Urban Armor GB, May 1-Dec 31, 2008

Boyd - looking good! That freehand camo job came out well.

I guess I missed the problem you had with the tracks...?

Thought I might have a picture to post today, but I'll have to get to it tomorrow. Finished up my M113A2 for the OIF/ODS GB (still need to post pics of that as well) and have been working on my Hobby Boss 1/48 Sherman. Due to time constraints, I've scaled down from the DML 1/35 boxing. However, I AM still using the same photo to base the dio on, and I really wanted to try one of the HB 1/48's.

bbrowniii: Good to finally see some action here in this GB!  I did read about your dilemna, good to see you got it back "on track" ...bad pun, sorry.  What I can see looks OK, but those pic's aren't very good so I can't really tell...post that new batch so we can get a better look/evaluation.

Guys:  I made some progress on the diorama!  After some research on the net I was able to obtain the dimensions I needed to draw the Colosseum floor plan on my CADD system.  I only needed a small portion but I wanted to ensure the curvature was accurate.

Then I dug into my architectural reference library and found an exterior picture of the Colosseum along with some very specific Roman Building Proportions:  *Note the "man" I drew on the picture standing in the archway*

With the CADD drawings complete I then printed a plan view and exterior elevation to 1:35 scale.  The plan was taped to my dio' base.  I cut out a "Panther" paper doll rectangle to make sure it would all fit.  The figure is for scale purposes only...although I do plan to add some appropriate figures eventually:

I then taped the exterior elevation drawing to my foam sheets:

The foam is 1" thick, three layers total...which makes for an approximately 7' thick wall at ground level.  Masonry walls had to be VERY thick to handle the weight of the walls above, and in this case the seating for the arena too.  Finally, I whipped out the styrofoam cutting wand and removed the void spaces: 

The AMAZING size of the Colosseum is now obvious!

Next, I will add styrene to delineate the finer detailing, trim work and relief as seen on the black and white paper. 

AWESOME job so far on that dio, SMJmodeler!! Especially love those colosseum arches next to that figure, really gives you a sense of how huge those arches are and how great this dio will look when it's done. I love the fact your using your architectural skills to build this, very cool.

I can't wait untill your next update!!!

Wow...that's going to be impressive SMJ! So I guess you decided not to build the whole colosseum, eh? Have you started in on the accompanying Panther yet?

I've been working a bit on the 1/48 Sherman. Shermans aren't that big in the first place (at least, if you're used to building German armor), but in 1/48 it's even smaller. Will post some more pics when the construction is finished and I start painting, which hopefully will be soon!

mg.mikael: Thanks for the comments...kinda' cool idea for a dio', huh?!..it's fun to apply the architectural knowledge too!

dupes:  At 1:35 scale the Colosseum would be as big as my living room!  I have an idea how long the Panther will take to build, but I didn't know how long the dio' would take so I thought it would be better to get that done first so I wouldn't wimp out and not do it at all!

That Sherman is small...unless that's a gallon jug of modeling glue on your workbench and a 3' x-acto blade!

Guys: Looks like we'll have a few badges going out for this GB...keep up the good work guys!!!

SMJmodeler wrote:

dupes:  At 1:35 scale the Colosseum would be as big as my living room!

Well, I suppose that that would be a bit of overkill just for one Panther dio.

So SMJ...haven't heard much - how's the Colosseum coming along?

Been cranking through my Hobby Boss Sherman, but haven't been too good about taking pics. Anyhoo, the construction is finished without any major issues, bit of putty here and there. Looked something like this before paint:

The parts I skipped is preshading all the panel lines with black, basecoating with OD, highlighting panels with OD mixed with some Buff, then adding the brown stripes. Bit of future where the decals need to go followed by a coat of flat clear after they were applied. That takes us to here:

Anybody else still working on stuff? Or is this GB rapidly dying out? 

dupes wrote:

So SMJ...haven't heard much - how's the Colosseum coming along? Been cranking through my Hobby Boss Sherman, but haven't been too good about taking pics. Anyhoo, the construction is finished without any major issues, bit of putty here and there. Looked something like this before paint: The parts I skipped is preshading all the panel lines with black, basecoating with OD, highlighting panels with OD mixed with some Buff, then adding the brown stripes. Bit of future where the decals need to go followed by a coat of flat clear after they were applied. That takes us to here: Anybody else still working on stuff? Or is this GB rapidly dying out?

Nice work so far on that Sherman, dupes. Love the the camo.

Can't wait to get some more work done on my SU-76, it's been collectin' dust because I haven't had the time to goto my LHS for some paints. But I did start work on the one of the figures, maybe I'll get some pics up of the figure this weekend.

 Hello,

 Just recv'd my 1/35 C-H Sturmpanzer IV(Early) today and seen the "Urban Armor GB". Must be karma, but would the Brumbarr qualify for this GB?

 Best Regards,

 Mobious

dupes: FANTASTIC paint job on the Sherman...I especially like the post shading!  I think this one is going to be a real beauty!  Those yellow markings on the turret come across REAL BOLD though...not sure if that's what you had in mind...

I'm a bit stalled on modeling right now, workload on my real occupation hit a surge (which is good) so I have to take what I can get!  I plan to get back to the bench in a day or two...

espins1: Good to hear you're still thinkin' about this GB!

mg.mikael: I hope you'll get that beast done, it'll be great to have some Russian armor represented!

Mobious: Please read the qualification guidelines and get back to me.  Time is running short but I'd be glad to add you if you can meet the criteria.

Hey, thanks guys. Sadly, I have no further progress to report yet. Working on some stowage right now.

SMJ - oddly enough, that's how they're supposed to look. I mean, I haven't done any toning down (fading) or scratching up of the decals yet, but according to refs and box art that's how these were marked. Seems to almost defeat the purpose of painting your tank in camo colors, but I guess someone had their reasons.

 SMJ,

 I doubt very much if time would permit me to enroll in this GB. I would have liked to seen this GB earlier. Thank you for the consideration. the "Coliseum" build looks very intense. Good luck with the build.

 Mobious

Finally postin' an update on my SU-76M build. It's been forever since my last update. And I'm still waitin' for my ModelMaster Russian Armor Green to arrive at the LHS. So not much paintin' has been happening.

Finished up the roadwheels, one wash has been applied over the roadwheels and the entire lower body of the tank. Still gonna apply a few more, when I feel like gettin' around to it.

A little work here and there. The head light is finished, and so is a few tools. But in one area I screwed up, you can't really tell from this pic, but I'm gonna have to fill in a large indentation, thats already been painted. Not lookin' forward to that. Yes, thats the scracthbuit screen already finished and applied near the shovel.

Only gonna do one figure for the SU-76M, the kit provided 4 more, and I was thinkin' of doing some more, but I'm still not that good at painting figures. And because it takes me awhile to do a figure, I decided on one. So far just the base coats are done on the main body.

Looking good there MGMikael...looks like you and me are going to squeeeeeze some builds in before the deadline. Anyone else? 50 days to go? SMJ - are you going to finish a build for your own GB???

Here's where I'm at right now. Bit more weathering of the base to go, along with blending the Sherman into it's surroundings. Have been messing with lots of different techniques on this one, tried some sheetrock carving, messed with celluclay, plus some other stuff I must be forgetting. Heh. Looks like this:

dupes wrote:

Looking good there MGMikael...looks like you and me are going to squeeeeeze some builds in before the deadline. Anyone else? 50 days to go? SMJ - are you going to finish a build for your own GB??? Here's where I'm at right now. Bit more weathering of the base to go, along with blending the Sherman into it's surroundings. Have been messing with lots of different techniques on this one, tried some sheetrock carving, messed with celluclay, plus some other stuff I must be forgetting. Heh. Looks like this:

That dio looks like it's gonna be very intresting, dupes! Can't wait to see it completed.

dupes wrote:

50 days to go? SMJ - are you going to finish a build for your own GB??? Here's where I'm at right now. Bit more weathering of the base to go, along with blending the Sherman into it's surroundings. Have been messing with lots of different techniques on this one, tried some sheetrock carving, messed with celluclay, plus some other stuff I must be forgetting. Heh. Looks like this:

WOW dupes!!!!...looking sweet my friend!  This dio' stuff is kinda' fun isn't it?!  What's the wash on the Sherman?, is that supposed to be a plaster dust/steaks?...I like it.

It will be tight for me, but I'm still optimistic.  The detail on the Colosseum is almost done, and I will start painting it soon.  I figure if I can get it done by Nov 31st I'll have a month for the Panther...wish me luck!

Hey, throw in something for scale next to the dio' and post another picture, OK?

mg.mikael:  nice progress..think you'll finish?!

Will do! I think it's actually finished other than bolting the model itself to the base...may have a bit of additional weathering to do, but I'll let you guys decide that.

I may be able to post an updated pic later today if I'm lucky. 

SMJmodeler wrote:

mg.mikael:  nice progress..think you'll finish?!

I hope I can finish, but construction has been halted though, because I still don't have any ModelMaster Russian Armor Green to finish painting the upper hull. Damn LHS won't get the paint in stock, so I guess I'm gonna have to pay S&H and buy the paint myself off the web.

Mg.mikael - you could always sub in some other green that you already have on the shelf. Russian armor almost never appears to be the same green in every reference pic you see. Just eyeball it!  No need to halt a build just because you can't get MM Russian Green.

SMJ - I was extremely diligent in taking photos last night, then promptly left the memory card in my camera...in my desk...at home. Will try to snag it to post some today if I'm able.

dupes wrote:

Mg.mikael - you could always sub in some other green that you already have on the shelf. Russian armor almost never appears to be the same green in every reference pic you see. Just eyeball it!  No need to halt a build just because you can't get MM Russian Green.

mg.mikael:on that green, keep moving ahead with what you have!!!

Hey y'all...

Dupes gave me a call this past weekend, and in the course of our conversation I realized I had uploaded a few shots of the Stug into photobucket, but had not put 'em here.  So here ya go:

Here he is all but complete.  I have applied some washes and glazes that have given me a relatively lightly weathered look that I want.  I will be doing some more drybrushing and a fe oversprays to dust it up a bit.

And a look from above...  The lighting makes it look more shiny that it really is.  Won't matter though, as I still have to apply some dullcoat, too...

And last but not least, a couple of crew members who desperately need some sun...

Comments are always welcome!

Swanky. Are you going to be able to wrap this puppy up in the next 6 weeks, Boyd?

Just wrote a note to myself ON MY HAND to make sure I remember to bring my Sherman pics with me tomorrow for "final review". Seriously, I'll post them! 

dupes wrote:

Swanky. Are you going to be able to wrap this puppy up in the next 6 weeks, Boyd? Just wrote a note to myself ON MY HAND to make sure I remember to bring my Sherman pics with me tomorrow for "final review". Seriously, I'll post them!

6 weeks??  I hope to have the Stug done this week ( I really just need to dedicate a couple hours to some paintin' and touchin' up...)  The crew... I'm really just gonna throw some paint on them (I want to follow the advice of all the sages here and begin to paint my figs with Valejo, but can't justify the cost right now, so these will be some much needed practice.  Unfortunately (apparently) I will have to rely on Tamiya acrylics for them though)...  So, yeah, I think so.  I actually have a base/dio idea for this that I will get around to IF I EVER GET A BREAK FROM ALL THE DAMN GB'S I AM FORCED INTO PARITICPATING IN!!!!!

What? I don't believe there's any forced coercion into any of the GB's posted on this fine website...

BTW, 1,000 Roadwheels starts in January.

FINALLY brought my pics with me, should have them uploaded at lunch time today.

dupes wrote:

What? I don't believe there's any forced coercion into any of the GB's posted on this fine website... BTW, 1,000 Roadwheels starts in January.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

!!!!!!!!!!!

Boyd - I'm pretty sure I could hear that "AAAAAAHHHH" here in Maine...wind must be blowing the right way.

ALLLLRIGHT then, finally got some pics uploaded. I believe I'm done. Did I miss anything? Improvements? Comments? Fire away!

dupes wrote:

Boyd - I'm pretty sure I could hear that "AAAAAAHHHH" here in Maine...wind must be blowing the right way. ALLLLRIGHT then, finally got some pics uploaded. I believe I'm done. Did I miss anything? Improvements? Comments? Fire away!

Dupes,

My only critique would be that I think the ground looks a little too... sterile.  Maybe try to vary it a little with some different color washes and such, and maybe some rubble from that wall?.  Also, maybe something to indicate location?

Other than that, I think the base sets the tank off nicely.  I agree with the previous comment that your subtle weathering is really quite effective...