#5 Italeri M24 Chaffee- COMPLETED!

                              And now for the groundwork eh,I'm certain with your abilities a scratchbuilt base is soon to follow. Seems that that little 99 44/100 came from the country western tune with the title "PURE LOVE" .by perhaps Conway Twitty? Have a good day my friend.

                                                           Greg"Detailfreak"Rowley

TD- You got to be kidding me!  You got the talent too... I never forget your work in 8 Wheels GB.  Thanks for stopping by.  I showed your post about your wife and she laughed...

Dude!

I am very jealous of your talents!

Looks fantastic!

Tank commander looks right at home Andy and those tools are looking pretty sharp as well.

Pics on your Blackberry? That's a pretty good point-and-shoot lens/sensor and macro ability it's got if that's the case...however I doubt it's going to do much for you in the white balance/color matching category since it's not really designed for that type of photography and that's what is causing your color shifting in response to the lighting/background issue. The camera is "seeing" different tones based on the environment and unless you can "tell" it to stabilize on one interpretation via the WB settings, it's always going to vary from one shot to the next.

Nate-  Always happy to have you stop by... next time I will make sure to have enough  for us. 

Doog- Again, thanks for taking your time to look at my work.  Your comment made my day! 

I agree about my camera issues.  Believe it or not, I have been using my BlackBerry camera so I guess it may be sensitive to lighting and color blue may not be the best choice.  I have a better camera that I use for the final shots and it takes forever to transfer pics.  With my BlackBerry I just upload pics directly to Photobucket in a heartbeat... so will try white and black posters next time. 

Ben- Thanks for the nice words.  I am afraid Marder II will always be my favorite but you never know.   Four weeks break? I DOUBT IT!  I still need to paint the figures for the Marder II and finish this very old Tamiya kit Panzer IV Ausf H for the Ostfront GB.   Here it is...

You are a good man.  I would have done the same for my parents... they are the one who helped us into our hobby when we were young.

the doog

Killer job, Andy. I can say that it really doesn't get any better than that!

Hey Andy - superb work my friend! Probably your best work yet imo!

A big  for Karl by the way!

I do envy your figure work, it really is top notch and improving all the time.

Your previous build was the Marder II 'Coal Thief' which I love because apart from the brilliant work put in I'm a real German SPG fan and it floats my boat big time!

Your work quality is definately moving on in HUGE leaps and bounds and I think you'll be gracing the pages of FSM etc soon if you keep this up! x 10!

So, with the GB start date over 4 weeks away what are you going to do now? Take a break? Bust another kit out the stash?

I'm FINALLY about to start my 1/72 Brummbar this evening. I was going to get started earlier but the folks had roped me into building flat-pack furniture all afternoon 

Great job buddy,

ATVB

Ben

Killer job, Andy. I can say that it really doesn't get any better than that!

Weird thing about your camera's interpretation of the blue background. Sometimes if the lighting is off or too strong, it can affect the way it perceives and translates it. I started using white a while ago and found that to be a good neutral background.

Looking REALLY good Andy!

Nate

Don't ask me how Mike (Redleg12) came up with this number... here's quick update.

The wood handles of all tools are finally finished!  Used W&N Burnt Umber paint on top of MM enamel Wood paint.  

"Close Encounter of Third Tools"...

Tracks have been dry brushed with MM enamel Steel.  Light application of MIG pigment is next... hopefully tonight if I am not too tired after all day trip to Fort Wayne to visit a brother-in-law who we have seen only once for last 15 years. 

Have very exciting news to share... the tank commander and my Chaffee have met for the first time and I think they are getting along very good... will let you know when they set a wedding date.

Thanks for looking... comments are always welcome! 

Bill- Thanks!   Hope you agree with Mike's assessment... 99 44/100%?

Kevin- Loved your diomara... that's what I had in mind as it will be on a dirt road while GIs are standing on the edge taking a break.  I wish my couch was on top of an armor just like one you posted... a flat screen TV is a must.

Did you he metal name plates created at local awards shop or something like that?

DM-  Rocking?  Thanks!  But not as much as your Sherman... I dreamt of your Shermie last night.

Mike- Thank God I didn't have coffee with me when I saw your post or there would be coffee all over the monitor.  Thanks for the friendly reminder NOT TO DROP the soap bar! 

I originally planned to have base for all builds but not too sure now since it is my fifth build and I haven't started doing the bases.  Maybe I will catch the 'Build Your Base' bug this summer...

One step at a time.....say a base is good,,,I like a base under all of my models. Besides keeping fingers off, it sets the scene in my mind soo much better.

 As for the umber...I think you are beginning to reach Ivory soap....99 44/100% complete & perfect

Good thing it floats!  ........  Be kind! ..... Had to post it, sorry Andy

Rounds Complete!!

Yes it DOES!

Some very good looking work here.

Apparently you're a rockin' too!!

deafpanzer

Kevin- Thanks for dropping by!  Tank- Almost completed. Figures- completed!  Diomara- Incomplete... haven't started yet and it will be my first one ever so I am little nervous about this part.

My pleasure Andy. A base for this (or any model) doesn't have to be elabarate... just a simple ground work solution, just large enough to sort of protect the model 'around the edges' and to keep keep judge's (and other's) greasy fingers from picking up your model. Force them to lift the base if they need too. (Of course, permanentaly fixing the model to the groundwork.)

I would rather have the 'damage' on the nameplate... For example...

Making good progress with this one Andy, and yes Raw Umber does rock!

John- Thanks buddy!  You are not going to believe this... we had a major roof leak in one of our baths.  Somebody is coming this week to fix it.  When will you make the rain go away? 

Guys- I love Raw Umber!  Applied thinned oil paint on my Chaffee yesterday...

Washed raw umber helps bring the details out like this...

This time I am using light blue poster and it is not helping... it made olive drab look brownish just like last time. 

Worked on the wood handles of tools and drybrushed MM Steel on the tracks this morning.  Only need to weatherize the tracks and wheels using MIG pigments of course!

Thanks for looking!

Looking great Andy!

Ben- Hey mate!  Jeez, another holiday already?  You british guys have one every week or something like that?  Maybe I should move there so I can finish more kits every year!

Guys- Worked on the tracks and wood handles on the tools last night.  Getting much closer to the finish line.  I am still undecided which MIG pigment I should use on the wheels and tracks.  Know Vietnam was very reddish just like shown on Mike's recent build so should Korea be a mix of red and tan pigments?  I need to find color pictures taken during Korea War.

Hey Andy,

She sure is another superb looking build - can't wait to see her her finished! It's nice to see some 'OD Green' for a change

As for my StuG I'm in the same boat as you: Build completed, the figure is being painted for me by a friend so I'm waiting on that so it won't be long and the base? Well, I have the base and the scenery but I don't want to start it until I get the figure as I need to work out what positioning of the parts will work best. It's only my second ever base so like you I'm also a little nervous!

I'm going to get my 1/72 Dragon Brummbar underway this weekend (we have Monday off in the UK as it's a Bank Holiday)  but I seem to be lacking some motivion though (in as far as getting the Brummbar started), not sure why?

Again, the Chaffee looks great. She'll definately be a beauty!

ATVB

Ben

Rob- Thanks buddy! So far it has been fun but I don't think I want to add alot of stowage to every build.  ADHD and patience don't get along too well.   Am really looking forward to Pz III GB...

Kevin- Thanks for dropping by!  Tank- Almost completed. Figures- completed!  Diomara- Incomplete... haven't started yet and it will be my first one ever so I am little nervous about this part.

Mike- Thank you so much for your seal of approval.  Coffee nearly burst out of my mouth when I first saw the seal. LOL

deafpanzer

Mike- Always great hearing from you!  I hope I have your seal of approval for this build when it is done because it is olive drab.   Thanks for the comment.  A coat of Future before and after the application of decals really helped. 

Rounds Complete!!

Very, very nice! Decals and the stowage painting came out excellent! Looking forward to all of this... figures, weathering and being mounted on a base!

Looking fabulous!  Lot of gear which means a lot of patience to pic all of those details and still leave a beautiful finish on the Chaffee.  Decals also look great.  I love the color you acheived on the tracks after the dry brush of steel believe they will be perfect!  Really looking forward to the weathering.

Bill- Good one!

Mike- Always great hearing from you!  I hope I have your seal of approval for this build when it is done because it is olive drab.   Thanks for the comment.  A coat of Future before and after the application of decals really helped. 

It is now 91.35% completed after a coat of heavily thinned Raw Umber oil paint... will post pictures when I have the chance.

You got it Andy, she's a "stealth panzerhund"!.

Andy - Very nice details and resin tracks....you made a possible PITA look great. The decals also look great.

Now as for Bill's comments, I will agree and disagree......I agree with him, don't give up the number...I will disagree as far as the number...the engineer in me see's 85.725% complete and the artilleryman sees it as right on target 

Rounds Complete!!

Hey Doog!  Trust me... I am not a fan of resin tracks.  I was just glad that I had the chance to deal with it so I can understand why many modelers don't like them anymore.   Next time I post my Chaffee... it will much dirtier for sure. 

Normally I use blue poster as backdrop but it made my Chaffee look brownish like you noticed last time.  So I need to try lighter blue or even white poster to see if it works better... again, thanks for dropping by!

Bill- WOW!  She is one real good looking dog... no wonder you got Doog all excited!  I am trying to understand why she is wearing a pink collar instead of a German three toned camo collar... hmmm?   Oh, pink collars just like the Panzer crews wearing pink trimmed collars... how clever!!!

Andy--the Chafffee looks about as nice as I could imagine it. If you were going for a superb "clean" build, you've nailed it.

I'm surprised that you like resin tracks. I couldn't get them to work for me on my Jagdpanzer Kanone, but those were all indy links.

Anyway, a nice job, for sure! Now get an uncluttered background for the "Finished" pics!

And I just can't resist.....
"HEY DOOG!"

wbill76

 

(She's a cutey, Bill!!)

Brenda's now 6.5 months old, weighs 42 lbs as of this morning, and has been spayed. She's learning how to be out of her crate for the full day with me without getting into trouble (I work from home) and so far we've had no styrene-chomping incidents I'm happy to say! She did stay with me last Sunday when I got some time in on the bench (only an hour or so) and didn't cause any disruptions, so it's baby steps but progress!

Bill- Always great hearing from you my friend.  In some way I am glad I had the chance to use resin tracks so I understand better now what you guys were talking about doing resin tracks long before the fruil and modelkasten tracks came out.

How's our mascot dog?  Hope she didn't chew one of your kits yet... we can not afford to have another Hinksy incident!!!

Sharp work on the details and decals Andy and yes, resin tracks can defintietly be a pain! 85.7% progress speaks to a precision and sounds impressive but then you gave it up by admitting it wasn't "real'!...always better to use round numbers when making things up! Looking forward to the next set of progress pics for sure.