This 1/72 (Hasegawa) Leopold kit is something! A lot of tweezer work is required to get this one together. Definitely not a beginner kit, here. I'll post some pics after I get a little further into it.

The real reason for my post is to ask for links to some good detailing and weathering articles. I've not done any armor models, so I'm completely new to weathering them. If you know of any good weathering articles, please post a link. Any help is appreciated. :)

Nothing? Okay...

swannymodels.com has some good tips n tricks for weathering try that!!!

Thank you!

Your most welcome! Show us the build progress if ya can, when you can.

I'll definitely post some photos, when I've made enough progress to make it worthwhile. This kit might take a little while to finish.

I visited Swanny's site. There's some great info there, but I found more suitable info, for this build, about 16 pages into a Google search on a model railroading site. I think pastel chalks will be best for what I'm picturing.

Thanks again for your help!

So, what are we looking at?
http://idesyns.com/leopold/1.jpg

http://idesyns.com/leopold/2.jpg

We're looking at the 86 parts that make up the front and rear "trucks". There are still eight parts to be added, for a grand total of 94 pieces. That's just the running gear.

With the center section in place.
http://idesyns.com/leopold/3.jpg

You can see there's still a good amount left to do. I'll get the airbrush out again tomorrow and get the rest of the parts sprayed. I'll keep you posted on any major progress.

Wow, always wanted to see a build of this. It should look great on a shelf display.

Great! Glad someone wants to see it.

I'm looking forward to the weathering, with pastel chalks, the most. I've never done it before. It should be fun. I'm sure it will look good when it's complete. The kit looks good without much done to it. It will get a dark brown wash to bring out the details, and then the pastels.

I just air bushed the rest of the parts, today. I don't think I'll take as long to assemble as I had originally thought. It does have more small or fragile parts than any kit I've built before. I almost had a tweezer tragedy today. You know, the one where you grab a tiny part with a bit too much grip and it shoots out of the tweezers across the room. Fortunately when it flew--at the speed of sound--from the tweezers, it hit a paint bottle and ended up staying on the table (whew!). I'd have never found it.

Anyway, thanks for looking. If you have any tips, let me know. Like I said, I'm new to the whole armor thing.

The gun will be moveable when assembly is complete. The two parts, directly in front of the barrel, are part of the mechanism.
http://idesyns.com/leopold/4.jpg

The moving parts, you guessed it... moved!
http://idesyns.com/leopold/5.jpg

A closeup of the shell truck and ammunition cart:
http://idesyns.com/leopold/6.jpg

Pretty boring stuff, eh?

Looks really crisp and sharp. Does the kit come with any metal parts and does it come with a base?

Here's a link with some info on the gun for those unfamiliar with it.
http://commandos.strategyplanet.gamespy.com/leopold.html

The kit has a two piece base with the rails molded in. The rails don't look as good as the rest of the kit. They're lacking detail. I'll show it when the kit's done.

I ran across the link you posted while researching Leopold. I also found this photo of the gun after it was captured. It leads one to believe the gun was a solid color, not the camouflage that is painted on it today. The dark color you see is carbon from a flame, to my eyes at least. I don't see any camouflage scheme. At least, not like what's on display at the Ordinance Museum In Aberdeen, MD. Another idea would be to scratch build and detail the camouflage net (?) frame you see in this shot. That would look great.

http://idesyns.com/leopold/captured.jpg

I think I'm going to leave it the solid color I remember from my chidhood--nearly 40 years ago.

Like this old shot from the museum:
http://idesyns.com/leopold/oldMuseum4sm.jpg

No camouflage there...

I have to say this is the most difficult kit have ever assembled. It requires some ingenuity, when most kits I've built are relative "no brainers". The kit's parts fit well, so there's not a lot of filling to do. There just has to be care taken to fit things well and some patience is needed when it comes to putting together the sub assemblies.

I'm not looking forward to putting the gun barrel in place. It goes inside this assembly, and the two rods you see, on the side my hand is on (the back of the "battery"), fit over a shaft at the base of the gun. There's barely enough room to get the gun in, let alone get the rods over the shaft ends. When everything is together, the barrel will move up and down and hopefully stay put where I choose to position it. The two photos of the assembly show the slide--that helps position the gun--all the way forward and all the way back. I attached a photo of the instructions so you can see what's going on inside.

EDIT: Should I use the thumbnails or keep uploading the full size images? Let me know.

Kit-Junkie,
Actually, you do see variations in the B/W picture you posted. Remember that the paint is affected by oxidation and dust. When I visited the gun I was suprised at how even in value the 2 colors were - a result of weathering.
There are written accounts (according to the historian I spoke to) by pilots about how well the camo on the gun hid it during attacks.
But as always, If you want to paint it the way you remember it, that's the fun about building kits, it can be however you want it to be!

Kit-Junkie,
Actually, you do see variations in the B/W picture you posted. Remember that the paint is affected by oxidation and dust. When I visited the gun I was suprised at how even in value the 2 colors were - a result of weathering.
There are written accounts (according to the historian I spoke to) by pilots about how well the camo on the gun hid it during attacks.Chris, I see the darker areas in the black and white photo. They would have to be very close in value, if that is a camouflage scheme (not to say you're wrong). I assume the framework over the barrel held either camouflaged canvas, netting and/or brush used to camouflage the gun. That would work very well to hide it from planes. Surely better than any paint scheme could. Regardless, it wouldn't have been the same scheme that is on it today, from what I can tell. I'm sure the colors, as the historian said, are correct WWII German camo colors. I just question the scheme.

The more I think about it, I seem to remember my Grandfather mentioning it being painted the wrong color. That was a long time ago, so I'm not sure.

I'm so confused as to how to finish it, now... The camouflage scheme will, undoubtedly, look best.

Chris, thanks for the info, BTW. I really do appreciate your help figuring this one out. I wasn't trying to discount your info; just to get the kit close as I can. There is too much conflicting information available on this one.

kit-junkie

Great job, keep it up!
I own 10 of these kits for studio scale work, but want to build one to show the kit that donated the parts.
Thanks for starting this thread!!!

Thanks! Have fun with the build. It's a wonderful kit.

I used to have a CD on the Leopold that's being restored in France. It contained over 200 detailed colour photos and was bought to help with my Trumpeter kit. If I still had the CD, I'd send it to you but I resold the kit and included the CD. I think it was put out by Aber but I could be wrong. Tamiya magazine had a review on it at about the time the Trumpeter kit came out. Excellent job so far and good luck with your project.
Chris.

Thank you. I'm looking forward to detailing it. I'll Google Krupp K5 France and see what I can come up with.

Here's another shot, with the gun intalled. I made a mistake and sprayed the entire kit with Future, when I should have just done the base. I have decided to do the camouflage scheme, and I would have rather sprayed the clear after that. Oh well, I don't think I'll lose too much detail adding an extra coat of clear on top of it. I used an airbrush to spray the Future.

Anyway, here's where she sits, until I can get back to work on her. The gun goes up and down, just like it should, the blast wall works, the wheels roll, and the shell crane goes up and down. I left the railings, ladders, and tiny detail parts off until after I get the bulk of the weathering done. Hopefully, that's the best way to go about it.

There's still a lot to be done.

Please excuse my mess...

Looking good, sounds like it has kept you on your toes and having fun.

I'm a complete amateur at military kits... Come to think of it, I'm a complete amateur at nearly every kind of kit. Oh well, I have fun anyway!

Thanks for the compliment! It looks rather boring at the moment. It'll be better, soon enough.

This kit has forced me to think a little. It doesn't go together very easily. It's been a challenge, but not overly so. I'm enjoying it.

The Leopold is at the Ordinance Museum in Aberdeen, Maryland.

These might help you with the paint scheme.

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-weapons/anzio_annie.htm

http://commandos.strategyplanet.gamespy.com/leopold.html

http://www.ordmusfound.org/leopold.html

Video of it in use

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOediCqrukw&feature=related

And your model already built

http://www.ipmslivonia.org/ipms/Gallery/Annie/KitRAA.htm

And a scratchbuilt one.

http://www.dynamicdioramas.org/MODEL%20SOURCE/Anzio%20Annie/source/1.html

I have saved all the links.

I visited "Anzio Annie", at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, as a young boy. I remember it well. That's where Grandfather bought me my first kit of this massive gun. I never finished it, because I didn't have the skills or the tools needed.

The IPMS Livonia Leopold (green scheme) is the Dragon 1/35th scale kit. The one I'm building is the Hasegawa 1/72 scale offering.

I'm going with the current museum paint scheme, or as close as I can get to it with these Model Master paints, anyway.

Thanks, Bud!

Just a heads up: I've taken a break on Leopold until I take delivery of a foot switch for my little (old) Badger compressor. Now you now why there have been no posts here for a bit. I'm looking forward to getting back to it.

I have a Badger compressor too, where you get the foot switch. Beats bending down to unplug it or let it run.

Here's one:Woodcraft Footswitch (http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=20340) You can also Google "115v foot switch".

I, actually, made mine from parts. I bought a SPDT momentary (push button) switch that handles 15amps@115v, a 4x3x1.5 box, and an extension cord then I put it all together. I was waiting for the box to get here. The whole thing, with shipping, cost about $10 and took about 5 minutes to assemble. It works great.

Today, I'm going to buy a "Lazy Susan" to paint on. Ikea has 12" (I think) wooden ones for about $5. I'll kill three birds with one stone: 1) Get what I need. 2) Get some exercise--the store is MASSIVE. 3) Make the wife happy--she loves shopping.

First attempt at camouflage in years... I don't know if I'm happy with it, but here it is:

http://idesyns.com/leopold/11.jpg

http://idesyns.com/leopold/12.jpg

http://idesyns.com/leopold/13.jpg

You see the spots on the lazy Susan? My Badger 150 kept clogging. I think I may have bent the needle. It was giving me fits. I had to keep adjusting the flow and "blowing through" to unclog it.

Oh well... That's how she sits for now.

Greal job !!! I have the same lazy susan for my paint booth a great tool for $5.00 .... looks good KJ

Thanks. I'm a bit discouraged right now, to be honest. It didn't turn out like I wanted. Oh well... I just sprayed the Future over the entire thing. Maybe I'll start the wash later. We'll see what she ends up like.

My lazy susan is the 15" version. They didn't have the 12".

Don't be discouraged it looks good and once you weather it a bit it will turn out fine ... :thumbsup:

I got the matte finish sprayed yesterday and started the weathering last night. It might not be so bad after all. I mixed yellowish tan with white and brushed some on. I think I like it.

One question, though: Can I remove some of the chalk with a damp brush, to create a streaked effect, or is it better to just use a darker chalk color?

With powdered pastels yes you can remove it if it is not sealed.. Need some more pics man!!!

I've got to get a bit more done, before I post photos again. I'll work on it some more tonight.

My attempt at the streaking. I'll need to practice that some more. Any advice?
http://idesyns.com/leopold/14.jpg

http://idesyns.com/leopold/16.jpg

I'm open to any and all advice on weathering and on sealing the pastels.

Nothing, huh? Allllrighty then.

The railings are one of the most challenging parts of this kit, I think. They are extremely flexible so I fastened them, with gel CA, one end at a time, then used tweezers to pull the bottom of the poles away from the sides and a toothpick to apply the glue.
http://idesyns.com/leopold/17.jpg

http://idesyns.com/leopold/18.jpg

http://idesyns.com/leopold/19.jpg

http://idesyns.com/leopold/20.jpg

There is still more weathering to be done. I'm such an amateur at it... It's something I really want to be good at.

Anyway, I still have to coat the sides with Future, so the decals go on nicely, then coat the whole thing in flat again. I'm crossing my fingers on the pastels looking okay after it's sprayed. We'll see what happens.

Well, the chalk disappeared under the clear (Future). I hope it's still visible after I spray the flat -- two more times. Since I'm getting no suggestions from anyone, I'm flying by the seat of my pants. I'll let you know what happens. I get the feeling you're all getting tired of my in progress shots, so I'll wait 'till I'm finished to post again on this build.

Hello!! The shots look great.. But if you used very light chalk it will disappear ... John P had a suggestion on the board some where recently I just don't recall where.. let me find some links for you to look at Hold on! Brb
Ok try this site it will link you to many other sites even HobbyTalk ..lol

http://www.craigcentral.com/modelmain.asp

Try that!!

Thank you. Great resource!

I almost never thing to bookmark useful posts.

Looking good KJ!! Have you washed the details, or is it the light and camera angles? I can see a hell of a lot of nice detail popping out. One trick I use for bringing out fine detail is spot washing with Tamiya smoke acrylic. The only thing is it's gloss so you have to spray with flat clear afterwards.
Man, that's nice!
Chris.

Thanks! I did use a wash on the details. Some came out better than others. I'm still trying to figure out how to clear coat it without losing the pastels... I sprayed the Future on the sides for the decals and the pastels disappeared. Oh, well...

I did the decals last night. Only ripped one. *grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....* It was an important one, but one I should be able to touch up--provided I can mix the paint to match the yellowed decal. The date on the kit is 1990. The decals yellowed, even though they were in plastic. They were pretty brittle, as well.

Did I mention I never built a kit like this one before?

I'm not really militarily inclined myself,KJ.
I've never used pastels- that's one technique I'm yet to try. I prefer texturing, washing, and drybrushing.I'm probably saying something you already know, but if you get yellowed decals, try putting them in a zip lock bag and taping them to a window that gets lots of sun. This bleaches the yellowing out. The decals should be used as soon as possible otherwise the yellowing will come back again.
Chris.:)

Never even thought of that. Good tip!

You're welcome my friend.:)
Chris.