Secret Santa 2022, stick a fork in this one, its done, move to SSGB 2023 for updates

Mongoose: Aren't they though? Now that you mention it, it does kinda look like I rotated the radiator fans for the rear deck 90 degrees and glued it down in place of the firewall.

Things have slowed down at work now, so I'll be able to spend more time at the bench. To celebrate, I got the wings fully assembled and painted.

I also started painting the belly pan and parts for the exhaust cans.

Mach1, Glad to see you have some more free time. I am looking forward to seeing this one come to life.

BK

It's looking more like an airplane now. I have a minor self-induced fit problem to fix where the wings slipped up a little as I was gluing their retainer in, then get the last few subassemblies painted and attached. The finish line is in sight, and based on how the decals have performed so far I'm really looking forward to decaling the rest of the plane.

Looking godd Mach. Cant wait to see the finished Product.

Mach1

It's looking more like an airplane now. I have a minor self-induced fit problem to fix where the wings slipped up a little as I was gluing their retainer in, then get the last few subassemblies painted and attached. The finish line is in sight, and based on how the decals have performed so far I'm really looking forward to decaling the rest of the plane.

 

 

BK

Building is nearly complete on the Abrams:

I am now hoping to get a decent weather day soon to lay the paint down, we shall see if Mother Nature will cooperate one of these days.

I will work on the crew in the meantime, since I plan on having the commander and loader in their open hatches.

She looks good, Robert. Coming along quickly. I have found that armor needs crew members to really make it look the part. Can't wait to see more.

BK

Slow going on the M-ATV. Scratch building items and waiting for the radios. I need to find some belts for it and don't want to scratch them. I did scratch some headphones. Here's one.

Wow, Steve. That looks incredible. Those headphones looked like they came with the kit. Amazing work.

BK

Very nice work on that Tornado and MATV!

I spent a weekend with the boys, I am not terribly happy with the faces, but I just don't have the dexterity for face detail painting in 1/35.  I am fairly satisfied with the approximation of the chocolate chip camo though, as a first attempt.

At a model club Zoom meeting I tuned into the other day, I learned from an Abrams commander in Desert Storm that gave a lecture that his unit wasn't issued their chocolate chips until their return flight back to their duty station in Germany.  Their entire time in theater was spent in their woodland camo unis, nomex tank suits, and/or the NBC suits.    

Learn something new every day!

Now if mother nature would just give me a 40 degree plus day....

Looks better than I could do Glam!

I ordered some belt buckles from Verlinden so I should be able to scratch some belts when they come in. In the mean time, I added the radios to the center stack and "wired" them up. I also added some wires, hoses and such to the engine. Is it accurate? No, is there some reason to the wires and hoses? Yes.

I moved on the the rear compartment while waiting on USPS.

Glamdring

Very nice work on that Tornado and MATV!

 

I spent a weekend with the boys, I am not terribly happy with the faces, but I just don't have the dexterity for face detail painting in 1/35.  I am fairly satisfied with the approximation of the chocolate chip camo though, as a first attempt.

 

At a model club Zoom meeting I tuned into the other day, I learned from an Abrams commander in Desert Storm that gave a lecture that his unit wasn't issued their chocolate chips until their return flight back to their duty station in Germany.  Their entire time in theater was spent in their woodland camo unis, nomex tank suits, and/or the NBC suits.    

Learn something new every day!

Now if mother nature would just give me a 40 degree plus day....

 

BK

modelcrazy

Looks better than I could do Glam!

 

I ordered some belt buckles from Verlinden so I should be able to scratch some belts when they come in. In the mean time, I added the radios to the center stack and "wired" them up. I also added some wires, hoses and such to the engine. Is it accurate? No, is there some reason to the wires and hoses? Yes.

I moved on the the rear compartment while waiting on USPS.

 

BK

modelcrazy

Looks better than I could do Glam!

 

I ordered some belt buckles from Verlinden so I should be able to scratch some belts when they come in. In the mean time, I added the radios to the center stack and "wired" them up. I also added some wires, hoses and such to the engine. Is it accurate? No, is there some reason to the wires and hoses? Yes.

I moved on the the rear compartment while waiting on USPS.

 

This looks super!

Thanks so much guys!

While working on the cab with the PE (PIA) and creating some belts which look passable, I started on some of the figures.

I have 2 (so far) special forces guys and waiting on a few more and a welder. Since the welder is WW2, I had to do some modification to him like add and apron to hide the waistband of the jacket and some missing pant pockets. The apron and jacket will be a light gray leather. Anyway, here is what I have. I'm not a figure painter but I'm really trying to get these guys right. Nice figures BTW. I still have quite a bit to do such as adding more colors to the belts, guns, neckerchief, faces, arms, shading and highlights ETC. Most of the colors will be toned down in the end with dust and such.

Steve, the kits looks fantastic and the figures will add tons of realism. Amazing work.

BK

castelnuovo

 

 

modelcrazy

Looks better than I could do Glam!

 

I ordered some belt buckles from Verlinden so I should be able to scratch some belts when they come in. In the mean time, I added the radios to the center stack and "wired" them up. I also added some wires, hoses and such to the engine. Is it accurate? No, is there some reason to the wires and hoses? Yes.

I moved on the the rear compartment while waiting on USPS.

 

 

 

 

 

This looks super!

 

yeah for me the over the top exclamation came when i saw the windshield washer fluid!! Too easy drill sgt, too easy ;-)

Thanks so much guys. I always try to do my absolute best on the SS gifts.

Amazing work on the Abrams, figures, and MATV guys.

I've been chipping away at the decals on the Tornado. The decals are thin and settle down nicely, but have a tendency to fold up on themselves when sliding them off the backer. Slicing the decals down into smaller sections (some are head-scratchingly large) helps to alleviate this and also makes it much easier to float them into position making the extra work very much worthwhile.

Handsome bird Mach

That is a cool scheme on that Tornado. I can't wait to see it all done.

BK

Looking good Mach. Cant wait to see the final results.

Mach1

Amazing work on the Abrams, figures, and MATV guys.

 

I've been chipping away at the decals on the Tornado. The decals are thin and settle down nicely, but have a tendency to fold up on themselves when sliding them off the backer. Slicing the decals down into smaller sections (some are head-scratchingly large) helps to alleviate this and also makes it much easier to float them into position making the extra work very much worthwhile.

 

Looks super. What is the secret to those stripes? Some kind of masking?

I switched back to the vehicle this weekend. Added the rear frame and bed, the underside armor, finished the interior and started on the hood.

Here are the pics without the hood and other improvements.

Steve, you always do really nice work. This one really stands out. You have set the bar so high this year it will be next to impossible to compare anything to this.

BK

I agree!  looks like Steve is posting pics from a walkaround 

keavdog

I agree!  looks like Steve is posting pics from a walkaround 

 

Wow, now that's a complement! 

castelnuovo

 

 

Mach1

Amazing work on the Abrams, figures, and MATV guys.

 

I've been chipping away at the decals on the Tornado. The decals are thin and settle down nicely, but have a tendency to fold up on themselves when sliding them off the backer. Slicing the decals down into smaller sections (some are head-scratchingly large) helps to alleviate this and also makes it much easier to float them into position making the extra work very much worthwhile.

 

 

 

 

 

Looks super. What is the secret to those stripes? Some kind of masking?

 

Thanks Castel.

The stripes are all decals. Hobbyboss did a reasonably good job of designing them in sections to make lining them up as easy as possible, for example each upper wing glove is its own decal with the necessary stripes. Other areas, like the areas around each landing gear bay, are also a decal that I cut into sections to make their application easier. I also apply Micro Sol several times after the decal is down - no real rhyme or reason to how many coats, I just go until the decal looks like it was painted on when the Micro Sol evaporates.

The only thing I do that might approach the level of a "secret technique" is that I don't put down a layer of gloss finish before decaling. I dip a brush in water so its damp and then brush down the area I'm applying the decal to.

I am crackin' this one open

And this is what is inside. Classic Tamiya look, sharp and enough details but not Dragon style

Great kit.  I did that one last year