Hi guys!
Well, here's where I am so far! I thought it a good idea to do a short tutorial on how I put my decals down, and then talk about a minor "tragedy"...
Now to be fair, I have not used any "sealant" coat per se, but because of the thread on "gelbolive" paint here recently, I did decide to put a coat of Model Master Semi-Gloss acrylic over the Tamiya flat base. Still, there is only a slight semi-gloss sheen.
Here I put a puddle of Solvaset on the spot where I want the decal:
...and put it down...
...then, taking a wide brush dipped in Solvaset, I press the bristles down against the decal...
...and then use a soft facial tissue to press against the decal and set it while diluting the Solvaset, stopping the "softening" action of the chemical...
.
If I get air bubbles, I just repeat the process with the brush first, and then the tissue.
Here's the decalled model so far.
You might also notice that I have fashioned new mirrors from the spare parts box, as "Panther F" correctly observed that the kit parts were just way too big--I used a disc of appropriate size, and built up "rims" around the edges with Squadron White putty, and then put them on brass rods into the holes which I drilled out in the kit. They're much more correct-to-scale.
Here is where the "tragedy" part comes in--here you can see the progress going along on the tracks...
I have tried, and tried, but alas......to no avail--I just cannot figure out a reasonable way to assemble these resin tracks along a curve, when they don't "lock" or "snap". I have tried to get them to "sit" on the sprockets, but they don't fit well, nor can I figure out a way to attach them to themselves on the curve adeqautely enough to be able to remove them for painting. I might be able to just assemble the tracks whole, around the wheels on the tank, but then I would have to paint them on the vehicle, which I am at loathe to do--and besides, given the difficulties I am already having in getting them to line up corrrectly and glue along a straight line, I just don't think it woul dbe worth trying to salvage them.
I don't want to say that they are a "bad product", as they are finely molded, and I'm sure a more talented modeler than I might be able to assemble them in a satisfactory manner; I'm just saying that I don't have the skill at this point!
What I can do however, is improvise!
I have decided ot use the kit tracks, but to correct the most obvious "flaw" with them--the lack of the prominent circular guide horns by cutting 184 separate circlets from a piece of 1/8th, .125 diameter plastic tube, using a razor blade.
So I cut off the incorrect teeth-like guides of the kit's rubber band tracks...
The Jagdpanzee Kanone does not have any slack/sag in the tracks, so I don't need to worry about that--here I use tweezers and gap-filling superglue to add the new guide horns...
..and....VOILA! Not bad, eh? The kit tracks are black, the resin ones which I gave up on are the gray ones. I'm just thrilled that I can salvage the kit tracks, and not have to deal with trying to muscle around those resin links!
Last thing I did was cut out the MG mounts from the kit's hatch rings, and appply them to the ModelHaus resin hull top.
Well, alll I have to do now is to finish one more track length, and then mount the new tracks and start the weathering process..
Comments welcomed!