Smart Kit’s quadruple antiaircraft tank. I built it in January 2015. I think it is easier to see the article in the blog categorization. From the previous homepage, the posting of the making notes exceeded 70 items in half.
Have a happy new year! Now I’m making Dragonmodel’s Flakpanzer IV Wirbelwind.
It is almost the same as the Stug IV chassis make. I needed the patience to assemble many road wheels.
It’s adequate to use photo-etched parts for clamps on spare caterpillar tracks.
I attached all the wheels to the chassis. I choose the fenders with the body after winding the caterpillar. There is enough space to work between the fender and upper wheels, so maybe no trouble.
I just finished winding the caterpillar. Dark gray tracks are left, and light gray is right. This kit has inside parts of the visor (klappe). This kind of detailed work is an excellent point of Dragonmodels kits. I made an open scene of both sides.
(02-January-2015)
I could hardly see the inside after displaying and viewing from the side. I painted the inside on matte white lightly. It will be OK if the viewer understands that the inside was painted.
The spare machine gun barrels are set on both rear vehicle sides. Besides that, they can be in an open state. I chose both sides to open even though the painting is more complicated.
Assembling antiaircraft machine-gun, there are many small parts, but it is not difficult according to the instruction procedure. These molds are very sharp and of high quality.
Considering the painting process, it’s the limit of assembling. After primary paint and light weathering, I attached each module.
I blew gloss black on the shadowed areas and caterpillar. I blew gloss paint this time; no need to be nervous; I almost finished up and will be coated in semi-gloss or matte clear later.
(05-January-2015)
I painted a primary dark yellow color. This tank is open-top style, so the inside of the turret is also blown in dark yellow.
Referring to instruction and box art, completed 3-color camouflage. I only used airbrushes until this process.
She painted intricate parts with a brush and attached national insignia and unit-marking decals. It is almost complete.
(10-January-2015)
Wirbelwind is the antiaircraft tank that carried 4 x 20mm antiaircraft machine guns on the IV panzer chassis. There is not so much the total production at around 100 vehicles.
German military did not have enough air force to keep air supremacy. The barrage of these antiaircraft machine guns was needed to protect the tank battalion from allied air attacks.
I painted mud splash with the elastic force of the brush. Maybe hard to see them…
The turret was guarded with a 16mm steel sheet. I blew it with a little semi-gloss clear coating with a metal texture.
This kit has three kinds of marks. I chose one of them, the 509 heavy tank battalion operated in the suburbs of Darmstadt in 1945. Darmstadt’s location is near Frankfurt and Baden, a German city. So I think it would fight against Western Allied Forces mainly.
Because there were unnecessary holes in the body’s rear and side, I buried it with putty. This kit and almost all Dragon Models tank kits include many unused parts, and assembly is complex.
Inside the turret, three crew operated in here. It seemed too small, and terrible noise occurred.
The turret is only put on the chassis, movable, and unloaded.
I mixed blue with black on the barrels, which showed a cold metal feeling.
Though OVM cramps are not photo-etched parts, Smart Kit is not omitted, and moderate mold plastic parts, I like it very much.
Military insignia is tiger marking. This tank belonged to the 509th heavy tank battalion, deployed King Tiger and Tiger I. The 509th is Wehrmacht units, not Waffen SS.
I painted a caterpillar glaring like making Soviet tanks, as usual. Road wheels are molded with company names on the side with tiny letters, and I made them readable with dry brushing.
It loaded spare barrels, for it became burnt and needed to be changed. This is one part molded, challenging to paint.
The open-top tank looks nice from the top to see the complicated mechanism.
I can say this weathering is “wet” if you choose “dry” or “wet.” I suppose it’s moderate weathering in the situation of German territory in 1945. This tank’s most appealing point is the quadruple-mount machine gun. Still, I like caterpillar tracks.
(20-January-2015)
