M109A6 Paladin Finished - Pics!

now that is one awesome model. It looks like its in iraq ready to fire some HE.

Awesome job Dupes, im no expert on anything really least of all modern armour but i really like the way this one looks the paint and weathering are very well done.

Ron.

Gaaaah! Wrong unit ID? This is what I get for not actually looking into the unit itself, rather than just referencing pictures. In one of the close up shots from prime portal where you can see the water can's stencelling, it says "AI5" rather than "A15". I compared that to the front bumper which showed "4I3-16F...A15" and figured that meant that the "1" and "I" were interchangeable stencils for a "one". D'oh! Luckily I should be able to cover up those little tabs and hopefully change those two 413's into 4I3's.

Sure enough HeavyArty I looked back at the reference photos and found that square block...wasn't there. I had some A5 pics as well and it...wasn't there. Sadly, I'm not sure that I can remove them now. I'm not sure what you mean about the boomerang-shaped cover though?

There are a couple of other minor kit discrepancies I noticed (too late) as well - the tow hooks on the front are the wrong type (must have been redesigned - more of a loop now), and I believe there's supposed to be a 4th antenna block (a short one) on the non-tool side. Not sure if that's on every vehicle, but I think so.

Hmmm. I apparently passed right over the tools for the majority of the weathering. Mysterious. Have to get on that.

My sincere thanks to everybody who takes the time to leave some input. Love to hear what you guys think.

shall wrote:

Wow!  Really nice job!  What really intrigues me though is the color difference between indoor and outdoor lighting.

You should see the difference when I had it sitting in direct sunlight trying to mimic one of the reference photos - yet another color entirely (very washed out). Yet another challenge to overcome - trying to make your pictures look like the model you see on the bench in front of you! 

biffa wrote:

Awesome job Dupes, im no expert on anything really least of all modern armour but i really like the way this one looks the paint and weathering are very well done. Ron.

Ron - as you probably know I'm a big fan of your work - coming from you that means a lot. Thanks! 

I'm not sure what you mean about the boomerang-shaped cover though?

If you look on the hull top, just in front of the turret opening, you will see a raised area that is curved that goes across the whole hull and ends at the square pieces with the 4 knobs.  It is a cover plate that protected the hoses for the aforementioned flotation system.  Also, there should be a spaced-armour plate on top of the driver's hatch as well, the same size and shape of the hatch.  Unfortunately, Italeri did not update the hull when they made the Paladin kit.

There are a couple of other minor kit discrepancies I noticed (too late) as well - the tow hooks on the front are the wrong type (must have been redesigned - more of a loop now), and I believe there's supposed to be a 4th antenna block (a short one) on the non-tool side. Not sure if that's on every vehicle, but I think so.

Either type of tow hook or tow shackle is correct.  Both types are still used. 

For the antenna, it sounds like an EPLRS antenna, which is used for situational awareness at the HQ by showing where the vehicle is on a digital map.  Not all units use EPLRS, some use Blue Force Tracker, or other systems.

Saw this one comming up for a while. Glad to see it finished up. I don't really like the stain streaking on the hull side, I would have used much thinner paint. Aside from that, it definitely looks the part.

What paint did you use for the basecoat?

Thanks for the comments fellas.

Let's see, the camera is a Sony...something or other. Nothing fancy, like 3 megapixels maybe? Had it for a few years (4?) so it doesn't have any of the new fancy stuff. Would love to upgrade but that would cut into the modeling budget, and we can't have that. 

Had to look back last night to confirm my paint for the basecoat - it's Model Master acrylic Sand. The MM stuff has great exact color options (all the RLM's, FS's, etc) but I tend to get a grainy finish with it that I've never had with the Tamiya stuff...little post-sanding took care of that though. As for the streaking, I'm not 100% in love with how it came out, a bit grainier than I wanted, but I needed to depict many layers of oil/soot/crud buildup that were evident in the reference pics. If I could come up with (or find) a different method to mimic what I was seeing on the actual vehicles, I would no doubt try it.

Looks great. I won't comment on particular items since most others have hit them already. As far as fixing things, if you enjoyed building it then don't try to fix it. Guys like Heavy or myself who spent many years around artillery will pick up the minor details on a US SPG but the other 99 44/100% of the world won't. Be happy with a job well done.

Remember, if you were perfect you most likely would not be modeling.

Someday I have to figure out how to give models the smell of muzzel blast. This is one that invokes the thought.

Great job and good luck. See you behind the breech block!

That's an outstanding build!, I like the weathering... Did you found any fit problems with that kit?... Thanks for sharing. Most regards.

José

Looks great to me too. Anyone who wears lycra cycling gear for fun, is ok in my book. lol.

...Guy

Haaahhahaha....yeah, I end up wearing lycra about 6 days a week this time of year. Gotta pile on those miles!

Thanks for looking and taking the time to post everybody. Let's see if I can answer your questions -

The kit certainly is available, it's Italeri #0372. On sale until July 5th at Great Models for $20.10 if you're interested. I would HIGHLY recommend the eduard photoetch set, it reaaaaaly improves things a lot for this kit. Note that it does not build into an OIF paladin out of the box - markings are only provided for a green camo scheme.

The bustle wasn't scratchbuilt, but does end up looking much better with the eduard parts. As for the stowage, there isn't any included with the kit. All of the tools are there, but that's it. 

Fit problems - well, the front glacis required a lot of filler to fit flush. I ended up using a putty/super glue combo to get it in place properly. Other than that, the only issue I found (which was harder to deal with) was the rear plate at the back of the turret that covers up the ammo storage - there was absolutely NO WAY to make that piece fit without trimming. I ended up taking off almost an eighth of an inch (!) from each end to get it to finally mate up with the two sides, and honestly it still doesn't look quite right (some gaps).

Feel free to fire off any more questions.

Thanks guys!