Sd.Kfz.7/2. 3.7cm Flak 43. Trumpeter 1/35 kit#01527 (Chapter 2: Painting)

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 Painting

 

Building the kit in sub-assemblies makes for painting both the chassis and cab interior far simpler. So, after the chassis was first primed in Tamiya red oxide it received an overall airbrushed coat of Tamiya acrylic dark yellow (Dunkelgelb) The engine and gearbox were base coated in Tamiya german grey, and all the metalwork parts were mist primed in Tamiya hull red. All contact points were then cleaned of paint, or masked beforehand, to ensure clean mounting points. I manipulated the steering gear linkage angles during the build stage to leave the wheels slightly turned. I always think this adds to the finished appearance. 

Tamiya hull red painted front fender moulding and fuel tank airbrushed seperately and test fitted to the chassis

 

 

The cab floor and rear panel assembly were base coated, the seats brush painted and weathered, and the cargo bed also primed in hull red

The wheels were primed then given two light mist coats of hairspray and then base coated. The tyres were brush painted with a mix of Vallejo's light and dark rubber. After a coat of hairspray the metalwork parts then received small scuffs and scratches to reveal some of the red primer.

Although every track link comes in two parts making track assembly tedious, with careful placement of adhesive you do end up with a strong and perfectly workable set of tracks. They were primed and then base coated in an acrylic Tamiya acrylic dark grey and flat earth mix. They were then weathered with both acrylic and enamel washes, I used a pencil to highlight contact areas of the tracks and finished them off with some light oil paint effects.  

 

One track link pad on each side was left un-glued so they could be test fitted over the running gear. The rear idler arms were left unfixed so can now be positioned before final fixing to get the perfect track tension. As mentioned all the swing arms are a snug fit into the chassis fixings, so I left mine unglued to give me the option of positiniong the vehicle on uneven ground. 

 

The six double sets of main track wheels are just test fitted and the outers on the first, third, and fifth stations will be added once the wheels are fixed in place

Trumpeter provide the accurate late horn in the engine compartment as shown in the pic below. Something all the Dragon 8-ton kits have still managed to get wrong. 

 

The running gear paint still appears a little 'glossy' at this point but all will be toned down in later weathering steps. The armoured cab moulding will simply slot down after paint onto the cab floor. Likewise with the engine hood/bonnet and side panels 

Building in three sub-assemblies (bulkhead with instrument panel, cab floor and rear panel, and the top armoured cab moulding) the interior can be easily accessed with an airbrush whilst still seperate. They were again painted with Tamiya acrylics and once dry the instrument panel decals were added. I then applied a pin wash with Abteilung oil paints followed by some light weathering with both oil and pigments.

 

Unlike Dragon, Trumpeter's 8-Ton kits do thankfully provide decals for both old and new style instrument panels. One thing I found out after the build was that the front vision ports had armored persicopes. These are not included in the kit. It is something worth considering if leaving any doors or hatches open.

 

 Cab armoured molding test fitted to the cab

 

 

Flak 43

 

The kit's missing second gunners seat still needs to be added and more research is required into whether a basket cage for the spent shells was added to these mobile flak variants. The kit does not include one! This was then painted in a similar way to the vehicle but with slighter lighter tones of Dunkelgelb.

  

 

The armoured shield was attached to the gun and along with the mount, dry fitted to the cargo bed to check it all fitted well.  The cab gear leavers were brush painted and added through the slots in the floor. The armoured cab, bonnet/hood, radiator, and engine side panels were all test fitted to ensure good tight connections

So there we have it. A bit of a mash up of different prime coloured sub-assemblies

For the unifying final base coat I chose Mission Models late 1944 RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb acrylic. This is a lighter toned dark yellow than the Tamiya colour, so with the aid of hairspray, lightly distressing this final coat will expose the underlying base coat and give the finish a nice worn appearance. 

 

The running gear was masked off as I wanted to leave the original darker tone paint colour in this area.

 

Once the Mission Models base coat had dried I then set about distressing this layer with warm H2O, several brushes, and various sharp implements, to create small chips, scratches and scuffs. Once I was happy I then airbrushed a light coat of satin varnish to seal in all the work so far.  

 

Due to its make up and using their recommended mix of poly, Mission Models paint is not as easy to manipulate and chip as with Tamiya acrylics. I didn't go hell for leather trying to scrub too hard for fear of removing the paint down to the plastic, but it took a little more effort to acheive the desired effects. As the underlying paintwork was made up of a darker Dunkelgelb tone and a red oxide primer coat distressed areas left a pleasing combination of both light and dark chips, scuffs and scratches.

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