Sci- Fi WWII paint job GB

SkullGundam wrote:

Cosmic: I love your pin vices man.  Where did you get them?  I'm actually having trouble finding one.  My LHS has one for like $6 but they were out over christmas.

Hi SG. Those are carbide micro drill bits. I get them from Micro-mark:

http://www.micromark.com/

I usually try to buy them as sets when they are on sale. They are very delicate, and I usually break at least one on each model, so I tend to go through them. Hope that helps.

Like that AFS, SgtBrown. I built one of those a few years back. Looking forward to seeing the finished product (and glad to see I'm not the only one still in here! ). 

I got him into primer!  Hopefully I'll begin painting today. 

Christmas has given me needed time to move on this guy.  I obviously have paint and a bit of assembly/clean-up yet to do.  Just wanted to post a progress pic.

Alrighty then. I didn't forget this project, I just hit a snag. Specifically, the figure.

I didn't like the figure at all, particularly it's head, and so I thought I'd replace it w/ something better. I ordered some 1/35 D.A.K. heads from Warriors. They look great and have good detail and expressions. The helmets look a little different than most German helmets from WWII; they have these sort of extensions in the front and back that make them look not quite right. One of them had some cool looking goggles too. Just what I was looking for.

Unfortunately, as you can see the figure that comes w/ my scout is not quite the same scale as the Warrior heads. It's noticeably smaller in fact. Honestly, I can't express my disappointment. This means that either I sculpt my own figure, or I'm stuck w/ the kit supplied one. For now, I'm going w/ the kit figure.

His feet don't really reach the control pedals, and his hands are in an awkward, unnatural position. I'm really not happy w/ him. If anybody can point me towards a suitable replacement, I'l be your friend for life.

Since that was settled (for now), I set out finalizing construction w/ an eye toward painting. Because the kits structure is so open, I'll have to paint most of it before final assembly.

The only thing I deviated from the instructions on was drilling a small hole in the mount for the antenna. It was kinda small:

Next up, paint.

Cosmic J wrote:

I love those things. I would have done one for this GB, but I have already done so many... SgtBrown: the picture is a bit small, can't see the details. This is one of the newer Wave kits, right? Any build tips? Puma_Adder: Not to worry brother, I know they got you busy over there.

My camera work stinks, sorry about that.  This is a Series 3 kit from 1999.  Not too bad, although as you can see in the pics I've had to do a bit of work wear parts join.  The edges of some of the pieces are a bit sloppy.

I've altered the gun barrel in the left "hand", adding a cooling shroud that will hopefully give it a better look, especially for a WW2 "Sci-Fi" item.

Other then that the kit has been an out of the box build.  I'm planning on doing it in German winter camo, and may attempt a small dio on the Eastern Front (I'm thinking of having him standing on a crushed Stalingrad road sign, plus other items).

Worked a bit on the feet/legs yesterday.  I have so much going on at home, if I can sneak 30 minutes every couple days, it's amazing. 

I love those things. I would have done one for this GB, but I have already done so many...

SgtBrown: the picture is a bit small, can't see the details. This is one of the newer Wave kits, right? Any build tips?

Puma_Adder: Not to worry brother, I know they got you busy over there.

Finally began the build.  Hope to have the build finished by the weekend so I can start the paint.  Going for German winter camo on the Eastern Front.

The kit is a Nitto A.F.S. MK 1 in 1/20.

Ok, so here's what I've been up to lately...

I cleaned up most of the parts in preparation for assembly. I added some minor details to the landing gear because they looked a little plain to me.

After building the base, I needed to figure out how I wanted to mount the model on it.

I had already decided on an "in-flight' style display. To that end, I drilled a hole in both the base and the model to accept a brass rod. The holes were not at the perfect angle, so I had to tweak the rod a little.

That looks about right.

Then I decided to improve the intakes on the rear fan. The kit has screens that are molded solid, but they don't look very convincing, especially when the fan's cover is on.

I started by drilling out the fans w/ carbide drill bits I got from Micro Mark.

Then, w/ a motor tool set on the lowest setting and some needle files, I hollowed out and trimmed the opening to shape.

Lastly, I used some mesh screen I had left over from a Tamiya Marder A1 kit. I carefully glued the screen in place w/ super glue, and then trimmed it w/ some sharp scissors. Looks much better.

Next up, the figure.

good news all! The MG Zaku Cannon is out!  Price on it is around 3500 yen($35), so not that expencive. in all it looks like a great kit built on the Zaku II 2.0 frame. comes with all the standard Zaku II weapons, MG, Bazooka, and Heat Hawk. Also, it has the Big Gun and shoulder cannon. The box art leaves me hopefull that a GM 2.0 and a GM Cannon are right around the corner in Master Grade kit development.

Smeagol, PM me if ya still want it and we will hammer out the details.

usualy around 2400 to 4000 yen for a MG kit about that size. thats roughly 24 to 40 dollars US.

also, I don't know if the Cannon is out yet, may have to wait till next month for that one but I will look.

if anyone wants me to keep an eye out for something this weekend let me know.

 knowing someone in japan is never a bad thing.

Great work by all! Here are those pics I promised o so long ago. (finaly found my camera cable)

 dont have that much time right now so ask your questions and I will try to answer them when I can.

Ok, so I know the model will be mostly stock, now I've got to get the base ready.

I started by trying to figure out what the ‘footprint' of this kit will be, that is, how much space does it need to be properly displayed.

I set the model on a piece of thick paper, and added about an inch to either side for terrain and incidentals. (In hindsight, I should have added the legs to the piece before deciding how big it's base should be. Ah well, if there's not enough room, I can always make another. )

Once I had a rough idea how much space it would take up, I cut a piece of the approximate size from the paper. Seems about right.

Then I used that guide to make a mock up of the base from paper and tape. I decided to make the base ¾ of an inch thick, for no other reason than it looked about right.

Next, using the pieces of my mock up as a template, I scribed and cut pieces of 2mm sheet styrene, and used those pieces to assemble the base. I end up having a box shaped display, w/ a 2mm tray in it to contain whatever I use for ground work (celluclay or mold-a-scene most likely). Notice I added a ¾ inch border on the front. This is a place for the model's title, and maybe the scale.

I'm not done yet though. The base is too lightweight, and I'll want to drill into it so I can mount the model on a brass rod, so...

I flip the base over, and run superglue into the corners. I then swept the scriber shavings and the plastic dust from sanding the pieces into the tray, shaking it around so that it sticks to the glue. Waste not, want not.

For years now, whenever I finish a kit I've saved the excess sprues. I chop them up into manageable pieces and store them in a bag.

Here's why; First I take the extra sprue and shake it into the tray, using only enough to fill in almost to the brim, but not quite.

Then I break out the casting resin. This particular batch is getting old, and is only suitable to the purpose I intend for it.

I mix up the last of it, and pour it into the tray over the sprue bits.

As it hardens, it expands slightly, and it gets very hot. The old plastic bits act as heat sinks, absorbing some of the heat and keeping the tray from melting. The plastic also takes up space (volume) and therefore I can use less resin.

When it hardens, it turns white. It didn't quite fill up the base, but that ‘s the last of it. It works for what I needed it to; I makes the base solid gives it some weight, and also gives me a foundation to drill into.

After filling the outer seams w/ superglue and sanding everything flush, I check to see if I still like the size. It's all good, so now it's ready to be drilled and painted.

Account name change: ohkwaho to Jagdwolf. Sorry if this confused everyone, as "Jagdwolf" is my subscription account. I will be continuing to post under this account. As for my new post here...

Re: Terrain

Puma, going further onto the limb here...

Would a gutted Sherman, victim of the Donner, constitute an accepted part as "terrain"? 

SG:

I cant wait to see how yours turns out Cosmic.  Those kits look really interesting and I think they need more than the two or three I've seen.

Thanks for the vote of confidence SG. I'll try to build a model worthy of it.

I'm still trying to decide what sort of base I want under all of it. Traditional wood looks great, but a black rectangle is easier to make, clean and store. Anyone have any thoughts / preferences?

I too would like to see some more kits in that series. I heard a rumor that they are planning on releasing a heavy tank sometime this year. I'll be all over it if they do...

Front torso, not camoed

Rear torso with pack, not camoed

bottom, in the process of being camoed.