Viet Nam Gun Truck

AFV Club kit, NANCY. This was an experiment in Gun Trucks. In doing the research on these VietNam inovations, I found that many of them were named and some are still existing and restored. The old combat photos I found were mostly worn, but some of the renovated show trucks had good pictures posted.

I found the kit to be challenging as I knew little about the workings of the original 5 ton trucks on which these were based. It has inspired me to design my own version of a converted cargo truck of that era or possibly of those more recently used in Iraq.

 Vince Barrale   Feb 5-2012





Strange...

As anybody seen anything like it?

M1A1 Abrams - Tamiya

Tamiya 1/35 M1A1 Abrams. This may be an older kit as demonstrated by the battery and motor mounts in the lower hull. It was as usual for Tamiya, a relatively simple build. The hardest choice was what paint scheme to follow. I selected the 3 color camo but placed it in the desert as one of the initial unit into Iraq. Normally my weathering depicts grassy or muddy environments, but after studying photos, I realized that I had to wash the surface edges with a Yellow Ocre color to depict dust and sand settlement.

I added a lot of plastic and resin accessories, tents, bedrolls, water cans, gatoraid, straps and antennae.

As you know, the M1A1 is a big tank. Now I have to make room for it in the display case. Now back to some 1/72 armor that I have room for.

Vince Barrale - 1-8-12

Panzer III Ausf L in 1/76 scale.

I completed the 1/76 scale Matchbox salvage job. This 30+ year old kit was partially built when I scavanged it. Poor detail and lack of features allowed me to be creative. With some evergreen strips and other components I scratchbuilt the stowage rack and antenna mount. I added a variety of resin stowage items and the commanders machine gun perch. .

The wall sections are from Armand Bayardi and the figures are from an old Preiser set. Its not perfect but quite an improvement over the initial Matchbox kit.





Vince B. 1-5-12

The secret behind Norway’s massive Nazi coastal cannon

Great article!
http://jalopnik.com/5864615/the-secret-behind-norways-massive-nazi-coastal-cannon

Miniatur Wunderland Hamburg

A must see video!
The largest model railway in the world and one of the most successful permanent exhibitions in Northern Germany. 

http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/

DIY 3D Printer

A few of us were talking/dreaming about a 3D Printer at a recent buin-in.
The problem with most of them is that they are expensive industrial machine (40K+)

If you haven't heard from MakerBot yet, it's time to listen :-)
These guys offers an affordable DIY kit with an open source software for $1200!
http://www.makerbot.com/

This opens a new world of possibilities. Any ideas? :-)

Drive a tank? Who's in?

The perfect Christmas gift for those who have everything!
Give them memories that will last a lifetime.
Purchase a Drive A Tank Gift voucher.
You will receive a voucher along with an informational DVD
showing a sample of the fun and adventures the participant will experience!

http://www.driveatank.com/index_BGY6.html

Tools used and displayed

Model Photos from the November 2011 Meeting

Here is my latest completion. It was for an IPMS USA Review that will posted there shortly.

Here is the 1/35 Dragon MAUS and figures that were also just completed within the last 2 weeks

Here are some photos of the recently completed models:

German Gepard

1/72 Dragon Ferdinand

1/72 Dragon LVT-(A) 4

1/72 Dragon Tiger I

Tiger I Ausf 'E' Late

I somehow got this one finished well ahead of schedule. This is one of the early Dragon 1/72 scale kits. It all went together pretty well except the vinyl tracks. Hate those. The kit was out of the box. I didnt find any photo or film documentation showing that stowage was piled on the engine deck like all other tanks.

Base colors were airbrushed and then detailed by hand. After applying dullcoat and oil washed, I added decals and more dullcoating and more washes to dull the colors. Finally drubrushed the highlites and painted the tracks. Drybrushed the tracks then moved on to selecting the Preiser figures. I wasnt trying to make a diorama, just enough marching figures for effect.

After sanding and staining the base, I whipped up Sculptamold with Elmers Glue and acrylict artist paint and poshed the mixture into place. While it was setting, I coated the glop with white glue and sprinkled on the grass. I bolted the tank into place then the figures and foliage.

Ok. So I wasnt really finished with it. After some more research, I decided to add a few details to the Out of the Box tiger I. Not much difference, but I am adding the spare track links and the commander's turret mounted machine gun.  (11-7-11)

Vince Barrale

11-1-11

Two great pictures worth seeing from the Libyan conflict.

For more:
MSNBC

Panzer III L

Sorry, it has been so long. I finished something ARMOR related. I threw together the 1/72 scale Revell Panzer III L. I had been studying the armor used in the Russian invasions and this inspired me to do a winter white wash. I had seen videos of Germans throwing buckets of white paint on with brooms and mops I did my best to simulate the effect in 1/72 scale. No I didnt scratchbuild a tiny mop, but I did use a worn out mop like paint brush for the final finish. I think it worked.