What Matrixone has been doing....

[HOG]

Hi Matrix
Welcome to the mundane and boring side of modelling 
Can`t wait to see these in your work
Cheers Gary

[matrixone]

Thanks Rafa and Gary.

Rafa,
I am not experienced at building/painting/weathering soft skinned vehicles or figures so they will be far from perfect but I have to learn sometime!
If you want to see perfect looking ground support equipment and figures check out Gary's work in his dioramas.

Gary,
I don't look at building these little ground support vehicles and soft skins as boring but as a much needed break from building airplanes and as a way to get out of a modeling slump.
The Tamiya kits of the Kettenkraftrad, Luftwaffe start carts, and the Volkswagon Staff car are terrific! I am sorry I did not build these kits earlier than this. Now if I could just paint and detail the 1/48 scale figures to the point where they look as good as yours I would be happy.

Matrixone

[HOG]

Hi Matrixone,
                 Coming from you that is praise indeed. I have no doubt that these and other aditions to your brillant photo scenes will be finished, in painting, to a standard that I can only hope to achieve someday and admire a lot.
As to figures, their where I really started serious modelling on some 30 odd years ago and I still can`t paint eyes.
My only advice (as if you need it) in building and painting the mundane and boring is to have a look at life and see where the mud and rust are on a real vehicle, look at people at work or avoiding it. At least thats what I do and I consider myself still learning to do a half decent job.
Cheers 
G

[Brian da Basher]

Great to see you posting again Matrixone. Your work is always a thrill to see and these vehicles will be a treat.

I think that Kettenkraftrad (gesundheit) could use some chrome...

Brian da Basher

[matrixone]

Gary,
Thanks for the ideas for painting and weathering my current group of models, there is PLENTY of mud and dirty vehicles around where I live.
One thing that has slowed me down a little in painting some of these models is I have almost no GOOD photographs of some of these vehicles and very few reference books on ground vehicles, the most useful book that I have is an old Squadron book on German Armor colors used in WWII but sadly it does not cover the Kettenkraftrad or Opel Blitz trucks very well and does not have even one wartime VW Bug picture in it.
Is there any good websites out there that have pictures of Kettenkraftrads, Kubelwagons, and Opel Blitz trucks in full three colored camouflage paint schemes?

Hi Brian!
Thanks for the welcome back.

I just finished up trying to do some more painting on the models and it did not go very well, I could not get my airbrush to spray fine lines tonight. I was a little off on thinning the paint correctly and getting the air pressure just right.
Next time I airbrush I will be using my new Iwata HP-B and Sprint air compressor...and have mixed feelings about using them because I have been using my old air compressor and Badgers for close to thirty years and know them well and what to expect out of them, with my new gear I will have to learn how to airbrush all over again.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

After giving up trying to get my Iwata HP-B to work I put it away and went back to my Badgers and actually got something painted.

One of the Kettenkraftrads:


Two pics of the Volkswagon staff car in its special ''ambush'' paint scheme.



Some fuel drums:


One of the aircraft start carts:


The Kettenkraftrads and start carts are not glued together yet I have more painting and weathering to do on them.

Matrixone

[nev]

awesome paintwork

[Ed S]

Nice paint work.  Particularly the camo on the VW.

Ed

[matrixone]

Thanks nev and Ed!

I forgot to post the pic of the Opel Blitz fuel truck:


Matrixone

[BlackOps]

Matrix, I never doubted that you'd pull these off beautifully  You have yet to dissappoint 

[matrixone]

Thanks Jeff!

I finished painting the wheels for the VW and Opel and the roadwheels for the Kettenkraftrads. I am now working on painting the tracks of the Kettenkraftrads.

These softskins are fun to work on and I might try and do some Tamiya 1/48 scale armor kits next year.

Matrixone

[Brian da Basher]

You're amazingly talented at painting camo schemes, Matrixone, but your work on the VW is your best yet!!!

Brian da Basher

[matrixone]

Thanks for commenting on the Volkswagon camo Brian,

Had my new Iwata HP-B worked as it should have the comouflage painting on my current group of models would have been a little better.
I ordered another Iwata HP-B airbrush today and will find someplace to send my other HP-B to get serviced.

Just today I was looking through my copy of Jerry Crandall's Dora book and found a good color photograph of a wrecked Fw 190D-9 and some fuel drums, the fuel drums were semi-gloss black and not the dark yellow color like my models have on them...I will build a few more fuel drums and paint them black. I followed the Tamiya painting instructions which may have been wrong.

Matrixone

[matrixone]

I did a little more on my models this weekend...


and here are some pics.

Started weathering the Kettenkraftrads...also painted the tracks.


Did more work on the start carts, mostly some light weathering effects which can't be seen very well in this pic except for the dirt in the tire treads.


Painting all these wheels took a long time, the rubber on the road wheels of the Kettenkraftrads took quite a bit of my time...they are very small. On the right hand side of this picture the rims for the V W can be seen, they are weathered a very dark color for a reason, once the wheels are assembled they will be sprayed a light coating of dirt colored paint and I wanted some of the dark colored wash to still be visable after painting.


The Opel Blitz...


The V.W. Bug...(if only I had my new Iwata when I painted this!)


A rear view of the other Kettenkraftrad...


And my test model...the Goliath



These models might be finished by next weekend.

Matrixone

[HOG]

Hi Matrixone,

there coming along very nicely, one smal point, the Tamiya oildrums are of the early type with a rubber rim around the two middle bands for rolling. A small niggle but I know you like your photo`s to be 100% covincing.
When it comes to `dio` litter, I can see competition ahead
cheers 
Gary