WWII pilot gets shown footage of his 1944 Spitfire crash that he's never seen until now.

Really great video!
Take 15 min. to watch this.
From a great web site (Wimp.com)
http://www.wimp.com/warfootage/

Tiger I

I just finished the very old Tamiya kit of the Tiger I. I depicted a well worn tank in service with Romel's AfricaCorps. This is out of the box so there isnt really much to tell. I painted with enamel and weathered with oils. I did add a final dust and grime finish to the track and road wheels since I decided to do groundwork.

"The Hot Rod of WWII"

Good article!

http://www.core77.com/blog/transportation/on_the_anniversary_of_v-e_day_buick_releases_photos_of_the_hot_rod_of_world_war_ii_24850.asp

Japanese Prison Camp Lathe

Interesting article!

http://machineshop.olin.edu/resources/documents/Prison%20Camp%20Lathe.pdf

Stop Horsing Around

It seems like I need to do one diorama each year. The concept for this one was inspired by an old WWII photo of a horseman delivering a message to the crew of a Nashorn. I gathered up an old Dragon kit and some figures which would help me reenact the spirit of that photo.

The title "Stop Horsing Around" came from none other than Paul Sacco. The title fit, unlike the old Dragon kit. I fought my way through it. I wasn't able to find many good quality photos of the Nashorn in action, but I wanted to set the scene at the end of the long winter on the Russian Front. The surviving equipment would have been worn down and rusted out.

 

I painted the Nashorn with the original camouflage pattern of green & brown and then white washed it. I simulated the combination of rust and worn paint with lacquer thinner and oil washes.

 

Now it's time to take a break and get back to Sci-Fi for the summer.



 

Tamiya M26 Pershing

This kit came out about 6 years ago. The OOOOhhh AHHHH feature was some spring suspension of the tosion bars. Not all that big of a deal. As with most Tamiya kits, this was great as an' Out of the Box' build. This particular subject wasnt in any of my program plans, but I picked it up for $15 so I thought I would throw it together.

 I was pleasantly suprised to see that the rubber band tracks were completely gluable. No staples or sewing needed to secure the seam and the tracks even glue to the road wheels. As usual, I painted with Model Master enamels. I mixed some Forest Green with white to lighten the shade which I later toned darker with the Burnt Umber and Black oil washes. I tried to keep this one relatively clean, no heavy wear or rusting.

 

I also have a new technique for rough terrain ground work.

San Antonio pictures

Here are the pictures.

https://picasaweb.google.com/106954980617453351558/SanAntonioIPMSFeb2013

The U.S. Army's New 84-Ton Tank Prototype Is Nearly IED-Proof

Looks like the US army will replace the Bradley with the Swedish CV90???

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-02/why-armys-new-tank-so-heavy

Israeli M5 Halftrack Guntruck

It is surprisingly complete. This originated as the old Tamiya M3 Halftrack troop transport. When I first selected the IDF M5 as the subject of the "Second Hand Armor" challenge, I didnt realize how much the Israelis modified (cut and welded) this American made vehicle. There was a lot of scratchbuilding going on and it aint perfect, but close to the reference photos I collected of the variations of this vehicle.

Then I began adding the detail stowage on the exterior. I always glue the straps in place before adding te stowage. These are strips of painters tape. I wrap these around the tie bars then glue on the backpacks, crates etc.

 

 

 

Once I had as much of the detailing as I could stand, I base coated / primed the entire model in a dark gray color using a mix of Model Master enamels. I believe French Chestnut and Black.

 

Next I lightened the model with the base color and worked up the details from there. I detail painted the equipment and stowage. Then I dullcoated / soaked it with laquer dullcoat to seal in.

 

Next came the light wash with oils do darken the shaed of the overall vehicle. After that I selected some appropriate decals and set with Floor Wax over the rough surface.

 

After sealing in the decals with another dullcoat, I did the heavy wash with the Burnt Umber and Black oil paints. Another dullcoat and ready to set up the  groundwork. I use Sculpy mixed with elmers glue and an acrylic brown paint. While it is still wet, I coat it with Woodland Scenics glue and sprinkle on various types of gravel. I pressed in some larger stones while the glue was still wet. As it dried I pressed in the model.

Afterward I did some detail painting of the head and tail lights, mirrors and coated with Crystal Clear.

 

 



Shelf Queen II - The Final Chapter: Panzer III H cont'd

I know the suspense was just awful having to wait to see how this old shelf dweller would turn out after the original posting back in September last year.  After all the extra detailing to bring this old kit up to more current standards, I decided to take my sweet time with the finish.

As is my usual custom, I started painting with a dark base coat.  In this case I used some Tamiya Nato black to take care of all the nooks and crannies since the model was painted basically complete with the exception of the stowage on the rear deck and the air recognition flag.  For the finishing coats on the upper hull, I used a combination of Tamiya dark grey and field blue mixed to about 70 - 80% grey to approximately 20 - 30% blue. I don't tend to use exact measures when mixing so this is my best estimate.  I followed this up with a lighter coat mixed with a small amount of Tamiya buff to tone down the color and provide some highlights to all the horizontal surfaces.

For the lower hull and running gear I used a combination of Tamiya colors mixing flat black with flat earth followed by some khaki and desert yellow to bring out the highlights on the shock absorbers, escape hatches and wheels.  These highlight colors were heavily thinned to provide maximum control with the airbrush and were floated around the back of the tank and onto the fenders to give the effect of kicked up dust.  I should mention here that the road wheels were finished with a base of Tamiya dark grey and after all the earth tones were applied I finished them up with a brush painting of Vallejo dark rubber to get rid of any overspray.

I decided on 11th Panzer Division markings and used Archer Fine Transfers for all the decals.  Even though they are dry transfers, I still used some Micro-Sol to help snug them down over a gloss-coated (Future acrylic floor wax) surface.  After the decals were applied, I sprayed a second coat of Future over the entire model to seal them and provide a nice smooth surface for the washes and weathering that would follow.   A glossy surface helps to control the washes and avoid a splotchy appearance that can be caused by flat coats.

As I mentioned earlier I painted the stowage and air recognition flag off the model to avoid any mistakes and make them easier to finish.  The air recognition flag was base coated in flat white and then I made a circle template with some Tamiya masking tape so Tamiya red could be applied over the top.  The swastika was outlined with a Micron .5mm pen and filled in using a fine brush with Vallejo flat black. As a final touch, Vallejo dark red was used to provide some shadows on the flag.

The model sat for a few weeks over the holidays, and when I returned to kitchen table I painted all the tools and details using various Vallejo acrylics.  I am often asked how I paint the tools on my models.  I don't really have a secret method other than to say that I paint each tool handle in a different way on each model so that no two tools look the same.  I find that the different colors provide more visual interest on an otherwise plain looking vehicle.  I always use Vallejo colors and I generally start with colors that provide a good base for wooden handles like flesh, sunny skin tone, dark yellow, and others.  I typically apply two coats and once this base is dry, I follow it up with several washes of saddle brown, red leather, or any other combination of similar tones. For the metal parts, I either use flat black or dark gray.  I use flat black for models with a dark base coat and dark grey for those with a lighter base.  This helps avoid too much contrast.  Once the model is complete (including any sealing coats) I use a Prismacolor pencil and a graphite pencil for the metallic sheen.     I vary the formula to make sure each tool is slightly different than the others.  

For washes I used Windsor and Newton oils and mineral spirits as well as some of the MIG 502 Abteilung oils.  I used some of the earth tones to dry-brush the lower hull and suspension after some washes and I must say that I was really impressed with these colors.  They did seem to take a while to dry, but they are really easy to clean up.  I used Abt170 German Grey Highlight to dry-brush some of the upper surfaces.  It blended well and I really liked the overall effect.  To finish up, I mixed some Tamiya flat base with Future to seal the model and used the Prismacolor to highlight the sprocket teeth and track cleats.

While these older kits are not up to the standards of today's technology, with a little TLC and some extra details they can still produce good looking models for about half the cost (or less) of the latest generation kits.

   

Frantentank (Ivan Der Wolfe)

Frantentank (Ivan Der Wolfe)

Well, its done...

 

 

 

And yes it does light up.

Cool!

From Gizmodo;

Is This the Job With the Best Views of the World? 

 

 and it's real. Not photoshoped.

For more:
http://gizmodo.com/5969246/is-this-the-job-with-the-best-views-of-the-world/gallery/1

Frankentank (Big Bad Wolf)

 Once I had a general idea in mind for the shape and function of the tank, I decided toput some light on the subject starting with the engine compartment. This is the main power drive for the 6 hover lift and guidane engines and the 2 power thrust engines.

 

 

 I designed the engines from plastic and brass tubing inserting super bright LEDs inside and wiring all to the internal hull.

 

 Tha main gun is a belt fed cannon system while the upper gun is a particle beam weapon. These opperate independantly from each other, rotating on a spherical axis.

 

 The upper hull is from some WWII Russian armor. Notice the screened in power plant compartment on the rear deck.

 

Vince B.  Dec 8, 2012.

 

 

 

 

o.k once again guys here some stuff that i found may be a cartoon but at least have tanks in.......you can find the rest in youtube.com by searching for girls and a panzer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAAnUqhKWZI&feature=related

here is one link for you guys the rest is in youtube  have fun.

Used Armor

To add to Kevin's post, I have also found some interesting used armor. Since I like armored cars, that is what they are. A German Border Police M8 and a couple of M20s is police service in the US.

For the WWII surplus theme that was picked for the next club contest I Came across some inspiration.

And if Russian tank monuments count then

Frankentank Examples

I want to encourage everyone who s interested in participating, to think about what they want to build. Over the years I have done a lot of prjects which would be considered FrankenTanks. Here are a few styles for you to consider.

 

 This started out as a Polish tank, but ended up as a WarHammer piece.

 Originally I had done this as an NBC vehicle, then decided to hack it up and ad some weapons to it.

 A BMP 2 was modified to have the upgraded weapons turret from a modern Marder.

 The bulk of this was the Star Wars ATAT shell sections mounted on a M3 Half Track chasis.

Armor Lego's Style?

Check out this post about a 14 year old kid from the Netherlands.
He built a bunch of tanks and dioramas that are pretty nice.

Different.. and interesting :-)

http://gizmodo.com/5950663/this-14+year+old-kid-is-a-lego-genius

Perfect Gift

A  friend of mine showed me this on her phone last night. I was able to track it down for you all. The perfect gift for the avid Armor Builder.

Shelf Queen - Panzer III H

Here's the Dragon Panzer III Ausf. H I pulled off the shelf a few weeks ago after it sat for at least the last four years.  It was just a simple out of the box build at the time, but when I pulled it off the shelf and blew off the dust bunnies I decided to spruce it up a bit.  The kit was completely built, but other than some red brown paint in a few places,  it needed some new paint and TLC.  It is beginning to show its age against some of the newest offerings from Dragon, but I decided to see what I could do.

I broke out my ancient copy of Achtung Panzer No. 2 and began adding a few details here and there.  I started off by adding the conduit for the lights from lead solder which turned out to be a royal pain.  Getting both sides to match up proved to be quite a challenge.  The solder is easy to work with, but it is also easy to damage.  I had to be careful to avoid pinching it with the tweezers I was using to shape it.  I noticed that Dragon now includes this conduit in some of their newer kits and this will no doubt save a lot of frustration.

I usually like to build my own storage boxes for my models, but in the interest of time I ordered some Tank Workshop tool boxes and used one of the long ones on the back deck. I studied some reference photos from various divisions on the Eastern Front and noticed that there was really no standard way of mounting the boxes on the back, so I designed a makeshift rack using some Evergreen angle and strip stock.  I superglued a thin sheet of styrene to the bottom of the box to hide the mold plug scar.  This made it easier to glue the angle to the bottom of the box. I then glued the two outer strips to the back of the frame and trimmed each piece by eye until I was satisfied that the box was level.  Once this was glued to the rear deck it was easy to add the two inside strips.  I finished up by adding some hex bolt heads made with a UMM hex punch and die.

I also added handles for the kit tool clasps.  I found some old Elefant photo-etch (I'm not sure they're still in business.) parts and used them to add detail to the kit tools. While I was doing this I also added some bolt and strip detail here and there.  I added some spare tracks from an old Tamiya Panzer III L kit since they had the same solid guide horns as the kit tracks.  I drilled out the ends and shaved off the track pin detail to improve the detail a bit.  I also sourced some other Tamiya parts like the tow cable ends, track pins, tail light, and an extra shovel stowed on the rear deck.  I also added some wing nuts to the jack and used some Archer surface details to add the rivets to the turret stowage bin, the back of the tool box, the jack block and the front fender hinges. They are expensive, but I highly recommend them.

I didn't want to go over board on the crew equipment since the storage box was pretty large and would hold a lot of equipment.  For the stowage I found an Armand Bayardi box that I liked and checked the parts box for some crew gear. I found some helmets that I believe came from an old Tamiya Panzer II and a hammer from another Dragon kit.  I then broke out the Magic Sculp and made an air recognition flag and some tarps for the rear deck.  I pressed the helmets into the tarps after I had them positioned the way I wanted and being careful to avoid blocking any of the vents on the rear deck.

I haven't quite decided on the paint yet, but I'm thinking 11th Panzer Division.