turret

Thanks for setting me straight my friend. Sensational work, I'll be looking forward to seeing more.

 

[fightnjoe]

Academy Patton...Paint and Chipping

Moving right along on this it is time for painting.

Up to this point not much was for sure on this build. I knew I wanted to build it so I could tackle the cammo. As I feel that is one of the major weaknesses I have in this hobby I wanted to challenge myself. Once the construction was finished some choices were needed. Just how did I want to portray this subject. It did not take long for the thought process to hone onto the choice. Something like a gate guard. Weathered but not too much. Still standing proudly as a reminder of its service.

I just had to go for it.


First was to present in that fashion I needed to try to get a handle on something I had failed with multiple times. Paint chipping. My other attempts ended with failure to get it right and substituting some other technique to get a worn look.

First is the rust, how? I sprayed Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer and then mixed in Testor Light Tan to highlight.

I let this dry overnight.

Now is the tricky part. This is where the failures of the past haunted me. I applied hairspray over the entire surface, or so I thought. I let this dry and then began the cammo pattern. The overall coat of Vallejo Olive Drab Primer was first. The instructions called for Khaki but the only one I had in the paint supply was badly neglected and had dried to a point of unusable. I went with the second choice. Gunze Sanyo Dark Earth provided the brown. Tamiya Buff and Apple Barrel (Walmart craft water based Acrylic) were used as well.

Once each dried to the touch I began the next. Everything I had seen on this method said to work on the chipping before the paint fully cured. With that in mind I waited until all the paints were dry to the touch and then out came the water and brushes for the chipping.

Currently she sits drying from the gloss coat. I plan to begin oil work once that dries.

Now lets critique a bit. I do not like the paint work. I rushed through the steps and did a poor job with it. I went freehand with the cammo and to be honest it only resembles the instruction call outs vaguely. I am pretty happy with the chipping though. I tried to keep a light approach and kept the chips and paint peeling to areas that would have seen wear and tear and where rust would naturally occur.

All comments, critiques, and criticism are requested.



Joe

 

[helios]

Academy Patton...Paint and Chipping

I think it looks fantastic. I suspect the camo varied slightly from tank to tank anyway, so that wouldn't bother me at all. I'll leave it to the armor experts to provide some constructive criticism...as I've none to offer.

:drinks

 

[Duke Maddog]

Academy Patton...Paint and Chipping

Personally, Joe; I think this looks fantastic. It looks to me like the paint is faded, old and weathered from the sun. Add in the chipping and peeled effect and this really looks like a long-neglected gate guard that has been only maintained in a spotty manner. In my eyes, this is already weathering perfection; far beyond anything I could ever achieve.

 

[fightnjoe]

Academy Patton...Paint and Chipping

Many thanks.

With some information provided from another site I went back and cleaned up the hull and turret as they apparently did not chip as I have it portrayed. This build to be honest has really shown my inexperience with armor builds.


Joe