Type 1 SPG Ho-Ni I - 3 Feb 2019 - Completed

[BUCKY]

We all need to meet up in Pensacola, some day!!

[JCON]

That would be awesome!!!

[Dukemaddog]

Pensacola would be very do-able for me. I have two relatives living in Navarre right now. Still, it's closer to come to Southern California Joe! And if everyone decided to meet somewhere someday, then if everyone came here at the right time; we could all do a Hobby Day weekend together.

[JCON]

Point taken Mark!!!

[RLFoster]

Thanks for looking in and for all the comments.

I've made a little progress on the build over the past couple weeks, mostly in detail painting and adding a few bits here and there. However, it looks like the build is going to likely be keeping the very slow pace (if any at all) for another couple weeks. My sister is due to visit in a week and to put it lightly, my house is a disaster area!!!

So, for the next week or so all my hobbies go on the back burner and I shift into "White Tornado" mode (bonus points for those old enough to get the reference!) and start getting the house prepped for her visit. While I have no qualms about sitting down on a public toilet - even a gas station toilet - my sister has slightly higher standards. That means the lovely layers of dust on selected furniture, the weeds that are growing up around the front stoop, and the back storage room I must reconvert into a spare bedroom all need a lot of attention.

Don't worry though...I'm super-hyped to get this build finished by perfecting some of the techniques I want to use on the Armoured Car Group Build.

Until next time...

[JEFF]

Go for it, RL. And yeah, I remember............

[RLFoster]

Dec 28, 2018 15:05:59 GMT -6 JEFF said:

Go for it, RL. And yeah, I remember............

LOL!!!

That's just a LITTLE earlier than I remember, but it's the right product!  Now days I've actually gotten smarter and just buy straight ammonia and then cut it with a little water.  It cleans absolutely everything and if you mix it strong enough, clears the sinuses as well.

Just make sure you wear some gloves when you use it or the hands will look like dried raisins!

[Dukemaddog]

Enjoy your time with your sister. That rocks that she's coming. Family is always more important, so we'll wait.

And yeah, I remember that commercial as well.

[BUCKY]

Git-R-Dun, RL!

[RLFoster]

Greetings, Folks! There's nothing like Christmas, New Years, and a 5 day visit from relatives to put a crimp in what had been a fairly rapid build of this model. However, fear not -- after about a 20 day lull, I'm back at the bench and have gotten in good progress over the past week or so.

When I left off, I had just added the hand-painted markings to the gun. After that, but before the holidays, I managed to start painting in various details like the rubber tires, exhaust areas, lights, tow cable, and other tools or tool holders. Then came the lull, but it were good times!!! Once I got back to the bench, the next step in my process was to add fading and additional filtering to the paint job. This was accomplished using oils - yellow, light green, and light brown - to unify the three camo colors and shift the color tones even farther toward the "warm" end of the spectrum. Since it's easier to see side-by-side, I've reposted the last photo from before and and an after image to show the results:





Then came one of the longer steps -- adding the pin wash around all of the rivets, bolts, and details to simulate shadowing and dirt build-up. This was done using Mig Productions dark brown wash which I applied, let mostly dry, and then cleaned up with a brush moistened with Terpenoid. The whole process on the exterior took three sessions over two days to complete. Here's a shot of the result:



I still need to remove the gun assembly and then apply the same pin wash treatment to all of the gun as well as the interior details. Once that is done, I will have completed 8 of the 30 steps in my painting/weathering process and can move on.

I'm really hoping the progress picks up from this point forward as I have nothing pressing on the calendar and we're about to get hit with bad weather for a week or two. Hope you enjoy the update and as always, all comments or questions are welcome.

Until next time...

[JCON]

Good to see you back on this one Robert!!! Looking good my friend!!!

[ARMORGUY]

It looks good already Robert, I like the composition of the camo stripes.

[Dukemaddog]

Magnificent work Robert! I think that storm you are about to get hit me first. Enjoy it man, you'll be able to get a lot done while it's raging! Looking forward to seeing more.

[RLFoster]

Thanks for looking in, guys.

I managed to get the rest of the pin washing completed today on the gun assembly, interior components, and the wheels. Tomorrow, I'll begin work on chipping and scratches, but have no idea how long it will take. If I don't have a new update late tomorrow, it won't be until Tuesday more than likely.

Thanks again...

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Looking forward to seeing it Robert.

[RLFoster]

Thanks again for looking in and for the comments.

These next steps took two full days to complete -- chips and scratches. Technically, I still have to put the chips on the wheels, but the interior and hull are all finished.

First, I mixed up a light sand color that was slightly lighter than the base color and applied random chips using a sponge, focusing on the edges and corners. Then I thinned out the same color and using a fine brush filled in some areas to develop larger chips and scratches. Here's a progress shot at this point:



After getting all the light chips applied, I then went back over the entire model and used those backgrounds to apply the actual steel color inside each area. Here's a shot that visually shows the difference. On the right are just the light areas. On the left, the steel color has been applied.



Once all the steel color was applied to the entire outer hull and the interior areas, I took one final progress shot of the build:



Next, I will be applying some subtle rust tones to the chips as well as heavier rust on the exhaust areas.

Until next time...

[JCON]

Nice work!!!

[Dukemaddog]

Excellent!

[RLFoster]

Thanks, guys! A little too much glare, but we'll take care of that next time.

[BUCKY]

It's really looking good, Robert! Nice going on the chipping.