The Ostfront GBII - 2011/12

Good for you Doogs, moving always sucks. I like being near a window myself. Remember before the place gets filled up if you need to run another outlet or lighting to do it now...

kermit

Doogs,

Shame to see the BT7 go back in the box but i totally understand your problem... Hope the moving will go without a glitch I trust you have allocated ample space for a good modelling setup...?

Hoping the move goes off well myself! I'm positively itching to get back into the swing of things. We close Monday, make the move Friday. Every night next week I'll be running completed builds over there to stash in the closet because I don't dare trust them with the movers.

As for the setup, we're going to have a real three car garage this time, and most of the entire 3rd bay is mine! Here's where the bench is going to go:

I've been waffling over the plan forever...but I think I've settled on one table along the wall with the window, and the other perpendicular where the garage wall moves in. I figure that'll actually give me more working room, since it'll eliminate that dead corner I always had where the two tables link up. I'd also love to replace those cheap Costco tables with something taller, but that may have to wait a good while.

Doogs,

Shame to see the BT7 go back in the box but i totally understand your problem... Hope the moving will go without a glitch I trust you have allocated ample space for a good modelling setup...?

Noah,

Looking good from my end! Nice save!

Havent been able to work on the tiger much but got some good time in last night:

Front hatches with PE detailing:

Engine compartiment. Basic but adequate as it will be hidden from view for the most part:

Some PE detailing on the front end. Looks much better than bare plastic:

Think i am starting to get some sort of aftermarket bug here... I really like working with the PE.... Hope my wife will share my enthousiasm and subsequent bigger footprint on my wallet

Richard

Ok it's been a bit since an update and I made some progress tonight.

In haste I brought the dk grey up all the way on the fuselage. Also the seam on top is more apparent then I had intended it to be. The look didn't sit well with me and I redid the fuselage sides and brought the gelb nose up as well. I'll sponge the greys on when I splinter.

A FW190 sheet will yield some cool unit markings and numbers.

painting the gelb back off for the underside

too dark:

much better:

Well...I hate to report it, but I've hit a wall. 4.5 tanks in...and I just can't keep going. I miss painting and seeing things through way too much. And I'm already wondering when I'm going to get to all the kits I've build up as it its!

So...the BT-7 is back in the box for now. Instead I'm going to focus on packing up the garage and cleaning up the blog ahead of the big November 1 giveaway.

Also...if any of you are on Facebook, go check out Dragon USA's specials this week. Zvezda La-5FN for $14, Dragon Panzer III Ausf.N w/ schurzen for $25. 1/32 Bf-110 for I think $50 - but it's the one that looks like a whale...

Gentlemen,

I will be off for a week chasing bullwinkle. I expect to see plently of pic when I return.

Jeff

Doogs- Can't argue with you about Tamiya kits.  For sure my next build has to be a Tamiya... it is like a good break between Dragon builds. 

Good looking so far!

The next one is go!

Tamiya's BT-7.

So far...man I've missed Tamiya. Despite some weird suspension intricacies, everything on this kit just...friggin'...fits.

I'm looking forward to playing with the fancy PE-bending parts they included. Looking less forward to the road wheels, which are IMO a bit overly fussy for the way I tend to install tracks (inner halves, tracks, outer halves...which will be a pain with poly caps and other business).

The hull top is test-fit, but everything else in here is the product of 2.5 hours work...

Here - it's this one.

http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=KG15014

Considering you could potentially get something like 40 individual aircraft out of the decal sheet (well, 15 different aircraft in all three scales), and some awesome profile work, it's a pretty good deal.

DoogsATX

An A-5 would certainly work.

If you go the Fw 190 route, there's a fantastic book out there (think Kagero prints it...mine's packed away, alas) with something like 20 color profiles of A models up through the A-8, with accompanying markings in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 (printed by Catrograf, no less). I find a lot of 190 markings seem to be very similar and boring (gray splinter, gray mottling!), and these were very much unique and awesome. Maybe somebody else knows the book I'm talking about...but definitely worth tracking down.

thanks post the cover if you find it.

Well, I'm calling the T-34/85 done for now. Painting to come sometime after the bench resumes full operation.

I ended up cutting the track runs back to 70 links and going for a more taut fit (which a lot of 85s seem to exhibit...I guess the less-desperate late-war situation). Next time I tackle a Dragon T-34, I'll glue the idler mount straight down to alleviate.

Overall, the kit is extremely decent. No major problems, no major headaches, but nothing that's really made me fall in love with it, either. Though it did fire my desire to try out one of those AFV Club T-34s with the working suspension and full interior.

And...I finally found the "hero" angle for this particular beast.

With the gun in the traditional Russian "Viagra" pose:

Unless the poll goes completely haywire overnight, I'll be back very soon with another green machine - Tamiya's BT-7.

deafpanzer

Doogs- Great looking Russkie beast... the tracks are PERFECT!  Can't wait to try Fruil tracks as I ordered a set couple of weeks ago thru a local shop.  Which kit got most votes?  I voted for Brummar...

Dude - you are going to LOVE Friuls. They're expensive, and pinning them up is tedious, but they're durable, workable, and they have actual weight about them. Unless we're talking a kit with live-type tracks (like Shermans) or extremely good rubber bands (Dragon's Tiger I), Friuls are the #1 thing on my aftermarket list. 

So far the BT-7's in the lead. I'm probably wrapping voting tomorrow morning. But with < 3 weeks til the move, I'm betting I only get 1.5 more builds before I'm out of it for awhile...

Doogs- Great looking Russkie beast... the tracks are PERFECT!  Can't wait to try Fruil tracks as I ordered a set couple of weeks ago thru a local shop.  Which kit got most votes?  I voted for Brummar...

Richard- Tiger?   Oh boy, this is going to be fun to watch especially the upgrade PE set.  I will be following your process with keen interest...

An A-5 would certainly work.

If you go the Fw 190 route, there's a fantastic book out there (think Kagero prints it...mine's packed away, alas) with something like 20 color profiles of A models up through the A-8, with accompanying markings in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 (printed by Catrograf, no less). I find a lot of 190 markings seem to be very similar and boring (gray splinter, gray mottling!), and these were very much unique and awesome. Maybe somebody else knows the book I'm talking about...but definitely worth tracking down.

Drat!

what about a Fw 190 A-5?

Modeler#1,

Yes, the Messerschmitt Bf110 was used extensively on the eastern front both as nightfighter and JABO (fighter bomber). The c version however is more commonly connected to the earlier stages of the war such as the battle of britain and the conquest of poland.

Doing a quick search on the web i found one c-4 that flew in russia but it would be pushing it. Rather go for an E or G version

Richard

kermit would eduard's 1:48 Bf 110c count for this GB?

PS: don't put me down yet I don't know if I will be joining.

http://www.eduard.com/store/Eduard/Plastic-kits/Bf-110C-1-48.html?cur=2

Doogs,

That PE set sure looks like the metal etched highway to the nuthouse... But sure looks great though!

Your T34/85 is coming along great! As i understand it, the russian tracks could look very "loose" so i wouldn't worry too much about them Looking good on my end in any case. I did build dragon's T34/76 once and i must say while the overall quality was good i didn't have as much fun with it as compared to tamyia's oldie.... Probably me but i just can't like the way Dragon likes to divide an assembly that could very easily be done in 4 parts without loss of detail into 15 parts... But that's my only criticism really.

Been fiddling with the first hurdles to take myself... 

The hull tub has parts attached to them on the front and rear causing some seam issues... easily solved with some filler:

Then the first part to be adressed was the rear end bit....

To the right of the part are the mounting points for the jack. These had to go in order to fit the PE parts later. To the left you see the Notek formation lights. The earliest tigers had one but not the early production ones so i sanded that one off as well. The Bosch rear light below it can stay.

Lastly i hollowed out the towing hook down below there and drilled a hole in it. The center copper wire of a coaxial cable looked like a nice improvement:

From a fellow modeler i got the great tip of sticking some masking tape to the PE frets so the tiny parts won't fly all over the place when you detach them. Very effective i might add.

The next and last picture show the braces holding the jack in place. My first multi part PE assemblies are a fact. Will look so much better than the square lumps of styrene i had to cut away:

The start is there! And thank you for watching.

Richard

Richard - I just ordered Trumpeter's 1/350 USS North Carolina BB-55 (been wanting to try my hand at a ship again...love the NC class and Great Models was having a Trumpy sale...) and I've been glancing at some of the PE sets for it. Yeah. After seeing that, NOTHING about armor PE scares me.

On what's left of my bench, I'm just about wrapped up on the T-34/85. Still have some turret details and the opposite track run, but everything else'll be left for later.

The Friuls have me frustrated in one respect. I originally guestimated 76 links per side. Way too slack. So I cut back to 72. Much better, but still more than I'd like. So I cut back to 70...and they're too taut. The way the T-34 tracks work, you're forced into an even number. So...guess I'm going to have slack tracks.

Here's how it's looking right now. 

Verdict so far? 

I'd put this kit roughly on par with the Trumpeter KV-2, of the armor kits I've built. I like it a lot better than the Cyber-Hobby M4A4 or AFV Club Achilles.. Less than the Dragon/Cyber-Hobby Panzers, the Tiger I started, or the Tasca M4A3.

There's nothing awful or even bad about this kit (the main gun fitment could be a bit more sure of itself), but it doesn't step up and own anywhere, either. Personally, I'd love to see them rerelease this with a redesigned lower hull with live suspension. It'd be pretty easy to do, and it'd look good doing it.

Guys,

The PE just arrived, delivered by my best friend Mr. Postman. So i can make a proper intro now...

Appearantly my Italeri Tiger is boxed as a tropical version but after some asking over at the armor corner we can safely say that this won't be a problem for depicting a Kursk era or slightly earlier Tiger tank:

The PE set comes with paint masks for the balkenkreuze; something i didn't know and wasn't advertized on Hannant's site. A nice extra. Most important for me was the exhaust covers, grilles and fenders:

Sooo,.... one can see this froggie has it's work cut out for him; especially with the knowledge that my previous experience with PE fiddling is laughable... Just hope i wont scr*w up...

Richard

Guys,

Thank you so much for your kind words! I guess i can chalk up myself as first one finished but im not gonna since i didn't start at the start of this GB's term. I do get to have my first finished up build pic on page one LOL. I kinda adopted that from Randy's GB setup

Still waiting on the PE so can't start on the tiger yet...

Richard

Richard! I will admit, Panthers aren't my thing (turrets always look too small to me), but NICE job on yours! You really made that kit dance! I especially like the depth and character you got on those wheels! Very nice!

Not much to report on the T-34 at the moment. In that slow part of fiddly bits and friuls...

Kermit your Panther looks FANTASTIC !!

Love the camo and the rust effect you have achieved man,........... err sorry I mean frog Really though I think its the best tank you have built to date and you did a great job of beating the troubles you had with it. Those tracks though I give you kudos for, they would have driven me to well cussing a blue streak for sure. And they look great !! This is one very worth writing home to momma about

Richard, that Panther looks fantastic! I'm in the washes stages on mine but it doesn't look anywhere near that good. Think I should have done a little more blending as the green and brown is really dark or maybe I need to go heavier with the raw umber. I'll keep at it.

Jeff

Great looking Panther!   Another winner here.  Again, I really like the camo job...

Number 501?  AHHH, thanks for bringing back good memories... it was my first dorm room number at college.  First beer, first tequila, first wine, first of everything! 

vetteman42

Hey wait !!

You are teasing us again Richard !!!

Where's the picx man ???

V-Man! Good to see ya round here Well...... Judge for yourself!

Absolutely nice kit but not for the beginner as it needs some careful trimming of parts and those indy links...... let's just say i am happy that part of the build is behind me

Hope you guys like her.

Richard

Hey wait !!

You are teasing us again Richard !!!

Where's the picx man ???

Ok guys,

My Panther is inches away from being done... Tracks have been fitted and dusted up after alot of fiddling and creative use of profane language along the way.... Also chalked up the hull and turret. Right now all that i have to do is get the rather stiff and ungainly plastic towing cables to sit right and add the antenna.

Finished pics coming up real soon

Tomorrow or the day after that the PE set for my next build the Italeri Tiger I should be coming in from Hannants in the UK so hope to make a start on that soon. The barrel should be arriving in about ten days from china.

Richard

kermit

Small update without pics:

^&(*(*(^&*%###*&*# indy links....

Richard

I'm going to concur in advance of starting the link & length tracks.

Jeff

Small update without pics:

^&(*(*(^&*%###*&*# indy links....

Richard