Semper Fi War in the Pacific

WOW!  You guys have been BUSY today. I have been busy too working on my Huey.  It is finally primed and ready for painting.

Carl- Great fix on the weld seams! 

Rob- your LVT is really looking great especially the camo!  Can't wait to see it weatherized next...

Rob , Andy ..glad you like

Rear lower hull stuff glued on . Did some of that "stippling" on the exhaust pipes .

Carl,,  the welds look great,,, subtle and spot on!

Rob,,     fret not     ,,,,  always a good plan

Andy,,   glad you are feeling better.........

Hey guys

I noticed that the splash guards on the hull deck around the turret and fuel caps lacked the drain holes . I drilled them out with a .025 bit . Two on the port and starboard and one in the  splash guard for the center cap behind turret .

You are a maniac,,,      And I mean that is the best of ways!

Gents,,,  I am calling my build complete,,,  in the sense of the GB criteria alone,,,   the Jeep is pretty much done. I still have to add some cockpit accessories,  dirt, mud and weathering after I place it into the "scene".

In the scope of things,,,,   the Jeep is complete but I will still keep posting the diorama build.

Not sure if I am going to incorporate the trailer yet though,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Would like your opinion on the driver,,,, which do you like better,, without a helmet,, or with a helmet?

(I would still have to do some work on the helmet though,,   it just has a base coat on it at present.....)

Anyhow,, hope you like the pics,,,     And,, if my idea for the diorama works,,  it should be a good one!

All comments welcome,,,,,,,,

Thanks

Bill

Another beautiful jeep here!! [two thumbs from me Y] especially the figure.  I have to get those aftermarket heads. 

About the diomara, the driver seems to be excited about something.  Maybe a nice looking lady looking for a ride?  Plenty of civilian female figures out there.  

Much thanks Andy,,,,    Aftermarket heads are great,, in my opinion,,,,  loads of expressions which can really add a lot in selling an idea......

Yup, the driver is happy,,,    nothing to do with the ladies though,,, (not too many of those in jungles of the south Pacific)  ,,,,,    my idea is to have him successfully "un-sticking" himself from a creek bed............        the canvas is still blank at this point however........

Again,,  thanks Pal

Looks great Bill I could go either way on the helmet . Looking forward to seeing more .

.................and the radio looks spot on Bill . There's something not right about the way the helmet is setting on the head ............................is it to high on the head ?

Thanks Carl,,,,,  yup, you are correct about the helmet "sit",,,,    I would have to remove some of his hair to make it look correct.........

For some reason I like him without the helmet especially if it was in Pacific.  Often I see troops without helmets because it was hot and humid when they are not in a battle.  HIs helmet can be placed on the passenger seat if you are not planning to do add more figures?

I am basically with you on that Andy,,,,    My original intent was no helmet. And yup,,  the helmet will be somewhere within the jeep.....   no other figs in the jeep, but one, maybe two outside the jeep.

Thanks for the input,,,,,,,,, 

Appreciate it

Oh don't forget to add a female figure!!! LOL

hmm,,,   that might be a stretch,,,,,,,,   will have to work on it Andy

Isalnd girl in a sarong????

Island girl w/sarong.........     will have to look for a resin offering I'm sure.........

Nicely done Jeeper and the figure Bill. I've missed out on a lot here no doubt. I'd go sans hat myself.

Thanks Eric,,,  much obliged                      sans helmet it is..........................

BaBill212

Island girl w/sarong.........     will have to look for a resin offering I'm sure.........

 

 

Bill , inspiration .

Carl,,,,,,,,,    inspiration indeed               

Jeep,,   diorama,,    ,,,  what Jeep?    What diorama??

Went to a near by hobby shop today. Picked up some yellow numbers from the model trains section. It wont be long now!

Nice snag ww2,,,,,,,,,,,,       will be watching

Ok,, quick update from me (figure update)........  

I decided to add a hiding Japanese soldier into the scene.....  found a great pose in an older Tamiya set,,,,  for what I am thinking this guy will be absolutely perfect - -

Not much to look at at first......

So I cleaned up the pieces, primed and used a desert sand color for the uniform....  this color is a spot-on match for this uniform....

The figure has pretty good detail overall...

With base coat on I started to shade, highlight and add some first coats to the straps etc.

While the belt looks very leather brown-ish, it is just the first coat. I will tone down a bit later in this effort.

And then I get stupid with some details...     "golly, let's juice up this canteen",,,,      

While I did detail it a bit, this type of Japanese canteen had the straps which helped to keep the lid on.... so, I cut a paper strap and glued into place.....

Of course painting it to match the molded straps / holders.

A little additional wash / weather and it looked pretty good....

I also did some basic detail work on his satchels and equipment as well.  

I mixed up a custom skintone for this soldier......   A few little details on the uniform as well - -

Toned down the straps,,, and was happy with the color

Began the face / skin / eyes details - -

These face pictures blow, but he did turn out pretty good.........

Satisfied with the results.....   I will be adding some vegetation / camo to his helmet when set into the scene....

The pics are not primo,,,,   shop pics,, not studio pics,,,    BUT, I hope you enjoy.

Is there any special way i should apply these dry transfers? still use a gloss coat under them?

Bill ! The Nipponese figure looks right on my friend . What Tamiya kit was it from ?

Actually I have found that dry transfers work better for me on a flat finish. Just align them right, I sometime suse tape to hold the edges in place and use a burnishing tool if you one,, NOT metal. But a pencils works fine.

align, rub, pull the number off slowly

Make sure you rub completely... Nice touch for weathering is that you can easily scrape pieces of them off later (unless you seal them with an overcoat) to look like chipped painted numbers/letter good luck!!

WW2- Ditto to Tonka's comment.  Dry transfers are not like decals so no need for gloss coat because there are no silvering issues with those transfers.  It helps a lot if you can tape the sheet on so it won't be moved while you rub on the transfer.  

Bill-  amazing work on the Jap figure!  Wow!  Impressive!  

got all the dry transfers on. Not perfect, but for my firs time using them not bad. I did realize that the 5 is the correct font but the 1 isnt, but looking at the picture you may not be able to tell. Just need to put the exhaust on and its done, probably wont do any weathering.

ww2,,   glad  you were successful with the transfers. They can be a little tricky but once you get the hang of them they are pretty slick.

Thanks for the comments Andy, Carl,,,,,   Carl the kit is # 3590,,,  the fig I am utilizing is the one on the far right.