Bushi wrote:

Hey MG the scout is looking great. Keep up the good work. Can not wait to see it dirty. Bushi

Thanks for the comments, Bushi!

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"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."- Lon Chaney

Alright here's that big update I said I'd get up today. Yes it is quite big, probably because there's quite a few pics. Also on unrelated news, I just learned I recieved a General Assembly Scholarship!!! That means my total tution for my first year of college at University of Illinois-Chicago is completley covered. How sweet it is.

The jerry cans are pretty much finished, with strap and all glued on. Weathered using a simple wash, and some fuel stains added near the cap were made using ModelMaster Graphite Metalic(it actually makes a greasy appearance if you use it in moderation.) Though I still have to do some more weathering later for finishing touches.

The axe sheath(protective area for blade) that orginally came in the kit was pre-attached to the axe. Thus it meant the detail was pretty sub-par, so I took it and sliced and diced until I had my very own axe. Then I scratched my own sheath(ok not really a sheath) out of some spare stryene and contour putty. Using the axe as reference for size and location.

  Then on a spur of a moment I also decided to scratch the light guards out of copper wire.(mainly because the original pieces look a bit too chunky in detail) Took the original light guards cut out the detail(I cracked one pretty badly, it's the one you see to the right.) Then I sanded the inside the best I could after doing repairs. Then I took some copper wire and cut to size. Curving it slighty to give a better appearance. After finishing the pieces off, I took a tip from Dre and filled in the locating "trenches." I did this with Testor's Contour putty, but before it dried I inserted the light guards in the putty. That way the pieces are on and the putty conforms around the piece. Still haven't sanded away the excess so it may look a bit crude.

I think most of the serious scratching is done on this build, but it seems problems arise out of nowhere, so more scratching may be in my future. Next up is getting the doors in and getting some paint on. Thanks for looking.

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"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."- Lon Chaney

Mobious wrote:

Hey mg, lots of great tips and a great looking M3. The gas cans look good. the original kit parts were the one handle molded on everything type. That's a major improvement, along with the ace and light guards this is really coming together. I'l keep that light guard tip handy, I have an AFV Club WC51 Beep I'm planning on building for a freind, He's a diehard Mopar fan and has a PowerWagon of his own. be looking forward to seeing how you resolve the fit issue with the doors.

Glad I'm offering up some future build tips, Mobious. Ahh yes the doors, those are gonna be bloody grim fun. Dryfitting also showed the hinges might need to be improved upon.

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"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."- Lon Chaney

Been stepping up on my production lately. Pretty much got the doors in, though I still got a scratch a part or two for one of them. As for door hinges, I'm stretchin' some sprue later tonight. Hope to get the doors permanently in tommorrow. As for other work, I've planned ahead and will be replacing the kit's .30 cal and .50 cal machine guns with one's from another kit. However that means scavenging the .50 cal mount from the Zvezda kit(which is already pre-attached to that machine gun.) As for a more official update I'll have it up some time tommorrow. While you're waiting here's a pic of a M-3 scout car somewhere in Russia,(it's at least something to look at.)

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"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."- Lon Chaney

 Hey mg, the reference photo is cool. It looks like a .50 cal on deck. I didn't know they were part of the Lend-Lease agreements.

 the M3 is really shaping into a great build, show casing not only your scratch abilities but your patience as well. I can appreciate that. Really looking forward to seeing updates on the Soviet Scouter.

Mg-that's a very nice build that you've got going there.  Also, a lot of other great builds in this GB.  Sorry that I've been a bit lax lately-life tends to get in the way sometimes.

Oh that note, I plan on breaking out the Revell-o-gram P-40B, 1/48th, raised panel lines and all this evening and giving it a wash & general assessment.  I have an old resin interior that I'm thinking about trying to fit or just add some old pe bits to make the interior a little busier.  Also, I plan on leaving the raised panel lines, maybe just a light sanding.  I plan on using some left over Flying Tigers aftermarket decals to supplement the kit decals, which are very questionable at best.  This has to be a quick & cheap build.  Again, this is the plan-you need to approve the build first.

And congrats on the scholarship!  Great to have the first year covered.  Hopefully more will come in to cover future years.  Have you picked a course of study yet?  I say yet because I graduated undergrad in 1977 and still don't know what I want to be when I grow up....

bobbaily- Thanks for the comments and for checkin' out my build. Sorry to hear about the resin part problems, though I'm still lookin' forward to seeing some pics of how your P-40B is coming along! 

As for my major, I plan on majoring in architecture. I also plan on going for my master's, since to practice architecture in the US you need at least a master's. Thus that means I'll be stuck going to school for at least the next six years or so.

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"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."- Lon Chaney

Good to hear you'll have a day pretty much to yourself. Get some progress pics up soon.

Yeah, I guess your right six years isn't too long when considering it's six years of college life.

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"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."- Lon Chaney

That Katyusha looks like its almost done! Especially love the battle damage your givin' the build through the broken grill and damaged light guards.

Thanks for the comments, White_R34!

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"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."- Lon Chaney

arki30 wrote:

mg.mikael wrote: As for my major, I plan on majoring in architecture. I also plan on going for my master's, since to practice architecture in the US you need at least a master's. Not true.  A Bachelor's of Architecture and Master's carry the same weight for licensure, and it's one fewer year which is less expensive.  It's just that there aren't as many Bachelor of Architecture programs as there used to be, which is a shame.

Thanks for the explaination, arki30, but that said it still looks like I'll be going for my master's.

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"There's nothing funny about a clown in the moonlight."- Lon Chaney