Semper Fi War in the Pacific

DEATTILIO - Thanks for the offer for the pics but I have plenty of the M2HB already.  I was in a Heavy Guns Platoon in the Corps and had an MOS 0352.  Also carried the MOS of 0331.  Plus I still work with the M2's everyday at present.

Shame to hear of the misgivings of your AAVP7A1 but it looks like she is coming along nicely with the work you are doing on her.  She is going to look real nice when complete

This will be the first time using update sets for the MG's so I am looking forward to working with the parts when they arrive.  Was not going to spend the money at first but being that they were the main armament and were highly visible decided to give the update sets a try.

Not sure if you are aware, having trouble clicking on your pictures and opening the window to enlarge them.  When I click on one my computer blocks the window and says that their is a virus attached.  This has just started.

CARL - Yes there was a big difference in the LVT kit receivers and the Dragon receivers.  Believe the Dragon ones was far more accurate.  The barrel on the LVT .50 did not have a flash suppressor on it, it was just molded to wide on the end.  One reason I did not want to use it.  The handles on the barrels were not carry handles they were rather flimsy handles and you would not have a barrel very long if you carried it by the handle.  The handle was there so that you could pull the barrel out of the receiver when it was hot.  Then you could put a new cool barrel back in and continue to fire,  The PE set I ordered comes with handles too but dont think I will use them.  We often never put the handles on our barrels especially if vehicle mounted.  We did use them when on a ground tripod.

The extinguisher was from that Trakz resign set.  The bottle and horn are resign.  Used stretched sprue for the hose and some strip styrene for the bracket.

Nice you tube video

TONKA - Good deal on getting those MG barrels.  Think the LVT's would make a good candidate for them being that they would be so visible.

G - VERY NICE  A few days ago I came across your build in Armorama by searching for pics.  Did not realize it was you.  She really looks good. like all the extra track.

ANDY - Looks like another interesting fig set  MB is putting out a lot of new interesting figures lately.  Still haven't picked one up but I still plan too...one day.

LVT-4

Base coat on.  Will get it's camo tomorrow.

Rob , thanks for the info . I looked at a website and that was their discription of the handle . I was looking at this video and i see there is a newer style handle for changing out the barrel .........looks like a better set up to me .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b7ynt960-s

Been a few days since I've tossed anything into the pot....   been a bit busy with some unimportant nonsense (work and such).....

Anyhow,,,

Andy,,, you are right. I will see your two and raise it two for scratchbuilding (      ),,,,   totally agree. I do like your fig choice(s) too,,,   should be very fitting.

Ben,,  I also would think the white numbers would work...  especially after a bit of weathering

Tonka,,  the fig looks very well detailed,,,  the monkey too!

Rob,,  the LVT,,  nice...  You do go crazy with details, don't you?  Great work on the 50's and 30. Will be cool to see the new barrels. Nice extinguisher too,,,   again, more details -- gotta luv it!

AgentG,,, very nice Sherman,,,  I do like that camo scheme,,,,   !

Carl,,   funny vid,, squashing that car,, HA!   And,, I like the 50cal vid too,,   awesome.

Here is a quick update on my Jeep scene.....    The Jeep is getting there. I needed to finish the driver before I could actually complete it.    So, I have been working on some figures as well...

While not exciting,,,  here ya go - - - -

The driver supplied with the kit was,,    ok, but I wanted him leaning forward a bit more. My idea for the scene is to have the Jeep struggling to get out of a creek bed. So I began correcting the figure.

Once I figured out a good angle I took a look at the upper torso and decided I didn't really like his head.

I searched through my Hornet heads and Jaguar heads (among others) and came up with a good rendition of what I wanted to portray. First,,  OFF WITH THIS HEAD....

This is the Hornet head I liked......

Back to the torso,,,  with the angle in mind, I glued in place and backfilled with putty.

Sanded, buffed, filled some more and I always coat these larger filler areas with cryo glue when I am happy with the results. I believe this helps protect the putty from any dings.

A big sink hole in the back needed some help too...

A little Mr Surfacer to smooth things out,,    and I also elimiated the cargo pockets and right *** pocket on this figure,,,    this pic shows the in-progress of cargo pocket elimination.

I will post some addtitional fig-pics tonight if I can......  

Hope you like,,,,     

All comments welcome of course

Bill . what ? Another P.O.'d Marine ?!!??

Looking good my friend !

Rob- Dig that color green!!!

Bill- I am glad you got rid of that face... we don't need any of those 'zombie' Marines!  Watching our fav show now... "The Walking Dead".   Nice work on the figure... can't wait to see it with new head next.  That means five from me...

Carl,,, Nah,,,  he is not PO'd,,  he is actually smiling,,  and I cannot believe that my post of   s h i r t   pocket got squelched...  unless I spelled it wrong,,, which I doubt ,,,      I will now desgniate it as a blouse,, sheesh...

Thanks Andy,,  yeah, I agree,, the original heads / faces are a bit much   ( but I do like the show,,  The Walking Dead )

The next figure needed a bit more help....    It is a stand up figure and my original idea is to have him pushing the jeep....     I needed to bend the knees more and alter the feet into a pushing position.

First cut a wedge out of the leg(s) and heat it / them up and bend into place. (cargo pockets will be removed)

The feet too....

Didn't like his head either,,,  OFF WITH IT,,,,, 

I chose a Jaguar head for this figure....

So,,  some torso repositioning, legwork, footwork, head adjustment,,,    - -

Cargo pockets removed and repaired...

All the gaps / holes and cuts were filled, sanded, filled, buffed, inspected and primed with Mr Surfacer just to make sure.

I also changed out the arms and one of the hands,,,,  anticipating how I wanted this figure posed....

I found an appropriate hand,,  and whacked off the original, replacing it...

I attached and went through the filling, sanding, filling method.....

With these conversions being made, I began painting. I used a custom mix for the uniform color(s) and began the process - - base coat, repeat, wash, lowlights, highlights, etc.

You can see the right blouse pocket has been removed....

Still a bit rough, but the blending will make the uniform look much better. Also painted the belts and straps..

"Flesh" toning is coming.......

Still pretty basic,, but fine tuning is on its way........

I decided to do some work on the heads....  As these heads are bald, I used some putty to sculpt some hair. I wanted to go for a Marine type haircut,,,    here is what I came up with.

The Hornet head is much more clean / detailed than the Jaguar head....   both are nicer than the originals however...

The Jaguar head,, not as clean as the Hornet,,,  but the figure position will help camo the faults...

To be honest,  both heads look better than my crappy desk photography shows.....

I have another good idea for the scene,,,    will let you know if it works out.

As always,,,  comments, suggestions welcome.....

Thanks for viewing

deafpanzer

Rob- Dig that color green!!!

Bill- I am glad you got rid of that face... we don't need any of those 'zombie' Marines!  Watching our fav show now... "The Walking Dead".   Nice work on the figure... can't wait to see it with new head next.  That means five from me...

 

 

Bill , very well done alterations and the skin tone looks great !

Hello Panzerwaffe,

I can contribute with an M4A2 Tarawa Sherman. It's the Dragon 1/72 model. It is completely new. No part has been cut from the sprues.

Greetings from Mexico,

Poliakarpov Mesteño

Bill --- Fig looks great! Nice details on removing the right *** pocket. Are you planning on converting the trousers also? Unblousing and removing the 'spats' ? I'm sure you know but Marines didn't typically blouse in WW2 and I have never seen a pic with spats in the field.

The skin tones and uniform color look great!  Really like how the new head came out!

Semper Fi

Shellback

 

 

Carl- LMAO!  That was a good one!  I needed it... out sick with tummy bug.  Rough night but starting to feel better now.

Tonka- Nice figure... like I said I will be following your work with interest.  I have few 1:16 figures and started one last year but couldn't finish it because those guys.

PM- aboard!  Hope you have plenty of tequila to share with us?

Greetings and Welcome Poliakarpov,,,    glad to have you with us. Will be watching for your build.

Thanks for the compliments on the figures guys,,,  they will still need a bit of work before completion.

Tonka,,  y'know,, I didn't even think about the spats and unblousing the legs,,  ARRGhhhh....  I will think about it and let you know...   not sure how much it will take to correct.    Appreciate the heads-up though.

Andy,,  yowza,, sick again? You have been battling off and on for a while now....  glad you're doing better.

Now,, an experiment,,   I noticed Tonka got censored too for the word    s h i r t   ....    so, I am going to type it right here - -    shirt    - -     And see if it gets censored.....    

Posting and be right back to check......

Hmph,,,   so I DID originally mistype the word,,    fumble fingers I guess.....

shirt shirt shirt *** shirt shirt shirt

Yup,,,     three "shirts" on each side with one    sh*t    in the middle

I dont get it with the spelling of shirt either ........................

Andy , glad the zombie helped

you know , you cant type *** here either , thats s c h m u c k

I did some work on the transmision cover . Its a cast piece on the Sherman and i didnt like the smooth look of the Tamiya kit part .

I used a stiff bristle brush dipped into lacquer thinnner to soften the plastic and then "stippled " the surface .

After the plastic rehardened ( using lacquer thinner cuts down on the hardening time versus liquid glue ) i sanded off most of the raised "stippled" surface .

Then appied a fast brushed coat of lacquer thinner to smooth the surface . I puttied areas that were overly deep .

Then a coat of primer to see how it looked .

Wow,,  great job Carl,,,      

Carlos- Great result... this is something I haven't attempted.  I would have used Mr Surfacer 500 but it is way too messy.  I should try this one day... don't be surprised if I holler for your help.

Yeah had sinus infection a month ago.  Now stomach virus but it is going away and I will return to work tomorrow.  I think my son has it now...

Bill and Andy , glad you likey . Mr. Surfacer would be o.k. but i think it puts down a non- random rough texture . If you get what i mean . My finished surface may be overly textured according to some exsperts but i like the look .

Shellback - Nice look on the trans cover.

Bill- easiest method I have found is to just scrape the spats starp off with a hobby knife, and use putty (I use miliput) to make the unbloused trousers,,,eitehr way they still look good !

i never even got the S H I R T thing...duh on me..shirt shirt shirt

Thanks tonka,,,  I may just leave them as is,,,  I am thinking about adding another Marine who does have the unbloused trousers and no spats...  perhaps putting this correct figure in a more prominent visual setting will distract from the other two....      hopefully once complete I won't get beat up too much for the inconsistencies.                           Good one on the shirt thing too,, ha!    shirt shirt .......

POLIKARPOV - Welcome aboard  M4A2's on Tarawa....NICE  Will update you onto the roster and I look forward to your build.  Again, good to have you with us.

CARL - Have never worked with a .50 MG with that type barrel / handle.  It looks like a solid handle that turns the barrel as you move it?  If that is so, it may set the head space also like on the M240 MG's?  Either way looks like an improvement. 

Transmission cover looks great.  Think the texture is just right IMO  I've only used liquid glue before and will have to try the lacquer thinner.

BILL - Details.....I've learned that stuff from you guys  Your figure modifications are awesome.  The repositioning of them really is looking good and it makes them very unique.  Those heads have a lot more character and your painting of them looks great.  Like the idea of pushing the jeep out  Will be watching, must learn how to modify figs myself, your making a great teacher.

ANDY - Glad you like the green.  Was going for a more green color than usual.  I've read the PTO vehicles were painted more of a green color, it worked better in the jungles.  After trying a few different colors, went with MM enamel Medium Field Green # 34095 straight out the bottel.

Are you sure your sick again or you just getting extra bench time in?  Stop sniffing the glue and get yourself better

Rob,, thanks Pal,,,    glad you like the figs. Takes forever to complete the damn things though,, ,, 

Rob , i see that the M240 has the same type of handle . Its angled off to the right instead .I do think its mounted solid for quick barrel changes . Never touched one myself . We had .50 cal's mounted on the ship manned by Marines when we up the river to Saigon but them guys wouldnt let us swabbies touch them ..........LOL

Whoa ! Andy's sniffing glue ?

CARL - Cant believe those Jar-heads wouldn't let you play with there .50's!

I've been a little limited on time here lately but stayed up late last night to get some painting done.  First had too make some corrections.  Did not really see any problems when first primed in flat black but after painting the base color in medium green had found that there were still some seams showing where the hatch move / repair took place.  Had to add more putty and more sanding.

Had also sanded and corrected some other small imperfections.  After the corrections, sprayed flat black again and then the base color medium green.  Looks better now I think.

Then continued and painted the brown and light sand camo.  Carl, I believe you where right, may be to white of a color or I'm just not use to these colors / pattern?  It should be easy to weather though and should darken up with the weathering?  Either way this is how it is.  Will see what all of you think.

Rob,,,  first, great fix,,  very nicely done.    Second, I think the colors look fine,,,,  seriously, by the time you finish weathering, you can blend, darken, wash, tweak, etc. until you find the fit you are looking for.   Personally I think the colors look good for the base coating...           I recall advising Carl, with his jeep bumpers,,   no frettting!,,,     So I would offer the same in this case too...  No Fretting

Rob , can you picture a cruiser with sand bags stacked up along the gunwales of the main deck and Marines with their .50's positioned behind them ? I still cant figure out where they got the sand from after 20 days at sea ..........................guess they had it planned out b4 hand .

I like the black pre -shading with the green . Well , to me the light clor in the camo really stands out but historically it is probably correct . Like you and Bill said when you weather this beast it will tone down the camo colors and look fine .

So now then ................some more stuff done .

From what i researched the welds in the channels of the armor plates of the Tamiya kit are wrong . On the kit the welds are below the level of the plates and they should be at least flush or slightly raised . They aint pretty either .

Example

Afore

After

BILL - No fretting here.  Believe it just takes some time for me to get use too the pattern / colors.  Would agree with you, once washed and weathered things should be fine.  Thanks

CARL - Yes, I can imagine your Cruiser with sandbags.  I've seen pictures before, somewhere, of what you describe.  Maybe they dug the sand out of the sea strainers  On that LSD I told you I was on, drills at general quarters we manned the guns too.  We were behind armor plate though, no sandbags.

I agree with you too about the camo on the LVT.  The preshade and green I really liked.  Even when the brown went on it looked good but that light color really does stand out.  I do believe it too be historically accurate or at least close.  The color does do what it is suppose to do though.  Meaning, stepping back from the bench and looking at the LVT from a distance that light color really disrupts the shape of the vehicle.  Real life camouflage is not mainly to hind the vehicle per say but it was too hide what kind of vehicle or what direction it was in or armament it had, etc.

Weld beads look good  Glad you added them.  Thats one of the first things people seem to point out with Sherman's.  It's funny none of the different model companies makes Sherman's with the proper weld beads.  I've built Tamiya, Dragon and Italiera Sherman's and none of those had the correct welds.