Urban Armor GB, May 1-Dec 31, 2008

SMJmodeler wrote:

bbrowniii:  Nice to see some work in this GB...looking good too!  I really like that Stug IV, I have one in the stash I plan to get to eventually. What's your plan for weathering it?!

SMJ,

You (and dupes) are right - it is a pretty nice kit, particularly when compared to the older Tamiya or Academy (got one on the shelf) offerings, but I will say it is not up to the standards of more recent DML kits.  Lots of little fiddly stuff - gaps between parts, annoyingly obvious but hard to reach ejector pin marks, stuff like that.  Still, it has been a nice, fun build...

As to the painting and weathering - I'm gonna do a three-color scheme on it - a pretty basic one at that, based on the box pics.  I just like the look of it.  Then I'll probably do a subtle weathering to it, a-la Bill Plunket (sp?) - though I might go just a tad heavier than Bill tends to.  In some ways I wish I had put more thought into this during the actual building of it, because I would have beat it up some more - particularly on the fenders and the schurtzen racks... but, oh well... maybe I'll still goof around with it, but I'm gettin' to the point where other things are beginning to attract my attention (can you say SdKfz 251/4...?) so, I'm not sure how much time I'll put into it.  Of course, to contradict what I just said, I am also toying with putting it on a little base, maybe hunkered down in a destroyed building on the outskirts of Berlin... waiting for the inevitable...

Actually, SMJ, I'd be interested to hear about some of the techniques you used on your T-55 as I prepare to tackle this...  Feel free to PM me

P.S. Do me a favor, take a look at it again... does that base coat look a little 'green-ish' to you?  I can't tell if it is the pic, the model, or my eyes but something looks... off?

Looking good, Boyd! That must be one of the older DML kits...? Looks a lot better than my ancient Tamiya 'IV I built a while back.

What scheme are you going to go with? 

bbrowniii wrote:

Hope to have some pics of the Stug IV up soon, fellas.  Got it about 85% done...

Here they are, a few shots of the Stug IV.  Build is basically complete - finishing up the tracks, then on to the paint job.  And yes, in case you are curious, that is Ichabod Crane at the helm (that would be the "Headless Horseman" for those not familiar... )

For those wondering, why I haven't been around lately, with any updates, there's two reasons.

Number one is school, ugh, plus I have to apply to so many colleges their isn't time anymore to model much. Number two, haven't had much progress on my SU-76M. Why? Because I made the dumb newbie mistake of not correctly closing my bottle of ModelMaster Russian Armor Green enamel paint. So when I went to do some painting after a week hiatus, my paint was dryed up into a "taffy" of sorts. The paint couldn't be saved, and I haven't had enough time to head to my LHS to buy a new bottle.

Townsy11 wrote:

...I'm still amazed at the size of the thing...

My Panther G sits on the display shelf next to my "Jimmy"...that's a big truck and the Panther DWARFS it!!!  This picture REALLY makes me appreciate the size of that beast!!!

Sweet pic, Townsy!

I was going to ask if you were short, making the Panther look big - until I read your whole post. Criminy! Freakin' huge!

With school starting in about a week my time at the bench is going to drop exponentially..

However I was able to get some great 1:1 reference on my BMP at the Canadian War Museum last week, I also got to see the recently restored Panther and I'm still amazed at the size of the thing...

I'm about 6 ft. tall if that gives any idea of the scale...

I know I'm still up for it...just waiting for it's turn in the rotation to come up. The one thing I may do to accelerate my build if need be is switch to one of the 1/48 Shermans I have instead of the DML 1/35 uber-kit, but not definite on that yet.

Soooo many GB's, sooo little time!

Helloooooo...kinda' quiet around here! 

Just wanted to let you guys know I have my Panther A, dupes ordered it for me and was holding onto it until I saw him at Nationals.  It's the Dragon kit, which by the way will be my first time building their stuff.  My research for the dimensions/proportions for the Rome Colosseum is done.  I'm working on my T55-A for the Cold War GB, then it's FULL SPEED AHEAD on this GB!!!  I hope you guys are still up for this one...

mg42gunner:  No prob', can you tell me again the Panther variant and the photo location if you know what it is?  Were you attempting a dio'?

By the way, where are you going to college?

Townsy11: Glad to see another person tackling a dio'...looks pretty cool!

mg.mikael:  Good to see some progress, keep us all posted!

Some nice progress there so far Mg.Mikael, glad to hear you're soldierin' on through that 'beast' of a kit! Looks great

Anyway, I've gotten all of the main construction done before paint, this build is a new experience for me as it's my first time making a knocked out vehicle. I was able to snap a couple of quick pics with my crappy "point-and-shoot" camera but they will have to suffice for now until I can get my hands on my Dad's Nikon D80.

Quite blurry I know, but here you can see all of the fixed periscopes and where I cut out the kit engine grill and replaced it with railroad almunium mesh.

Here you can see the mudguards that I had to scratchbuild out of plasticard because the kit supplied pieces more closely resembled a hunk of cheese than an actual BMP mudguard...

 and here the 25mm shell holes in the lower hull which subsequently knocked out the tank, and canibalised wheel caps that had to be attached due to the kit having philips-head screws in the center of the wheels instead of actual caps.

So painting is next and I'm quite nervous about it as it looks to be quite difficult.

Chris,

Here's a small update on my progress so far. Started all the little tools, though I only got a photo of the handsaw. The handsaw seems to be an optional part, since it's not included on the box art. I've decided to include it, since it adds a depth of realism. Painted with a mixture of Testor's Steel and Testor's Black. Then roughed up with sandpaper, and graphite on the blade edge.

All comments, suggestions, and questions welcome.

SMJmodeler wrote:

Townsy11 wrote: Anyway.. so does this look like a tank to you? Tracks...check,  road wheels...check, barrel...check,  turret...check.  YES, looks like a tank to me. Now you need some photo proof of that bad boy in an urban setting, or do a dio' and describe the "scene" you visualize this within an urban setting and then build it!

Sweet

Ok well I plan on having the BMP in an "Iraq, 2003" setting and it will be knocked out at a street intersection with an M2 Bradley approaching, here's a 5-minute microsoft paint description of what I'd like to do:

and the kit I plan to use:

HobbyCraft's 1:35 Iraqi BMP-1

Okay, here's my update..... did quite a bit since my last update.

I finished the new screen for the vent. Painted it to match the rest of the tank, ModelMaster Enamel Russian Armor Green. The black underneath is Floquil Weather Black.

The shells were painted Testor's Gold, and somewhat sanded. Though I'm still not done yet, because I'm trying to figure out why the instructions say I have 20 shells of one type when infact I only have 10. The guys at Mini-Art really have to proof-read instructions or at least look at the spure. Because a large amount of parts are mis-numbered.

Some different photos are availble on my WIP thread, with more explainations. Here's a link to my WIP thread: /forums/963081/ShowPost.aspx

All comments, suggestions, and questions welcome!

I have to ask, where is all the GB members?? It's just so quiet here in this GB, that I feel lonely. Just kiddin' I know theirs a ton of GB's going on now, so many people are finishing up those.

As for myself, I'm gonna try and post an update of my progress, today.

Guys:  If you recall, I'll be doing a dio' for my Panther A with the Rome Colosseum as the backdrop.  I will be replicating the ground floor arches.  I will probably build one full arch and a portion of another.  Heres what I'll be attempting.

Ground floor

I'm not sure if I will do the gate, I don't even think it was there during the War.  Here's the Panther in context as my inspriration:

I haven't started the kit yet, but I'm on a hunt for materials for the colosseum and hope to start soon.

   Well I have bad news ... I must change my entry.  The tiger I was going to build is missing some road wheels. So I would like to change my entry to a 1/35 Tamiya Sherman OOB. ( I guess I will save the aftermarket goodies from my tiger for a later time )  I do although have a DML figure set that would go nicely with it. 

I'm kinda bummed out.  The tiger was the oldest kit in my stash. SWMBO should be thrilled to hear i need a new one. Well ... happens!

Here's my latest update so far on my SU-76M.

I started and completed putting the tracks together, using one of doog's tutorial's. The tracks were painted using Tamiya Acrylic Flat Earth. Still experimenting with washes and weathering for tracks on a past finished model. So it may be awhile before the tracks are completley done.

The lower portion of the hull was painted with ModelMaster Enamel. The roadwheels are not yet glued on, since their obviously not done yet. Only big problem so far was with the roadwheels, they woudn't fit on the suspension arms. So ALOT of sanding was needed and the roadwheels still fit on too tightly.

All comments, suggestions, and questions welcome!