Finally, almost done!!...

thanks very much for the kind comments!! sorry i didnt get back earlier, ive been really busy these past few days. the tank is being primed right now. i found a couple (more like several ) mistakes after I put on the first coat on top. i'll try to fix'em as best I can, otherwise, this is going to be a little dirtier side as it comes to weathering.

as for the rivets, the info on them is posted above. but i can tell you now, it'll be a while before I take on a riveting job like that again

BTW zokissima, to answer you now, the rivets were cut from a length of styrene rod from evergreen. I sanded them a little afterwards to get them to a similar height, and then placed a drop of tenax styrene glue ontop to round the edges a bit.

thanks again everybody! ill try to keep you posted as it progresses...

Wow- thats a lot of work on those rivits. Looks fantastic, though

those rivets are something else...I bet they will look great when painted

Wow! That's a lot of rivets! Cool looking though! Great build. Looking forward to seeing more of that soon!

Wow, some amazing work is clear on that kit. It must have been fun to get into that much AM stuff.
How did you create the boltheads?

I think she's going to be a winner, Matt. Keep us posted.

Geez Gringe! You didn't lay in bed counting rivets at nite did ya? This is going to be a wonderful build. It has all the hallmarks of being a winner. Thanks for the story, tips, and pics. SemperFi, mike

Excellent work Gringe! I bow in the presence of greatness. The work you are putting into this makes me feel like I'm building toys. All that aftermarket is gonna really make that tank look great, and I love all the rivets you put onto it. That alone is commendable!

Keep up the great work. I can't wait to see the finished product!

thanks a lot wbill. and nice to see to hear from ya again!! glad to see you're back posting...

Looking good so far gringe despite how much it's fighting you along the way. You are tackling a big challenge on multiple levels with this one and that alone is to be commended. Can't wait to see this one painted and finished, ought to be a sight to see!

thanks everybody for the kind remarks!! i really appreciate it from you guys

Marian- i hope id dint discourage you, i didnt mean to. i just wanted to say that its not up, at least my perference (I'm a bit of a prefectionist at times. i should really try to fix that habit).

JWest- thanks much for the compliment. funny story bout those rivets (and one thats also really annoying to me). the rivets are cut from some evergreen rod stock of varying thicknesses. as it started, the reason why i even thought of replacing them, was cuz the original kit was a little frail, and fixing the breaks cost me the surface detail as i had to sand down some stuff. then the replacement rivets didnt match the original, and then, well it kinda snowballed from there.

unfortunately, i used super glue to glue them on, and this hardened around them and would have left the model looking like it had a mess of weird looking boils all over it. a friend pointed out that i could use tenax styrene glue, cuz its faster and easy to clean up. so i went back after i had finished the rivets, stripped 'um off ( that broke my heart, those things were a pain in the to apply) and so i redid 'um. i'll clean them up a bit more with some steel wool before i prime.

they took longer than they should've mainly because after a while id get tired of it, and loose interest, then come back. hopefully though the kit will be ready in a week or so and i can get it outta here!!

WOW!! That is going to be great! Looks more AM than original! How long did it take to put on those individual rivits?

Heh, if you think those pictures are fuzzy, you should see the ones from the last time I tried posting some. And if that's the going rate for "not the most accurate model," I'm going to go sit quietly in the corner. It looks great!


M.

Nice work! gringe88 I hope you show us more pictures when you finish the model...keep on the good work!!!

Gabriel Salazar

matt wow. you are putting a lot of effort into this one. it will look great when completed.



joe

That's lot of PE and AM parts you got going into the build. Looks great. Looking forward to the finish of your build.