16t Panzer "Laupen"

[Mig Eater]

Upon closer inspection of the paint work I'm not happy wit the result. It's hard to see in the photos but the paint is a mess of thick & thin patches. So I'm going to try & strip it back down to the resin with an IPA bath. This will be the first time I've tried doing this, however I feel safe knowing that if I really mess it up I can always print another

[Claymore]

Dear god!  Seems an unlikely and unnecessary waste of good beer - or does IPA stand for something else over there?   

[Mig Eater]

Isopropyl alcohol, which you definitely dont want to drink

[Claymore]

Well that makes a whole lot more sense than covering it in India Pale Ale - phew! 

[Mig Eater]

After an afternoon of scrubbing paint I think I could use an pale ale about now

[Kerick]

India pale ale?

[Claymore]

India pale ale?

Not wanting to clog up Mig Eater’s thread, Google India Pale Ale and Wikipedia says it all - British in origin from the early 18-hundreds but 40% of modern craft beer in the US is classified as IPA… 

[Frank3k]

If it's an acrylic paint, you don't need to soak it. Most acrylic paints will dissolve with IPA - use a rag soaked in alcohol and wipe the paint off. Be careful with soaking resin in alcohols; some resins (especially water washable ones) can be affected by long exposure to IPA, especially if there are uncured sections. If the IPA ishaving a hard time removing the paint, denatured alcohol will dissolve or soften almost all acrylic paints quickly.

[Kerick]

Note to self, keep all types of alcohol away from my acrylic painted models!

[Mig Eater]

The paint stripping went ok, there were a few casualties, the handle on the drivers hatch, head lamps, & a few of the turret grenade launchers broke off, but they can be easily glued back on. The Mr.Surfacer that I used to add some texture to the model was removed along with the paint too, so I'll need to reapply that before I can try painting it again.

[Mig Eater]

Idea for a possible future build, anti-aircraft version of the Laupen with the French DCA turret.



The turret from the HS-30 anti-aircraft prototype could be an option too (or I might just make that whole tank ).

[GTX_Admin]

 

[Story]

For what it's worth, I just tripped over this derivative factoid
Twenty vehicles were sold after the war to Ethiopia, who used them until the 1980s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AH-IV

http://ftr.wot-news.com/2013/09/09/the-lion-of-ethiopia-ah-iv-hb/

[apophenia]

The paint stripping went ok ...

I'll say! To my eye, that looks pristine (not that I judge others by my own, inept abilities ...) 

[Mig Eater]

Well here we go again, I primed the model with black & then added a white pre-shade. Last time I highlighted the center of each panel, for round two I thought I'd go with gradients across the panels instead     

[Mig Eater]

I got some colour on the model again & I'm a lot happier with the results My first attempt was my first time using masking putty & I just rolled it up into "sausages" & threw them over the model without much thought. This time around I put more effort into it & sculpted the putty into the pattern I wanted. The Hataka olive green paint I'm using for the main colour is quite thick & difficult to airbrush. Last time I used it as the top layer in the camo & made a mess of it, making me strip the paint off. This time I applied the olive colour first & was more careful with my airbrush, resulting in a much smother surface.

Thinking about the markings now, going to try & 3D print a (paper thin resin) mask for the Swiss emblem. Swiss Panzer 39 & G-13 tanks also had number plates & sometimes unit numbers too, so I'll see if I have any spare decals I can use.

[Frank3k]

The paint job and masking look amazing!

Since you have the files for the tank, can't you design the masks to follow the contours of the surface (ie, mirroring the curve of the turret, etc.) , then print them? You could probably make a single "mask" plate with all the surfaces and markings.

[Claymore]

Lookin’ good! 

[Old Wombat]

Pretty!

[Mig Eater]

I guess in theory you could print a mask/shell that goes other the entire tank, interesting I've never thought about that before... So far I've only printed squares with circles in the middle for wheel masks, the Swiss emblem is going to be my first attempt at something more complex.

[Buzzbomb]

that is looking good. Again