Not only do I have all the assembly and most of the painting on the 8" howitzer done for the towed gun group build, as I had targeted for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, but I've gotten most of the construction work done on the Azimut resin kit of the Mack NO prime mover as well, so I'm a happy camper.
Here are some pics. The Mack is in sub-assemblies for blackpriming, so I just propped the cab, the vacuformed hood and the cargo bay on the frame. That's why some things look slightly askew -- they are! The vacuformed mudguards are attached to the frame. The gun just needs a dullcoat (it's glossed now), wash, drybrush and weathering.
I still have to assemble the characteristic rear hoist, the headlight guards (which are PE brass pieces and are going to be a royal pain to build) and a few other parts still to be stuck on the truck.
I also have to fix the folding windshield, which had a huge block on resin attached to the top, and lots of flash inside where the windows attach. When cleaning this off, I overshaved in several places, and so have to repair it, probably with modeling putty.
I also have to get some clear plastic and make the front windows -- they were apparently supposed to be included, but weren't. And then I have to get some thin wire for lots of parts like grab handles and door handles and make them to pop onto the kit, and some very thin strip styrene to make some more bars and such for the truck, like for the things that hold the cargo bay fenders (which are also vacuformed [:0]) in place. But the end is in sight.
I think!
Oh, there is a piece missing from the kit. See the bracket holding the spare tire into the cargo bay? There's supposed to be two, one for each side, but one is missing. Very annoying for an expensive import.