Automated, High Energy, Air Defense. (AHEAD)

Yeah, well, its Sci Fi, inspired by the new TAKOM kits of Russian Ship Defense Systems. I had always wanted to design Gun Towers, and this put me in the mind set.

Parts is Parts. Its all on here.  Everything from road wheels to sprue.  Not even sure where I got the base gun mounting from. Everyone will have fun picking out the parts at the next meeting. 

I did add a generic 1/48 scale figure for scaling effect.

You probably recognize the  T-34 ?? Tank Turrets. Somehow I had a bunch of these. I guess I will need to do some more of these turrets.

Vince B.  1-15-20.

Polish PL-01 Light Tank

This is the Takom model of the PL-01 light tank proposed by the Polish army in 2013. It is based on the Swedish CV90120-T. The project never got past the concept stage. The model is painted with acrylics and lightly weathered with oils & acrylics.

It assembles relatively easily except I had to putty much of the mating edges of the two turret halves. The tracks are length and link.

The kit instructions show two paint options, a prototype in solid grey or a deployed version in standard NATO camoflage. Neither really appealed to me, so I did my own scheme (it's all conceptual, right?) of black tiger stripes over grey.

The Polish flags on the model are upside down. Arg! That would make it, I believe, Indonesian. I have since corrected the flags on the model.

SADF G6 Rhino

Finally, I'm getting these posted to the blog. These are photos of the Takom G6 Rhino as used by the South African Defense Forces. It is a self-propelled mine-protected 155mm howtizer. The kit is very nice and goes together well. Roof top stowage from Value Gear and my parts box was added. Paint is acrylic with oil washes and then a light dusting of actual earth.

M551 Sheridan

This is the old Academy kit. I really liked the details. It all fit together great. I only had one issue, which I should have noticed earlier.  The small front Mud Flaps can rub the tracks. The angle needs to be adjusted prior to gluing in place. Or you can just tear them off like I did.


I added a lot of stowage, resin and plastic components. I did substitute the Tamiya Length and link tracks for the rubber band type. These fit perfectly on the Academy sprockets.

I used Humbrol enamels and weathered with oils. The jungle mud was created with washes tinted with Mig powders. Overall was dullcoated and drybrushed.

Vince B 1-9-20

M60-A2 Starship

As with all Dragon kits, this one was a pain in the fidley bits. The most difficult area was the assembly of the turret basket with all of the PHOTO ETCH screens which had to be bent to fit the various compartments.

I didnt find a lot of good reference photos to help with details.  I did have to add a lot of individual stowage items, resin and plastic.

 The fun part as always is the weathering. Keeping in mind that much of the mud and muck in the jungle was a reddish clay, hard to distinguish from rust. I used oil washes with Mig powders for the various layers of mud on the lower hull and running gear.

I am satisfied with the overall result of the build which I started 3 years ago.

Vince B 1-8-20

Israeli AMX-13

This is the old Tamiya kit. As usual the fit was great. Since it was intended to be the French version of the AMX, I needed to make some minor adjustments for the Israeli version.

Through its use by Israel, modifications were varied. The addition of the 30 cal mounted on the turret was one feature.

 Of course I needed to use other decals from various bits I had. Stowage was pretty generic and I threw in some items with tarps and ropes.

I painted with Humbrol enamels and weathered with oils. I applied chipping of the paint with a piece scrub pad and tweezers.

Vince B. 1-6-20

M4A3E8

This is Tamiya's M4A3E8 in 1/35 scale.

This also happens to be my very first Sherman model. Kit was built from the box with the exception of adding a Value Gear Stowage set and a couple of grab irons on the left side of the turret. 

She was painted with Vallejo Olive Brown and then over sprayed with a very thin coat to Tamiya Olive Drab which gave it the color depth I was looking for.

She I added some a small amount of paint chipping and weathered her with a pin wash, some Vallejo Black Mud and some Vallejo pigments.

Kit went together well and painting the stowage was a pain, but it adds significant detail. The figure is stock out of the box and I took the liberty of adding a microphone cord for some additional realism. It is really a nice kit and I am considering building another one to commemorate the 761st Black Panther Tank Battlion.
Happy Holidays!

BA-64(r) w/2.8cm Anti-Tank Gun

I somehow came into possession of this kit, but didn't pay much attention to it as it sat in my closet.  When the idea of a wheeled vehicle club contest for November came about I remembered it.  Upon opening the box I was rather happy it was a pretty simple kit thus giving me more time to focus on the scene.  After initial assembly I was impressed by looks of the kit.  It is more than detailed enough for me and sits well without any modifications.

The scene depicts the German re-purposed BA-64 towing an anti-tank gun in the vicinity of Kursk in the summer of 1943.  I started out building vehicle and I base coated with Model Air RLM71.  I lighted the color a bit with a few drops of white and hit the center of panels and high spots with the lighter shade.  I then built the little AT Gun.  It was in a spares box, so I don't exactly know the origin but I think it came in a Dragon figure kit with a horse.  The figure is from Verlinden and is painted with Vallejo acrylics.

I next used an even lighter color of green and some rust color dabbed in small bits to show subdued chipping.  This was a long tedious process over several evenings.  This method is described in detail on the YouTube channel NIGHT SHIFT.   I moved from here to pin washes and blending of Tamiya's black panel line accent color.  I moved on to rain effects with oil washes on the vertical surfaces.  Lastly I applied a bunch of earth toned pastels and sealed it all with a clear matt varnish.  At the last minute I threw some Verlinden netting over the barrel of the AT Gun and glued it down with some white glue.

I cut the ends off 2 Hobby Lobby bases and glued them together to get the length and width I wanted.  I used some cheap foam board to build up 3 elevations and applied Cellucaly as the base ground work.  I covered part of the ground with static grass and the remaining with gravel from my driveway.  In the back of the scene I placed a tree detailed from the basic Super Tree line of model railroad foliage.

I made the name plate with Microsoft Visio and printed on a bit thicker card stock.  I had to get my wife to  conjure the adjective klein for me (she's German from Garmisch).  Once glued down I hit it with a gloss clear varnish

It was a fun build and took me about 5 weekends to complete (with some work done after I got home during the week).  There is more I'd like to do but I'm going to call it done and claim victory.

Thanks for looking and thanks for a great year with the Club.   Model On...
George.

LECLERC MBT

This is Tamiya's Leclerc in 1/35.

The kit assembled like a typical kit from Tamiya but they did not provide all the glass for the periscopes. The tracks are vinyl but very well detailed.

She was painted with Tamiya acryllics.

I did a gloss coat, a pen wash and then a flat coat. The balance if the weathering was done with Vallejo pigments

M3 Lee Late

This is the recent Takom kit. As with most of the Takom's I have built, this one fits really well. I do like the length and link tracks which are molded to take into account the drive sprockets and rear roller.

This is my first completion toward the club collection of Generals.

I did have to add some stowage to the rear deck as well as an antenna.

Painted with enamels and weathered with oils. 

Vince B. 11-11-19 

The EMPIRE Strikes Back

No, this isn't Star Wars. This is a group of Modelcollect 'Fist of War' series kits. These BLF 100 walkers do remind me of the ATSTs in Star Wars, and Yes, being in an icy snow covered terrain MIGHT be reminiscent of the Planet Hoth, just a different Empire involved.

 The burnt out Sherman I believe is an old Revell kit from my scrap box. The 1/72 figures are from various sources including Preiser and Hasegawa. Stowage for all vehicles is from Black Dog. The bridge is a combination of HO bridge railings with some wood planking from a 1/35 flat bed rail car.

I had fun with various water, snow and Ice techniques using Woodland Scenics products.

Vince B. 10-29-19

Russian KZKT-537L Russian Tractor

My attempt to build one of Takom's 1/72 trucks that come in the Russian Army Tractor Set.  Believe it or not after 30+ years in this hobby, this is my first 1/72 scale kit, and it made my eyes bleed.

It went together well, just a bit of small stuff to fiddle with.  I used Ammo by Mig paints and the salt chipping technique to create the rusty spots.  The load in the bed is a mash up from my spares and a barrel set from Value Gear.  I broke the mirrors of about 4X each and you can imagine the fit I had with the photo-etched wipers.  I hit it with an enamel wash and lightly dusted it with pigments.

I added slapped together a base to show the vehicle setting on a tarmac with some other cargo setting on a concrete slab.

Maybe I've got one more 1/72 scale kit in me, but I got to rest my eyes for a while.

Thanks for looking - George

Panzer Kampfkanone

Yes, this was a  Gundam kit which I modified slightly. Though as a GUNDAM, it was 1/144 scale, I figure it closer to 1/96 for practical purposes.

 The kit itself was simple as a Bandai, it would all plug together. Since I wanted to do some mods, I build it out of sequence and in sections to better paint it as a Nazi vehicle. 

Of course I am still using enamels and lacquers with an oil wash.  I think  I'm going to go back and do some more weathering.

Vince B 10-16-19

SOVIET BTR-70 AFGHANISTAN Version

This is Trumpeters' 1/35 BTR-70 Afghanistan version.

She was painted using Tamiya acrylics. Given a pin wash (which didnt work out so well). And weathered with Vallejo Pigment Powders.

She has a complete interior and nice detail but way too many fiddly bits! This kit has a part count of 520 which is ABSURD for its size.

She came out ok and I am glad she's done.