No More Excuses GB....end date extended

Yo, Buff! As a fan of the less-is-more approach to weathering, I'd say she's a lil masterpiece! The whole thing, from the dusty tracks to the stenciled markings, is A-1! Pat yourself on the back, buddy, and take a bow!

Mike/TB379

Well Guys, I'm happy to say this shelf queen is finally done!  I've finally got an American Sherman tank on my shelf next to the Tiger, Panther, Panzers and T-34!  Sorry to take so long, my excuse is the drain of work.  Funny how the year ended on the slow side, but the first quarter of this year has been a real buttkicker!  Its not over yet, but I managed to put in a couple of hours here and there on the bench. 

Anyway, weathering is on the light side.  I usually don't like my first representation of a vehicle on my shelf to be very dirty or worn.  Maybe sometime in the future I'll add some stowage or the like, but for now I like it the way it is!  Again, this is the 1/35 Italeri M4A1 Sherman 76mm.  I hope you like.

BTW, for those of you interested, heres a breakdown of the AM parts I used for this build:

Eduard PhotoEtch

Verlinden Pioneer Tools

Formations Tow Ends, Holders, Clasps and Cable (nylon)

Dragon T48 Indie Tracks (from their M4A1 kit)

Academy .50 Cal MG

Archer Casting Numbers

5-Min Epoxy Headlights (LOL!!)

I don't know if I'll have time to complete another shelf queen....maybe I'll try finishing the Pz IV that's nearly assembled

Hey!  Now I can claim the badge!

Lt. Zogg wrote:

Mick, That carrier is way cool, but it must be TINY! Jeff

Thank you! It's certainly not a big one. Just about 48 mm (1.9 inches) long.

razordws wrote:

Mick, I love the Bren carrier and was not aware that airfix made one in small scale.  Wish I could find one that was actually 1/72 and not 1/76 as 1/72 is my preferred scale.  I also like the scratchbuilt cover.  Very nice

Thanks razordws!

Summit wrote:

The good News is he has been getting some work done on his Corsair...

Summit wrote:

...and has been out Riding his Mountain Bike also

Spoke to our fearless leader Roy earlier today . He is still without a computer, he is hoping to be up by next week sometime.

The good News is he has been getting some work done on his Corsair and has been out Riding his Mountain Bike also

Dave,

Thanks for the heads up - I guess Gunze and MM are just not compatible. 

I'll try the clear overspray to see if that helps.

Jeff

Rbaer, the KV is looking great.  Can't wait to see some paint on it.

Jeff, I've had that exact same problem with the exact same combination of paints that you have described.  My solution was to strip the paint and start over with a different combination of paints.  In your case you might just want to paint over top with some enamel paints.

An evening in the kitchen yields some KV-1 progress! Not a bunch, but it's time to paint! I'm probably going to do some fender damage, as I want to model a vehicle in service around 1943 entering Vyborg. These vehicles came from the Leningrad Front and were typically older, second rate and beat up due to the isolation of Leningrad.  Pics are under natural light and shadowed. I should  of waited about 15 minutes, as the later pics (of a Sherman) are much better. Oh well, kind of gives them a "propoganda poster" look......

Pics with and without fenders (they're not glued on yet, more indecision....)

Thanks RBaer,

I'm thinking about spraying the wheels with some Tamiya clear laquer, to provide a barrier coat between the two layers of acrylic.  We'll see...

Jeff

razordws wrote:

Boba, I think that is about the only part I miss about being in school.  Spring Break, Summer holidays, Teacher in-service days, etc. etc. etc. I've heard through the grapevine that our fearless leader Roy is having computer troubles but hopefully he'll be back on-line soon.

Oh, I didn't know Roy was out of commision. I've kinda been out of the loop (That's what hanging with those Navy Air wingers get's me! ) Yup!Can't beat those breaks!

Mick,

That carrier is way cool, but it must be TINY! 

Jeff

Here's an update of where a couple of my builds stand. 

I've fired up my airbrush for the first time since last summer, and have gotten busy in the last week or so. 

Stuka has been painted, needs a bit of light weathering and a dullcoat, and she'll be done:

M13/40 finally has some paint:

Roadwheel hell:

I've been having issues with paint crazing on the roadwheels.  I'm trying to paint the rubber portion, but its splitting while drying.  I've never seen anything like this.  I wonder if the paints are incompatible.  I used Gunze for the basecoat, and am using MM Acryl for the rubber.  Weirdness, and its aggravating because there are so many to fix:  Any suggestions?

Jeff

Mick, I love the Bren carrier and was not aware that airfix made one in small scale.  Wish I could find one that was actually 1/72 and not 1/76 as 1/72 is my preferred scale.  I also like the scratchbuilt cover.  Very nice

MIke, the BTR is looking good too.  Sure is an unusual looking vehicle but then I don't do much modern stuff.

Boba, I think that is about the only part I miss about being in school.  Spring Break, Summer holidays, Teacher in-service days, etc. etc. etc.

I've heard through the grapevine that our fearless leader Roy is having computer troubles but hopefully he'll be back on-line soon.

Progress on my BTR-70:

The lifting lugs from the turret were on the floor, I recovered them, filled the old holes, drilled new ones and anchored the lugs in with cya. And today I made brass replacements for the three busted steps/handles, and fitted them:

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Masking next -- the forward windows get protected as the shutters will be mounted up, but I think that's about it. Then subassembly painting -- the crate, the bandsaw and whinch fitting. Then into the overall camo.

Cheers,

Mike/TB379

Matt -- stunning Flanker! A bit more weathered than appeals to my taste, but for all I know many a hard-flown jet ends up looking like that, especially in an under-funded airforce.

I've finally made a move on my Zvezda BTR-70 APC. I added the guns (barrels drilled out) to the turret plus the three lifting lugs -- two of which promptly disappeared, superglue does not react as enthusiastically with Russian plastic as with the Japanese stuff! The grenade launcher for the turret roof would have been the last assembly but one of the components is already broken on the sprue (too fine, too small, that's classic Dragon molds for you) so I decided to make things simple and leave it off. With it out of the way I can redrill the attachments for the missing lugs and if I can't find the parts I'll take a shot at them in wire.

Otherwise, remaining parts include the radio mast stub, the winch (after painting), the forward vision armored covers, and the band-saw mounted on the aft starboard hull. The wheels and tires are already painted separately, as are the water cans (black, here) and the spare wheel. The crate on the port forward hull will be painted seperately. There are two steps and a grab handle to make in brass rod and fit, then she's ready for the paintshop -- it'll be an all-acrylic camo job, followed by oil wash and MiG pigments.

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Note that the periscopes have all been detailed with plastic stripstock, as there was no molded detail at all.

I'm hoping to have this one in the display case before long, and maybe fielding another entry for this build -- I have Trumpeter's 1:35 SA-2 Missile/Launcher that's been half-built for well over a year, and Italeri's 1:35 M-110 SP Gun in Vietnam trim half-done in its box for many years, this would be a great chance to get them both finished.

Cheers,

Mike/TB379

Maybe it's time for me to post some progress.

I joined in with an already started Airfix kit (#01309) Bren Gun Carrier, which in the GB Under New Ownership transfered itself into a captured german one, somewhere in Northern Africa.

I'm crossbuilding this in a Swedish GB with the same theme on the Swedish site Modellbygge iFokus, GB #10 Återvinning, hoping this is alright.

It's in 1/76 and not 1/72 that Airfix want us to beleive with some of there kits.

Right, this is nowadays a Gepanzerter MG-Träger Bren 731(e).  

From the beginning, I didn't have any instructions but managed to put things together anyway.

When the old GB ended, I hade some parts laying around.

And of course the carrier.

After finding instructions on the net, I continued and most of the build were done.

Maybe it's not all correct, but there MIGHT have been a carrier like this.

The small carrier needed some sun protection so I decided to add a canvas top to it.
The poles are made of cannula points for insulin pens, and then painted in Humbrol 94 - Matt Brown Yellow.

For the canvas top, I used a paper tissue and dipped it in a mix of white glue and water before drying. Then I painted it in the same colour as the carrier.

And this is how it looks with the cover on.

Well, this is how far I am with this build right now. I have been thinking about a cover over the driver but I'm not sure.

I must also see what I have in decals that would be suitable for this little carrier.

Thanks all for the kind comments.  Glad to have this one finished

matt

Wow. She's awfully beat up, but VERY sweet finish! Man I love the Russian birds...wish more of them were available in 1/48.

Great job!

Ok finally got the motivation to snap some pics of my Su-27, I'm calling this one Done!!

Once the second layer of weathering went on I decided to leave it as is and didnt put a dull coat over it.  Kinda like the looks of it as is.  If I were to do this one again I would take a lot more time getting rid of the seams on the intakes as they are a bit nasty.  Other than that it was a fun, if long, kit to build.

Thanks for looking,

Matt

Haha, tank dreads, mon!  The 'real' predator!  Thanks for the info Rbaer, ya learn something every day!

 Jeff

That's it! Grapeshot! I knew thay reminded me of something......

Actually, they'll be suspended from the bottom of the bustle rack, and their purpose is to detonate RPG or shaped charge weapons prematurely, since the back of a Merk turret is a shot-trap. They came into use during the "Peace for Galilee" operation, introduced on the Mk2 as it was made operational during that campaign.I think they look like the hair on the "Predator" creature....

RBaer,

Cool lookin' Merk!  What are those little balls and chains, are you building a brass version of the ex-wives club?    Seriously, they look like grapeshot or something from the civil war era. 

Merk looks great, I like the weathering job. 

Jeff

Merk-werk happened this weekend. I think any Merk I do in the future will be a Mk1, as these balls are a pain. Here's 3 hours' worth:

That's about a dozen, and I need almost 60. I had to stop since I ran out of balls. Well, actually, there's enough to finish, but they're on the floor..... I also did a little more work on the chassis, and it's getting close to time to mount the side skirts and finish it up. I took the "tire" off one road wheel, as this seems to be a common occurance on in-service Merks. The rocks out there are rough on rubber...... Then I can get on with the turret and stowage, which I'll probably just rough-in and cover with a tarp.Thanks for looking, comments always welcome.

The tow cable is pulled up a little bit for painting.

Alright all, the roster is updated.  Lt. Zogg (Joe) is number 37 to sign up for this build

Bee working on some of my shelf queens.  The P-40N is done except for te nav lights, just can't seem to find the time/desire to finish them