Have Gun Will Travel: SP Artillery GB 2011

OK.....my Dana arrived!!!  I  started the build , and amazed how big this model will be when finished. I purchased the Tankograd book dedicated to this vehicle, so that will be my main reference. 

I found the drivers compartment was lacking some prominent details...the floor is coverd in a rubber floor mat. I tried creating this w/ alum. foil burnished over a wire. I removed the radio from the right side, and added the small box on the floor..this will hold a fire extinguisher

After  painting it black..it doesn't look  correct. Does anyone have any advice how I could recreate the mat?

I started on the chassis , and heres the front axle

Theers a few parts missing, but working out how to make them appear turned!

Any constructive comments welcome..

Jeff

Assembled the jack block for this side, Reworked the cleaning rods and shaved off all the molded on tool clamps and replaced them with the PE clamps.

Thanks for lookin

Tony lee

macattack80

I'm still plugging away at the fighting compartment and gun assembly.  I broke out the ole putty to plug up the pin marks.  I'm getting there.  The kit has a lot of tiny and fragile parts.  Yep

I plan on trying to get the cast texture that Redleg used on his M40 build.  I hope you don't  hold a patent on it.  I may owe you some money......  The instructions are a little vague on the placement on some parts.  Luckily I have Redleg's WIP thread to use a a walk around.  Thanks again!

 The whole purpose of the WIP is so other may follow and try and even expand. It is always an honor and humbles me whenever someone uses one of my WIP...no patents or pending and all rights are reseved for all modelers!!  Thanks and glad to help!! 

Rounds Complete!!

Pvt Mutt, nice work.  You are a master of photoetch!  The real wood was definetly a nice up grade to the plastic parts.  Good choice.

I'm still plugging away at the fighting compartment and gun assembly.  I broke out the ole putty to plug up the pin marks.  I'm getting there.  The kit has a lot of tiny and fragile parts. 

I plan on trying to get the cast texture that Redleg used on his M40 build.  I hope you don't  hold a patent on it.  I may owe you some money......  The instructions are a little vague on the placement on some parts.  Luckily I have Redleg's WIP thread to use a a walk around.  Thanks again!

I confess Kevin, they're balsa wood.

Thanks

Tony lee

Are those made of real wood or did you expertly paint resin/plastic?  Looks sweet!

Jack blocks for the Emil.

Till next time

Tony lee

Hey fellas..I just received wonderful news. Squadron FINALLY shipped my Dana , it will arrive early next week!!! They had trouble w/ a train crash, thought the boat sank, and my order was "mistakenly" cancelled....glad I called every week.

Hope ya all like pictures..I'll take several along the way!!

Jeff

Here are a few pics of what I have done so far.

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Here are a few pics of the suspension bogies and the AFV Club "PITA" tracks

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 I shot some primer on the tracks to see how the look a little smoother....and maybe hold them together a little better....

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Tony - You must be the jewelry elf.....those little boxes so perfect...Very nice

Thanks for your comments.....I'm the plastic surgery elf

Mac - Glad to have been of service...those type of comments make the effort to post all worth while.

Rounds Complete!!

Great job on those storage boxes Pvt Mutt!  The straps and buckles really look the part.

I did manage to get all 6 bogies assembled.  There are a lot of parts in those alone!   I also got started with the gun assembly.  Things are moving forward, albeit slowly, but forward nonetheless.

Redleg, your WIP thread has already proven itself invaluable.  Thanks for the link.  It has already been a huge help. 

I borrowed a camera so I will take some photos tonight and share them with you for evaluation.

Finished up the last two storage boxes:

Tool clasp next I recken

Tony lee

Way to go Mike you can't even see the scares from the surgery.

Nice real nice

Tony lee

Just a quick update for this week. It was time to add some paint so the overall finish is Tamiya XF-74 JSDF OD. Then for some tone the high areas are sprayed with a XF-51 Khaki Drab wash. This is sprayed a number of times to build up the tone color

Now it was time for markings. First the stars were applied on the turret and small stars on the front. This is done using a stencil to make a mask with blue painters tape and then with the mask applied a light spray of Tamiya Flat White. The bumper numbers are made up from a stencil set, applied directly to the model and the also sprayed with Flat White. Setting up the stencils can be a female dog and take a bit of time.

The hull and turret will receive a coat of future and then some decals for the bridge weight marker and the “barrel name” Bounty Hunter.

Meanwhile I have been busy cleaning tracks and beginning track assembly with about 1/3 of one track assembled.

As always thanks for stopping by. Your comments good or bad are always appreciated.

Rounds Complete!!

Awesome build Thunderbolt!   As everyone else said, I like the suble weathering.  A little dust goes a long way.  Great job! 

Hi Castelnuovo -- great to see you here! You certainly can join, I'll update p1 right away.

I'll be most interested to see that one go together, I have it in my stash (or one of their Hummel editions at least) and have long hankered after building it.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Can I join with Dragon's Hummel in 1:35?

Gosh, what did I get myself into? .This thing has almost 1000 pieces...But it was a good deal, $27 at Sprue Bros as opposed to $57 at Squadron. Couldn't ressist...

Cheers...

Jeff -- yes and no, there were a number of annoying, fiddly details that could have been engineered better, parts that simply wouldn't fit on the finished object, but overall I'd say I was happy enough with it that I would build Italeri again at some point -- their unique M24 Chafee, for instance. I blogged about this build last night -- address below.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

nice job TB on your build...the subtle weathering looks great.  The finished SPG turned out great , sounds like your disappointed in the Italeri kit overall?

I've good news too....my DANA is sitting in a shipping container in Houston. I can't wait to start it after watching everyones progress.  They must recognize my voice by now...they called me by name!!! 

Jeff

Good job TB. There are some little things that you could've done for eye candy effect but over all great job.

Tony lee

PS: The shiny stuff Thanks You

Hi Redleg -- good point, I was thinkiing I might grind in some more pigment to get that area really beat up. This is one of the heavier weathering jobs I've done, creating as much tonal variation on a single-colour vehicle as this is a challenge. I might take a crack at a Sherman in Europe camo, the same sort of deal would apply. Maybe even try mud...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Nice work on the M110A2. Always love light weathering, lets the model show. You may want to put a little more wear on the bottom of the recoil spade....the bottom edge takes a beating

Rounds Complete!!

Thanks, Tony! It's always great to have your work appreciated. This one has a few flaws but overall she has appeal, and that counts for much.

I'm thinking I'll field another model later in the build, either Trumpeter's 1:35 Chinese Type 83 SPG or Revell Germany's 1:35 Panzerhaubitzer 2000. I'm torm between them -- the Type 83 has a cool tri-tone camo and I've never completed Chinese armour before, but the PzHbtz 2000 is the most awesome SPG around... At least the parts look almost intimidating in the box, and it comes with an aluminium barrel too...

Cheers, M/TB379

Fantastic model of a really impressive machine Mike. I wish mine had size like that ! I've learned a lot from your build, thanks.

BTW Tony - I've been adding some P/E to another build, and I keep coming back to this GB for inspiration from your work.I think its the best I've seen.

Cheers

Tony

Dang Bro. those boxes looks good.. Don't you wish there are more of them.....LOL   Monty

Thanks, Beav. The dust is a quick realism that it seems hard to go wrong with. One day I'll have to bite the bullet and try mud!

I'm not positive about the markings, the kit gives precious little information, but my impression is either US Army in Europe or at home in the 1980s. It's before the protective shelter was added to the A2s, but after the A2 resulted from the resumption of manufacture around '78 IIRC... Also the markings generally reflect 1980s style, with the small black star on the front end, not much of a national insignium but that big white star in WWII made a great target, I guess...

Cheers, glad you like it!

Mike/TB379

Looks great Mike, those guns are so impressive.  I'll probably have to add one to my collection if they ever re-pop it.

That dust really completes it, btw.  Do you know where the markings place this vehicle in space and time?

Tony Lee -- your brass work is nothing short of amazing!

Well, guys, I'm calling the M110 finished. I went with US markings because the decals for the German version simply wouldn't fit the available space. The Italeri decals conformed well enough with MicroSol, though it was a bit hairy getting them there. The shell trays that go on the spade bearers were not mounted, same with the spare track links, I've noticed they're not always there in photos and the plain fact is there was insufficient room for the parts to be fitted without obstructing the fit of the spade to the hull. I've put the painted items away (bagged and tagged...) and if I ever figure out how to mount them, I can do so. The two lower bearer bracket closing parts for the spade were also not fitted, there was again no way to get the parts into place and the bearers fit just fine in their pivots as it was. I got her good and dusty with MiG Europe Dust, maybe a bit too much, but I'm sure it'll fade with time!

Onto the pics -- all comments welcome. I know she's a bit simplified, but I'm more or less happy with her. This is my first completed Italeri kit.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

PS: Badges coming soon!

Two down and two to go.

There's a couple items in the fender box along with an oily rag.

Thanks for looking

Tony lee