WIP - Wirbelwind.

[Matt Stephenson]

Hello all,

I got into some trouble a few weeks agon when I introduced myself on this webpage, for suggesting that this was a great ARMOUR webpage. Clearly my bad!

Anyhoo, I've decided to post some work in progress pic of my latest project. The kit is the old Tamiya Wirbelwind with the updated Pz IV hull etc. I've added zimmerit, photoetch in the form of tool clasps and detail around the front fenders, and Lionroar 20mm barrels for the Flak.

At the moment its stalled as I try to decide what to replace the rubberband track with - hopefully something that won't cost a small fortune. Once thats done, I can then finish the weathering etc. Its supposed to represent one of the Wirbelwinds used by Kampf Gruppe Pieper.

This is the first time I've ever posted one of my models on the net for all to see! Any comments and suggestions welcome.

Appologies for the pictures....Im still learning how to do this.
Thanks for looking.

 

[jknaus]

Matt Stephenson wrote:

Hello all,

I got into some trouble a few weeks agon when I introduced myself on this webpage, for suggesting that this was a great ARMOUR webpage. Clearly my bad!

Anyhoo, I've decided to post some work in progress pic of my latest project. The kit is the old Tamiya Wirbelwind with the updated Pz IV hull etc. I've added zimmerit, photoetch in the form of tool clasps and detail around the front fenders, and Lionroar 20mm barrels for the Flak.

<snip>

Well I guess I can see that being as this is the BEST ARMOUR web site, but dont sweat it .

Beautiful work, really nice paint job on her.
James

 

[Matt Beattie]

Nice work Matt , the camo looks great , well done

Matt

 

[Jenny Croft]

Looks superb to me and as the supreme commander , anything that can shoot down excess flying thingies the better :laugh: :woohoo: !

So you say added zimmerit but is it aftermarket or did you do it yourself ?

Jenny :kiss:

 

[Matt Stephenson]

So you say added zimmerit but is it aftermarket or did you do it yourself ?

Jenny

Hi Jenny.

Its a bit of a mix between Cavalier zimmerit set and self applied with milliput and the AFV club tool. Not clever enough or confident to do all of it myself... too many bad experiences in the past!

Matt.

 

[agentg]

Not bad at all!
In fact I really like it. I'm at work now but when I get home in the morning I'll take a look at my stask. I found some late (40cm) indy link tracks that I plan to use on a Tamiya kit that weren't expensive at all. I cannot remember the make off hand but I remember I ordered them through Squadron.com

G

 

[Gatto]

Matt looks not to bad to me, keep the photos coming so we can all get idea's from each other.

 

[BradJ]

Hey Matt
This is getting weird; my second posting on German armour in 2 days...
The camouflage looks really good. Do the armour pates fold down, or am I thinking of something else?
What is the reddish colour that pops out in the photos? Is it a rust colour that doesn't take kindly to flash work or similar?
Brad

 

[Matt Stephenson]

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone for your feedback, its been very encouraging. I will try to answer your questions as best as I can.

The camouflage looks really good. Do the armour pates fold down, or am I thinking of something else?
What is the reddish colour that pops out in the photos? Is it a rust colour that doesn't take kindly to flash work or similar?
Brad

The Camoflague pattern was "borrowed" for the most part from the suggested pattern for the Wirbelwind from the artwork on the side of the Dragon kit. This only showed the left hand side, so the rest is a guestimation at best!

The armour plates of the turret don't fold down except for the small flap for the gun sights at the front, you might be thinking of some other Flak panzer perhaps? I did forget to mention that I also added weld beads along each of the joins of the turret, these were done with Lionroar etch weld beads.

As for the red colour, its supposed to represent the red-oxide primer used on these tanks. The colour I used is a mix of Gunze colours.... russet and straight red to get something to what I thought looked like a fairly good representation of the colour. It still needs a coat of flat laquer over the whole thing and that should hopefully tone down the reflection from the flash. The rust on the exhaust muffler was done using the Tensocrom Lifecolour range of paints. I think that it looks fairly convincing overall.

Still got some weathering to do, especially along the sides of the hull. I hope to have it looking reasonably muddy once I've sorted the tracks issue :hmmm , to match up with picutures of vehicles used in the Ardennes offensive. I also want to add a few crew figures, just to give some perspective of scale. Lately I've been toying around with one of the figures from the Tamiya Late Panther Ausf G, as he appears to be wearing a good mix of cold weather clothing.

Thanks again, and I hope to post some more updated pics soon.

Matt.

 

[Sherman 18]

Looking Great!

 

[Matt Stephenson]

Re: Wirbelwind.

Hello all,

Now were into the southern hemisphere winter, I've had a little more time to work on the Wirbelwind, and Im beginning to think that its just about done. Overall, I was hoping to depict a Wirbelwind from the Adrennes offensive attached to Kampfgruppe Peiper, so it would have to be a least partially muddy.

Now figure painting is definately a weakness for me, but I had a stab at painting a crew figure, modified from the Tamiya Panther G late model.

I will let you be the judge. All comments and criticisms welcome.

Matt.

 

[Iron Mike]

Re: Wirbelwind.

Looks like a winner, Matt! I like it!

 

[53Chevy]

Nice! Love things that shoot down wingy things! :evil:

 

[G Cooper]

Hi Matt.

That is fantastic. And I really like the figure. Honestly I think that it is one of the best figures that Tamiya ever did once you take the mittens off and give him a head without the goggles. And the Wirbelwind looks great. The only thing I would say is that it is not a criticism, just an observation to consider if you ever do an open topped vehicle again. And that is the interior of the turret is looking super squeeky clean and new in comparison to the outside of the vehicle. And that is the area that would probably have the most wear and tear, dirty chipped paint etc.

If you want to get an idea, check out some of Jenny's stuff like her Marder to see how she does it. She's just awsome at making a mess inside something, and she has lots of great hints and techniques.

Gary B)

 

[Matt Stephenson]

Hello all,

Thanks to everyone who gave some feed-back on the Wirbelwind, especially Gary, who quite rightly pointed out that the interior of the turret looked too pristine for a tank that was supposed to active in the Ardennes. Looking at pictures of Jenny's finshed Marder gave me some ideas of what I needed to achieve.

With that in mind, I went back and tried to make the interior of the turret a little more "lived in". I added a wash to all the join lines for the individual turret plates, some chipping and scratching using the sponge technique..... something I had never tried before, as well as adding some ammo boxes for the Flak and MP-40's as individual crew weapons. I also decided to add something in homage to Chuck of the Me-410 build fame. I photoshopped a picture of Hannah and made her a calendar girl - Miss December '44. Her picture now graces the inside of the turret too.

I'm happier with the finsih now, but I still think that I've got a long way to go to try and match the excellent models on this site.

All comments and criticism welcome.

Matt.

 

[moon puppy]

Matt Stephenson wrote:

Hello all,


All comments and criticism welcome.

Matt.

Only criticism I can come up with right now is that you use Photobucket and photobucket is blocked by my work network and I can't see a damn thing!!! (stomps off into the corner to sulk)

Something else to look forward to when I get off work today Matt.

 

[Irrlicht]

Hi. It is a very beautiful machine indeed, I especially like the September playmate in the superstructure. Seriously speaking, it is a great job you have done here, looking forward to see more achievements.
Cheers, Marius.

 

[moon puppy]

That is the coolest idea! I like that. I may have to do a German subject just to copy this.

 

[Matt Stephenson]

Thanks everyone for the comments and encouragement. I'm calling this one done now, and have already moved onto the next project..... a late version King Tiger with the single link tracks. I hope to post some pics of the build on that one soon.

Thanks again,

Matt.

 

[shawngehling]

Matt,
Looks great to me... Love anything that throws metal at aircraft. :evil:
I love the way you dirtied up the interior... Looks great.
Shawn