HL PZ3 upgrade and Tiger paint job

[mickyb]

Hi Guys,

I trust you all had a great Christmas. I have kept up with all your posts, and noted that some of you had a wonderful Christmas, and the rest of us got socks!

I have started on my Tiger after a very long lay off and have attached a couple of fotos of the body with the first coat of paint over the Milliput Zimmerit.
I have been waiting for the weather to change as it is too cold in the shed to contemplate spraying paint..... what a wally I've been, there is a wonderful spraybooth at work and I never even thought to make use of it....a luverly warm boiler room at my disposal....perfect! Paintwork should be finished this week.

A question for all you Badger airbrush pros...
After having sprayed the base colour (Tamiya desert yellow), I intend spraying green and brown patchwork cammo over it.... do I adjust the gun  for  a fine line pattern spray, then spray the pattern straight on the base colour, or should I mask the cammo patern first?
I have a dark brown "dirt" weathering paint to spray as a mist over the top when finished, then "rust" which is dry brushed on last. Both of these paints are from my model railway shop....I have used them with great effect on my trains and boats.
What do I finish with.....I have heard that all sorts of final coats can be used....what is best over Tamiya paints as a "water and dirt proofer" .

I have seen some great Zimmerit ideas and patterns on here....I just pressed Milliput on with a slightly damp thumb, then used a modeling knife to make the pattern. It seems to make a nice "field applied" finish rather than the fine factory finish some Tigers apparently got. I await your comments on that one!

Now for the PZ3. While waiting for the Creeping Death turret to arive for the Tiger (well ok then, Christmas wasn't just socks), I sent off for a suspension and wheel upgrade for the PZ3. I attach a foto for you foto junkies to check out....looks good doesn't it!
Problem....I can't split the three idler wheels on the top row on either side, so I can't get them off.....how do I split the well glued wheels? Or do I drill the centers out to get at the screws?
I have managed to get all the original suspension gear off without breaking it.....great for swaps or good causes eh? But the top 3 on both sides are buggers.

Has anyone done this upgrade? I intend removing the smoker... can I use the smoker wiring to power a small cooling fan?????... 
I also wonder whether I should swap the RX13 board for the spare RX14 that came from the Tiger while I have the tank in bits.. I recon the improved PZ3 will be a bit heavy for the RX13 don't you?
If I use the RX14 do I need to fit a cooling fan? Has anyone done this card swap...is the wiring straight forward please.

I recon that I will have lots of spares for you guys to use when I have finished these two.....

Recession..........wot recession.................

All the best for the New Year fellas.............Mike.

[mickyb]

Idiot!
Here's the Tiger fotos....

[fv432]

wow mickyb looking real sweet

[tiger205]

looking cool mike, i like the zimmerit youve put on the tiger, and the p3 is going to be quite something

                  Tony

[oz]

i like to set the airbrush to fine draw on the camo then fill it in with the green or brown, to protect the finished model use ronseal clear outdoor Matt varnish.....

[mickyb]

Hi Oz, thanks for the info. Can I ask how you go about repairs or re paints........do you strip everything off....if so with what?......or can you paint over the ronseal?

Cheers.....Mike

[oz]

you can paint over the ronseal no problems.....

[wibblywobbly]

How do you apply the Ronseal? Brush or Airbrush?

[oz]

airbrush is better but you can apply it by hand as-well....

[wibblywobbly]

ok, now I am curious. Why is the Ronseal better than acrylic matt lacquer? Does it give a harder finish?