Yes it is very good, but a bit oversized for some jobs involving close in work. I have a Tamiya scribing tool and a Squadron one as well. Between the two of them all of my scribing tool needs are pretty much covered.

I'll pick one up at my LHS tomorrow. Thanks for answering my stupid questions!

Not a stupid question at all my friend- asking folks who have used something is a great way to decide of you should spend your money on it or not.

Funnily enough I have just been looking at scribing tools as I don't have one and its something I want to try. And I was just comparing the ones on Hannants and decided I will go for the Tamiya one. Whats the difference between the two you have stik.

The Tamiya one is a bit on the bulky side, having a handle somewhat like a box cutter, and it has a wheel nut attachment type point so that the blade can be removed/replaced as needed. The Squadron one is a long slender single piece affair machined from a single piece of steel and resembling a dental tool..

For those panel lines that are straight but too wide, you might get away with just brushing on a layer or two of surfacer, though the resulting  depth will be shallower.  The irregular line, best to fill in completely and redo.

I haven't had good luck re-scribing over superglue - it dries rock hard and when passing the scribing tool over two different surfaces (the other being the plastic kit), can cause it to jump, or after several passes, you might find the depths uneven - just be aware of that.   Fine grade putty if you have it - coarser can tend to crumble.

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PE detail is complete for the most part, but still might scratch build a few things, like some remnants of the wading depth gear in the back end.  This will require elevating the storage box at the rear to provide clearance for said gear, though I can't figure out why the bin seen in these photos is upside down:

I've also removed the spare tracks and have to redo this.  Photos show those stored in the provided racks had the guide teeth removed, while the remainder had the teeth on backwards:

The only regular gear I left off the tank were the gun cleaning rods, though I did attach the clamps for them.  They likely were placed in the rear bin.  There should be a sledge hammer too, but none provided in the kit.

Still working on replacing the Tamiya tracks.  I ordered a resin set, and though they have the more proper thread pattern, the overall quality is - well I'll just say I've seen better.  I've emailed Shapeways.com (a 3D printing company) to see if they offer their Sherman tracks in 1/48.

regards,

Jack

Looking all kinds of awesome, jg.

Thanks for the info stik. The squadron ones might be awkward for me to get, I know Hannants has the Tamiya one and a few others, but the Tamiya looked the best of the bunch. I will soon see.

Jack, that rear bin is really odd. You couldn't put much in there as it would all fall out when you opened the bin.

Nice progress.

you guys might try UMM.com for scribing tools.

wayne, are you sure that's the right addy, I get a website called Arab.com

speaking of the FLAK 43 here are somme pics of the camo. as stated painted it to set in a field with tall crops. will pin wash it later after i get all the pieces together.

OOPS. just swaged it incorrectly it seems, www.umm-usa.com

my spelling is fine, it's my typing that isn't.

Nice progress on the gun. And thanks for the link.

She's a beauty, Wayne!

getting ther though yesterday at 1100 she almost looked like the aftermath of a rocket and straffing run.

Jack: Looks good! That is odd about the storage bin though.

Wayne: Dang, you're almost done there. Camo looks good, I don't think I'd ever see it!

thank you. base moulding is drying. should add texture and a bit of splash though this will be a generic base for 2 reasons: 1) so i can use it to photograph various small guns and 2) so it doesn't get pulled out of artillery and into diorama category. camo is what i would go as gun chief if i was going to deploy in crop filled fields.

what to do next? working on DANA and LCVP, looking at FLAK 37, searchlight, FLAK 38, truck for this gun, canadian 6 pounder w/ truck  or modern us M-102 105mm and LVTM truck in merdc desert camo.

or i could start my DO-335

Camo is awesome

the kit is ok and i have a second one, but i made almost every model building 101 dumbass (pronounced like the french DOO MAHS) mistake. MMA paints, burnt umber pin wash and tamiya metallic gray with blue oil wash on the gun metal toned down with gray oil wash. tires are painted MMA engine gray and light dusting with tamiya powders.

Wayne, nice one!

I'm thinking I like the ground work more than the model piece, my eyes keep going back and forth from one to the other - excellent work!

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Quick update on the Firefly progress:

1.) After corresponding with the 3D printer as well as the individual that owns the design of the Sherman tracks, they informed me that at this time they cannot produce them in 1/48 scale. The medium used to create their products would not be able to hold the smaller detail.  So I will have to work some magic with what I currently have.

2.) About halfway done scratch building some deep wading gear. Mostly from sheet plastic, but will add a brass section as it better holds the dented and beat up look.  Should have some photos posted in a few days.

regards,

Jack

wayne, another great addition to the front page.

Jack, a pity about those tracks. But from what I have seen, I am sure you can make something decent out of what you have.

Wayne: Looks good! Again excellent work on the model and the base works- looks good but not so elaborate it distracts from the model.

I'm not sure what I like best, the camo or how you finished the gun. I think you've done an awesome job on both. Wayne did you hand paint the brown striping?

thanks to all for the complements. the red/brown was hand painted and might be a tad thick in spots. perservered on this one too. which means more shelf queens will be completed in the future. glad the base did what it was suppose too, present the model rather then be a part of the model. as i get more info on the IPMS-USA base discussions i will pass them along. guess i best finish up the LCVP.

Looks very good there Wayne. almost like a German MERDC ;-) Yes, there has been quite a bit of discussion about the IPMS bases rules after the National at both the local IPMS and AMPS chapters.

ok all you lanyard yankers, i need some help. my german 150mm is going to get some figures. looks like 3, a soldier holding the lanyard, one ready with the next round, and a third holding the powder chatge. the breech opens horizontally to the right and the sight is on the left. aimming posts are not deployed so this is in direct fire mode. where would the 3 soldiers stand and where would the lanyard be attached?

I've looked at this youtube vid several times,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucOhFxHWWQg

but couldn't  make out where the lanyard is attached.   The person standing on the immediate right is definitely the firing position, while the crew member on the immediate left is is in charge of the sights.

As witnessed in the video, the rope does pass through  a ring on the backside of the gun shield and then attached to a second ring located on the firing lever, (diagram only illustrates the hole on the firing mechanism, I believe this is where the other ring should be to attach the lanyard):

regards,

Jack

solved my problem with figures. the guy holding the shell can be altered to look through the sight on left. second guy standing to the right holding the lanyard and a 3rd guy standing on the left next to wheel observing. no room for ammo (shells, rounds, bombs oh my) unless i make a larger base. may do that and just use this base for a couple of infabntry.

Dang...it's been almost a month since I last posted on the Horch.  Here's what I've done so far.

I mated the body to the floor pan...what a pain.  There where cat gaps where the floor was supposed to meet the spare tire wells - filled those with .010x.020 Evergreen strip.  I closed off the rear cargo area and added the lid to the side window storage bin and added the handle.

I aded the bonnet/front engine cover.

The dashboard is funky- there's only 4 dials on the Horch 1a dash

The interior has been pre-painted in Tamiya German grey.  Since the 711.ID was formed pre-43, my Horch will have a grey interior and Dunkelgelb exterior with some sort of camo.

Now to find one of Tamiya's Panzer 4 OVE sprues....I need a rear NoTek taillight.