“The Hazards of Desert Warfare” 1/20 Nitto HAFS

KTM:

I'm not even sure of the background, or where it fits in to what, but I like the work.

Thanks, KTM.

Me neither. Like my Phantom Labor from an earlier post, I really have no idea what it's supposed to be. I liked the shapes, and the design. Those large flat sides just called out for some type of camoflage, even if it's not really appropriate to the setting.

Glad you liked it.

hey guys

great work here CJ.

check out MachinenKrueger.com. He has boiled down the history of Mak (ZVB3000 or SF3D as it was originally called) on his site.

These were one-off creations made in the mid-80s by Kow Yokayama which was quickly turned into a model series kitted by Nitto. Very popular and quite advanced at the time there was a squabble and it came to an end.  Now we are getting a resurgence made under license and its all good!

David

Thanks gentlemen, and glad to see you got those instructions TC.

Here's the funny story. I mailed them on Saturday morning after photocopying them at the UPS store around the corner. Unfortunately, in my haste I left one of the data cards in the PC machine. Later when I got home I realised my mistake, and went back to the store, only to find they were closed until Monday.

Monday rolls around, and during lunch I stop by the store to see if they still have the data card.

"What does it look like?" asks this old dude. He's skinny and bald, glaring at me through some seriously thick glasses, and he's sporting a handle bar moustache that belongs on a sheriff from 1875.

"Uhm, it's sort of tan, about the size of a paperback book or a CD case, and it has Japanese writing on it." I say.

"Would you say it's covered with some sort of weapon schematics?"  he says in an accusatory tone, narrowing his eyes. (I think.)

So now I'm just standing there, thinking "Great, now the Department of Homeland Security is going to confiscate my model collection", when the young lady who helped me on Saturday pops out of the backroom. "Oh, hey!" she says all cheerful-like. "You forgot this."

She reaches up on a shelf, takes down the DC and hands it to me.

I said my thanks and made my way out the door while skinny/moustache guy tried to kill me with his eyes. (I think.)

Always check the PC machine before you leave.

-JC

They used to be, but the Nitto Ma.Ks are long gone now. Wave is currently making variations on the ‘Mk I armored suit', but if you want one, you ought to get it now. This model series doesn't have a wide fan base, but we are a rabid lot. Kits disappear almost as soon as they are released.

The obligatory link:

http://www.hlj.com/hljlist2/?MacroType=InjKit&SeriesID=968&searchpage=Scitop&Dis=-2&GenreCode=Sci

Hasegawa is making noises like they will be producing the vehicles in this series, releasing a Falke (a sort of one man fighter plane) later this year. We shall see.

Cosmic J wrote:

...while the skinny/mustache guy tried to kill me with his eyes. (I think.)

People like him live to be offended.

David

KTM

I get most of mine either on Ebay or at shows.  I wind up paying about the same, and yes, they do get snatched up.  Some of the big Yellow Submarine resin jobs in 1/16 scale go for high prices but the suits are opened for entry. 

David

Cosmic J wrote: ...while the skinny/mustache guy tried to kill me with his eyes. (I think.) PLU1: People like him live to be offended.

Does that mean that if I intentionally go around offending people like him, that I'm doing them a favor?

Oh, I like that idea!

oh YES!!!!

I WORK with someone who simply LIVES to be offended by others.

Man.......when I leave this job, Im going to burn every bridge there is to be burned with her!

David 

PatlaborUnit1:

oh YES!!!! I WORK with someone who simply LIVES to be offended by others.   Man.......when I leave this job, Im going to burn every bridge there is to be burned with her!  David

Well, if I were in that situation, I might consult the writing of George Hayduke...

... not that I would condone any such activity.

Old posting, but I added new pictures. I hope you like them.

I like this one too.  I like your MaK stuff but this one's camo really grabbed me.  I know the basics of HOW to paint a camo scheme but I've never tried.  How did you get the lines to look like that?  Do you do them with a brush?  SUperb job as usual.  I really think this is cool. 

People like that bug me.  I'm too timid for the confrontation but I love to see other people get under their.  No one has ever accused me of building weapons from my model instructions, but I did have my religions of the world teacher warn the class to do the research for the paper on Islam in books, not online, because alot of the sites students accidently find are monitored by the gov.  We aren't safe anywhere guys.  Were probably all on some gov watch list for being so obsessed with tools of war. 

In that case I better be careful, I'm a Marine! LoL

Oh, by the way, Great job CJ! love the dead bot at his\her feet, always a nice touch. 

Incredible job!  I have to say, the subtle dunes really jumped out at me; it's the little things that make a vignette great.

As far as the UPS store goes, the guy probably thought you were some spy working for the japanese, funneling out top secret weapons data.  I'm sure he went around for the rest of the week talking about the "commie" he confronte.  People like him are lots of laughs.

Great work!  I'll be starting my first Nitto Mk1 suit in the next few weeks, your builds are inspiring.

SG:

I like this one too.  I like your MaK stuff but this one's camo really grabbed me.  I know the basics of HOW to paint a camo scheme but I've never tried.  How did you get the lines to look like that?  Do you do them with a brush?  SUperb job as usual.  I really think this is cool.

Thanks brother. It was a real pain to get those camo lines on there. First I painted the model RLM 79 Sandgelb, and then I added shading and highlights. These are very subtle, but if you look closely you can see them. Notice how the Jerry appears to have a light shining down on it, but the derelict does not? That's paint.

Then I mixed Military Brown w/ about 15% of the original color, so it would appear slightly transparent and worn. Once I got the consistency correct, I set my regulator to about 12psi and began airbrushing the lines. I had to keep the airbrush a constant distance from the model (about a half an inch), and paint it as one long continuous line. I often had to backtrack, but starting and stopping the airflow would have resulted in blotches or runs, so I did it all at once, in one sitting. Nerve wracking.

It should have more weathering on it, like paint chips and such (it is in the desert), but after all that work I didn't want to risk messing it up and just left it as is.

SG:

No one has ever accused me of building weapons from my model instructions, but I did have my religions of the world teacher warn the class to do the research for the paper on Islam in books, not online, because alot of the sites students accidently find are monitored by the gov.  We aren't safe anywhere guys.  Were probably all on some gov watch list for being so obsessed with tools of war.

I hadn't thought of that. Do some research on an OIF diorama, wind up in GITMO...

P_A:

In that case I better be careful, I'm a Marine! LoL   Oh, by the way, Great job CJ! love the dead bot at his\her feet, always a nice touch.

Thank you. I was inspired to ‘serious' modeling by Shepard Paine's work in the 70's and 80's, and he often modeled derelict or broken vehicles. That's were the idea came from.

SG:

Oh good call A_S.  I didn't really notice till you said it but the waves in the sand look great when it would be so easy to do flat sand.  Sorry I didn't look carefully CJ.  I'm taking the lazy approach by not looking this up somewhere, but how do you make the sand?  (Please say it's not just regular sand or I'll feel really dumb)

Sorry brother, its sand.   I sculpted the "waves" out of Woodland Scenics Mold-A-Scene plaster, then sanded them to shape. I then carved impressions to add the wreck and the Jerry's feet. After that, I added a layer of fine sand w/ white glue. Then I painted it, shaded it, washed it and drybrushed it.

Despite it's name, when mixed Mold-A-Scene doesn't have the consistency of plaster; it's more like oatmeal cookie dough, so it's perfect for this sort of thing.

If you're doing a desert base, look for accessories by Armand P. Bayardi. He makes some cool ruined walls and stone columns and such. Could be useful to you.

A_S: I want to thank you for your kind words and insight as well. I would have quoted you, but I kept getting a border around your words that I couldn't get rid of...

SgtBrown:

Great work!  I'll be starting my first Nitto Mk1 suit in the next few weeks, your builds are inspiring.

Thank you. Please share it w/ us when you do.

Thanks everybody, I appreciate all your comments.