Even with the track issue she's shaping up very nicely.

It looks great, Russ!  Very much admire your skill and imagination in bringing this "coulda-maybe shoulda-been" vehicle to life.

I wonder how that baby would drive with the Cummins Diesel engine compared to the of Ford GAF?

Ah, modeling. I spent about three hours last night making one set of tracks from two, glueing on 158 teenie guide horns, painting two complete track runs, and then realizing the Dragon tracks are at least 1mm too wide. They don't fit the Tamiya drive sprockets. Rats! 

Somewhere I'm sure I have some HVSS Sherman sprockets, but rather than attack a virtually finished model, I grabbed some Friuls from a shelf queen and moved on. 

Pics:

One side is looser than the other, and one link out simply won't reconnect. The joys of modeling tanks with offset torsion bars. Anyway, it's back on track.

Thanks, Karl. I feel pretty much the same.

I think I have my track dilemma figured out, but it'll mean cutting up two sets of DS tracks. It's one of those Dragon things, but the tracks they supply in the M26 kit are actually too short, supposedly they fit the M46, but I really don't see how. Anyway, onward soon.

Good call on the timing thing, Russ. Always better to give a model your best and then feel confident about it as it's on the table getting scrutinized.

It's looking good so far--hope you get the track issue sorted out!

Thanks, guys.

I've been playing around with a Merkava while I pondered the tracks, but I've decided, so I should have this wrapped up soon, or at least moving along again....

Wow, it sure is coming out great!  Thanks again for sharing your awesome invention! :)

Awesome!

Thanks, guys.

I was shopping tracks on HobbyEasy and LuckyModel, should be putting an order in next week sometime unless I score something tomorrow. I did order a crew guy from Sprue Bros a few minutes ago, so it begins.....

that is straight up bada$$.............................................................................................

Very cool, I love how she's shaping up!

Oh, so close...   but there's simply too much to do for me to be happy about it by this weekend, and the HobbyBoss tracks are going to be troublesome, so I went this far and stopped:

I still need a 50 cal, jerry cans, a TC figure, and stowage, and that's just what I'm aware of. The tracks fitted are Tamiya kit tracks, nicely detailed but a little on the thin side, so I'm either going to fiddle with the HB tracks, splice two sets of Dragon M46 DS tracks to get them long enough, or hang tight and pop for some Friuls or SpadeAce. Now that I'm not under any sort of time pressure, I have more choices.

More as soon as I get back to it......

S1: thanks. I really like the effect, and it was quick and easy to use, no odor at all.

Karl, I'm going to do some more tonight, as a normal pace, and if it looks like I could realistically get it ready on Friday night, I will, but I'm kind of thinking I should slow down, for the reason you've stated, and because I'm really enjoying it and almost want to maximize that...   make sense?

Looking really good, Russ, but please don't rush it for a show. Better to make it look perfect first, and save it for a later show. :)

wow, it looks like an oil wash. The way it settled into the rear deck grille is excellent 

I now have the majority of the wash done, using ModelMaster acrylic black and brown. These are new to me, and the first time I've used a commercial wash of any kind. So far I really like them. They thin with water and don't bead up, flow well and can be tidied up with water as much as an hour after application. Schweet! I also primed the tracks with Krylon gray, then painted with thinned ModelMaster burnt umber acrylic. They've only come apart in one place since I put them together, better than I expected, but I'll know more about the durability of the teeny plastic nubs that hold them together after I install them. I've still got a few Friul links from the "Almost Super" to use as spare links on the turret rack, good thing.

Anyway, pics:

More later, still trying to have this ready for the show Saturday, might happen.....

I guess this is my way of "branching out"....

Anyway, pics of paint:

I shot my usual Tamiya TS-46 over Krylon khaki, wanting a sand-gray color appropriate for the mid-'70s. I like it so far.

I love following these things. I find that doing unusual subjects, whether ships, a/c or armor- you learn a lot thinking about the whys and hows.

Thanks, Bish. That's my goal, to do a plausible "what-if", make people scratch their heads and go "huh?"

Cliff, thank you. I don't have a place to use and airbrush and model at the same time, so even though my wife gave me a very nice airbrush and compressor last Christmas, I still use rattle cans (outdoors) and brush lots of secondary colors indoors. That Tiger was base-coated in a tan enamel spray, then masked with Silly Putty and the green sprayed. The brown was acrylic, applied by brush.

Speaking of rattle cans:

Well, P-bucket's having a really hard time this morning, I'll post pics later......

Your Tiger there is spray can and brush painting!?! WOW!!!

I know zilch about Israeli or allied armour, but that looks damn good to me, and I would not have known it was a what if if you had not said.

Thanks, Karl.  I bought the kit for $5, added a set of Friuls (!) , a CzechMaster barrel and mantlet for another $5, and LOTS of white styrene for my take on the Panzer '46 theme. The green is rattle can and the brown is brushed on over rattle can tan, and it actually did well at an IPMS show. I had a blast doing it. I've actually done three Tamiya Tiger2's: one (Tiger "P") my wife bought as a Christmas gift, this one, and another "late" from the "Ardennes kit, in an octopus scheme.

I guess I'm not quite so fixated on IDF/US stuff as I thought..... maybe.

Russ, that's a great looking Tiger!!!

Karl, I have actually thought seriously about it. I actually did a TigerB a couple of years ago in an actual "Panzer '46" sscheme, using the ancient Tamiya original release, and lots of love. It was fun....  I have a pic:

I never really thought of myself doing anything but "historically accurate" vehicles, but this is serious fun, and a really good antidote for my particular strain of AMS.

Cool. I am getting into IDF equipment, have a HH-53 in the works, a Sherman, and a Patton I will be doing in IDF markings. I am using Testors Sherman kit and Tamiya's Patton. Any help would be appreciated.

Russ, you ought to get on that "Panzer 46" site on Facebook. You'd fit right in there.

Cool idea there. :)

Thanks, guys.

Nice, the air intake covers and extra storage bin look pretty cool!

Thanks, Hugo. I like to keep lots of parts kits around. Most of the M50/51 parts are coming from kits I bought for a song somewhere, and the Tamiya parts are left over from the M1 Sherman I did for the Orphaned Armor GB.

Tempting on the camo, but I plan (you what they say about plans) to paint it in period correct IDF sand gray.