Ma.K Group Build 8/2010-8/2011

Looks wicked! Love the skull face.

keep up the great work

Well the Melusine commander is finished. Here it is.

That looks great !!! wouldnt want it coming my way

Here is my Melusine on the display base. Ive been working on the base for a while now. Its made from a piece of 3/4" pine with styrofoam cut and sanded to shape and 1/8" plywood surround. Everything was covered with drywall mud. I liked the cracks that developed as it dried so I left them. I sifted play sand to get finer particles and applied it to the uplifted area and an area to depict a sand drift on part of the road. I used MiG Pigments Post Apocalyptic Earth to give it that Mad Max color that you see in the Road warrior film. What do you guys think? I havent flat coated yet. Waiting on critiques/suggestions.

Heya, Folks,

Got an update. on The Nut.. Pushing forward slowly but surely on the weathering with more to go on the hull and turret. Hope to get some more work in this weekend, but then again if "Car-mageddon" occurs here in L.A. I might have some time to get some serious modeling in, since all of civilization is apparently destined to grind to a halt thanks to a freeway closure.

 I'll have to remember to throw a couple of jerry cans of gasoline in the trunk so I can barter for food and ammunition...oh, and gotta rig up that booby trap up to the family sedan in case somebody comes after my gas --- hmmm, looks like no modeling for me this weekend!

Need to add some more fuel stains, streaks and overall muck on the hull and get a bit more weathering on the turret as well. After that comes the snow and ice... 

Always open to feedback, of course --- thanks and have a great weekend, Folks!

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B. 

Great paint on the Mel and I'm digging the base, Modelbuilder...

The twin yellow lines give it a nice, post-Apocalyptic "Road Warrior" feel. Looks like that Mel has been and will be walking for a long time...

Can't wait to see more.

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

Well Ive been away too long. Ive had some issues to deal with other than the house being destoyed. Finally getting back into the swing of things. Heres my progress so far on the Mel and its display.

Hey, there,

You got it SLW! I just call 'em like I see 'em, bruddah. 

With the long weekend I managed to get some painting time in yesterday --- as this is a winter camo vehicle, I have started streaking with a mix of white grey oils to show run off. Added a tan MiG filter on the front panels earlier, figuring this is where we'd see a lot of dirt and muck.

Yesterday was the overall grey/white wash, streaking downwards again to replicate melted snow and grime. The wash (filter??) definitely tones the white spots down, which works for me. Got to add some additional rust streaks, oils stains and weathering, etc. next time I catch a few spare minutes and find the energy to paint. 

And I want to add fallen snow the top of the vehicle, some of which has melted away around the engine area. I have Woodland Scenics snow as well as the Tech Star snow in my possession --- I hear that mixing them with Future to create a slurry whichworks well. Will have to see how it works out. Any suggestions or tips on adding snow or weathering this beast are welcome --- I've never tried to model snow before!

Of course, the Winter camo is not particularly appropriate for the 95 degree Los Angeles heat and the parched grass in the back yard, but ya work with what ya got!, ya know?!   As toasty as it is, it still beats the cold of the East Coast that I grew up and worked in! 

Almost there!!!   A bit more weathering, some snow, getting the starboard equipment bay painted (to my satisfaction) and installed, re-attaching the parts that I have broken off and lastly, getting the bottom on...

Always open to suggestions and comments! Thanks, folks!!  Happy 4th of July!!!

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B. 

Thanks havoc

Nice work, SLW, I like the orange and green camo, dude... Has a nice, futuristic, otherworldly feel.  I dig the big braided hoses, too. Very beefy and all-business. 

Saw a cool faded orange tank truck on the freeway yesterday it it got me thinking of throwing a couple of orange identification stripes on my Nutcracker... 

Keep up the good work, dude! Looking forward to seeing 'er in a diorama! :)

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B. 

I finally finished my Fledermous in cammoflage and special markings.  The only problem is that I am having trouble scanning with my new computer.  It was built by a friend and given as a gift to me.  A family member started the transfer of my old drive onto the new one and missed a couple steps.  I had to contact the person woh built it and had him enter the computer and make corrections.  I think he still has some work to do.  I'm going to enter it at the next Modelpalooza this October.  Hopefully I can get it scanned and posted before then.  The top of the wings say the 301st on one side and "The first 25" on the other.

It took forever thanks to camera trouble thats also why there no WIPs . But here my MaK 3rd model that i have done and first paint job. And I got know idea why they came out sideways

I had a rare day "off" today, so I've made some progress on the Nut:

Pre-shading.

Basecoat and highlighting/shading:

I want to do some sort of Winter scheme/U Boat camo... Maybe add white mottling (different shades of dirty white??) to the base and highlighting coats I've already sprayed.

I have debated using guache, pigments, but will likely go with something airbrushed, maybe trying the hairspray technique...

The lower hull is going to remain in oxide red primer as if the factory did not bother to paint it. Have battle-damaged the lower hull and added fan blades and added some damage as I figured a ground effect vehicle would be scraping along nearly everything, taking hits from mines, snipers, etc:

Looking forward to getting some washes on that oxide red primer, metallics on the fan blades and other mechanical components on the lower hull. Love that you can leave the bottom off and paint and deal with it separately.  This makes life much easier!

Apologies for the quality of the pictures --- my five year old has had two cousins sleeping over and it's all pretty much a blur!

Until the next time...

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

Heya, M@,

Don't beat yourself up, bro! I see stuff all the time I wish I had done... You're getting closer and closer to finishing your model, which is the real prize! I've got a crazy, stressful job, a long commute and a five year old at home, so I can identify with not having any time to model! For me, getting something FINISHED is the Holy Grail!! 

And by the way, you inspired me, dude! I am going to do a Winter camo scheme BUT I am going to go with straight oxide red primer on the bottom where the fans are, dude! 

Will try to update over or after the weekend when I can get some paint on the kit. Post some new pics when ya get a chance...

Later, M@

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B. 

Thanks for the compliment, Johnny!  I just wish I could find some time to work on mine.

Looking over your pics is making me agrivated.  I see some more things I could have done to mine to make it look better.   I'm at the "Oh well" point, so I'll just proceede... unless of course I ruin this paint job too.

m@

And by the way, Watchmann, I really dig the re-applied and shaded primer on your 'cracker! Nicely done, amigo! Can't wait ta see her all weathered up!! 

Keep up the good work!

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

Thanks, Watchmann!

Making slow progress, which is better than none... Got 'er primed. Here are a few shots:

The two vertical frontal antennas and the two horizontal radar antenna probes(?) are both brass rod --- I knew that It would take me mere seconds to break off the original plastic pieces! The spring is something I had sitting around and thought that I would add to the antenna. I'll have to start raiding some ball point pens to see if I can find some more.

Sprayed some black pre-shading today, but tomorrow is Mother's Day, so it is doubtful that I will be in the garage airbrushing! ;)

Will keep ya posted!

Thanks again, Watchmann.

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

Guess I'll have to dig out my S.A.F.S. suits and post some pics for ya.

Got them all beaten up...

Looks great, Johnny!

I like those spring antenna.  Did they come with the kit?

m@

Okay, I think I figured it out... Here are a few more:

Added a few bits here and there:

- New radar antenna probes from brass wire

- New aerials with spring

- wires to smoke grenade launchers

- replaced square panzer intake screens with brass mesh

- added aft facing mounting plate and smoke launchers on starboard side

- added texture and casting numbers (BK inspired) to turret

- added detail to the engine deck including more brass screens --- had to disguise the 88mm gun shield!

- added detail to the side laser gun housing...

- battle damage to the starboard side near the forward fan/intake.

Might add covers to a few of the smoke grenade launchers, as if they have not yet been fired. Also cutting out the intakes for the lower fans...

Fun build, much more so than the Lunadiver... That's all folks!

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

Heya, Folks,

Been a while since I've posted (crazy job, long hours, too much stress) but if I remember right I am going to try to post the work that I have been doing on my Nutcracker...

Here goes!

http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae80/Brosj/DSC_0210_2.jpg

http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae80/Brosj/DSC_0223_2.jpg

http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae80/Brosj/DSC_0215_2.jpg

http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae80/Brosj/DSC_0235_2.jpg

http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae80/Brosj/DSC_0234.jpg

Hope it works!

Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

I reapplied the base coat and a little pre-shading yesterday.

Hello o/

Modelbuilder, I like those colors so much, I hope you don't mind if I use them too. :)

How was your progress over the week, Klik?

I didn't have much luck with mine.  I painted an undercoat of red-brown, then I tried the salt technique for weathering.  After I applied all the salt, the water dried and left a crust of brine.  After I painted the yellow, the crust shows through.  The crust is hard to remove, and it's in areas I don't want the paint to come off.  The areas around the large chucks of salt cave out too feathered; I wanted a harder edge.  I also had trouble keeping the salt on the model as I painted.  Even with low pressure, it kept flying off.

Less than a minute in a container of windex removed all the paint (I love Tamiya paint).

I'll start painting again after the model dries.  I think I'll try the hairspray technique next.

m@

Very Nice!!

Looks desert-y, which, IIRC, is what you were going for...

Keep up the great work. Can't wait to see it all finished and that base detailed.

I've got break, which means a whole week that I can dedicate to models. Will post pics of my S.A.F.S. (boy, that's a pain to type) as I 'finish' them.

Well more progress on the Mel. The last few days Ive added some camo. What do you guys think?