Harold: Thanks for the additional photos- that's a very cool and intricate looking gun. 

I will have to check out that video at the weekend.. Its does look odd haveing 2 sights, so i am keen to see how that works.

Gamera

Harold: Thanks for the additional photos- that's a very cool and intricate looking gun. 

 

Harold

Thats very nice John, really well done, thank you.

Front page updated, and that reminds me i need to go and watch that video.

Thanks for that link Jack. That explains the 2 seats and 2 sights, i was confused about that.

Finally made a start on the Huey after picking up a Revell boxing which included a part i was missing which is not used in the Revell kit. I am adding an Eduard PE set to this. The instructions are a bit off in a few places, but fortunatly i can find some decent pics on line, includeing a couple of the aircraft i am doing on the 7 flight AAC twitter page from a couple of years ago.

I started on the interior, the instructions indicate useing OD for the side and roof padding, but the pics i found show a medium grey. I use Xtracolor blue/grey for the floor and Tamiya medium grey for the padding.

Then got the interior fitted and fuselage together. I had read that the fit was not good and it wasn't wrong. On this side the fuselage floor is fine.

But on this side there is a slight gap and the floor is low. I had planned on having one set of doors shut, so i will do it on this side.

Should have more soon. I need to work out what antenna's to fit and may also need to scratch build some. This kit dates for the late 90's, soon after the AAC started useing these in brunei. I pics i have are from 2019, so it looks like its been updated quite a bit since the kit was made.

Harold, neat looking model of the Bofors. 

Yes, the tandom crew for aiming the gun is something different.

Bish, you are a machine...

regards,

Jack

Harold: Very cool! I've poked around the AA guns on a couple preserved battleships and they're really interesting weapons. Great job you did on yours! 

Bish: Ohhh, super job there on the chopper. Looking forward to more.   

Thanks guys.

jack, i do try.

Sorry Bish, couldn't help myself...

Thats ok, your forgiven.

Haven't watched that movie in years.

Thank you, Jack and Cliff. Bish, it is amazing that you have completed so many fine models in 2020, by my count there is at least eight.

Like many others, I have been trying for days to post a reply to comments, but keep getting the dreaded 403 error. Finally today I just posted this notice without any connection to other posts and the system let me do it. This is very frustrating, but this forum is a free feature of FSM's larger website and most of the time it works fine.

Harold

Thank you Harold, its been a pleasure having you along and watching your builds.

I've seen others mention this error issue, but i have not had any problems.

Thank you Bish, I enjoy being part of a group build. I have made some new friends and learned new ways of doing things. I got to know you and Mike Starmer in the UK and Jack Geratic in Canada on a more personal level. It's been a fun experiance.

The 40mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft gun is finished and I'm back to work on the Matador. I assembled hardware for the tilt-out window and finished hand painting selected items in the cab. I have a little more hand painting to do around the windows, and cab is almost ready to glue together and add the roof. Then I will be ready to give the exterior a finish coat of S.C.C. 15 British Olive Drab.

My S.C.C. 15 Olive Drab is not the same color as U.S. Army Olive Drab, so I call it British Olive Drab or British O.D. This S.C.C. 15 color is a Mike Starmer Tamiya mix of 5 parts FX-61 Dark Green, 2 parts FX-62 Olive Drab, 2 parts FX-3 Flat Yellow and 1 or 2 parts FX-53 Neutral Grey to lighten the mix just a touch. I used Mike Starmer's color chip in his British Army Colours & Disruptive Camouflage book. Note of caution: Do not use more than the exact amount of FX-3 Flat Yellow. Even five extra parts can change the mix from British O.D. to a more Yellow Green color.

I will give the British O.D. a few days to dry and then apply either AK Elastic Putty or MIG Masking Putty to create the camouflage pattern with Tamiya XF-69 Nato Black. Since I have never used putty or for that matter successfully painted camouflage on a model it will be a new experience. My attempt to camouflage the last Matador with a stencil ended in oven cleaner disaster. This time I will practice on a couple of old tank bodies I keep around for just that purpose.

Harold

I finished the interior hand painting and cab assembly. Gave the exterior a touch up coat of surface primer and its ready for a couple of light coats of S.C.C. 15 British O.D. Since the top and lower part of the vehicle is painted in S.C.C. 14 Blue Black like the picture of 'The Old Lady' below I mainly need the British O.D. on the sides, front and back of the body. For Blue Black Mike Starmer recommends Tamiya XF-69 Nato Black.

Harold

Looking good Harold, i like the scheme your planning.

That looks great Harold, you're almost done now!

Gamera

That looks great Harold, you're almost done now!

 

Whoa good catch there on the tyres! 

Gamera

Whoa good catch there on the tyres! 

 

I finished the S.C.C. 15 British Olive Drab painting, so tomorrow is the real test for me. I have practiced flattening MIG Masking Putty with my wife's rolling pin, then cutting scallops with a hobby knife to create the 'Mickey Mouse' style of camouflage pattern that I am attempting to reproduce from the picture of 'The Old Lady' shown below.

The masking putty will be applied in sections over the British Olive Drab paint along the sides, front and back of the tractor body. Then all of the exposed surface, top and bottom will receive one or two light coats of Tamiya Nato Black to represent the S.C.C. 14 Blue Black color used for camouflage in 1944 Northern Europe.

Harold

Good luck! This is gonna be interesting! 

Harold, interesting approach to get that camou applied.

Since it is hard edge, you could just hand paint with a brush, though it would be advisable to thin the paint such that you will apply at least two layers.  This avoids the chance of paint buildup over details, and results in a nice even layer. 

But I can see the advantage of preparing masks.  It allows one to concentrate on the paint application and not worry about camou shapes.

regards,

Jack

Going to be interesting seeing that scheme Harold, looks tricky.

The notice the tires on The Old lady have a different tread, i am guessing they are modern replacments.

jgeratic

Harold, interesting approach to get that camou applied.

Since it is hard edge, you could just hand paint with a brush, though it would be advisable to thin the paint such that you will apply at least two layers.  This avoids the chance of paint buildup over details, and results in a nice even layer. 

But I can see the advantage of preparing masks.  It allows one to concentrate on the paint application and not worry about camou shapes.

 

regards,

Jack

 

The straws are a clever idea- going to have to file that away for sometime I need the same sort of thing. 

I got the Huey all together a ready for painting a couple of weeks ago. The Antenna fit is based on photo's of the real thing not the kit instructions. Fortunatly both the kit and PE set include them for the other versions. The rail on the roof i made with some wire. I have also made some extra antennas for underneath but will add those later.

But then i realised they didn't have the right shade of green for British Army helo's. Xtracolor used to have it, but stopped it a few years back. After doing a search i opted for Hataka acrylics. They do a complete set for British helicopters, but i just got the green and grey. I was wary after my experiance with MiG Ammo. But this stuff was really nice and even in the cold damp winter it was touch dry over night.

 I'll give it another night then mask for the Orange.

Bish

But then i realised they didn't have the right shade of green for British Army helo's. Xtracolor used to have it, but stopped it a few years back. After doing a search i opted for Hataka acrylics. They do a complete set for British helicopters, but i just got the green and grey. I was wary after my experiance with MiG Ammo. But this stuff was really nice and even in the cold damp winter it was touch dry over night.

 I'll give it another night then mask for the Orange.

 

The pictures below is were I'm at with the Matador camouflage painting. The putty masking did not work very well, so I am using a combination of masking tape and hand painting which is very slow.

Thanks Harold, i wish it were that easy. Though this one wasn't to bad.

Thats a nice job your doing with that camo.

Bish

Thanks Harold, i wish it were that easy. Though this one wasn't to bad.

Thats a nice job your doing with that camo.

 

Harold

Just thought y'all might like to see what I've done with my two buillds for this GB, the two Tamiya LRDG trucks.  WIP on an LRDG diorama (still working on a bunch of figures):