No More Excuses GB: Part Deux. Closed to New Entries But Finish What You Signed Up For

nice pics of trhe fender fuel tank plumbing. i'm cheating on my syrian T-62 (golan '73) because i have a pic showing they put sandbags held down with netting over the fender tanks. am also leaving off the rear external tanks. now to fire up the new badger airbrush and freehand the dark green (MMA) over the british armour sand yellow (MMA and my sand color choice for syrian sxtuff)

Yes, I do recall seeing photos of some Syrian armor in the Golan in 1973 with those sandbags in place. Very wise of them.

Basic paint on now. But I do need to go back and do some touch ups.

BTW, I am not a big fan of MM Acrylics. Very poor coverage with this color.

interesting. i have had no problems with airbrushing MMA with my aztek. i prime everything first with an inexpensive gray paint called NOW from ACE HARDWARE. before i airbrush the base coat i brush paint all the nooks and crannies so i don't have to get in close and overdo the airbrushing. track turned out nice. can't see the gap.

solder works well for cables too and is quite pliable.

what color are you going to paint it?

That is the base color. MM Acryl Israeli Sand. I suppose that primingv would make for better coverage of Acrylics onto the bare plastic. I usually work in enamels but have been using acrylics more frequqently lately. Why? Because for washes with enamels, my preferred medium in washes, I do not need to add a clear coat of acrylics in between. But it seems that in sidestepping that issue I am more frequently running in to the "primer needed with acrylics" one instead...  grrrrrr.... the trouble is not with the airbrush itself. MM Acryls shoot fine thru mine. It is just their weak weak adhesion and coverage properties on bare plastic when comapared with enamels. Especially my old favorite- Humbrol.

...airbrush touch ups and detail painting done... all ready now for decals and washes..... and a final bit of Tamiya Clear Green on the periscopes and sights....

Looking good stik!!  Great save on the tracks, they look fab!

BTW, I hear ya on the MM Acrylics....I've not enjoyed the few times I've used them with the AB.

Still working on the Sherman.  Finished up the markings and then gloss coated, followed by a dark wash.  I'll post photos today or tomorrow after I give it a flat coat.

Really nice Duster wayne!  Tomorrow I'm building the old Tamiya M41 Bulldog for the Weekend Madness GB.  I hope it looks a nice as yours!   BTW, how did the kit tracks work out?  Are they really tight?

Stik and Buffle -- I've been following your comments re the MM Acryls and I'm a bit puzzled, I started using them last year and after a little adjustment to them (such as the low thinning ratio) they've behaved very well for me. I've been building up my range and will be grabbing more. Can you outline the problems you've been having? I'm curious!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Thunderbolt379

Stik and Buffle -- I've been following your comments re the MM Acryls and I'm a bit puzzled, I started using them last year and after a little adjustment to them (such as the low thinning ratio) they've behaved very well for me. I've been building up my range and will be grabbing more. Can you outline the problems you've been having? I'm curious!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Mike, I'm happy to hear that MM Acryl has worked for you. I had a major problem with the AB tip drying out.  No matter what I did the trip dried so quickly I could only get 1 or 2 passes before I had to stop and clean the dried paint off the tip.  I altered the thinning ratio several times (thinning more, thinning less), tried different types of thinner (tap water, distilled water, MM acryl thinner), and adjusted pressure up and down.  Didn't matter what color I used, same problem.  I pretty much gave up on MM Acryl, which was frustrating because it actually layed down pretty nice!  Very nice coverage and smooth coats.   I just couldn't get over the tip drying so fast.  I also didn't like how hard it was (compared to Tamiya) to clean out the dried paint from the AB cup. 

Nice Duster there Wayne. I do love that old Tamiya kit, even if it is quite outclassed by the new AFV kit. I have one in my stash along with all sorts of upgrades that I will tackle one day soon.

Thunderbolt, my biggest issues with the MM Acryls is poor coverage and adhesion. The now discontinued Marine Colots line had the worst adhesion I have ever seen in model paints. Now this particular color thay I used here on the Tiran does not have that issue, although many others have. But it does have very poor opacity and if there is no primer or base coat down, it is even worse. I have changed my thinning ratios down to where I am barely using any thinner, and while this reduces that issues, it does not eliminiate it all together. In almost every case that I have used MM Acryls, a second coat is needed after the first coat has dried overnight. The base coats are transluscent. Which is a shame because their color selection is awesome. The Polly Scale line had better one coat coverage over bare plastic, but of course Testors, who produces both, has discontinued that line. The tip drying issues with those I solved but cutting in a little bit of Future into the thinned paint prior to airbrushing and that gives it just enough wetness and tooth to work really sweetly, and ended up with a slight satin sheen like much of the Gunze Aqueous line.

Well last night before I was rousted off my work bench by my spousal unit, I got a bit more work done:

decals (very few) on, and Solvasetted into place... with minimal silvering where I had feared as there was no gloss base coat...

a couple tow cables made from some old Tamiya T-34 type kits and teh bad plastic replaced with parachute cord guts

I drilled out the slot where the co-ax machine gun goes next to the main gun

and modified a 105mm tank gun ammo crate to fit on the glacis as shown in some photos

and I added a coat of Tamiya Clear Green on periscopes and sights

more to follow after todays work session at the bench...

All finished, and on time for tonite's IPMS meeting. Photos to be posted tomorrow...

stikpusher

 The tip drying issues with those I solved but cutting in a little bit of Future into the thinned paint prior to airbrushing and that gives it just enough wetness and tooth to work really sweetly, and ended up with a slight satin sheen like much of the Gunze Aqueous line.

Hmmmm....nice tip on using Future!  I'll have to try that one in the future.....no pun intended!!  

Thanks stik!!  Glad to hear the Ti-67 is all done...eager to see pics!

Still working on the Sherman......

OK, got a couple of update photos!  Gloss coat and dark pin wash done.  The hull sides looked bare so I decided to add some numbers using some generic dry transfers.  Finally fixed the registration markings on the right side.  I'll give it a flat coat tomorrow and the wash should stand out more!

I'm going to be busy with the Weekend Madness GB so I may not have much time to do any work other than the flat coat until Monday.

That Sherman looks real good BH! Very subtle work on the wash 

Well I took two photos last night of the Tiran after the was but before the final weathering, and did not have time to upload, fix, and post here... this one is the better of two bad ones...

and here in all her 1973 Sinai glory, my completed ESCI Tiran 5 (Ti-67)

Now I have the itch to dig into some of the armor I have.  They look great guys!

Tried some cut paper to see how the third color would turn out on the F-4G.  I think I like it in the 72 scale.

Finished the EF-111A with a sludge wash, some flat and a little dusting in spots.

nice. that's funny because your planes make me want to finish my AH-1F and build my syrian MIG-21F i just got at ipms Christmas party.

Those dang IPMS Christmas events... last nite was the distressed kit auction for us...

$14 for these two boxes full of Lancaster parts supposed to have enough to build one complete one...

and $10 for this Canberra missing one easily scratch built landing gear door...

stik - Dang that Tiran looks nice!  Very dusty, like a desert warrior should look!  Good to see you finished up one of your shelf queens!  and great score on the distressed kit auction! 

68GT - those are some great looking jet models!  The completed F-111 looks especially nice!  Harkens me back to my youth...used to see those when I visited my dad when he served in the Navy!

I promised an update on the M4A3.....here it is after a flat coat, a couple of applications of brown filters and detail painting started.

 Hopefully I'll finish the detail painting this week and do the final weathering this weekend.  After the Weekend Madness GB though I don't want to spend another marathon weekend a the bench! 

Hi Buffle -- I've heard about the tip-drying problem and when  I began using MM Acryl I also felt that it was drying faster than Tamiya, though not so fast as to be unusable. I would be estimating a couple of minutes, long enough to get a good piece of work done... I'm using Tamiya thinner at a ratio of four parts paint to one part thinner, any more and it's too thin to behave... Of course, it's summer down here now, so we'll see how the paint behaves now!

M/TB379

Stik -- what shade did you use for the Tiran? I have the Acryl Israeli Sand and retired it unused as it was a satin finish mustard yellow! The Tiran looks excellent, BTW!

68GT -- the hard edge camo does suit 1:72 very well, it makes me want to line up some Phantoms and give them the SEA treatment!

Buffle -- the Sherman looks sweet indeed, your take on the variated monotone finish is excellent!

Well, not just back from England but into the new house -- this has been a backbreaker of a move. We're taking a break for the festive season from cleaning for finals on the old place, the bad news is I don't have my workbench illumination system here yet, nor my painting settup, or I could have taken a crack at something while on downtime...

M/TB379

Buffle, the Sherman is looking real good there. All it needs is some tracks and final weathering! I am looking forward to the finish.

Thunderbolt, I used the MM Acryl Israeli Sand. As you can see before weathering, it did look sort of a Khaki mustard shade. But the final weathering "grayed" that out.

waynec, I dig that Duster!  Nice work on that.  I will add it to the main page.

Bufflehead, I really like how your Sherman is turning out.  

Stik, Your Tiran looks great!  I will update the front page.

68gt, I like the looks of the F-4.  The camo looks great.  I like the weathering on the F-111.  I will add it to the front page.

HooYeah!!  I finally got this done in time!!  Its 11:30 PM California time, New Years Eve and not only did I finish this one before the end of the year, I still have time to pop a bottle of bubbly to welcome 2013!!

Sorry it took so long fellas.  I got sidetracked when I decided to add some stowage and gear to the Sherman, so I spend a couple of weeks working on that and then this weekend I realized I wouldn't finish in time if I tried to finish all the gear so I switched back to the tank.  I had a few pieces of gear done so I just added a bit to the front.  The rest will get added next year ()

Here ya go!

And a before/after.  The before pic was taken back in mid-2008 and it sat like that until just a few weeks ago!!

Well, that's one less queen occupying the shelf! 

There really are some great models on display here. I love the M4A3 and the EF-111 'pig'. That's a nice rendition of the SEA camo on the Phantom too, I think hard edge or very tight soft edge is OK for 1/72, that one looks excellent to my eyes.

Just one big question, when does the 2013 version of this GB kick off  ? :)

Cheers

Tony

hear hear. i have 6 new shelf queens just waiting for the announcement.

Nice work on that Sherman Bufflehead!  I added it to the front page.

If y'all signed up for a project prior to December 31st you can go ahead and finish it up here.  I will close this for new entries though.

Let me know if you plan on finishing up something you already signed up to do.  

I'm going to finish the F-4G sooner or later but it you want to close this out thats fine with me.

Bufflehead -- that's one of the best Shermans I've ever seen! Neat in every way, just the right amount of dirt, the markings came out great -- superb!

Mac -- I'd love to get that T-72 done, it'll be a while before I can get to it, my new mancave is more or less set up now, a few items still to relocate after the move, but it could be a couple of weeks before I can get my display case installed and open up the boxes with all the in-progress projects. Thanks for letting the build run.

Cheers, Mike/TB379