Trumpeters Karl-Morser in 1/35 Build

Love it, love it, love it! :)

Another quick update. Fruils are in, assembled and primed. During the time I waited, I've accomplished alot. Once the ties, cleats and rails were installed I layed out the major parts to get a feel for the overall scale. Everything on the board is far from complete, but now that I've set things in I'm going to finish everything, piece by piece. I set in a Tamiya Flak AA on the gondola but thats going to change, I have another gun in mind that will add much more detail.

One thing I forgot, you can see on the cleats the rust tones vary just a bit but the rails (that are really bad to see) is a solid rust color. Sometimes the cleats rust a bit differently from the many rail photos I have, so from my mix you can see the slight variation in colors.

Just a quick update on how I weather my rails and cleats. I use a mixture of Mig Standard Rust thats an oil based liquid and in this case I added some Mig Old Rust to taste. This is a good combo that paints on easily and I've used it for many other applications with the Standard Rust as my base then maybe a new rust or other rust tone as needed. I've finished up the cleats and the bottom of the rails and let them set overnight then I'll apply the mirror color to the top of the rails and I'm ready to lay them out. 

Man, that wod work is fantastic, Terry! It really looks rich! Nice ideas on the layout details too.

Oh yeah. I like this a lot. I like the addition of the watch tower. :)

I finished laying rails and set the bumper. I tried a layout that shows the rough positions of where the watchtower will be and a rock wall. Its actually starting to look like something.

Wow, that's looking great, Terry, every bit of it!

Slight correction, these are oil drums. Terry

Just a couple more photos, still waiting on the Fruils to finish up that big gun.

A quick update, I've a lot done in the past week but here are a couple of shots of the gondola. First two are of the couplers with the frame with sides. Because this is a new Morser, a few parts were shipped on the gondola apart from the gun itself, the loading ramp and charger. These are delicate parts so I framed them out and now theyre ready to be shipped to the front.  

An update on the gondola. The wheels are painted and greased, the wooden gondola bed has been painted ans stressed and I'm working on railroad ties. For 1/35 I use 5/16 X 5/16 basswood thats stained with a dark brown that'll dry a little darker. I'll treat them further to show aging and other stains. 

I took a break from my Morser while I'm waiting for a set of Fruils which gives me an opportunity to work on some other parts of this diorama and a break from that huge kit.

Trust me, I know what you mean. I've got a strong feeling my M-60 build is going to take a good, long time. lol

Its nice to take a break and update just to see what all of you guys are up to. There is some amazing work going on as usual and your build is one of them.

Thanks Mike, I'm just trying to show some of the major steps, a long way to go before this board is finshed.

Terry 

Woah. That is a ton of impressive work. I can't wait to see more.  :)

Agree, I have a set of Fruils enroute for $50 with S&H then theres the burnishing liquid. I've used them with and without the wash and it well worth it to scrup them down. 

Thanks Karl.

I ahree that it's a bummer about those tracks, Terry, They did the same thing with their big Krokodil E100 Jagdpanzer. I had to buy two different track kits to fit on that monster. A shame.

Wayne the Morser will be a stand alone so the air hoses and the couplers will just hang, but I'm building a low boy gondola on the othert track and I'll leave those operable just in case I want to add a smaller yard loco later. But thanks, good advise.  

Terry

These are the final set of tiny parts for the carriages, as you can see I waited till near the end to cut, clean and prime them. They'll be up for the final coat of paint later today. I also included my diorama board 33X18 that'll include 2 sets of tracks and some other pieces that I think will make it interesting. 

Toshi and Bish thanks you, its been a very enjoyable build except for these tracks. With 1200 parts and all the fantastic detail why not replace that set of rubber bands for real track?  

Terry

What a huge undertaking, everything looks really excellent!

Toshi

I'm starting on some of the more complicated areas of the build, like the walkways and railings but first both exhausts had to be treated. I weathered them like they only had a couple hours of run time on them. The walkways have been installed but I'm leaving them glued and taped until I start the railings. I also put on the rubber band tracks, but a set of Fruils are a definate posibility.

Terry

Thanks Bish, I guess now is no time to be cheap...

A quick update on my Morser. With the large parts and sub-assemblies completed, I'm working on smaller detail parts before final assembly. Just a note on the tracks, Trumpeter provided the rubber band type that just doesnt want to cooperate so I think I'm forced into a set of Fruils...

Taking a break from the bench, I started with some home made ties. They're made from 5/16 X 5/16 basswood and in one of the photos I show how I took my Dremmel and roughed them up so when I add my weathering they'll look old and worn. I cut some corkboard to buildup my track and layout for my board that'll be cut down to 34" X 18" to allow for the extra set of track and parts.   

I also put together the entire model to show the overall length, but back to the Fruils, I hate to spend $40 on track but these bands just arent going to work and maybe this big beast deserves it.

Terry