"KRIEG-SCHWEIN" STuG III

[HERMAN BIX]

I'm back, looking to get to the fabric shop this morning.

[HERMAN BIX]

Had a bit of an enforced change of plans
Got to stay home all day & be "Mr Mum"

So, threw on the roadwheel inners, the drive & idler wheels, and tore outside to get the cam pattern on.
Used olive green XF-58 to run a criss-cross pattern over the hull, joining where it seemed to need it.
Did a slightly different version on the schurzen which seems to work.
As it was 41 C outside at my place, I was in a hurry, and the paint was curing right out of the gun.
I hit it with the matt sealer and that was set by the time I cleaned the gear up from the cam job !!

Tonights mission while the significant other is out untill at least 0100hrs will be to get the outer roadwheels on & maybe start the wash to tone it all down.
Still got to pull off the masking tape from the concrete armour sections & paint them concrete, plus a hurried cam cover to tone the cement down.
I had a fluke win with the MG shield for the upper hull.
As I want it to be set laid flat down, I painted it completely separate to the tank, in fact with the schurzen, and wouldnt you know it- the thing matches up with the roof camo lines like it was on there when I painted it
A bonus for sure

[HERMAN BIX]

The concrete revealed !
Couldnt wait to get the horrible tape off.
A bit in ya face with the red eh, looks like an old 'bar fly's' cheeks after a night out at the darts .................

[Ad Lav]

Bit in ya face but with some weathering it'll tone down.

[HERMAN BIX]

The primer was to really seal the concrete I used. Its had a thin wash of PVA glue/water to fill in the porosity, and the primer just completed it.
Intention is to paint the cement look to get it closer to right, plus bung a 'field applied' cam coat over that.

[HERMAN BIX]

Got the cement wash on. A real thinned XF-66 with white XF-2 to lighten it.
Although its still drying, seems to have the right hue to it.
Once I throw on some form of ersatz camo it should look right on the money.
I can only assume that actual machines that had concrete armour enhancements would have had mud or waste oil & dirt or some other form of coating to reduce the stark pale concrete look.

[HERMAN BIX]

I'm almost finished giving it a pretty heavy wash with a MiG 1000 brown wash for German yellow.
The concrete armour will be next, then the tracks.
Mr Mig's wash has taken the sharpness right off it, I may even do a bit more in places before I do any dirt-ing etc.
All the nooks in the zimmerit have now got a nice dirty apearance, it's a great product.

Will put up more pics once the stuff has cured properly tomorrow.

[Ad Lav]

The red was in your face - not the grey

[HERMAN BIX]

It sure was Mr Lav, the grey cement is not to far from right really, a little grey, but that will soon be sorted once I decide on the cover coat for it.

As at 0100 hrs this morning the progress on the wash was................

(read in tune to "The Hills Are Alivvvvvvvvve with the sound of muuusiiiiic")

The hooooouse was overcome with the smell of Sooooooolvennnt

She rolls in from a full day of girls social events & just about asses over from the wildly powerful pong of enamel based MiG wash
Being hot outside, the A/C was on and being that it was late/early in hours, the place was closed up.............
I was hav'n a fat time

Today I had to remove the A/C filters & clean them(not my idea) before anything else happened.

Got the tyres on all the wheels and started on the tools that remained on the guards.
Camera has been out -on-the-town and the card is full, so no pics yet sorry

[HERMAN BIX]

Not happy the way it photographs, but it really does have a depth now that once I actually put dirt & debris on will look even better.
Concrete next, its just too much !