PzKpfw I Ausf. F |
| By Michael Bedard |
| Started: | Aug 16, 2003 | | Updated: | Sep 30, 2003 |
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This has been a fun little kit to build. Since there isn't a lot of information on this particular tank I was not so constrained to get every little rivet correct and I could concentrate on some different techniques of building and weathering the vehicle.
There were only 30 of these tanks made from April through December of 1942. They were first given to the 1st Panzer Division and then sent to the Eastern front.
At first reading that Ausf. Fs were made in 1942 I pre-painted the vehicle in panzer gray. According to what little reference there is available the little panzers were in the field after February 1943 thus must have been panzer yellow and camouflaged. You will see that there is a mixture of colors, the kit light gray, pre-painting of panzer gray and also panzer yellow. I like to pre-paint several parts as I go along (especially interwoven wheels like on German armor), wash and drybrush prior to some assembles just because the airbrush won't get into those tight spaces.
This kit is by Alan. Some areas the detail appears soft and as on many of there kits some work on the underside of the fenders is needed to get the tracks to fit. The plastic on this kit is peculiar in that it is excessively soft yet prone to crack easy. Strange!
Overall it looks right. While building it made me wonder how such a complex and expensive yet impotent vehicle could have put it into production. |
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| Chapter 15 - Oil Spills | Sep 30, 2003 |
| Here the engine deck shows various lubricant and fuel spills. I use Windsor/Newton burnt umber and black watercolors for oil spill. Raw umber and yellow orche are used for the fuel spills. All watercolors are mixed with distilled water and Oxgall liquid. First areas that are to recieve spills are coated... more |
| Chapter 14 - Mud, mud and more mud | Sep 24, 2003 |
| Mud was added by making a mixture of Hudson and Allen 'Mud', static grass, Gamblin earth tone dry pigments and Tamiya Flat Earth. First the area was coated with PollyScale airbrush thinner and then the heavy areas of mud were filled with the above mixture. The PollyScale thinner helps blend... more |
| Chapter 13 - Rust Streaks and Dust | Sep 23, 2003 |
| Rust streaks were first painted using Windsor/Newton burnt sienna watercolor featherd with Oxgall liquid. when dry a furher feathering was made by using a fine brush and going over the streaks with Gambling raw umber dry pigments. Rain streaks or dust streaks were done using Gambling burnt umber dry... more |
| Chapter 12 - Rusty, Chipped Paint | Sep 16, 2003 |
| Weathering the Ausf. F has started and one of the first areas was added chips and/or worn paint. The process starts by painting Valejo light gray where I want chips and/or scratches. Next I painted Valejo leather mixed with Bragdon Enterprises 'Old Rust' which also gives a nice pitted rusty... more |
| Chapter 11 - Prior to Weathering | Sep 15, 2003 |
| Well here it is all ready to be weathered! Kit decals were replaced with ones from Tamiya's decal sets. Turret MGs were painted black then rubbed with graphite to give a gun metal appearence. Final chapters will show some of the weathering. |
| Chapter 10 - Moskit Muffler | Sep 14, 2003 |
| I used the Moskit muffler for this project. The shroud over the muffler was thinned considerably. Moskit technology for their mufflers is just amazing! Unfortunate on this particular kit it is mostly hidden. I did give a coat of Windsor/Newton watercolor and pastel dust to make the muffler a bit more... more |
| Chapter 9 - Engine Deck | Sep 13, 2003 |
| You will have to cut out and file the openings of the kit to use the Eduard engine screens. The results though are far more three-dimensional and look pretty good. Antenna is brass rod with a hole drilled into the antenna mount. |
| Chapter 8 - Jack and Tools | Sep 11, 2003 |
| Here is a close-up of the tools and tank jack. Wooden parts such as the handles on the snips are painted after the metal areas are complete. First they are painted Tamiya Dark Yellow. Next a thin coat of Windsor/Newton raw umber mixed with Liquin is painted. Finally the wood areas are lightly brushed... more |
| Chapter 7 - Tamiya Tools | Sep 3, 2003 |
| This picture shows the Tamiya tools and tow cable. The kit only gives you the cable ends. I used Emporium .018 rusty cable for the tow cable shown in this picture. Though the cable is listed as 'rusty' it is actually a shiney red color and a very stiff stainless steel. I annealed the cable... more |
| Chapter 6 - Turret Interior | Aug 29, 2003 |
| Eduard gives you pieces for the interior guns. Here is the result with the photo-etched parts and Evergreen plastic. |
| Chapter 5 - Front Left Fender | Aug 26, 2003 |
| Here is the vehicle almost finished. The details here show how the track block turned out along with the MV lens and weld bead. The track block was painted with Windsor/Newton oil paints used very thin to create a stain. |
| Chapter 4 - Right Side | Aug 21, 2003 |
| In this photograph you can see the lift hooks on the turret replaced with brass rod and the weld beads added to the hull. This is a new method for me to add weld beads. The steps involve adding an Evergreen strip, texture the strip with a soldering iron, brushing liquid glue over the bead and then... more |
| Chapter 3 - Rear View | Aug 19, 2003 |
| ... more |
| Chapter 2 - Rear Fenders | Aug 18, 2003 |
| ... more |
| Chapter 1 - Front Fenders | Aug 16, 2003 |
| This photograph shows the combination of Eduard photo-etched, Tamiya parts and kit parts. The fire extingisher was made from Evergreen plastic shapes to fit the Eduard mount. It was painted separately that is why the straps are still not attached to the extingisher. Fine solder was added for the lights... more |
