Marder II

Users' choice

This gallery has 10.34% of the users' votes.

By: marder38

Manufacturer(s): CPL Overby's Motor Pool

Modifications: Replaced the barrel,muzzle brake & breach with a part from the Fujimi pak 40. re-coated the muffler & added foil straps. Added a track & rail in the hull front from a Esci Wespe.

After-market parts: White metal MG & Shells, rolled tarps from Italeri Crates from Acedemy & ammo box from Goffy. Resin camo roll & Jerrycan.

Description: This is a Marder II, in Italy of a unknown unit. I have used Italeri crew with the heads swapped around. I painted in in Humbrol & Tamiya enamels with a dark bown pinwash weathered with light gray & tan dust pigments, finished off with highlights & scratches from a granite pencil.

Judge 1: Construction of this simple little kit is not bad although there is a cleanup and alignment problem with the left hand side road wheels. The base colour is good but the camo is too subtle and the subsequent layers of dust etc have left the final finish monotone and lacking contrast and interest. The best way to make a vehicle look dusty is not to apply an overall dust layer but to concentrate your efforts on logical prominent areas, in this case less is more. The stowage is good and nicely placed adding a lived in feel and the figures although not judged are a nice touch. Keep up the good work.
Judge 2: Though this model consists of 8 part only, it is quite elaborate. You added some stowage and figures, so now not many of us can guess it's a fast built vehicle. The base color is even, but it is covered by dust which isn't good for artistic impression. Try to place dust primarily on horizontal surfaces and very little amount of dust on vertical surfaces. Dusty vehicle or not, I'd advice you to use stronger washes and other weathering techniques which work well on camouflaged models (filters, fading, streaks, etc.).
Judge 3: Very nice presentation with the extras that you’ve added in the way of stowage and such. The build looks good although as noted, both the left side view and aft view do appear to show an alignment issue with the running gear, though the later could be a barrel distortion issue attributable to the camera/lens rather than the model itself. Weathering is well done though the dust does seam a bit coarse to me. The dusting on the vertical surfaces is a bit heavy and tends to detract from the overall depth of the finish. While you’ve added some, give a try at a few more strategically placed fine scratches and scuffing and perhaps some vertical (rain) staining on your next model. I think you’ll be pleased with how much these simple techniques will enhance the overall appearance of your finish and add more interest to you subject. Good job. Wayne