1/35 "Hell Hound" hover truck - Complete (for now...)

cthulhu77 wrote:

Starting on this kit this week, thanks a lot for posting all of this information !

Yer welcome! Please post pix of your results. If you have questions you'd like to ask me, please feel free.

SkullGundam wrote:

Hey when you say stencils do you mean those warning aren't all decals?  I think a sheet of different stencils to paint on would be cool.

Yup, all those little warning markers they cover aircraft w/. I've been putting them a lot of my recent builds, and I like how they look.

They have them as decals, but I've been using these dry transfers from Crossdelta lately.

http://www.hlj.com/product/CRSMK20001

http://www.hlj.com/product/CRSMS10001B

They have them in different colors (black, white, grey, red) and scales too (1/100 and 1/60).

Hey when you say stencils do you mean those warning aren't all decals?  I think a sheet of different stencils to paint on would be cool. 

sumpter250 wrote:

Absolutely! I assumed using a display ruled out any further "touching/handling" of the model, and it also sets the rule for what kind of "weathering" will be used ( dust, mud, color fading from sunlight, etc.) but you know what they say about assuming, so I had to ask.  I don't use many Tamiya paints, so I'm greatful that you mentioned how they sometimes react with dullcoat. . . I use dullcoat a lot! BTW that model looks good enough to demand a protective environment, good to hear that you intend on providing that.

You're welcome. I hear what your saying about Dullcote, I used up a whole can on this kit. I love the stuff.

Another heads-up: I've also had Dullcote mess w/ Archer dry transfers, melting them a little.

Thanks for the compliment.

srmalloy wrote:

psstoff995 wrote:  Cosmic J wrote: Hmm... looks like there's a lot of room, and plenty of attachment point looking thingers in there. If it doesn't I'm sure some styrene and spare parts could dress it up nice enough to open the doors. The 8th MS series has quite a few episodes that spend a good bit of time with the "camera" in there, plenty of reference at least. It doesn't do you much good at this point, but over on Michael Fitchenmayer's blog he has a series of articles about building the hovertruck as part of a diorama, showing the interior he built into his. From the few images I've found so far for reference to use (admittedly, only a couple hours' looking), it's a "looks good enough through the doors" interior, rather than a serious attempt to model the interior accurately -- which would be an exercise for the completist given the limited sight angles into the vehicle, even with everything opened up. But it does show what could be done with it.

LOL! I just saw that this week. Man, he does good work. And fast too.

The interior can definitely be spruced up. All the upper hatches can be left movable, making for some interesting display options. I'm surprised there have been no aftermarket interior sets made for this kit yet.

There are some things I would do different if I built another one of these:

A) Add some detail in the cockpit and turret housing, and leave some of the hatches and doors open.

B) Get the headlights correct. During assembly, I decided to use MV lenses for the headlights, but when I drilled them out, I drilled out the wrong side of the fixtures. I then compounded the error by gluing them to the wrong sides, making my headlights both backwards and upside down. This causes them to angle inward too much.

C) I'd glue the sides of the engine covers together, and fill in the seam between them. They don't quite match on the kit, and the difference is noticeable. You can see what I mean in the lower-left quadrant of this image:

D) Stencils, stencils and more stencils. My Ma.K.s always have a ton of little warning markers, maintenance instructions, etc. all over them. This kit just cries out for that treatment.

E) More weathering. It's a truck after all. Trucks are supposed to be beat up.

Who knows? In the future I might revisit this kit, and make a few changes.

psstoff995 wrote:

Cosmic J wrote: Hmm... looks like there's a lot of room, and plenty of attachment point looking thingers in there. If it doesn't I'm sure some styrene and spare parts could dress it up nice enough to open the doors. The 8th MS series has quite a few episodes that spend a good bit of time with the "camera" in there, plenty of reference at least.

Does that make any sense?

Absolutely! I assumed using a display ruled out any further "touching/handling" of the model, and it also sets the rule for what kind of "weathering" will be used ( dust, mud, color fading from sunlight, etc.) but you know what they say about assuming, so I had to ask.  I don't use many Tamiya paints, so I'm greatful that you mentioned how they sometimes react with dullcoat. . . I use dullcoat a lot! BTW that model looks good enough to demand a protective environment, good to hear that you intend on providing that.

sumpter250 wrote:

Well, I'm calling it done, at least for now. It's not weathered yet, I'm waiting to figure out what kind of display I want to do first, so I can avoid handling it once the powders and such go on. After that, a final layer of Dullcote to seal it up and level out the color layers. Have to ask. I got the impression that, (the way you worded, with all between these quotes) you were going to weather, after the dullcoat. Did I read that wrong? Model Railroaders who use pastel chalks/powders to weather, dullcoat after, because the rolling stock "gets handled". There is a different procedure there, as dullcoating has a tendency to greatly reduce the weathering effect of powders, and the model has to be "overweathered", before dullcoating, to compensate. (note to self) refer to this thread before painting, lots of good info here, and great looking paint job!!

Uhm, yes. I always weather after the final application of Dullcote.

I weather my models by using Tamiya paint that has been heavily diluted, then airbrushed on the lower parts of the vehicle (or whatever). Then I use pastel chalks to somewhat exaggerate the effect.

Now on occassion I've had Dullcote react badly w/ Tamiya colors.They get glossy and kinda pasty looking. In the Testor's technical manual, they say you shouldn't spray Dullcote over Tamiya paints. It doesn't always happen I'm sure, but it has to me twice, so now I don't risk it.

Normally, I never handle a model after I weather it. Usually, I attach it to it's base, and then just handle the base from there on out. With this particular model, I intend to put it in a sealed plastic display case to protect it from dust and whatnot, but until then I'll be handling it periodically, and I don't want to accidentally leave fingerprints all over it.

 Does that make any sense?

Thank you for your compliments. I really appreciate it.

This is why I'm scared to get a tank kit, I can't do the weathering.  Mine would look like your base coat shot.  One of these days I need to stop being scared and try.

SG, the best way to try, is to start on something where success or failure is unimportant, as in some piece of junk like an old car kit, or something scrounged up at a garage sale, or even some toy, that has the kind of detail that represents "tank detail". Paint it, and then weather it. If it turns out "less than desirable".....strip it and repaint, or trash it and start with another. The beauty of this is that once you have developed the technique, you can go back and weather things you have already built, with less apprehension. 

I'm a "day or two" into model building, and I still look for new techniques, and materials, and I'm still willing to give them a try. Learning is living, when someone like Cosmic J documents the procedure from start to finish, take advantage of the "instruction", and try it! It's how we all get better at what we do. 

Well, I'm calling it done, at least for now. It's not weathered yet, I'm waiting to figure out what kind of display I want to do first, so I can avoid handling it once the powders and such go on.

After that, a final layer of Dullcote to seal it up and level out the color layers.

Have to ask. I got the impression that, (the way you worded, with all between these quotes) you were going to weather, after the dullcoat. Did I read that wrong?

Model Railroaders who use pastel chalks/powders to weather, dullcoat after, because the rolling stock "gets handled". There is a different procedure there, as dullcoating has a tendency to greatly reduce the weathering effect of powders, and the model has to be "overweathered", before dullcoating, to compensate.

(note to self) refer to this thread before painting, lots of good info here, and great looking paint job!! 

Well, I'm calling it done, at least for now. It's not weathered yet, I'm waiting to figure out what kind of display I want to do first, so I can avoid handling it once the powders and such go on.

I finished painting the detail parts. The gun in particular has lots of little bits, including a camera/light fixture, a targeting screen and three ammunition feed belts.

I added some MV lenses for the headlights, and the top-mounted searchlight. I was afraid they might look like craft store rhinestones, but I think they came out ok.

I added Verlinden Dry transfers for markings. Not many, because most Israeli vehicles don't carry many markings.

I replaced the antenna w/ a length of .010 brass wire, painted black. I also didn't like the power cable on the seismic sensor, so I made a new one out of 1mm spring tube and wire. It hangs much better than the kit supplied cable.

After that, a final layer of Dullcote to seal it up and level out the color layers.

Cosmic J wrote:

Try it out on something small, like a 1/72 or 1/48 scale tank, and you'll get the hang of it quick, I'm sure.

Thank you SG. You always have a kind word, I really appreciate it.

 Painting went like this:

1) Base Coat w/ Israeli Armor Sand

2) Shadows airbrushed by mixing the base color w/ Burnt Umber at about a 4 to 1 ratio.

3) Panel lines are darkened w/ a wash of Burnt Umber and Black, at about a 1 to 5 ratio (1 part paint, 5 parts thinner). Same was used on the engine fans.

4) Drybrushing was done w/ the base color mixed w/ White at about a 2 to 1 ratio. Fans were drybrushed w/ Steel and then Silver.

It not really hard, just time consuming. Try it out on something small, like a 1/72 or 1/48 scale tank, and you'll get the hang of it quick, I'm sure.

Finished drybrushing all the major and minor components, getting close to the end now. I still have some minor detail painting to get to, like power cables and such, and I'll be applying decals and dry transfers before I Dullcote the whole thing.

Comparisons of the painting process. Base paint. Post shading. Drybrushing.

psstoff995 wrote:

Looking really good- the dry brushing should really make things pop!

Thank you. I finished DBing the main hull and engines today, still have to finish the ramp and other bits.

sumpter250 wrote:

this sucker is way bigger than any model I've ever done this to before, and it's got a lot of panel lines. Whew! Sounds like maybe your next build should be even bigger.....just to "push the envelope".  All the right techniques, well executed. My "Kodiak" build has taken me into "territory" I haven't fully explored before. I hope it turns out half as well as yours.

LOL! Yeah, I would build more big stuff if I had the space to display it. When I finish this Hovertruck, I got this guy in the stash, and he's been winking at me slyly... and he doesn't seem to have as much surface detail...:

 http://www.hlj.com/product/BAN949844

smeagol the vile wrote:

question, does this monster have an interior?

None to speak of, but as psstoff995 points out, there is a lot of space in there.

There's a dividing wall/support structure between the front and rear compartment that seems to be in the correct position. It has a major seam running horizontally, but that could be hidden by seats and various greeblies, or just blanked off w/ styrene.

All the hatches have only rudimentary detail on their inner surfaces, but that could be spiffed up easy enough. The three hatches on the top, the front armored window covers and the cab doors can all be opened. There's even some clear pieces to represent windshields.

The big side hatch door cannot be opened without some conversion/scratchbuilding.

All the interior surfaces are marked by ejector pin marks and reverse relief indentations of the exterior details. Lots of sheet styrene would be needed to blank off these areas. Other than the driver's cab, I don't know that much else would be visible w/o major surgery.

When I first started building this, I considered taking the cab details from a Revell Fuchs (or some similar truck type vehicle), but then decided I didn't want to pay that much money to finish this kit.

I still haven't figured out where the main engine/power plant is supposed to be.

Sooo, no interior detail worth noting, but lots of possibilities for improvement.

this sucker is way bigger than any model I've ever done this to before, and it's got a lot of panel lines. Whew!

Sounds like maybe your next build should be even bigger.....just to "push the envelope".  All the right techniques, well executed.

My "Kodiak" build has taken me into "territory" I haven't fully explored before. I hope it turns out half as well as yours. 

LOL! It does take me a bit, don't it? I hope to get it finished in less than a month, which would be good because I'm falling behind the rest of y'all.

Thank you Barry. Very kind. 

I'm taking a break from applying washes as I type this, and I hope to have some images up by tonight. Then comes drybrushing, decals/transfers, Dullcote-ing, weathering... I'm almost done!

That is looking Very Smart So far !

Nice use of detail and parts from other kits to get your desired look.

A lot of heavy looking Engineering going on there, and it all looks Right.

 All the Best,

Barry.

sumpter250 wrote:

I don't know if anyone will be able to see any of these details once the completed gun and spotlight are in place, but there it is. And, if they can't, you will still know that they are there. Very nice touch!

Thanks for understanding. If I had left them unpainted it would have made me nuts, even if no one else ever noticed.

SkullGundam wrote:

Awesome CJ.  You are an inspiration.  I know life gets in the way sometimes, but I have to say I've missed seeing updates on your two Gundam kits.  They look so good, I want more.

Appreciate it SG. I got all my other business out of the way, and those two kits are the top of my list now. I promise more soon.

I don't know if anyone will be able to see any of these details once the completed gun and spotlight are in place, but there it is.

Sorry to have been away for a bit. I had a thing. Y'all know how it is...

Interior of the turret is done, and the seam has been filled and painted. Mr Surfacer 500 was very useful here. I don't know if anyone will be able to see any of these details once the completed gun and spotlight are in place, but there it is.

Applying washes to the pieces and hull now.

Thank you.

Finished the turret today, and am now working on the engine fans... pictures soon.

eeeh............. just brilliant, can't do anything but be amazed..... awe struck....

Coming along great,

Terry.