1/35 M109 A6 Paladin

This is Tamiya's rebox of Italeri's M109 A6 Paladin.

The kit is straightforward, but has lots of small issues. Things like gaps and seams on just about EVERY part. It requires a great deal of effort on something that should be a snap, but once all those issues are dealt with it builds up into a nice looking piece.

I put Fruilmodel tracks on her and just a little bit of aftermarket PE. She also came with a Tamiya equipment set which I applied.

I used a combination of Tamiya and Vallejo paints; and Vallejo pigments for weathering.

ESCI Merkava Mk I

Another IDF Tank.  This is from the old 1/72 scale ESCI kit. With a little patience it came out OK.

The kit is pretty much out of the box. It represents an EARLY MkI before adding the turret balls. This kit came with the original tight fitting side skirts. 

 It needed a few more details such as mounting the spare single track links onto the turret and making a tow cable to wrap around the turret basket.

Black Dog has a great set of stowage and equipment. It was all painted with enamels and weathered in oils. Drybrushing enhanced the kit details.

Vince B.  6-8-19

Stug IV

This was an unexpected completion. A few months back I did an in process review at the meeting. This Academy kit went together like a Tamiya. It was so well done, I didn't want to put on any stowage and decided to keep it Out of the Box.

 The instructions showed several multi colored camo patterns. I liked the Tan, Brown & Green scheme. I used Model Master and Humbrol enamels for the base coats. The pattern was done freehand with an airbrush.

 Though the kit includes many optional parts, like the Schurzen, I decided to follow the specific instructions.

 The only add on was the wire antennae which I made removable in case certain contests don't allow that as out of the box. The weathering was done in layers with Oil Washes, wiping and dullcoating in between layers.

I finished the model with a variety of mud slop on the treads and wheels. This included the slime at the bottom of the Lacquer Cleaning bottle as well as powders.

Vince B. 5-21-19

Merkava Mk IV

This is the 1/72 Hobby Boss kit. Pretty impressive detail and fit.

 The kit was out of the box. I did need to add the antenna by trimming and drilling out the tiny antenna holders.  I used a #80 drill bit and fine fiber optic line.

 I added a few bits of Black Dog resin stowage to enhance the stowage basket.

 Painted with enamels and weathered with oils. Dullcoated and drybrushed.

Vince B.  4-20-19

Russian S-51 SPG

Well, its time again to play Russian Roulette. This will be my entry for the SPG club challenge.
This is an older Trumpeter kit.  Yes, it was a challenge. Hope you are all sitting down because I did do the Photo Etch.

 I was pretty OK with the parts fit and detail from Trumpeter. I was unable to completely figure out from an engineers perspective exactly how the mechanisms were intended to operate.

 Of course I had to add some stowage. I used components from a MiniArt weapons set to hang on the rails. I used micro tape for the straps.

 Apparently this was a one of a kind experiment. I only found a few photos of the real one on line to go by. There were several modeler interpretations which would indicate they may have found some actual drawings of more details.

Vince B.  Apr 18-2019

Rail Yard in 1/72

I am not yet sure what to call this diorama. I guess first I need to review what all is in this.
1) Reintochter Rockets and Launchers.(Modelcollect)
2) Flat Transport Cars ( Modelcollect)
3) Diesel Locomotive (Hobby Boss)
4) Figures (Hasegawa)
5) Special Rail cars for launchers (Hasegawa)
6) 5 Ton Cranes (Trumpeter)
7) Rails / Tracks  (HobbyBoss)

Some special features added were the Ghost Canvas covers on the rail cars. There are no rockets or anything else under these covers made from glue soaked paper towels and some ship line ropes.

The brick crane pedestals were made from Tamiya Brick Wall sections and evergreen strips.

For the crane cables I used EZ Line to allow for some flexibility in the tension.

I made the Rocket Lift Yokes from tape, evergreen rod and wire.

Vince B 4-15-19

Russian KV 1B

The Russians are coming.  Yes, another Russian model.  This is the old Tamiya KV 1B kit. Perfect for an out of the box subject. Wow, No stowage or antenna?  That was tough for me.

Typical old Tamiya kit. Not much to it.Just follow the directions.

 ts all in the weathering,  Painted with enamels. Washed with oils. Then dullcoated and drybrushed.  Finally did dot washed and rusting of the scrapped steel.

Vince B. 4-7-19

Soviet SMK

May I introduce the SMK by Takom in 1/35 scale.

This kit is an easy build, I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for something...completely different.

It comes with plastic tracks, but I got some KV5 metal tracks by Master Club.

Since the prototype vehicle was used in the Winter War against Finland by the Soviet Union, I decided to paint it in winter camoflauge.

There are only a handful of photos of the actual vehicle in existence, so I took the liberty of abusing her paint job a bit.

German BLF-100

Modelcollect 1/72 scale kit comes with 4 of these one man walkers.

 Each comes with a different weapons configuration, You can use the Flakvierling guns or mix them.

I decided to paint this in the standard gray with general markings of  Panzer division.

The detailing is great already and allows for other enhancements which I will use on the others.

Vince B.  2-5-19

M36 Jackson

This is the AFV Club kit.  The fit went together pretty well. It comes with an aluminum barrel.
The kit is basic and in need of upgrades.

I added stowage mostly from Legend sets and some individual pieces. In this case I pretty much finished up the model before adding the straps and stowage.

 I painted with a gunmetal primer and finished with enamels followed by layers of gloss.

 After decaling, I gloss coated again and finished with oil washes in layers.

 Finally drybrushed and dullcoated.

Vince B. 2-2-19

M3 Stuart

I haven't posted in awhile. Here is my version of the Tamiya M3 Stuart. Nice kit. I put her on a base and got her all muddy.

The ground work is just plaster over a stained piece of wood. I painted the plaster with Tamiya Flat Brown, and put down a layer of Woodland Scenics Fine Turf Earth. Then a layer of Woodland Scenics Fine Turf Green Grass, then a just a bit of Woodland Scenics Static Grass Flock. The mud is Vallejo's Thick Brown mud. And then I added lichen with more Green Turk sprinkled on.

I painted the vehicle with Tamiya Olive Drab. I did a black pin wash and then weathered with pastels and the Vallejo Thick Brown mud.

 I chose to put Russian decals to add some additional variety. There are a couple more things I would like to add but we will see.

Syrian T-72

This is the Modelcollect kit, of course in 1/72 scale. BUT stay tuned for 1/35 scale Modelcollect kits.

 I love the detail on these kits and the wide range of subjects. In 1/72 scale there are a lot of fidley bits requiring steady hand and tweezers.

 I had lots of fun with the weathering. After the enamel coats and gloss wax, I used heavy oil wash solution with turpenoid to really get into the multi layered details.

 After several dull coatings, I drybrushed the whole tank. 

Details I hadnt seen before just popped out. I am really happy with the result. 

Vince B.  1-1-19

Armor Train

These are from the recent 1/72 scale Hobby Boss rail series of the Panzerzug ?? armored trains.

 Though there are many more rail cars to come, I only have room for 2 at a time. 

 These are relatively detailed.  The hardest part for me was in keeping the wheels aligned.

 There is very little room to work with setting the wheels on the tracks and keeping them there.

After the standard Enamel paints and lacquer dull coat, drybrushing the details took some time.

Vince B. 1-1-19