Wow!

I had to forward this :-)
http://sploid.gizmodo.com/amazing-photo-of-m1-abram-tanks-surrounded-in-a-force-f-1738268467

Trumpeter 1/35 scale Triebwagen 51

This is one big kit.  The upper hull is a single molded piece. Same for the lower hull. The interior is completely hollow except for the wheel assemblies.  All of the hinges, hatches etc. are separate parts. I used Humbrol enamel paints, many layers of floor wax and dullcoats to weather with oils. Did some scrubbing with Mig powders and dry brushing.

This is not fiction. It really existed along with many other numbered armored rail cars produced by the Germans in WWII. Trumpeter has also begun producing some of the Russian counterpart rail vehicles.

The PZ IV Turrets are separate kits in themselves each with a detailed interior which you can barely see unless removing the turret.

Enroute to Baghdad

This is the Academy M1A1 Abrams (Iraq 2004). 

The kit is pretty basic based on their early M1A1. As with most early kits the sponsons where filled and a few parts needed to be changed out, i.e. the Gunners Doghouse sight cover supplied was inaccurate. Commanders station needed improvement, MCD & APU units soft detail replaced them with those from a Tamiya kit.
 
Added styrene strip and bolt detail to top of side skirts as well as fender springs to the front and missing cables to smoke grenade launchers and MCD.

Crew figures came from Trumpeter/Tamiya as with stowage from the spare parts box. The roadway base came from "Phoenix Models" modern highway set.
 

I enjoyed building the kit for friends and to all those who like the big beasties.

David Bozarth

Russian BA-20

This is my entry in the John Ford build, a DML BA-20 armored car. My first attempt at a worn white-wash paint scheme. Used hairspray under a 50-50 mix of Reaper white & Vallejo flat clear.

E-100 1/35 scale

The mystery on this one is that Trumpeter recently released this kit. If you have it, check to see what manufacturer is on the instructions.  The kit I had was from an old smoker with a lot of bagged kits which had been parted out. The instructions were torn, smoke stained and more, but they were identical to the new Trumpeter kit.

The parts were also interchangeable with the Trumpeter kit. The mystery is who actually molded and produced the model.  Since it was a prototype only,  in reality, I wanted to put it into combat so used some decals from an Elephant kit. Similar in purpose.

 I added a small stowage rack on the engine deck. I included piles of personal gear strapped to the spare tracks on the side of the superstructure.

 Since the super heavy track shields could not be removed completely by hand, the kit includes the support crane but I was not able to find any details on its operation. I drilled out the pulley, added chains and a winch wheel to the device and added a spreader bar with hooks to simulate the operation of the lift assist for shield removal.

Vince Barrale

Aug 22, 2015

The crazy story of the man who fought for Finland, the Nazis, and US Army Special Forces

Great story! I had to share it.

http://www.wearethemighty.com/larry-thorne-special-forces-2015-07

http://www.abroadintheyard.com/three-oaths-of-allegiance-soldier-fought-for-finland-nazi-germany-usa-killed-vietnam/

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/larry-thorne.htm

Enjoy.
Fred

Geschutzewagen

This is the nearly out of the box CyberHobby kit, Orange Box Dragon. Everything went together just like it should.

The only addition I made was the tarps strapped to the pioneer tools on the top.

Airbrushed freehand the camo pattern and weathered with oils as usual. Some final drybrushing of the great surface details.

Had to post these :-)

Great picture

1/35 scale KROTE

This will be one of my tributes to John Ford and probably the most favorite kit I found in his stash. I wasn't expecting to find a NITTO. This was an old 1980s German themed Sci Fi kit.  Well, being tired of seeing all of the neat looking German Sci Fi, I decided to turn the tables and make this a WWII U.S. scout vehicle.

 

 

 The original kit comes with a figure as 1/20 scale.   It would never even fit into this armored suit. The actual scale should be 1/35 so I outfitted the stowage to that scale instead.

Kit even provided parts and instructions for mounting a bulb in the spotlight and a motor for the cannon. Of course I took advantage of this and Yes the light and cannon operate from a home made circuit under the base.

Other options included actual springs and copper wiring. I added some additional detailing then painted up and weathered.

 

Vince B.  6-3-15

Voyage (of tanks) To The Bottom Of The Sea

I recently watched a program on divers looking for WWII ship wrecks off the coast of Ireland. One wreck they found was of a cargo ship delivering Sherman tanks to the UK. The sea floor was Covered in Shermans - quite spooky looking. You can watch a short video of the wreck Vimeo.

New Armata tanks (Russia)

http://englishrussia.com/2015/05/07/new-armata-tanks/

Desert Hound

This project started as the Bronco Staghound Mk1. 1/35 scale kit. Well.... That's not how it ended up. As you can see there is still some resemblance to the original Staghound, but the main gun an rockets are a little different.

  

 I have modified the turret, adding stowage, retractable missile launchers, missile stowage racks etc. etc. I have also modified the scale by posing a 1/48 scale figure resting on the turret.

 

Most of the add on armor was evergreen sheets and shapes. There were a lot of parts added from various German Armor and some office supplies.

 

Vince Barrale    4-14-15



Oops! Houston,we have a problem.

Armored vehicle causes traffic incident on 610

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-traffic/article/Military-style-tank-causes-causes-traffic-6161393.php#photo-7722331

Humvee in 1/35 scale

This is an out of the box Academy kit.

 

I managed to avoid adding any stowage or modifying to correct screw ups. I even inserted the windows one at a time with clear glue.

 Its a pretty good kit for me to be able to get this good of a result without tampering with it. It was airbrushed with model master enamels and weathered with oils.

Vince Barrale 3/23/15

T-34 1943

This one's another one that has been in progress for some time.  It's the old and severely out-dated Tamiya kit that was begun more as a painting project than anything else.  I was trying some different effects with Vallejo acrylics. It's essentially just an old kit with some updated parts including an Eduard Zoom grill in back and some Tank Workshop (Tank Maker?) resin wheels that, as you can probably tell, still is a long way from being completed. The figure is Verlinden with some minor modifications.  I scuplted his jacket below the belt line to make him sit higher in the cupola.

I have "finished" my Sd Kfz 7/2 Halftrack with a 3.7cm Flak 43. Enjoy! Tom

Improvised Gun Truck

This is a 1/35 scale Gun Truck using the Italeri 'Big Foot' 5 ton cargo carrier. I added the hulk of the M113 APC with components of various manufacturers. Armor plating skirts were added to the M113 and the Truck Cab.

 

 No you haven't seen one like this before but it was theorized by combining concepts used from Vietnam all the way through current Iraq conflicts.

 Gun Trucks in various forms have been used since WWII, adding welded steel plates to jeeps, trucks and Half Tracks.

 The turret was scratch built around a 'Live Resin' Gatlin gun kit so this vehicle would be considered a modern field conglomeration, utilizing available scrap as illustrated with the corrugated steel tire shields.

The blast resistant windows are Crystal Clear with food coloring for tint. I also cut out several machine gun ports in the M113 hull and mounted a grenade launcher. This was a lot of fun to design over the past year and now it is done.

Vince B. Mar 5, 2015