Have Gun Will Travel II: SP Artillery GB 2012

Hi Jim -- definitely, I'm teaching at the U at this time, and trying to have a social life (hahaha!), and the hobby is the relief valve from the rest... Ten or more kits underway at once, and finally the PE sets for the AS-90 have come in! I've ben inspecting them closely and am looking forward to bending steel!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

I made significant progress on the Atomic Cannon this weekend.  I'll post some pictures later.  That thing is huge!

Jim

Hi waynec -- the basic brief for the subject matter was self-propelled tube artillery and rocket artillery, so the DANA, the PLA Type 83 and the MLRS are all clear for inclusion; the SCUD anf the DF-21 would be stretching things as they are not technicaly artillery except in the German WWII sense of ballistic missiles being an adjunct to artillery. I was thinking of tackling the Type 83 later in the year myself...

Looking forward to whatever you decide to field!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Waynec -- page 1 updated, feel free to rip into that beast!

Mike/TB379

Hi Thunderbolt379,  I am finally here . Just received my stash of these

1. Semovent da 75/18 M40, Italeri, 1:35

2.Panzerjager I 4.7cm Pak(1), Dragon, 1:35

3.Panzer III 15cm sturm-infanteriegeshutz 33, Dragon, 1:35

Don't know which one will I build first, so put me down for all but I doubt I can finish all of them by the deadline, esspecially as I am going back to school in September. Oh, and I have yet to set up my new modeling cave in our new house. Yes, I have my own modeling room now in the far corner of the basement

Cheers...

Waynec -- that's quite a stash, in fact it sounds like fodder for Achtraden II, and this is probably a great place to moot that idea. Anybody interested???

Castelnuova -- great selection, page 1 updated!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

I'm back, and after a stop in play I've hit a snag.

I used silly putty to mask, hit it with a few coats of brown for the camo and then the kit sat.  Now I've pulled the silly putty up and it looks like its left a discoloration.

Am I repainting? Have I messed the kit up?

Hi Chris -- if the surface of the paint has been impregnated with something bleeding over from the silly putty, I'm afraid so... I would also use fine sandpaper on the discoloured areas to lift as much of it as possible to keep it from bleeding up through a fresh coat...

Mike/TB379

I eventually finished the 1/48 Sturmtiger that I had committed to the original 'Have Gun Will Travel GB'. It was a bit late though :)

I've been looking for a 1/48 kit that I could build for this one, there doesn't seem to be many 1/48 SP guns available. Does anyone have any suggestions ?

Cheers

Tony

I may be the last one still struggling to finish, but I will get there one day.

well i haven't started yet. have a few GBs ahead of this one.

And I've not had a chance to get back to mine, either -- good job this thing runs a year!

M/TB379

Gentlemen, I am finally back to this GB with some modeling time put into it. It has been crazy for the past 2 months or so...

Anyway, here is a bit of WIP on this bad boy:

Second shoe coming soon

Cheers...

Great to see it happening, CN! That's a sweet piece of work -- Friuls?

M/TB379

No, good ol' magic track.

It's looking good.

I just finsh the Cyber-Hobby copy of this SIG 33. That seam on the barrell was a bugger to get rid of along with the attachment marks on the superstructure.

I've come up with an Italeri 1/72 Bishop. Couldn't find a 1/48 anything and I don't want to do a 1/35 one.

Could you register my entry please ?

I note that this was the most expensive 1/72 tank in the hobby shop, but it's just a re-release of an old Esci mold. Interesting.

Cheers

Tony

Sure thing, taxtp -- welcome aboard, M/TB379

There is something satisfying getting the tracks on.

Any suggestions on getting a bit more droop in the tracks?  Looks a little high and tight.

Still need to touch up the paint, and some more detail stuff but progress is looking promising.

GC -- hi, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. Droop in the tracks -- Tony Greenland had a technique in which he drilled and drove pins in to the body at the sag points and threaded the pins into the tracks to hold them down -- it sounds a bit dicey, especially with the tension the vinyls can develop. Also, that was for Panzers -- if I understand correctly, most US postwar armour, all the way up to the present day, uses "live track," in which each link is tensioned against its neighbour, exploiting that tension to reduce the energy lost in driving the tracks. The net result, if I understand correctly, is that the tracks on US armour characteristically don't sag the way WWII German or most Russian tracks do (they use "dead track," i.e., without inter-link tensioning.)

My airbrush is in the shop for servicing, so I'll be on "other duties" for a while, and that gives me a chance to tackle the photoetch for the AS-90. This'll be interesting!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

I'll have a look at trying to tie them down.  I think I'm past the point of pinning the tracks.

From most of the pictures I've found it's a very subtle sag so I may just skip it.

On a side note - I couldn't find the badge for this build.  I'm close enough I can taste it......

GC -- sounds like you're champing at the bit! Wayne's technique of tying them down with a loop around the roadwheel axles sounds excellent, a bit fiddly perhaps but would also have the virtue of being un-doable if another technique comes along in future, such as a workable set being produced for this subject...

The badges -- mea culpa. I have a marvelous set of images chosen out and hope to have them available later today. It turns out I rounded up the pics long ago but they got put too far onto the back burner...

Well, with my airbrush in the shop for repairs I finally have a clear shot at non-paint-related activities, so I'm going to start the PE for the AS-90. Here's the two Eduard sets:

I've studied the drawings for quite a while and I think I might be able to tackle most of it -- let's see how dextrous I can be. Progress pics as work allows...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

I realized that the sprue with the tracks came with 2 sets for approx 5-6 track links.

There's no reference to them in the instructions.  

My bright idea is to disconnect one of the links on the bottom of a road wheel and glue in a spare link or 2.  Not sure if it'll look seem less But my hopes are I'll have a natural sag.