Gee has it been an everlovin' month since I posted anything here!?!

Anyway, I finished priming the Chi-Ri over the weekend. I tried to do a little pre-shading and highlighting. As Hogfanfs pointed out they used this as primer and a base coat over which the camo was applied. In the desperate fighting against an Allied invasion of the home islands the tanks would have probably been committed to combat without any camo. Still one of the things I like about Japanese tanks is the camo patterns so I've started applying the Silly Putty for the masks. 

looking good 

Thanks SprueOne! 

BTW: I'm sorry but I feel like I'm giving a speech to an empty room except you and I think I'm wasting my time on a WIP that one person is following. So I'm probably going to stop updating this until I post finished photos at the end. Of course I will be updating my progress over on Bish's 1946 GB. 

Nooooo! Don't stop!

This site is just a little slow, but keep the updates coming, please. I sometimes feel the same way about my WIPs, but after being a forum member for almost 10 years, I've come to realize that's normal.

Ahhhh ok! Hopefully I'll have the Silly Putty on by this weekend and the first camo sprayed. 

I wasn't trying to single myself out here, it does seem like the armour forum is deader than Elvis since the first of the year. I haven't seen that many comments on your threads, Pawel's or Rudy's 251 either.  

I mean gee-whiz we've got posts from half a month ago still on the front page. I remember when there were so many posts here it took you less than a day to get kicked to the second page. 

First, this build is really looking interesting now. I'm sure this will be another of your usual fine as heck builds. I'm looking forward to seeing more.  :)

Second, yeah, its been kinda dead over here. Personally I had to move out of my house and have moved north to find work. My family is still down south, so this is a tough time for me. Plus all of my stuff is in boxes and storage for now. Trust me, I really want to be working on finishing my builds, as I was sooo dang close to finishing a couple of them before they got packed.

But yeah, its been slow since the beginning of this year.

Hey Mike thanks, hope things go well with your search for work. 

Gamera - 

First, your build is looking amazing...great job bud. Second, don't stop posting your build!

And finally, it seems that everyone is focused on the "aircraft and GB" forums right now which is great...but don't stop posting your WIP...."if you build it, they'll come" 

Amazing job, and look forward to seeing the final results of your work.

I'm here too, Cliff!

Thanks guys! I feel like an attention ***** now. Compliments are nice but I just like knowing that somebody out there is reading this if that makes any sense.

I hear what you're saying as I see it too but people are looking at your wip build. Just look at your thread views. 

For example: I work 14 hrs/ day so I just had enough time to reply with one sentence earlier. We;re watching your build, we just can't reply all the time. 

Keep posting here too 

Gamera

Thanks guys! I feel like an attention ***** now. Compliments are nice but I just like knowing that somebody out there is reading this if that makes any sense.

 

Make's 100% sense Cliff...And don't worry about being a attention *****. LOL just kidding. 

You are validated with your concern....when you take the time to narrate and show case your build you want people to get involved with comments, tips, suggestions and discuss the build in general.

Thanks guys and good points there SprueOne. 

I finished up the Silly Putty for the first camo colour last night and hopefully will get to airbrushing it in the next week or so. The Kurogane staff car is mostly complete, she needs a clear coat and I'll apply the pin-wash.  

Ok, Cliff,

Tell me how did you do the modulation? How did you pre-shade? Did you spray a dark color on the edges before you applied the primer? I really like how this turned out, and I'm going to attempt to duplicate this technique on my Type 4.

Are you going to pre-shade the two other camo colors?

I apologize, I've been slacking on my Type 4, I've been devoting more attention to the Dino GB, and my daughter wants me to finish her American Girl Doll house. Too many projects, not enough time. lol

Hey Bruce, I had sprayed the tank with the Vallejo kare-kura/parched grass primer to start and then decided what the hey and pre-shaded the thing with black around the hatches, engine grills etc. Then a second coat of Vallejo k-k to smooth it out. The Gunze-Sanyo k-k is a little bit lighter so I concentrated it on the upper surfaces and then added a few drops of white to it and went back and did the top surfaces.

On an American or Soviet tank that's all green I use about five-six shades but I figured this was enough here. I'll do a little pre-shading with the other two colours and then spray the Gunze paint straight and then add a few drops of white and hit the high points. 

I'd say your daughter's doll house is probably more important. I'm a single guy but I know enough that you have to keep the women in the house happy! 

Thanks for the information, Cliff! I have the Gunze colors, but, I'm going to try to use only Acrylics on this build. I'm hoping to have more progress on the Type 4 this weekend.

And I'm looking forward to seeing the camo pattern on your Type 5!

Ok, camo and decals are done. Sorry the photos aren't better quality, bad lighting and I applied a gloss coat so they're kinda shiney. After I took the photos I applied a dot filter and set it aside to let it dry. Cross your fingers it turned out ok... 

Sorry, Cliff! I kinda drooled a bit! The Camo pattern looks fantastic! How did you get the hard lines for the camo?

Thanks Bruce. 

I used just plain old Silly Putty I bought from CVS for the masking. I wish now I'd taken a photo of her all slimed up but after I finished painting her I ripped it off like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning. 

I do have some photos where I used it on the smaller Type 3 Chi-Nu here: 

, as seen here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=138969629532714&set=a.126852840744393.24730.100002590329984&type=3&theater

and KUROGANE

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=289365071159835&set=a.126852840744393.24730.100002590329984&type=3&theater

G, In the photo I see the youre working around that antenna. I think the very last thing I do anymore is set the antenna. I've busted soooo many i've learned that i'm too clumsy for something that small. Looks like things are going well and you always do a great job on the paint. 

Terry

Hey Lothar, you always do great work, thanks for sharing- those are beautiful.  I thought I was the only one that ever built these kits outside Japan!

Terry: Actually the puttied one is a smaller Japanese tank I've finished, I just need to get some lights and stuff done and I'll be posting her. I didn't have any photos of the big one with the putty still on it. And yeah, I probably shouldn't have put the antenna on there, but somehow I got the putty off without breaking anything. 

Some nice work on that camo pattern Gamera, looking good so far!  

Thanks Bill! 

Cliff - 

Sir your build is awesome, Every step of this build is great. Your paint work is excellent, and I can not wait to see it completely finished. Keep the commentary and photos coming!

Gamera

I used just plain old Silly Putty I bought from CVS for the masking. I wish now I'd taken a photo of her all slimed up but after I finished painting her I ripped it off like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning. 

Gamera I love how you got the camo to come out looking so crisp. I went ahead and picked up some silly putty to attempt it myself, but how long did you wait untill you peeled it off? I can never seem to get it right with masking tape, I end up with either smudges or pulling up paint with the tape from it drying.

Thanks guys! 

RE: I'm not sure it makes any difference how long you leave the Silly Putty on. I masked off the model for the second colour, painted it and then left the putty on for a week before I added the second layer of putty for the third and final camo colour. I've heard the stuff melting on a model and being difficult to get off but so far I've had no issues with it. Seems using putty with a bunch of paint in it leads to some of the issues. So you might want to replace it every couple of models. And I've been told putting the model in the fridge to cool the putty will make it easier to remove though so far I've had no problems with it. 

Excellent camo work.

Thanks Tojo, that means a lot! 

If you're curious, I've started what I presume is the same kit (different box) as my entrant in a group build over on the WoT forum. http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/487333-scale-model-group-build-anyone/

I have to say, I've not been massively impressed with the kit. It fits well, but I'm getting a fair bit of hassle particularly with casting seam lines and very thick sprue connections to the pieces. Unfortunately, the color sheet in the box is for the WoT model, and I'd rather do the prototype. Can you advise of the 'real' color, presumably your instruction sheet says it?