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

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  • Member since
    May 2006
  • From: Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Posted by Brews on Sunday, February 24, 2008 11:36 AM
No worries. I'll check the seat belt details later. It's possible that they could be visible ...
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
Posted by rjkplasticmod on Sunday, February 24, 2008 8:09 AM

Thanks Brews.  I've never tried the Mike Grant Instrument decals, but I've heard good things about them.  I prefer to use PE for the IP whenever possible.  The Seat belt doesn't attach to the Seat.  It runs down the back of the seat & attaches to a reinforced section of the floor.  I didn't model the attachments, since they won't be visible in the finished model.

 

Regards,  Rick

RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
  • Member since
    May 2006
  • From: Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Posted by Brews on Sunday, February 24, 2008 2:51 AM

 rjkplasticmod wrote:
Started the Hasegawa 1/48 Spifire Mk.Vb.  Got the pit done at this stage.

Have you ever used Mike Grant's instrument panel decals? These are fabulous, but you have to cut out each instrument, which can be a little tedious if, like me, you don't have a suitable punch and die. OTOH, it's not TOO tedious, and the instruments look very realistic.

Also, just re-looked at your pictures, and I'm a little dubious about the sutton harness attachment point. I *THINK* it attaches not at the rear of the seat, which is made of bakelite, but at a location at the rear of the cockpit.

  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Second City
Posted by arki30 on Saturday, February 23, 2008 10:59 PM
Fuselage and wings are assembled.  Hasegawa fit isn't all it's cracked up to be.  I certainly have some seam work ahead of me.  Yuck [yuck]

Building Now:

1/48 Academy Bf-109G6 - 100%

1/48 Tamiya F4U-1A - 5%

Upcoming:

1/48 Revell F-14D

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
Posted by rjkplasticmod on Thursday, February 21, 2008 8:07 PM

Thanks for the comments Guys Smile [:)].

Regards,  Rick

RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Second City
Posted by arki30 on Thursday, February 21, 2008 4:28 PM
Love Ultracast.  Looks really good, Rick.  I'm wishing I had used the kit IP decal since my efforts with the raised dials just didn't work as well as it has in the past. 

Building Now:

1/48 Academy Bf-109G6 - 100%

1/48 Tamiya F4U-1A - 5%

Upcoming:

1/48 Revell F-14D

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: NJ
Posted by JMart on Thursday, February 21, 2008 4:24 PM
Rick, really nice job, love the seat and office! You know, IP looks fine, a tad "2D" vs "3D" but I dont think most people would notice unless you are an inch from the craft. Plus, most people will just be looking at the seat ;)

 

 

  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: Nashville, TN area
Posted by bobbaily on Thursday, February 21, 2008 2:48 PM
Looks great Rick..the Ultracast seat adds a lot.

Bob

 

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
Posted by rjkplasticmod on Thursday, February 21, 2008 12:22 PM

Changing sides & moving from ground to air Smile [:)].

Started the Hasegawa 1/48 Spifire Mk.Vb.  Got the pit done at this stage.

Pit is made up of the kit parts, some leftover bits from a True Details resin set & an Ultracast resin seat from the spares box.  I didn't have any PE for this one & I didn't feel like painting all the fiddly dials on the IP, so I used the kit decal.  Not great, but acceptable.

Regards,  Rick

RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
Posted by rjkplasticmod on Thursday, February 21, 2008 7:25 AM

Looking great Lu.  I totally agree with you that decals should be on before any weathering is started.

Regards,  Rick

RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
  • Member since
    February 2007
Posted by mokei on Thursday, February 21, 2008 3:24 AM

Tamiya 1/48 scale Universal Carrier

Dan - No concern of the AM parts. The Tamiya kit provides all running gear in one part with separated suspension arms. The track replacements are made in the same way (tracks + road wheels together), so you only have to add the Tamiya suspension arms to complete the whole thing following the original assembly plan. The new tracks are very well made and the Tamiya parts just fit on it perfectly. 

Rick - Thanks!

Arki - Yes, I agree and would go for a darker wash to highlight all the small details on that office.

Fortunately I could start the paintwork already. I am not good at color chips and would rather using my intuition to get one convincing  shade so base color is painted by spraying buff and desert yellow alike. The fact is that I did not make any mix with those colors, and overlapped them separatedly over the entire model until I got something up to my taste. My intention is to get one plain but NOT uniform base color that also gives me some advantage for weathering effects later so the final combination of lighter/darker areas helps me to highlight the shapes of the vehicle in some grade since this very early stage. Also note paint has glossy finish that will really help for some other tasks later.

Once dried I applied all decals for this scheme. I do not like to wait longer for decaling as I consider decals are part of the base color too and must recieve same weathering treatment from now on because it does not make sense to me to have to rework over decals later. The glossy finish of the base color and the use of specific liquids helped a lot to avoid silvering and decaling went well and fast.

Nothing special until now, so lets see what I can make in the following days.

Lu

  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Second City
Posted by arki30 on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 9:37 PM
Thanks Rick.  And always looking forward to seeing your work. Thumbs Up [tup]

Building Now:

1/48 Academy Bf-109G6 - 100%

1/48 Tamiya F4U-1A - 5%

Upcoming:

1/48 Revell F-14D

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
Posted by rjkplasticmod on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 9:33 PM

Nice work on the pit Arki.  I've got the pit on my Spitfire almost done so we can compare notes.

Regards,  Rick

RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Second City
Posted by arki30 on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 8:56 PM

Finished the cockpit for the Hurricane using the Ultracast seat and armor.  Also tried the Promodeller light wash just to see the effects.  Meh.  Common sense says the dark wash works better on light surfaces and the light wash works better on dark surfaces.  That seems to hold true. Dunce [D)]

Building Now:

1/48 Academy Bf-109G6 - 100%

1/48 Tamiya F4U-1A - 5%

Upcoming:

1/48 Revell F-14D

  • Member since
    December 2003
  • From: Los Angeles
Posted by dostacos on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 9:23 PM
 mokei wrote:

Tamiya 1/48 scale Universal Carrier  

Gents,  

I first want to give thanks to Hermesminiatures for his great idea and it is a very nice coincidence to find this group build right now because I am into one desert subject at this moment so I do not want to miss the chance to share it with you all and I also hope to repeat the good experience I had when I joined to another Group Builds here at FSM past year.  

Here you have my current victim. That is the 1/48 scale Tamiya Universal Carrier I am making in one unusual configuration I took from several pictures. As you can see the model is from the box basically with the only exception of some small bits I added here and there by my own. The Vickers MG comes from detailing one russian Maxim which is basically the same weapon. The replacement track set is made by Firghting 48th (one small British AM company) and the whole runnning gear comes in one only part made with amazing 3D printing technology, so no extra assembly required on that area.  

 

 

My plan is to make one small desert scene and for that I am also making that 1/48 scale scratchbuilt dummy 40mm Bofors gun based on some wartime images. The gun itself is very simple and the sandbag were made with epoxy putty.  

 

If everything goes well I am painting both kits in the following weeks so I guess everything will go changing almost day by day form now on.  

I hope you like it.

Lu

did you need to remove part of the Tamiya tracks to use on the after market tracks. and if so how hard was it????
Dan support your 2nd amendment rights to keep and arm bears!
  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
Posted by rjkplasticmod on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 7:38 AM

Excellent work Lu.  Looking forward to more progress pics.

Regards,  Rick

RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
  • Member since
    February 2007
War in the Desert - African campaign GB
Posted by mokei on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 3:37 AM

Tamiya 1/48 scale Universal Carrier  

Gents,  

I first want to give thanks to Hermesminiatures for his great idea and it is a very nice coincidence to find this group build right now because I am into one desert subject at this moment so I do not want to miss the chance to share it with you all and I also hope to repeat the good experience I had when I joined to another Group Builds here at FSM past year.  

Here you have my current victim. That is the 1/48 scale Tamiya Universal Carrier I am making in one unusual configuration I took from several pictures. As you can see the model is from the box basically with the only exception of some small bits I added here and there by my own. The Vickers MG comes from detailing one russian Maxim which is basically the same weapon. The replacement track set is made by Firghting 48th (one small British AM company) and the whole runnning gear comes in one only part made with amazing 3D printing technology, so no extra assembly required on that area.  

 

 

My plan is to make one small desert scene and for that I am also making that 1/48 scale scratchbuilt dummy 40mm Bofors gun based on some wartime images. The gun itself is very simple and the sandbag were made with epoxy putty.  

 

If everything goes well I am painting both kits in the following weeks so I guess everything will go changing almost day by day form now on.  

I hope you like it.

Lu

  • Member since
    February 2007
  • From: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posted by T-rex on Monday, February 18, 2008 2:57 PM

Hum... idea

If the flak 38 was painted dark yellow, would it still work?

Working on: Trumpeter SU-152 (1/35) Trumpeter E-10 (1/35) Heller Somua (1/35)

"The world is your enemy, prince of a thousand enemy. And when they'll find you, they will kill you... but they will have to catch you first ''

  • Member since
    August 2007
  • From: n/w indiana
Posted by some assembly required on Monday, February 18, 2008 1:20 PM
ahhh many thanks oh great and wise cheesehead!!Laugh [(-D]Laugh [(-D]

  • Member since
    April 2006
  • From: LaValle, Wisconsin
Posted by Hermesminiatures on Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:47 PM
Sure, not a problem. That is a cool kit; I've been trying to decide between it and the new Dragon Panzer II for my entryBig Smile [:D]

Jonathan

For every modeling technique that works, I have three that don't.

  • Member since
    August 2007
  • From: n/w indiana
Posted by some assembly required on Sunday, February 17, 2008 6:13 PM
hermes i was hoping you could let me change my entry to a sherman mk 3. i just got the kit today and its awesome!!

  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: NJ
Posted by JMart on Sunday, February 17, 2008 10:50 AM

Dupes - thanks for the answer, makes sense of course...some day I will stop asking newbie questions ;)

espins - nice job so far, good luck with the decals! Look forward to your weathering

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State
Posted by rjkplasticmod on Friday, February 15, 2008 1:08 PM

Yupper, you need a better camera. Looks good from what I can see though.  looking forward to seeing the warpaint.

Regards,  Rick

RICK At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...
  • Member since
    December 2007
  • From: California
Posted by Paul E. Styrene on Friday, February 15, 2008 12:29 PM
UPDATE: I finally got through the Honey-Do list & got some decent weather & build time. I've got all of the main assemblies done. Everything is primed right now and I'll be able to do the majority of painting this weekend.

I got a free digital camera recently as a gift from one of my suppliers so I thought I'd give it a try for the shots for this model. Here's a shot of the model just before primer. (Apologies in advance ...)



I think I could draw a better picture! I'll definitely use a better camera next time.

The biggest problem I've had on the kit so far is the top of the turret had a gap all the way around. I decided to try a Milliput weld to cover it. I had never worked with Milliput before. It came out OK but I didn't make the string skinny enough so it is a little large for the scale. Other than that the technique worked.

There was one tiny little part missing too. It was on the muffler assembly. I made a replacement from two slices of plastic tube stock.

Off to start painting ...

~Gary

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Reno, NV
Posted by espins1 on Thursday, February 14, 2008 9:04 PM

Thanks guys.  I looked over my decal sheet again.  It looks like the only decals in this set that aren't useable are the Balkenkreuzes.  I'm going to check my stash and see if I can scrounge up a few of them. 

If I can't find any extras, I'm going to order a sheed of Balkenkreuzes from Archer Fine Transfers (I've always wanted to try those out anyways  Approve [^])

Scott Espin - IPMS Reno High Rollers  Geeked My Reviews 

  • Member since
    April 2006
  • From: LaValle, Wisconsin
Posted by Hermesminiatures on Thursday, February 14, 2008 12:01 PM

Scott - there's a ton of markings on the decal sheet from the new Dragon Panzer II. I forgot if you said you had that kit or not, but if you don't, I can send you the markings for the Tunisia option, which I won't be needing.

It's a vehicle from the same company as the one in the Tamyia kit, with a stenciled 'R' on the turret, small '01' below and forward of the 'R', and the 10th Panzer 'Yiii' symbol on the front and rear. Balkenkreuz included as well, there are 18 on the sheet, 3 for each marking option.

They're cartograph, too...Approve [^]

Jonathan

For every modeling technique that works, I have three that don't.

  • Member since
    August 2007
  • From: n/w indiana
Posted by some assembly required on Thursday, February 14, 2008 11:27 AM

espins ive got most of the decals you need on various tamiya sheets.unfortunately i dont have the R  or the roman #2. pm me with your addy and ill put them in the mail today or tomorrow.

                                              clint

  • Member since
    November 2006
  • From: Coastal Maine
Posted by dupes on Thursday, February 14, 2008 6:17 AM

Hey Scott - I poked around all the the places I know that sell decals, doesn't look like anyone has a Pz.II set. You could probably cobble together the right decals from several different sets, but that seems like an awful lot of work for one little tank! Wink [;)]

Another option is I could send you the remainder of my decal sheet - I used the markings option with the little skull-and-crossbones shield, everything that wouldn't be used for that would still be left over. Probably short some balkankrueze's, but you can find spares for those in your stash somewhere I'm sure. Big Smile [:D] Not guaranteed that mine were printed any better than yours, btw!

Let me know! 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Reno, NV
Posted by espins1 on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 8:24 PM

Censored [censored]  I sat down to put the decals on my little PzKpfw. II Ausf. F, only to see that the decals are terrible!  The black and white is totally out of register with all the white borders around the crosses, for example, being shifted to one side. 

Can anyone suggest some aftermarket decals or perhaps some stencils I could use instead? 

Scott Espin - IPMS Reno High Rollers  Geeked My Reviews 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Reno, NV
Posted by espins1 on Tuesday, February 12, 2008 8:35 PM

I'm patiently waiting for the Future to cure, decals go on tomorrow.  As I wait I'm doing more oil washes on the tracks and muffler.

Once I get going on the weathering I'm going to replicate the chipped paint and heavy wear and tear on the desert camo.  More to follow.....

Scott Espin - IPMS Reno High Rollers  Geeked My Reviews 

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