Stug III B Tamiya with ABER sets

[carriedca]

I am new to this so patience please.
I've been slow in asking for the vBench so some of the work is started.
Getting back into modelling after SEVERAL years hiatus. I did few cheapees to get some practice but I decided it was time to get going on something decent.
I purchased the new Stug III from Tamiya. I have been reading quite a bit on the internet and decided to try my hand at some photo etch.
I bought some ABER sets for this kit,
-basic set
-interior
-fenders

I also ordered the Friulmodel tracks but they were backordered.

I'll post some pictures soon, just have to upload them.

So far:
I've done rough cut to remove fenders
I've painted and assembled wheels
Primed and painted bottom hull
Started work on some of the photo etch

This is my first time at doing photo etch. Bending has not been a problem (except for really long pieces). Soldering, well...still need some practice.

I also primed all the pieces straight on the sprues (seemed like a good idea at the time). Gluing pieces together requires cleaning off the primer (oh well, live and learn. I never used to prime, but was following directions from others.

For the wheels, I've been sorta following the recommendations from the Testors modeling manual about scale. I lighten the color with 17% white. (makes for long counting when making a sizeable batch.)
I've painted inside and rear of wheels straight panzer grey (i'm partial to Testor MM enamels, but picked up vallejo acrylics for figure painting.)
The front of wheels are lightened panzer grey.