Finished (sorta) two more of 5

Looking good Scorn, keep it up

Two very nice looking builds. Which kit is the Chally II?
What problems are you having with undercarriages?

your kits are looking great ,i like the m151a2- with the tow,i just one last week.

gdarwin[roy]

The Challenger is the Hobbycraft rip-off of the early Trumpeter kit. STAY AWAY! Unless of course you want a lot of practice in the basics of model building. I spent huge amounts of time filling seams along the turret and tool boxes with this kit. I also scratchbuilt the fuel drum racks on the back because I thought they looked pretty crappy on the kit part with the molded on drums. btw I just bought ANOTHER Trumpeter Challenger 2 but this is the kit with the blade and the side-skirt reactive armor so maybe it will fit better if it is a newer kit.

I have seen many submitters here do some amazing work on the undercarriages of wheeled vehicles and links to other site from here (namely vodnik) with such fine detailing that I am almost embarrassed to show this truck. Pointers would be very much appreciated people! hehe

Part of my problem with undercarriages is that I have a tendency to try to rush the last few steps of a build because I get so excited about the finished product and I begin to miss small details. I try to set the kit down and walk away from it or work on another model for a day or so and then approach the last details with a clear head, but it doesn't always work out that way! oh well, I am only 32, maybe I will get a little more patient with time.

Real nice work and weathering job. Thanks for sharing.

You got a factory, too? Man those are very good ones. I love the weathering on both models.

I really like that challenger, I wanted to do an OIF version with that same kit but I wasnt sure if the ones w/out reactive armor on the sides were used do you have any refrences that you used for that build that could help me out ?

looking great. nice work on these.


joe

Sure Jess, lots of referrence pictures. All of my pictures in OIF of the Challenger 2 have the side-skirt armor. If you would like I have some pretty detailed instructions on how to make them from sheet styrene. I was just too lazy to do it on this one and I knew I would be building another one anyway. Trumpeter and Tamiya both make this tank with side-skirting included and AEF and Verlinden both sell aftermarket kits of just the side-skirting. I would say if your kit doesn't come with, then use my sketches to make your own. So much more gratifying!

Here are the ref. pics I used mostly:

Thanks Scorn those pics are great, I would love to see those sketches for the side armor. I have two of these kits got them on Clearance at hobby lobby , I was pretty sure they were trumpeter from the boxart which means alot of work LOL. Anyways you can email me at armor_452@hotmail.com
P.S I noticed your from Houston , Im in Dallas are you going to ModelFiesta in San Antonio in Feb?

Well, I probably am now ! I didn't know there was a show! I will either scan or photograph them for you then.

BTW I got my Challenger above from hobbylobby too! rofl too cheap to pass up. I have done a Hummer "Liberator", BMP1, T-72, Type 59, Type 69, and M1A2 all from HobbyCrap... oops Craft. sorry.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Scorn BTW I got my Challenger above from hobbylobby too! rofl too cheap to pass up. I have done a Hummer "Liberator", BMP1, T-72, Type 59, Type 69, and M1A2 all from HobbyCrap... oops Craft. sorry.

LOL I think you were right the first time, anyways here is the website for the Alamo Squadron IPMS club it should give you enough info to get there .
http://users.stic.net/alamosq/

Hey thanks!

I have the Trumpeter kit as well, but it didn't look that bad when I first saw it. The second one that you have, with the dozer blade, is i nfact the same kit, with a few extra sprues for the additional parts.

As to your undercarriage. I would say one of the key factors in wheeled AFVs are the tires. It's very important to portray correct weathering and dusting, as it just looks great. Notice how in the grooves of your jeep, there is no dust. You should attempt to paint the tire, drybrush in a dark gray, then dust the c%$# out of it. I prefer the use of pastel chalks for this. Really work it in there, then dust most of it off. The dust should remain in the grooves, treads, and a little bit on the sidewalls. After that, drybrush again with a lighter gray (but still fairly dark) over the circumference of the tires, so that the treads remain dusted, while the contact portions remain fairly clean.

Hey thanks Zok! That sounds great. Will do that tonite!

Scorn, when I do wheeled vehicles (which I'm now doing), on the tires, I'll sand the edges down so they look worn. I will also take out a chunk or two of the cleats. This will make it look as if they have run over some metal. I'll also make the hubs look like some grease has leaked out. On the undercarridge, again, I'll make some greasy spots and also put some small dings on the suspension. Most of my work is on WWll vehicles. PM was not very good in the field, that is why I really like to dirty mine up.

all looks fine from where i'm sitting!

Real nice looking work Scorn.. Thanks for sharing.
Semper Fi, mike

Scorn,

I love the pictures. What color does the British Army paint their tanks? Those tanks look too yellow.

very nice work scorn!!

just curios, what's with those white CIP's on Challenger II's? Do they paint them white or are they of a special material?

They are a thermal resistant tape. In thermal imagers they show up as horizontal white bars making identification in battle quicker and easier than ever.