Between my personal tech woes and the endless forum errors (at least on my end), there hasn't been much updating, but it's time that changed!
Left off working on the headlight covers which were upgraded with Tamiya PE parts. They're currently blu-tacked into place awaiting the MV Lenses which will go in after all the paint work is done.
After that I moved on to the interior upgrades in the form of the Tamiya autoloader set. This was obviously designed to be an easy drop-in for the kit, but I guess they decided to make it a separate purchase to rake in a few extra bucks. Can see where we start:
and where we finish after a couple of hours.
Unfortunately, you won't be able to see much of the work done here as it's only visible through one small hatch. Hoping that this at least gives the hint of more stuff packed inside the hull! Moved along through the steps putting the turret together. The radio antenna mounts received a bit of work, as Tamiya provides them with about a scale 1' nub sticking out, which is nothing like what my reference pics show. The nubs were removed, and both mounts were drilled out to accept guitar string antennae in the future.
The turret was then wrapped up, including the PE mesh that fits into the turret basket. Here you can see a bit of the autoloader:
After double checking to be sure I hadn't missed everything, I dragged a whole box of parts taped down to receive the black Wal-Mart rattlecan primer. 2-3 coats later, we're up to date with where I am right now:
Tonight the base green will get sprayed, and the tracks will get painted (and mostly weathered). This will allow me to attach all of the rest of the suspension/roadwheels so I can button up the upper and lower hull halves which will allow me to start in on the camo.
More soon! 