The Biber is finished!
In the end, I couldn't get the bridge-laying mechanism to work. The front arm wouldn't stay in the 'up' position when the bridge was deploying, and by the time that several coats of paint and Future had been applied, the delicate working parts of the rear arm were well and truly clogged. Therefore, here are some piccies of the tank in the process of deploying the bridge. We start with the bridge stowed. These are, in fact, the last of the piccies I've taken, and show the model as it is at the moment on my display shelf:
Here's the bridge semi-deployed
Fully extended
and launched. If you look closely at the previous two piccies, you might just be able to see a white Lego brick supporting the front of the bridge while I took them.
A JB Models (now Airfix) 1/76 Bedford 4-tonner crossing the bridge
And the Biber with a jar of Tamiya acrylic for scale.
Finally, a couple of piccies of the tank without the bridge.
This wasn't the best military model I've ever built. I was disappointed not to be able to get the bridge-launching mechanism to work, and the pioneer tools could be a lot mores sharply defined. It's entirely due to my laziness that they aren't. That said, the rest of the paint work was quite fun, especially the highlighting and weathering. As well as my usual Conte Crayons, I made increasing use of Taimya weathering powders. These have a slightly waxy texture, which helps hem stay in place once applied. I've also found that you can blend them to produce a range of shades not provided in the basic weathering packs.
As ever, comments and queries welcome. If time permits, I might build a couple of Hummers as something specific to go over the bridge.
Cheers,
Chris.
Cute and cuddly, boys, cute and cuddly!