TigerII, thanks!!

Good luck with the T-72. I've got one of Esci's M60s and actually found it a pretty good kit, maybe the T-72 is the bad apple? Or maybe the M60 was their only good armour kit? Looking forward to photos in any case.

First I want to thank everyone for their recommendations on photo sharing sites. I chose flickr and so far so good. I like the ease of uploading pics and posting as I just did on the Dioramas forum. I just started to build my Iraqi T-72 and I can see why AMT/Esci went out of business. There is plenty of flash to clean up and there might be some fit problems. But I'll overcome all of that. I do like the fact that it doesn't have an abundance of small parts like Dragon models. BTW Gamera your Abrams is coming along nicely and I understand what you are going through regarding the rear stowage bin; been there, done that. John I like the dark primer basecoat, although since my tank will be in the desert I think I'll stick to a white primer. Looking forward to getting started. 

Thanks John!

Great job there, looks very sinister in black!!!

Thanks guys for the compliments! It is much appreciated! 

Got the Vallejo primer coat on over the weekend. I'll try and get the base coat on tomorrow if I get a chance. Going to try the Mig Ammo brand.

Jeez that's some nice work Cliff. 

I figured as much. Dragon likes their multi part assemblies and that basket is just begging to be split into hundreds of tiny bits apparently.

Thanks Clemens!!! 

Frankly, I'm still cementing parts together for the stowage basket. I have no idea how many are in there- I know who designed it though... 

the Marquis de Sade...

Bish, Bovington was amazing. It's easily the best tank museum I've been to so far. Visiting on Tiger Day made it an even better experience of course.

Cliff, your Abrams is looking great. Dragon really does tend to overdo it with the parts count in their kits. In most cases you can't even get all the sprues back inside the box again! Just out of curiosity, how many tiny parts did you have to glue together for that turret stowage basket?

Thanks Bish. Sadly there are still a bunch of fiddly bits still left to add. I think I should have entered an Academy or Tamiya kit- I'd be halfway though painting by now. 

Coming along well G, almost ready for some paint from the looks of it.

John, thats some very nice detail on that. Looking really nice.

That was sneaky Clemens, you didn't say you were coming to Blighty. How did you find Bovvy.

I'm slowly hacking my way though this. Lots of work done on the turret and the hull is mostly complete:

Cliff: My vacation went very well, thanks!

John, that's a lot of tiny PE parts...

Your T-64 turret turned out looking amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing some paint on that tank. 

John: Wow, great progress and nice work!!! 

Build part is done and I hope to be able to get a primer coat on this weekend.

LOL, I think all together there are around a couple of hundred of those little buggers. Most are on the turret but there are some on the hull as well. They are fasteners for the anti-radiation panels on the real tank. Not really that bad once you get going on them. 

Yeah man, that's an Angels Dancing on a Pin detail. What are those itty bittys representing? Not a criticism, I just don't know what thay are. My hat's off to your patience!

Clemens: Hope your vacation/holiday went well!

John: AAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! How many teeny PE disks are there- wait I don't even want to know..... 

SchattenSpartan

 

 

John: I absolutely adore the T-64 in all its variants and yours is looking superb so far! (thankfully Trumpeter molded the ERA blocks in groups unlike on their T-72 where every single damn block is a separate part... )

 

 

Thanks! LOL, yes the separate ERA blocks on their T-72 is bad but not as bad as all those 2mm round PE discs!!!!

Please excuse my absence lately.

I just got back from a trip to the UK (including a visit to Bovington on Tiger Day, pictures to follow in the near future)

B-1CC: I'll get you added to the roster right away. I own one of Takom's Mk.10 kits, so I'm very interested in how it builds up as well.

Sailing Dutchman, I'll put you down as TBD for now. Once you start your build, I'll change it to whatever you've decided on. Welcome aboard!

Cliff, looks like your Abrams is coming along nicely. Only about 2000 parts to go now!  Btw, that part probably broke off because the sprues are packed in there so tightly. Wouldn't be the first time with a Dragon kit...

John: I absolutely adore the T-64 in all its variants and yours is looking superb so far! (thankfully Trumpeter molded the ERA blocks in groups unlike on their T-72 where every single damn block is a separate part... )

Mike: Your M113 is looking great. It's pretty unusual to see one with a turret and that washed out camo is a nice change as well from all the clean and shiny NATO camos you see on most modern armor models.

This past week afforded me some good bench time on the M113. The flotation "pods" on the hull are now in place, and I was able to make some good progress on the turret, leaving off some small stuff that would be hard to paint around.

The photos are from Prime Portal, depicting a pretty scuffed up RAAF M113, and I am using these as reference. According to Tank Encyclopedia, this kit is actually a Medium Recon Vehicle, the only variant equipped with the Scorpion turret. As such it would have only seen action in the East Timor conflict.

It appears that the green was the main color, so I've used it as a base coat.

Happy modeling!

Mike   

Bish

 

 

Gamera

 

 

Bish

Looks good G, just slap some mud on that rear plate, you will be fine

 

 

 

 

Lol, it's a little high but yeah I figure some could splatter up there. If it still looks 'off' after painting I'll give that a go. 

 

 

 

 

O believe me, thats not high at all. You would be amased at how far that stuff gets flung up by the tracks. I have cleaned the mud off the turret of a Warrior, and thats 9 foot up.

 

Lol I don't doubt you at all! Just that I can't just put one chunk back there- I'll have to put more and I didn't want to cover the whole rear with clods of mud! 

ogrejohn

Managed to get some bench time over the weekend. Hull work is done and it's time to start the turret. I must say this kit is falling together pretty well. Hope I don't mess it up in the paint stage.

 

 

 

You gotta have faith in your skills, and from what I see, you don't have a thing to worry about.

Gamera

 

 

Bish

Looks good G, just slap some mud on that rear plate, you will be fine

 

 

 

 

Lol, it's a little high but yeah I figure some could splatter up there. If it still looks 'off' after painting I'll give that a go. 

 

O believe me, thats not high at all. You would be amased at how far that stuff gets flung up by the tracks. I have cleaned the mud off the turret of a Warrior, and thats 9 foot up.

Bish

Looks good G, just slap some mud on that rear plate, you will be fine

 

Lol, it's a little high but yeah I figure some could splatter up there. If it still looks 'off' after painting I'll give that a go. 

Looks good G, just slap some mud on that rear plate, you will be fine

ogrejohn

Managed to get some bench time over the weekend. Hull work is done and it's time to start the turret. I must say this kit is falling together pretty well. Hope I don't mess it up in the paint stage.

 

 

 

Some very nice work there John.

Thans Mike! Yes the bling is 100% box stock not after market.

Thanks Cliff! The ERA bricks are grouped for the most part. Only a few singles. 

John: Looks good! Those ERA bricks look like a pain though, hope you didn't have to put on every one as a separate part. 

Mike: Actually I've had almost no fit issues. The part that broke off the sprue taking a chunk with it is the only problem I've had so far. Why and how it did this I don't know. There weren't any other parts broken off and it like everything else was securely bagged. And the box was packed so tight there wasn't much room for it or anything to wiggle and jiggle around. 

Dutchman: Those all sound cool!