Wednesday, April 30, 2014

War Thunder and War Thunder Ground Forces

Well, I am totally addicted to this game. I have added a link here for you to use to join.  If you do, you get some bonus gold to use to buy items and you will help me too.  I have been flying for months now (pics and vids of planes later).

The game is currently a plane game full of fighters, fighter bombers and all sorts of bomber that start out in 1930s and go to the Korean war era.  EXCELLENT game.  Also they are conducting a closed BETA that I am a part of, that have tank warfare from the same time period.  The game is WAY better than World of Tanks and WORLDS better than World of Warplanes.  Here are some pics for you to look at. 

http://warthunder.com/en/registration?r=userinvite_13008118

Stug

BT7

T28

KV1

Some AT 57mm Zis SP type tractor

Panzer III E

Panzer III F
 
The tanks are all good.  Even though they are early type tanks.  Nothing is over powered or underpowered.  There is NO hit points to grind down before you kill a tank.  It's all about the shot and where it hits. 
 
The art work is of my doing.  I like to keep the art work the same to keep consistent so people start to know it's me on the virtual battlefield. 
 
Below some pics of other available tanks and TDs. 
 


 
Here is the view I had in my KV-1 while I was up on a hill behind a low rock formation looking down at these two panzers.  I put 3 rounds into that Panzer III M.  1st round busted the track and it could not move, you can actually see the tack dangling and the skirtzen piece is missing from a previous hit.  The 2nd round jammed the turret as I aimed for the turret ring.  The 3'd round set it on fire (engine area) and the fire exploded the tank.. KILL.  The Panther knew he was ambushed and drove off. 
 
And here is some video footage from the game.  I am in a Panzer III E.  The tank I killed on the fly was Soviet BT-7.  One shot killed the crew or incapacitated them enough to get me the kill.  The tank just rolled to a stop!  Other times, it explodes or if you set off the magazine, it goes off like a roman candle. 
 
 

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Oldie but a Goodie (TBT) - T-55 in Bosnian-Serb service

So around 2003, an old friend sold me an Esci kit for $5.  I figured, hey, what the hell.  As soon as I bought it, a few years later, Tamiya puts out a new T-55.  But for $5, you cant go wrong.  But being we are SICK in the head in this hobby, I had to buy the Etched brass.  Not only for the Esci kit, but for the Trumpeter kit as well CAUSE I had purchased it by mistake.  Add a new barrel for the T-54/55 and new workable plastic tracks and now I'm in for quite a bit. 

So, I started building this sucker and get hung up on the fuel lines.  The model then takes its place on the shelf of unfinished models.  Fast fwd 10+ years later, It finds its way back to my workstation.  This time I am armed with the FAQ2 book and a few good forums.  I attempt to try a few new techniques I learned.  I figure what a better way to learn, try on an old model. 

So I finished the fuel lines using CAT5 strands, #12 electrical wire for bars around turret, finished the rest of the model and the tracks and started painting and weathering.  I didn't really do a good job on the paint job, so I put most of my attention into weathering.  I decided on a Bosnian-Serb tank because I was not interested in making a Soviet tank, and not in the mood for an Afghan tank either.  I wanted this one to have something different about it.  So, I decided on the Bosnian-Serb tank as I had a friend that is Serbian, I had seen photos of Serb tanks that were "irregular" and had M2 .50 cals on them and cool looking battle slogans.  This was the end result.

Photo taken sometime in 2003 or 2004.
Never added satin in the paint, and turned out I could not do my weathering, so I had to spray it with Krylon Satin....went on a bit heavy. 
Adding the battle slogans and Serbian insignias to differentiate the Christian Serbs from the Islamic Bosnians.  The tank was originally in Bosnian service, so that is why the new owners have all sorts of slogans and symbols.  They are part of an irregular militia, NOT Yugoslavian forces.
Sheen from satin removed.
Old pattern wheel taken from other kit.
First time painting wooden crates.  Methods learned from Mig's FAQ2 book.
DONE!
 

Follow My Blog Fellas!

C'mon guys, follow my blog officially as a follower.  +1 my blog on Google+.  Leave some feed back.  Link my blog to your blog, and let me know if you would like the same.  You assistance is greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

Panzer Bill

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

F4U-1 Final Photos

Here are the final photos for the F4U.  The lighting shows off the high light more in the photos than in person. 

P-40B - Final Photos

Here are the final real photos of the P-40B Tomahawk.

Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B - Update and Finale.

Some final touches with the pigments and fixer.  I had some issues with the fixer, I think the batch that I had might of been bad-ish.  But I got it to an ok point.  Being this was a test model, I am not looking for perfection on this one. 
DONE!
Some earth effects (Ammo of Mig) and pigments and off to the model display case.
 

Monday, April 14, 2014

It's a sickness! But a good one...

So here are the models I have accumulated since 1997.  There are more hidden models on the top shelves and tucked behind some others, But you get the idea.  THEN, most of the stuff on the right and on the floor is new, from last YEAR!  There are also loose sets of etched brass etc around.  I also got rid of about 15 kits, sold it to a buddy of mine for $100, etched brass and all!  He made out like a champ.

Oh yeah, and there is another shelf system full of mini kits (Flames of War, Games Work Shop Products, Perry, Bolt Action etc....It NEVER ends. 

 
 This here is where I build (on the left) and paint (on the right).  TONS of paints and weathering products.  All my Tamiya paints are in a draw for better storage.