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Modelkasten Oskar

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  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Modelkasten Oskar
Posted by Real G on Saturday, June 18, 2011 4:02 AM

This is Modelkasten's 1/20 Oskar, from Kow Yokoyama's MaK series.  The Oskar is a Strahl Demokratisch Republik (SDR) reconnaissance drone.  The kit is a combination of Modelkasten vac-formed and resin parts along with a couple of sprues from Nitto's Neuspotter kit.  (Another SDR drone which looks like a flying telephone pole!)

Oskar 3

While the resin parts were of excellent quality, a lot of customers had problems with the large vac-formed hull.  The two bulges on the backside were very thin, which often meant that the kit came with dented bulges.  I got lucky as my kit arrived without any damage.  Nevertheless the hull was still very flimsy, so it was reinforced from the insides using thin strips of paper towels soaked in CA glue.  This really worked a treat, as the finished hull is remarkably rigid.  The vac-form experts probably already know this trick, but as always I constantly waste time reinventing the wheel.

Oskar 2

The other problem was that Modelkasten did not provide any sort of detail to go under the hull.  The instructions simply said to cut a flat plate of sheet plastic and glue it to the hull bottom.  This would not do, so a blanking plate was vac-formed to fit slightly inside the hull.  This also increased the visible thickness of the bottom edge of the hull, which is what I wanted.  At this point, my mind went blank (a frequent occurrence!) so I just faked in some lift fans and other miscellaneous details, all made from sheet plastic and Bondo.  Note that the fans are just flat discs with scribed lines.  I used an index card mask and shaded the edges with a darker color to suggest a 3-D effect.  The fan hubs were road wheels stolen off an old Tamiya Panther.  I have to go back and finish weathering the kit, as the undersides look way too pristine for what is essentially a mobile sand blaster.

Oskar 6

 

Oskar 4

The rest of the kit built up okay.  The Nitto Neuspotter parts provided the "head"and those wonderful wires and coiled springs that make MaK models so much fun.  I did notice that the Neuspotter's parts looked a little dull, as if the parts were injected at a lower pressure than designed.  I compared the sprues to an original Neuspotter kit, and confirmed my suspicions.  In the above photo, note the missing horizontal panel line on the head, between the two round sticky-out things.  (I missed that one during construction.)

For paint, I used Model Master enamels applied with my ancient but highly reliable Badger 200 single-action airbrush.  I tried to emulate the box art camouflage, but I don't think I nailed it.  I will have to try the "Yoshiki" style of painting on my next MaK model.  (That's where the camouflage pattern is brushed on with highly thinned paint, then an airbrush is used to fill the insides.  I was just too chicken to try it on this model, as I really stink at brush painting.)

Hopefully Hasegawa will eventually produce an all plastic kit of the Oskar, as the Modelkasten kit is OOP.  (And stupid expensive, not that a Hasegawa kit would be much cheaper!)

Anyway thanks for looking, and have a great weekend!

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Allentown, PA
Posted by BaBill212 on Saturday, June 18, 2011 4:18 AM

Nicely done G

A great build,,,,    like the camo scheme too!

 

Mostly,, thanks for sharing

 

Bill

Enjoy the ride!

 

  • Member since
    September 2010
Posted by potchip on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 4:26 AM

That's fantastic. A couple of Hasegawa Ma.K kits were on sale earlier and really tempted me but had commitments elsewhere.

  • Member since
    March 2010
Posted by stcat on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 8:17 AM

Thin strips of paper towel soaked in CA?

Hmm...that's a great idea. Reminds me of the paper-mache with white glue idea.  I'll have to try your method.

  • Member since
    May 2011
  • From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Posted by Real G on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 2:18 PM

Stcat,

Yeah, if you use the thin formula CA and completely saturate the paper towel strips, it is waterproof too.  What I did was put a little of the thick CA on the paper towel, laid each strip down, carefully prodded it flat with a toothpick, then hosed it down with thin CA.  I tried to use accelerator, but ended up gassing myself, as well as melting those infamous thin bulges on the hull.  Remember kiddies, safety first!

“Ya ya ya, unicorn papoi!”

  • Member since
    August 2009
  • From: Central IL
Posted by SLW 45 on Sunday, June 26, 2011 12:49 AM

Man that looks great my friend. Excellent paint Yes

                 

  • Member since
    October 2008
  • From: italy
Posted by bsyamato on Sunday, June 26, 2011 4:47 PM

Another great execution friend Yes

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