Awesome looking ladder, Pilot!

B-17, that ladder looks great, first class job.

Well, I am at the stage of my other builds now where I can start thinking ahead. So the panther is out of the stash and I have been having a flick through the instructions. Should be starting in a couple of weeks.

Yes, very nice work there on the ladder, looks more detailed than the kit part would have been.

I agree, that ladder looks great.

Anywho, here is the latest on my P-38 ; The Propellers finally came in. So this is the latest snap of them

They are looking nice Ken, are they Quickboost props.

If it's not too late, I'd like to jump in with Lindberg's 1/32 LCVP as a crossover from the 1944 GB.  I'll throw in some figures and try to make it a diorama before June 6, but we'll see how things work out.  If nothing else I'll have the boat done by then.  I was thinking I might not be able to finish in time, but being a US history teacher, I couldn't pass this up. :)

Bish

They are looking nice Ken, are they Quickboost props.

Yes Bish And I loved that jig tool for aligning them

Welcome aboard, Bob!

Ken: Those props really look nice!

No worries Bob. Even if you can just finish the LCVP and then do the dio after, that will be fine. I have done that a few times, i still have 5 armour kits waiting for Dio's.

Ken, ye i rather like that to. I have a few of their prop sets.

Minor update: between family responsibilities, illness, constant snowstorms, work, etc. etc., I haven't had much time to work on my Sherman, other than to start painting the tracks. Hopefully things will start to settle down soon...I hope.

I do have a question for you gents. I wanted to weather my tank a bit and thought I'd give pastels a try. I picked up a set of oil pastels, since the set contained all the relevant earth tones I'll need, plus I figured that the oil would help the pastel powder stick to the model better. However, in researching online I've seen wildly varying opinions as to whether to use 'dry' pastels, oil pastels, or just skip them entirely in favor of model pigments. Any guidance or advice would be much appreciated as I'm totally baffled at this point!

You could certainly use oil pastels for weathering - people that did twenty years ago started the pigment craze. But they're not the same as pigments simply because an oil pastel have a different texture - a little waxy instead of grainy. The reason pigments are used is to evoke mud, dust etc. In that case you're a little better off with standard pigments and use either ISP alcohol, mineral spirits or water to "fix them" if you want to fix them at all. You can use a pigment straight and just kind of grind it in - works with a matte surface. A lot depends upon whether you want to seal your final coat - I have tanks that have never been sealed and there's no harm done. I'd think that pastels would work pretty well for mud because you're throwing it in with some kind thickening agent.

You're perfectly safe with two or three pigments from any of the modelling companies like AK, MIG, Vallejo and Flory. The finest pigments are made by the French art paint company Sennelier - they're for artists that like to make their own paint, Sennelier makes some of the best paints on the planet, and hence they're really good - if you define "fine" as "good." They're cheaper per ounce than MIG, but only come in pretty large jars for about $9 per - and one jar is easily a lifetime supply. (I've got three - if I had five I could make any color I wanted.) If you want to get a slight adhesive effect but still get something very close to a standard pigment, Micro Mark sells a set of what they call "Doc O'Brien's Weathering Powder". Twelve colors are included for about $20 and they'd last years. (The adhesive effect make them a good fading pigment.) I've got MIG, Sennelier and Doc O'Brien's and use them all.

In any case, if you want to try what you have, cut some off the stick with a razor blade, pulverize it a bit and try it on some spare plastic and see what you think.

Eric

Update time!

Carpal tunnel surgery went well and my follow-up appointment is Feb 19th, they put me out of work until Feb 20th but I am going to state my case to stay out longer due to minor work related changes at my place of employment. I'm not in too much pain now but the stitches do itch like crazy under all that gauze though. LOL!

I can't wait to resume modeling!

Blacksheep: Best of luck with your surgery. Hopefully they can get it done then, over with, and you back on the road to recovery!

Raven: Best of luck to you as well, I've been trying to use pastels, pigments, etc for years and still don't have them working like I want.

BlackSheep: glad to hear it went well. Hopefully modelling will help the healing process. You never know!

EBergerud: thanks very much for that post, it does clarify things for me quite a bit. I think I'll give the Doc O'Brien's a try; since they're self-adhesive they might be better for a newbie like me.

Doc O'Brien - I'd second those, that set is what got me started on weathering powders.

I would never have thought of using oil pastels on models.  Not sure how pulverizing would go, I'd have thought any sort of friction would just cause them to melt and make a glob of colour, but I suppose if room temperatures are right...  or was it chalk pastels that started it all back some 20 years ago?

regards,

Jack

Doc O'Brien's are a good product and a good deal. Note the two browns and two reds are all rust colors - not just the "rusty" ones. Use them sparingly - it's really easy and unnecessary to waste pigments. If you don't lose the "white base" you're good for about every possible color. In my experience, it's very easy to get a too much red in mud colors - that light dirty brown you'll get is a lot closer to most earth colors - the yellow and brown make a fine desert sand. (Exceptions exist of course - parts of Asia like much of Vietnam have a very reddish soil.)

Those work well "neat" - with no fixing at all if you want a light dust effect - the most important for AFVs because all AFVs regardless of age or condition were dusty. Check the drug store and pick up some soft tipped applicators for eye cosmetics - they're cheap and work great for grinding in pigments - much better than brushes. (Of course you can buy them at hobby sites for ten times the price if you like but they'll be called pastel or pigment applicator brushes. Same thing.)

Eric

Blacksheep, all the best. Go slow...

Nice tips Eric, thanks. I'm going to order the pigments today. I love bargain hunting for hobby tools; my favorite file came from the cosmetic section. 

Blacksheep, good to hear it went well. Lets hope it keeps improving and you get back to the bench soon.

SchattenSpartan

Welcome aboard, Bob!

Ken: Those props really look nice!

Thanks  SS I like them too. I also like the price ($10.00) I think they were worth every penny

Also,  Now that I have the props for the lightning, It makes  me anxious to finish it. I have to make myself get up and walk away from it as It is very close to being done

Finally done with my last project so I'm ready to get started on my LCVP.  Looks like a lot of clean-up on the parts.  I'll get some pics posted once I make some progress.

That price is really good, Ken. I'll have to get me a set of those as well for my Eduard Lightning (Academy with AM goodies in the box)

i need to get back on my LCVP too as well as everything else. been a blah few weeks with not feeling well, cold weather, and model slump. but did well at local contest past saturday due mostly to saturating commercial trucks, modern war wheels, and towed artillery. i am doing my LCVP in british tricolor and had some issues with the unknown light looking color. 4 coats with sanding runs in between. not a big deal just annoying. all the gray except the hull is painted. should get green on today.

i usually powder over a clean piece of white paper and collect all the residue. i do the same when i add ground texture and save the residue in a special container so sometimes i have a premixed color without trying.

Look forward to that bob. Have you managed to sort out the figures yet.

I'm going to eventually get my hands on some Dragon and Master Box 1/35 GIs for a variety of poses and the Tamiya beach obstacle set as soon as my budget allows.  As far as the crew is concerned I think I might be able to put something together for life jackets and so forth.

I saw your other post about figures, I think even if the kit is exactly 32nd, I don't think using 35th figures will be a problem as long as they are not to close to any 32nd figures.

That's the conclusion I've come to as well after talking to the fine folks here on the forum and researching elsewhere.  I'll probably won't use the figures with the kit (except for the Navy crew) since they look pretty awful.

Had my follow-up appointment this morning. They took the dressing off and put new one on - this time not as bulky when I first was wrapped up in. Stitches looked good and am to keep the dressing on for 2 days. After 2 days, I can take it off to let it dry out naturally, take a shower, etc... The stitches will come off next week. I did discuss my concerns of the minor changes at my job (lifting, handling heavy items, etc...) and she told me not until the stitches are out. So it looks like I don't go back to work til March 3rd. LOL!

BlackSheep: enjoy the time off!

I finally found some time to paint my Sherman tonight; I'll post pics in a day or two. Laying down OD green on a dark green model was...interesting, to say the least. And oh, that moment when the cat jumped up on the workbench, right between me and the model. I think the air actually turned blue for a moment. Lucky for her I wasn't actually spraying at the time!