Semper Fi War in the Pacific

Andy , nothing to drink last night but i was tired . There is some nice texture on the turret already and thats what you see in that picture . I am adding to the texture though . Trying to not overdo it . Pictures soon Thanks for the comment .

Hey all, remember me?

BILL - Really nice work  Radio just looks great and the wiring to go with it is very well done.  The texture on the seats came out great also.  Frame for the top must have been tedious, Nice all around

CARL - Good job getting the gun in.  Believe it will add just the right amount of interior with a figure in there too.

Thanks for doing those color comparisons with the LVT.

Alright, the hull has went through a few changes sense the last post.  Had tried cleaning up what I had had but decided that I just did not like it.  So sanded everything down and re-primed with flat black.  Was so frustrated with the camo decided to paint it a blueish gray.  Even though it does not show well in this picture the color was perfect and I really liked it.

Played around with a dark yellowish sand color and was going to camouflage it and re-assign the LVT to the 2nd Amphibian Battalion on Tinian.  Was not able to do this because I had already dated the model to a later version with the side armor on the pontoons because of this I once again sanded and re-primed and went back to work on the camo.  I changed the brown color and the pattern.  She now looks like this.

Carl that is a sand color but it is a very light one.  It is not quite as white as it appears in the pictures and has a slight tan tint to it.  Theres no way to tell but looking at pictures I'm convinced it was a really light color.  Anyway will see how this works with the weathering.

The ramp was started and this is were I will be picking back up to continue.  The inner plate is only dry fit, added weld bead and started to make the tiny pulleys.  These will connect to the ramp in the recessed triangle areas.

Thats it for now and I hope not to be so long checking in from now on.  It's finally the weekend so plan to get some building done

I hope they come out with one of those LVTs in 1:48 sometime.

Just got done painting the black camo on the sherman, I'll probably have pictures up tomorrow.

Rob , i do like this camo .  Man that was a lot of sanding and changing of the camo and colors . Glad you were able to get to this point . Is there going to a color stripe on this one also ?

I've been gawging with my dremel , puttying , sanding , gawging with a # 7 hobby knife, puttying  ...............on the stock Tamiya turret and here is what its been thru .

I never noticed this b4 but the side hatch opening has  raised castings for the opening all around it so i built that up with putty .

I noticed that some turrets had a step in the back of the bustle from an offset in the molds . I used stretched sprue for the lip edge and puttied below it .

According to my research there should be a "chin" on the starboard side . It was there for added protection due to thinning of the inner wall to allow for installation of a fire protction system .

I added some putty on top to indicate more casting marks .

I also gawged the plastic and coated it with lacquer thinner to disolve sharp edges .  I added some putty to the back of the bustle .

With paint on it the detail really stands out now  .

Rob- WOW!  The camo looks MUCH better now.  Often second attempt comes out better.  Remember my Pz IV... had to redo the camo and I was so happy I did.  

Looks like we are coming to New Orleans for our spring break in April.  You in mood for couple of hand grenade drinks on Bourbon Street?

Carl- You had a very productive day working on the turret.  It looks GREAT!  Hope you were wearing mask when you sanded that...

PANZERWAFFE,  immensely commendable patience!  I am fairly certain I would have literally punted it through the uprights and started on a new kit had I arrived at the same hurdles.  The camouflage is looking good too.  I found a couple color videos on Critical Past that show LVTs with camouflage and I am willing to bet you will be most pleased at how close your choice of colors matches what is in the video.  Although it is of an LVT3 and LVTA4 on Okinawa I imagine the colors available only a year earlier would not have differed greatly.  I received my PE set this week that may interest you as well, if your project can wait on the delivery from China; additionally at only $15 it is a pretty good deal.  It provides the rounded gun shields and ammo cans that would compliment that LVT.  I purchased it purely to scan and scale-down the gun shields for my 1/72 LVT4.  I scanned the instructions for you to peruse.

Shellback,  the turret is looking good, will be impressive with some paint and weathering.

I managed some time at the hobby desk during the week and made a little more progress on both the LVT4 for this GB and a little work on one of my LVTA4s.  I am nearing completion of the hatch on the LVT4 and am experimenting on the LVTA4 for a process to apply to the LVT4.  The headlight guards are too tall on the kit so, I have fixed one but for experiment one will saw it off, thin the sides and height of the guard and then reattach to the top deck.  For experiment two, I will attempt to remove the headlight and replace the guard with a thin strip of plastic.

ET Models 1/35 PE for LVT4:

Progress on my LVT4:

Progress on my Iwo LVTA4:

LVT videos:

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675052850_United-States-Marines_L-Day-landings_burial-vaults_Japanese-caves

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675052910_22nd-Marines-1st-and-2nd-Battalion_vehicles-stuck-in-mud_advance-in-Naha

Rob,,,   it does look better,, very nice indeed

Carl,, I like that turret. You've added some great detail.....

Deat,,,  LVT coming along,,,,   see you are tweaking a bit too...   great job

I am pleased with how experiment one turned out on the LVTA4 and will apply the same process to the LVT4.  The non-modified LVT4 headlights have a “crab-eye” like appearance.  The LVT4 will be easier as I do not have to worry about sanding away details such as the boat hooks on the LVTA4.
I also affixed the top-deck to the hull on the LVT4 and the gap is readily apparent where I needed to glue a strip of plastic.  Had to add some putty to even out some of the spaces in the cargo area and now I will have to add some details because it looks rather barren.

Detail , nice work . I just read an account of the assault landing on Peleliu . Imagine traveling in the water under fire  at the speed of  3-5 miles per hour ! Some the LVT's made several round trips from the beach back to the reefs and back under agian the enemy fire .

Thanks  Andy, Bill and Detail .

Deattilo- Great process on your LVTs, I have to say that my heart has grown bigger toward to the LVTs.  I almost brought an upgrade set from E.T. Model earlier but I didn't cause I wasn't too sure if they are that good.  How do you rate it against Verlinden sets?  My experience with Verlinden wasn't that great... 

BEN - I'm hoping they come out with more LVT's myself.  Even though the one I'm doing is a re box maybe it is a sign that more will come?  There is also the new kit from AFV Club so we will see if it leads to more?  I want 1/35 though.

CARL - Very nice job with the turret  I really like the texture and the way you were able to mold the side shell hatch is beautiful.

DEATTILIO - Both LVT's are looking great  The lower headlights did come out nice.  I plan on working on the headlights for mine today.  It's nice to see the top put on both of the LVT's.  The added armor and the MG ring is also a nice touch.  Question: On the (A)4, top port sponson, is that the bilge pump outlet?  That is on all the armored variants but on the LVT 4 the bilge outlet comes out of the bow "bumper", is that correct?  Those videos do make me feel better now, Thanks!

Thanks also for the scan of the PE sheet.  I had almost ordered that one and I now wish I had.  Instead I got the Trakz LVTA2 detail set and was hoping to use the shields from that.  Will not though, not pleased with the shields at all.  They are way to small in overall size and they will not fit a .50 MG.  They are rather thick also.  May use your scan to see if I can fabricate something?  Here is a pic of the Trakz set:

I usually scratch my added details so I may still try to make some shields?  I will use the fire extinguisher and headlights.  Will save the rest and see if the parts will work for the other LVT kits.  Were should the extinguisher be located / mounted?

BILL - Thanks, good to hear you like the paint

ANDY - Will look into work schedule and see about a New Orleans trip.  We just went last week which is one reason for my lack of presence here.

The LVT 4 build has been at a snails pace   This is mainly due to the Fruil tracks and waiting for markings.  The tracks have to be put on before I can attach the top and I wanted to do some weathering before the tracks were in the way.  Before any weathering had wanted to put on the decals on the sponsons but I am still waiting for them.  Will not even use the "A43" anymore because of the painting problems but had also ordered a set of yellow stenciled numbers and letters.  Have now assigned the LVT to Yellow Beach 2 and it wears the two yellow beach bars.  It has been over a week now and I am tired of waiting for the decals so believe I will go ahead and put the tracks on so that I can continue construction.  Will have to weather at the end with the tracks in the way.  I like to have everything weathered normally without the tracks being in the way.

Glad all of you like how she looks now.  It really helps!  This has been the most frustrating model I've ever built!  It's not the kit, it is pretty good.  It's me with all the paint problems, ordering AM that I don't like, and the waiting.   It is frustrating to say the least.  Several times it has come close to being smashed but instead I walked away.  Have never experienced this problem with my other builds but I am determined to get this one too the finish line, no matter what!!!

PANZERWAFFE,  I have not broken my resin set out of the packaging and it is discouraging to hear that it will not work well.  The LVT4 had its bilge pump discharge from the forward bumper, not sure what the rationale behind the change from previous variants was though.  I scanned the several pages from the TM providing information on the fire extinguisher.  I also scanned and measured the PE gun shield, it measures 1.792 inches between the lowest two points.  I scaled down the measurement for 1/72 and although it looked too large to the Mk1 eyeball, once cut from paper and shaped it looks proper when propped on the kit; another lesson in trust the math not the eyes.  I will take couple pictures and post them later in the day, got some work homework and favors to knock out first.

deafpanzer,  I have also heard bad reviews about the Verlinden sets, once again disturbing since I snagged them up as they became available but, have not used any of them yet.  I have the Eduard, Voyager and E.T. Models sets and all appear as though they will be more user friendly than Verlinden.  The Verlinden stuff looks much thicker than the Eduard, Voyager and E.T. Models sets.

Scan of ET Models PE gun shield:

Information concerning portable fire extinguisher per TM 9-776:

PANZERWAFFE

BEN - I'm hoping they come out with more LVT's myself.  Even though the one I'm doing is a re box maybe it is a sign that more will come?  There is also the new kit from AFV Club so we will see if it leads to more?  I want 1/35 though.

Ive only ever built 1:48, now Im so used to it Im scared to try anything else. Also the scale seems to be best for the space I have, 1:72 is too small.

DEATTILIO - The extinguisher photos will be helpful, Thanks

Did some tone change with chalks and then used different grit and pigment to make some Iwo Jima sand.  Added the sand to the top of the sponsons by mixing 50 / 50 water and white glue with the sand.  Applied with an old paint brush and sealed it with a few coats of dullcoat.

Believe it or not this concoction has a pretty durable finish.  The sides of the sponsons will be weathered in the end, final weathering stage. 

After the sand then put the tracks on permanently.

Closer view of how the sand looks with the tracks.

Now I can get the top of this thing put on and things should become more interesting now.  Finally feel like I'm making some progress

Just came across this build.

Is it too late to join??  As you can see by my avatar,, this is my favorite modeling subject...

Have many kits needing built, but will probably pull out a 120MM figure.

Semper Fi!

Tonka- Nice avatar!!!  You are going to make many men here happy.  No, it is not too late for you to join especially that I haven't started mine.  The only thing you have to do is to buy us few first before you can start your build.  

120MM figure sounds GREAT!  I am into figures too... 

TONKA - Great to have you, welcome aboard  The figure does sound nice, will make for the first figure build here.  Let me know what you plan and I will add you to the roster

Rob , interesting what you did to represent the build up of gravel on the top run of track guide .

Rob- How in the world I missed your post earlier.  I was probably using iPhone or iPad... nice touch with the dirt!!!  Never thought about that... I am so glad you redid the camo!

No worries about NOLA if your schedule is tight... we will be there first week of April.  We plan to visit D-Day museum this time.  Any word where you are going to be relocated? Hope I didn't miss that... remember I lost my mind to sinus infection for two weeks. 

Rob,,,     coming along great!    I like the added dirt - weathering

Tonika,,,   glad to have you with us.........    will be looking forward to your fig build

CARL, BILL - Thanks my friends

ANDY - April for NOLA still gives me some time to figure out if I will be able to get over there, will let you know.  No, still waiting to find out where I'm going next.  Should not be much longer to find out.

Been sanding away all day and just about finished and ready to get some primer on.  Will get some pics up real soon.

Yesterday’s progress pictures; the headlights have been modified, aside from the starboard one on the LVTA4.  The bottom picture shows the outline of the gun shields I will be cutting out.  As mentioned, they look a bit large but the paper cut out looks right.  Doubt I will make much progress during the week but should be able to retackle it next weekend.

Deattilio --nice work on the LVTs -- looks like the YAT YAS parking lot!  :-)

Thanks everyone for the welcome..

I decided to go with this fig..it is kind of unusaul pose...120MM by Miniature Allliance.

DEATTILIO - That makes a big difference with modifying the headlights.  The shields look like they are right to scale to me.  Looks good

TONKA -  Will be fun to watch how you paint and achieve the skin tone, something I'm still trying to learn how to do.  These larger scale figures have always interested me.

Will go and update the roster.

Glued the the lid on this can last night and let cure overnight to ensure the bond was strong. 

Starting this morning, have been filling many gaps with Squadron putty and then sanding.  Does not show much in the picture (which means the sanding was successful, right) but every join in the cargo bay had to be filled and sanded then filled again and sanded.  Things came out better then expected.

Next will be to add some of the smaller bits such as the cleats, MG mounts, tow hook, bow armor plate and then it will receive a coat of flat black primer.  Forgot to mention, had also finished installing the cab crown screws.  Also still need to attempt to make the Plexiglas domes that go over the periscopes.  Will see how that goes.

Tonka , i agree that is different pose than usually seen . Looks like he has a pet monkey .

Rob , sounds tediouse , all of the filling and sanding , but its got to be done . Good results . Those domes will be interesting to make .

I wont be able to post pictures for awhile, parents comp fried. Will get you updated when I can.

CARL - The domes should be interesting indeed.  My plan is to use a piece of clear flat stock, its a little thinner than 1/64.  Use maybe a dowel or old paintbrush end, round it off to proper shape.  Use the dowel as a mold and hold the flat stock on top of it while holding over a steamy, boiling pot of water.  Hopefully the heat will mold the flat stock to shape?  Have any other suggestions?  Will give it a try tomorrow.

BEN - Thats no good, at least yall will get a new computer out of it

Little work done on the bow.  Worked on the headlights and bow armor.  The kit supplied headlights were to high and too thick.  So, used the resign headlights that came with the Trakz kit set and scratch made the headlight guards from brass sheet.  Mounting the actual headlight, there was not a locater tap or anything to keep the light up right and the light kept falling off / not staying in place.  Took the kit light, cut the locater tap off and glued it on the resign lights.  Here you can see one resign light with the added tap and the light on the right is still waiting for it's tap.

This made mounting the lights very easy.  After the lights, added the guards.  Also in this next picture you can see the added bolt heads for the bow armor plate.  The bolts were made from cutting small pieces of .020 hex rod and gluing them in place.  Once the bolts were dry used a piece of flat stock to lay flat against the armor plate and butted up against the bolts, using it as a guide, and sanded the bolts down to the same height.

On the back side, top of the armor plate used some scrap PE and made the brackets that attached the armor plate to the deck.

Here is a pic showing the scratch lights compared to the kit lights.

Looks great Panzer!  Nice job on using the brass sheet and the PE scraps.

Makes me want to break out my LVT kits and start on them.. 

Just need more time,,,dang work keeps getting in way of what I really want to do!!

Rob , nope i have no better idea on how to form the domes . Will wait to hear how your idea works out . Your detail work is looking pretty sharp .