War in the Desert - African campaign GB - 12/9/07 to 5/13/08

Made some more progress on my little Panzer.  Lower hull has been completed with tracks & wheels installed.  All painted & weathered.

If you look close, you'll see the rearmost road wheel on the port side looks crooked.  I hadn't noticed it until I looked at the pic.  Examination showed that the outer wheel had disengaged from the inner, probably from handling while installing the track. I thought they were all glued securely, but obviously this one wasn't.  Fortunately, it was an easy fix.  I decided to post this pic rather than re-shoot as it's a good example of how digital photographs can alert you to problems & make corrections before it might be too late.

Regards,  Rick

Ho ho! Looking very tankish now! Good stuff.

Do the Tamiya 1/48 kits come with indy link tracks? 

Thanks Dupes.  The Tamiya 1/48 kits all come with molded Link & Length tracks.  Each side is made up of 14 separate moldings.

Regards,  Rick

I made some progress on the Bishop over the weekend. It's a fiddly little beast.

Also, I was wondering if an S-Boot would fit into the North African GB :)

Rick the painting/weathering on the road wheels and tracks looks excellent, would you mind spilling the beans on your painting and weathering technique?

Cheers

Thanks for the comments Guys.

Darren:  The road wheels were sprayed Desert Yellow 79, then Futured & given a wash with Burnt Umber oils.  That was followed by a spray of Polly Scale Flat.  The rims were brush painted with Vallejo German Grey.  Finished off with a dusting using MIG pigments African Earth & Desert War Sand.  The tracks were sprayed ModelMaster Gun Metal, then given a thin wash of Vallejo Flat Brown.  I used a Silver Prismacolor pencil to hi-lite wear on the cleats & then finished off with a dusting of MIG pigments, same as the road wheels.

Regards,  Rick

Whoa, you guys are progressing nicely.

Rick.....that lower hull looks great, nice weathering

Dupes.....not only speedy but lookin real sharp

Ernest......looks like you have your work cut out, should keep you plenty busy. Looking forward to more progress

Darren.....that build looks great, beautiful job

And if I missed any other progress here, I'll catch up with my reading!

And this is where I'm at, needs a little more painting and sandy stuff...........

And Arki30, not a very big target here

I started playing with a Dragon Valentine last night. I also have Eduard etch with which to decorate it.

10 of the 120 individual track links are glued together.

the drive sprockets are assembled.

One of the four bogies are assembled (minus wheels)

This kit is a re-pop of a Russian manufacturer (VM) - the fit is quite reasonable.

I didn't do any on the bishop. It was too dark inside with the lights on.

I'm looking forward to checking out the finished product Dupes

SMJmodeler wrote:

Hermesminiatures, ...the votes are in (minus any hanging chads)...and the winner is...the DUECE-AND-A-HALF. I'm in this G.B.!!! Put me down for a Tamiya 1:35 U.S. 2-1/2 ton 6 x 6 Cargo Truck. O.K....anyone know how the to replicate a washed out wadi with a truck stuck in it...dostacos this means YOU!!! Anyone know if it ever rained in the desert!!! Seriously though...any of you WWII effcianados know of any soggy battles in N. Africa I would surely appreciate you sharing them with me.. Fee to be paid upon receipt of verified evidence. Need to start my research, ASAP.

what happens is they may have several years of dry then get 6inches of rain in a few hours.

think of a dirt road short steep banks, with either wet bottom, or loose dirt on the banks causing the hang up.

Dan 

Alright fellas, took a couple of quick pics this morning...which are here:

and here:

They came out waaaay too dark, I'll post some more when I finally get some decent lighting to take pics by. I'm about 99% done, think I may make a few minor alterations to the base, and probably put some sort of wash onto the road sign...contemplated throwing a thinned coat of buff on the lower half of the 222 as well, jury isn't out on that one yet.

dupes, that is amazing!  You did all of this in 10 days?!?!  It takes me that long just to read the kit directions!!  Everything looks great!  Painting & weathering are sweet!  How did you do the base?   Personally the photos seem fine to me, but I won't object to seeing more photos! 

Excellent work Dupes.  The weathering really brought her to life.

Regards,  Rick

Not a criticism, just a question:

How long does it take wood to weather, and how would you represent a weathered axe handle? Shades of grey?

For my build(s), I did a little bit more to the Valentine last night. The engine cover (which looks like the same baffled arrangement of the Centurion's) wasn't a perfect fit, but it didn't take too many scrapes of a sharp blade to make it so. The Valentine was one of those tanks used as the British imagined them - vast fleets of vehicles navigating the desert in formation - bravely launching into battle like the Light Brigade (and with similar results). I quite like it, in a quirky sort of way. It was hard enough to find the Bishop SPG, and if I can find plans, I'd like to scratch the parts needed to convert one to an Archer (but that's a tad off-topic).

If anyone is planning to build the Dragon 1:35 Valentine, I have this word of advice regarding the bogies:

• if you want to have the wheels aligned properly, then attach them to their axles prior to cementing the sub-bogie axles for the smaller wheels to the main assembly, as the axles are not colinear (different diameter wheels) and the fit of the sub-bogie to the main bogie is a little vague. Attaching the wheels allows for the modeller to place all wheels on a flat surface (with no need for a jig) while the join sets.

The bogie assembly is actually quite nifty, and allows for rotation of the bogie arm so that posing the model in a diorama negotiating rocky ground (or driving over a kubelwagen) for instance, is simple.

For my next build, I might go for the Airfix 1:24 Ju 87B, with OOB markings Libya, 1941 (70/71(splinter) with irregular, rounded patches of 79, over 65, with white wingtip and fuselage bands).

Hey guys (meaning Buffle, RJK, Razor, and Arki), thanks a ton! I'm really happy with the way this one turned out as well...my first attempt at a base, and while it's not "deluxe" or anything it looks pretty nifty on the shelf!

I have to get some "photo floods", I'm only working with 100 watt bulbs and apparently that's my major malfunction here. Sadly, I can't find any! I'd hate to buy lightbulbs on the internet (shipping! ouch!) but if they aren't available locally that may be my last resort...I'll try to play around with my camera settings a bit, reshoot some pics, see if I can get some that are a bit brighter tonight. Either way, I'll post a couple more pics tomorrow.

Thanks again! Glad you guys like it.

Quick progress pic.  Hey, it looks like a P-40 now!  Resin tail went on with minimal styrene/resin removal, panel lines line up, but there is a small step at the top between original and new.  I think AmTech's cutting guide is off by maybe 1 mm.  It's nothing filling and sanding won't fix.

Next is to begin said filling and sanding.  It's an AmTech so there are some seam issues. 

Dupes,  Photoflood lamps aren't used much anymore, with Flash being the standard these days, but most Camera Stores will still stock them.  If there is a dedicated camera store in your area (not Best Buy, etal) check them out.

Regards,  Rick

Dupes awesome looking build, you really nailed that one.  I love the way the weathering ties the vehicle and base together, nice one.

arki, Looks like the resin tail went on with minimum fuss.  Good luck filling all those seams .

Regards,  Rick