20mm Flakvierling 38

[Driver]

Hello again folks. I’m going to do something quick and fairly simple; the Tamiya 20mm Flakvierling 38.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/d8_1.jpg
This will be an abbreviated post because I don’t have much time to take step by step photos. I’ll only add some PE parts from Eduard and a base to it to make a simple diorama. :cool:

The first order of the day is to bend and weld all the PE parts that needed so. I started with the most complicated; the two shields. Here they are.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010614.jpg
The instructions recommend that you cut and use the original plastic rod that support the shields but I decided to do them in brass tubing for more strength.

Here you can see the rest of the parts welded and ready to be washed.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010613.jpg

Then it was a matter of start building the flak. This is the result.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010616.jpg

Some other views…
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010617.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010618.jpg

Here is the complete Flak ready for primer but I still need to finish the trailer.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010615.jpg

I also started to work on the base. As I have some photos of these flak defending coastal positions I decided to make a piece of waterfront for it to defend. I used plaster block in two sizes to build the wall and the floor. 4 layers of pink insulating foam underneath support these. The post are basswood and the clamps are made from pieces of a PE fret. The ladder is wire bent to shape.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010620.jpg

Here’s the flak on top for comparison.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010623.jpg

Here the piece has been glued to the base with 5 minutes epoxy and the base color and wash applied.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010630.jpg

Here you can see it after some dry brushing, the post painted and the color for the bottom of the sea applied.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010631.jpg

Thanks for Viewing and see you soon.
Ruben

[RickLawler]

Hey Ruben, I think that maybe you posted this in the wrong catagory...it doesn't look like a Stug to me! But, it does look very nice..I love the base!!!! Really nice layout.

Good stuff, it looks like you've been busy.

Rick

[Sturmmann]

:D Siempre haciendo el ridiculo :D

Nice to see you posting again. I see that you sprayed the bottom of the stone wall with dark blue, I presume you did this intentionaly.

Are you going to experiment on how that will afect the look once the water is in place???

dave

[Flak]

Great work on that OLD flak gun...keep it up

[Sambo]

Ruben,

Great work on the flakvierling! Which barrels are you planning on using?

Sam

[Markus]

Nice one Ruben!
Great job on the old Tamiya bugger! :thumb:
I don´t know if you have already seen them, but be sure to get rid of the Pinmarks on the backrests of the seats.
Do you plan to use some aftermarket barrels on the Flak?
The LionRoar ones are nicely.
I hope someday we will be given a more up to date Vierling. While you show that the Tamiya one really can shine, I´m just to lazy for that kind of work (to be honest :D ).

[Driver]

Hey Ruben, I think that maybe you posted this in the wrong catagory...it doesn't look like a Stug to me! But, it does look very nice..I love the base!!!! Really nice layout.

Good stuff, it looks like you've been busy.

Rick

Word of advice; never post when you're sleepy! :p

Nice to see you posting again. I see that you sprayed the bottom of the stone wall with dark blue, I presume you did this intentionaly.

Are you going to experiment on how that will afect the look once the water is in place???

dave

Sure, is there other way to learn new things? :D

Ruben,

Great work on the flakvierling! Which barrels are you planning on using?

Sam

Nice one Ruben!
Great job on the old Tamiya bugger! :thumb:
I don´t know if you have already seen them, but be sure to get rid of the Pinmarks on the backrests of the seats.
Do you plan to use some aftermarket barrels on the Flak?
The LionRoar ones are nicely.
I hope someday we will be given a more up to date Vierling. While you show that the Tamiya one really can shine, I´m just to lazy for that kind of work (to be honest :D ).

Well, I'm going to use the original barrels for it, I saw a beautiful set of barrels by Aber but I'm not in the mood to spend more money on barrels. (Not mentioning that ordering those now will force me to stop the project and I don't want to stop now.)

The Eduard set have the flash suppressor for the barrels but you have to bend it to a conical shape and then glue another small piece to it and then glue the whole assembly to the end of the barrel. Frankly, I don't think it will survive the handling or a dry brushing. But I drilled the original flash suppressor and gave it the conical form on the inside.

About the pin marks, I'll check those. Thanks for pointing them out.
To all of you guys, thanks for your comments and advice.
Ruben

[Panzergrenadier]

Nice to see some older models get a good treatment. The base is looking good already.:thumb:

[Jonny Bravo]

Beautiful build..

[Driver]

Hello again friends.
Here we are again, this time with the trailer for the flak. I substituted some parts for PE like the handles, fender brackets and such and here is the result.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010643.jpg
Now it’s ready for paint.

As always, I used red oxide primer to cover the parts. Here you can see everything primed.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010645.jpg

Here the first coat of paint; Poly S Panzer Gray for everything except the guns which I painted with a charcoal gray color.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010652.jpg

Then a little dry brushing and washes were applied. Also the tires were painted black at this time.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010675.jpg

Later I applied more washes and some additional dry brushing to create more definition. The guns were dry brushed with gun metal paint.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010676.jpg

In between washes I resumed work on the base and using other shades of brown painted some stone blocks to give it more visual appeal. Pigments were used to create the dust and water marks all around.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010646.jpg

Here is a top view.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010647.jpg

Now what remains is to create the water and we can declare the base finished.:D

That is all for now my friends. See you soon.

Ruben

[Flak]

Looks nice...any figures will add onto the Diorama?

[RickLawler]

The gun looks very good, Ruben, nice grey colors. Did you get a new camera? Your latest pictures are looking good - they are doing your fine work justice - Keep it up!

SBS on the Water???? Please!

Rick

[Phillip1944]

Nice PE work ! Very good diorama. PE parts are from Eduard ??

[pwranta193]

and the gun work ain't no slouch. Nice resurrection of a slightly tired kit. The base is really sharp - the pure geometry of the sea wall blocks gives it a very cool look. And yes, a little step by step on the water - I've never done any, and would love to know how.

I've been thinking about what it would take to do a good job with the 20 X 4 - as that upcoming Zvezda Mercedes 4500 is just waiting for an armored cab version with Flakvierling - so this comes at an interesting time :). Any particular tough points, or glaring inaccuracies to watch out for?

[Fledermaus]

looking nice :cool: good job :thumb::D

[Driver]

Looks nice...any figures will add onto the Diorama?

Yes Marco, actually I'm going to place 4 figures in it.

The gun looks very good, Ruben, nice grey colors. Did you get a new camera? Your latest pictures are looking good - they are doing your fine work justice - Keep it up!

SBS on the Water???? Please!

Rick

Thanks for the compliments Rick. About the camera, I'm using the same camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7, but I've been experimenting with the lighting and reading every piece of advice that I can including yours.

Nice PE work ! Very good diorama. PE parts are from Eduard ??

Thanks Phillips. Yes, the PE is from Eduard.

and the gun work ain't no slouch. Nice resurrection of a slightly tired kit. The base is really sharp - the pure geometry of the sea wall blocks gives it a very cool look. And yes, a little step by step on the water - I've never done any, and would love to know how.

I've been thinking about what it would take to do a good job with the 20 X 4 - as that upcoming Zvezda Mercedes 4500 is just waiting for an armored cab version with Flakvierling - so this comes at an interesting time :). Any particular tough points, or glaring inaccuracies to watch out for?

Glad you like it Paul. That front wall has been lying around for about a year until the whole idea took form in my head. I'll post an SBS on the water though I'll be using the same method that Sturmman (David) posted some time ago in the Tips and Tricks area.

About the flak, the PE from Eduard dress it up nicely and corrects some mistakes in the process. (Mostly the gun sight.) The only parts I didn't use were the flash suppressors (too weak an assembly in my opinion) and the back rests for the seats (too thin and devoid of details). The rest is nice. Aber has a set with the 4 barrels that surely will make it even better, maybe a PE detail set is coming soon?

By the way, I'm also waiting for that Zvezda Mercedes 4500 but for another conversion. :D

looking nice :cool: good job :thumb::D

Thanks Din

[serpico]

Great fix up of the Tamiya kit...terrific base looks realistic, although I would add a few "Green" streaks to simulate the oxide/algae wash.

I wonder if you could show some Sea Kelp or Sea Weed effects in the water?

Would give it that "Coastal" gun emplacement look......just a few critiques/tips.

Nice idea for a dio......:thumb:

[Driver]

Great fix up of the Tamiya kit...terrific base looks realistic, although I would add a few "Green" streaks to simulate the oxide/algae wash.

I wonder if you could show some Sea Kelp or Sea Weed effects in the water?

Would give it that "Coastal" gun emplacement look......just a few critiques/tips.

Nice idea for a dio......:thumb:

Thanks for the tips Serpico.

I've been thinking about some plants for some time now but I haven't found something that's suitable for the job and that's why the project is a little on hold. But I'll keep searching!

Ruben

[pwranta193]

Intersting - I was reading this and thinking back on the pilings we have here. Usually encrusted with mussles or barnacle - two things I've never seen in a diorama that I can think of - and have no suggestions for :D

On the kelp or sea weed side, perhaps a little bit of ribbon or even painted strips of wine bottle foil suspended upright in the water medium? For the more traditional plant stuff, my kids have come up with some fuzzy ribbon (who knows where they get it) or a fuzzy thread in their toy stuff ... if they have it it must live in some fabric shop somewhere. It looks a lot like water weeds.

Paul

[Driver]

…so lets do it! First of all I want to apologize to all of you that were expecting a full SBS on the water; it’s very difficult to work with resins and to take photos at the same time. I’ll post here an abbreviated SBS instead.

The first step was to apply 5 minutes epoxy to the base of the blocks to cover a gap that was there and the resin could attack the foam thru it.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010686.jpg

Then the walls to contain the “water” were put in place. This is simply pieces of foam board covered with packaging tape on the inside to prevent the resin to stick to them. The joints were sealed with 5 min. epoxy.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010690.jpg

I used some pieces of green foam to represent some vegetation attached to the wall but sadly they got lost in the water, as you will see later.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010691.jpg

Next, the resin was mixed and tinted with a drop of Citadel Paint ink. I didn’t use Envirotek resin as I couldn’t find any at my local hardware stores so I used another brand that I found at Home Depot.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010693.jpg

The resin was poured and things went a little downhill from there. The instructions say that the product should be hard enough to the touch in about 8 hours and completely dry in 72. Mine started to get hotter by the minute, so hot that I had to place a fan beside it to cool it somewhat. In less than two hours the resin was rock solid and that caused a lot of bubbles to be trapped inside. Luckily they are so tiny that almost disappear in the photos.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010706.jpg

When the mold walls were removed I discovered that some of the resin had crept between the wall and the mold so I had to remove it with a knife. It took the plaster away so I had to fill and sand and paint the area again. I also had to carve away some of the resin in the surface of the water but that was covered with the final coat of 5 min. epoxy.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010711.jpg

After that I spent some time working on some “fillers” in the form of crates and boxes and such.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010733.jpg

Then it was time to put everything together.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010746.jpg

Here are some close ups.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010735.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010736.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010737.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010738.jpg

And a bird's eye view.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p89/rdlopez65/Flakvierling%2038/P1010741.jpg

Now I can declare it finished but as always your suggestions are welcome.
Thanks for viewing.
Ruben

[Fledermaus]

nice looking scene Ruben :thumb:, the dio looks very cool,great job with the wall repair, also the bubbles are almost invisible:cool:

[Flak]

Looks good...Ruben :thumb:

[RickLawler]

Thanks Ruben. Your experience and explaination with the resin is very benificial....I appreciate you showing what went right, and not so right.

Did you print your labels on the crates?

Nice looking scene..it's got a good atmosphere, well done.

Rick

[Phillip1944]

Fanstastic job !! I like that water !

[Driver]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Rick, you are right; the labels were printed from a photo found on the internet.

Ruben