Hi guys--Gosh! I'm overwhelmed by all the positive praise! I sincerely appreciate it though, each and every comment--THANK YOU!
Of course. you know that, as the builder, you always see your own faults and are somewhat "relieved" at the "good" that turns out! So here is the case, so it's a relief to see that you all 99% only "good"!
disastermaster read my mind with the tow cable--I'm not 100% happy with it, but I tried to put a Karaya cable on it and it just wouldn't hold in the delicate little PE straps all coiled up like that, so I had to use some scale rope to simulate it...AAARGH! FAILURE!!! That's the major bummer on this build for me. I see the anomoly in the photo concerning the track, Steve, but if you look on the other photos you can see that it's just some camera trick; the track is fine...I think it's just a tiny spot bare of "mud", so the light hits it differently. Thanks for your sharp eyes though! Now where's that "disaster tutorial"???
kcmat, bondoman, Tigerman(Eric), Panther44(Joe), MontanaCowboy, jthurston, Thomas,StuG61, Ian--thanks so much for all the superlatives and affirmation! I have to say that, truthfully, I've become a better modeler in just a few months because of the inspiration that I've recieved from ALL of you over and over again--and that's no lie!
bufflehead, that liquid is probably antifreeze; I didn't think about it too much, I just figured it looked appropriately sinister! And the little shine off of the antenna base there is real steel--it's a guitar string (LOTS of them laying about here!LOL!) that has been stripped of its winding, and that winding is the "coil"...I painted it black, and then just swiped it immediately with my finger to show the "wear". Thanks for your comment!
Roo(Chris)--thanks Buddy! Now git off the couch git yer's done! LOL! Seriously, I'm dying to see your's done too! You, me, and biffa (Hellooooo Ron!???) are gonna have a "Hetzer shootout" in the forum when all is done! Thanks for the compliments!!!
"still-learning"--aww, I'm blushing!! I won't take that title anytime soon, but thank you for the sentiment. BTW, stick with this site; you'll be churning out amazing finishes in no time. I've seen many of the members here make remarkable progress in a very short time; there's so much to be learned here! Thank you for your flattering comment!
Manny--thank you, sincerely! I know that the heavily weathered-thing isn't exactly your style, but it doesn't have to be; your dio's are some of the best I'VE seen, and your figures were an inspiration for the painting of THIS one; your PLANES, on the other hand, are, without doubt, the BEST I've ever seen! (Seriously, check Manny's planes out, guys! WOW!) Thank you again!
Foster, Roo, Steve--yeah I was sfraid of that, with the base kicking this into "dio's" at the contest...I have a couple of 1:72 dio's (the E-100 dio and the Muas test-bed prototype) that I want to enter in dios (I wish they'd do a "1:48 and smaller" category!) so I guess I'll just have to make a small, plain base for it...thanks for he info and the suggestions!
Well, many thanks again, for all the comments and the inspiration you all have given me! Look at this model as a tribute to all that YOU have taught me over the last 8 months on this site! I SALUTE YOU!