Here it is, all together at last!
Showing posts with label 1/35. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1/35. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 February 2015
LAV III In Afghanistan - Finished
After having endured the dirty looks of my LAV model for the last 6 months, I finally got back to the diorama this week and finished it off. There was actually very little to do, at least when viewed against the project as a whole, but I had other things on my mind (as you can see on this phlog).
Sunday, 8 December 2013
LAV-III Update
It feels like a looong time since I posted anything, and the reason for that is that it's been a loooong time since I worked on anything but my LAV model!
For something that's essentially just green, it has taken a huge amount of work to paint and weather. I've had to research and try a bunch of new techniques and materials to get the dust looking how I wanted it. Also, I added a lot of extras, some from kits and some scratch-built.
A list of the add-ons that I have put on the model since the last time I photographed it:
- scratch-built toilet seat
- water bottles taped to the antennas
- cardboard boxes with scratch holding straps
- scratch-built tarp
- scratch-built stretcher to hold the coolers and boxes in back
- misc. bits n bobs all over
Still to do: Paint the figures and build a diorama for it to live within!
For something that's essentially just green, it has taken a huge amount of work to paint and weather. I've had to research and try a bunch of new techniques and materials to get the dust looking how I wanted it. Also, I added a lot of extras, some from kits and some scratch-built.
A list of the add-ons that I have put on the model since the last time I photographed it:
- scratch-built toilet seat
- water bottles taped to the antennas
- cardboard boxes with scratch holding straps
- scratch-built tarp
- scratch-built stretcher to hold the coolers and boxes in back
- misc. bits n bobs all over
Still to do: Paint the figures and build a diorama for it to live within!
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Canadian LAV-III in Afghanistan
It has been a long time since I have posted anything here, mainly because I've spent the last several months doing nothing hobby-wise except assembling my next 1/35 plastic model kit.
I thought that doing the Tiger with the photo-etched metal add-on had prepared me for intense model building, but this one has taken me far longer than building the Tiger did. Not only are there a lot of key, structural details that are made with PE, but tons and tons of tiny details like washers and bolts and almost-microscopic cleats for strapping on stowage. Add to that the fact that the model was very complex to begin with, and that I had to do a lot of modification to the base plastic kit, and it goes some way to explaining why I have been working on just the assembly for so long.
The modifications I had to make to the base model kit were:
-cutting off a piece of the rear upper deck and side hull to change the angle of the side panels
-slicing off and sanding down the bolts and washers that were molded in to the model, to be replaced by thinner, smaller PE bolts and washers;
-reducing the size of the rear basket on the turret;
-adding non-skid treatment to the upper surfaces of the hull
When those were done, I could start adding all the PE details. The detail kit I got was a mixed bag - a lot of the bits are really nice and well-done, and necessary to update the LAV to the period I wanted to work on, but there were a lot of problems too. The instructions were decent, but I had to refer to photos of models done by other people to figure out how to use some of the parts. Several parts were mislabelled in the instructions. There were quite a few unused pieces left on the photoetch frets, which isn't a problem, but there were also several pieces missing from the frets which were called for in the instructions. Not least among the missing pieces were bolt-heads to go on top of the PE washers all over the hull; I had about half as many as I needed, so I had to make my own out of thinly-sliced styrene rod, and they won't match to the PE bolts.
Also, several of the PE pieces just didn't fit. The rear fenders, especially, have large gaps where they are supposed to join, simply because, once folded, they don't fit the surface they are supposed to be covering.
The resin pieces that came with the kit were about what I expected: highly detailed but fragile. The inner hub of the spare wheel broke while I was cleaning off the flash, coming apart under the gentlest pressure.
I have several more parts to add after painting, which are not shown in these photos: turret hatches, stowage, the turret MG (a model kit in itself) and four figures: two for the turret, and two standing outside (again, a medium-sized project in their own right).
Next stop: primer and base coat.
I thought that doing the Tiger with the photo-etched metal add-on had prepared me for intense model building, but this one has taken me far longer than building the Tiger did. Not only are there a lot of key, structural details that are made with PE, but tons and tons of tiny details like washers and bolts and almost-microscopic cleats for strapping on stowage. Add to that the fact that the model was very complex to begin with, and that I had to do a lot of modification to the base plastic kit, and it goes some way to explaining why I have been working on just the assembly for so long.
The modifications I had to make to the base model kit were:
-cutting off a piece of the rear upper deck and side hull to change the angle of the side panels
-slicing off and sanding down the bolts and washers that were molded in to the model, to be replaced by thinner, smaller PE bolts and washers;
-reducing the size of the rear basket on the turret;
-adding non-skid treatment to the upper surfaces of the hull
When those were done, I could start adding all the PE details. The detail kit I got was a mixed bag - a lot of the bits are really nice and well-done, and necessary to update the LAV to the period I wanted to work on, but there were a lot of problems too. The instructions were decent, but I had to refer to photos of models done by other people to figure out how to use some of the parts. Several parts were mislabelled in the instructions. There were quite a few unused pieces left on the photoetch frets, which isn't a problem, but there were also several pieces missing from the frets which were called for in the instructions. Not least among the missing pieces were bolt-heads to go on top of the PE washers all over the hull; I had about half as many as I needed, so I had to make my own out of thinly-sliced styrene rod, and they won't match to the PE bolts.
Also, several of the PE pieces just didn't fit. The rear fenders, especially, have large gaps where they are supposed to join, simply because, once folded, they don't fit the surface they are supposed to be covering.
The resin pieces that came with the kit were about what I expected: highly detailed but fragile. The inner hub of the spare wheel broke while I was cleaning off the flash, coming apart under the gentlest pressure.
I have several more parts to add after painting, which are not shown in these photos: turret hatches, stowage, the turret MG (a model kit in itself) and four figures: two for the turret, and two standing outside (again, a medium-sized project in their own right).
Next stop: primer and base coat.
Sunday, 16 December 2012
1/35 Early Tiger
I have been painting minis for ages, and modern military stuff for probably 6 years. After finishing my Afghanistan project (mostly finishing, I should say, I still have a few bits and bobs to take care of...) I didn't need to paint any game-related models for upcoming games I had planned, so I decided to try my hand at a plastic scale-model kit. I visit scale model websites from time to time for inspiration on my miniatures, but I haven't built a model model since I was a kid. I've been working on a 3D early Tiger in Maya, and I wanted more reference, so I decided to get this 1/35 Tamiya kit a while ago. I've been working on it a bit here and a bit there for maybe 8 months or so, with long hiatuses to do different miniatures projects (like my Saga / Dux Picts).
I'm overall really happy with it. I went a bit crazy with the weathering and wear, but part of the point of this thing was to learn some new techniques and try them out on a bigger model than I'm used to. I learned some new tricks, got some valuable practice in with my airbrush, and used quite a few materials and media I haven't touched before, like photoetch detailing, hairspray chipping, mud splatters, oil washes (awesome, but the fumes!), and others. There are some problem areas, but I'm done. Time for a new project (and I have lots to look forward to).
Here's the result:
I'm overall really happy with it. I went a bit crazy with the weathering and wear, but part of the point of this thing was to learn some new techniques and try them out on a bigger model than I'm used to. I learned some new tricks, got some valuable practice in with my airbrush, and used quite a few materials and media I haven't touched before, like photoetch detailing, hairspray chipping, mud splatters, oil washes (awesome, but the fumes!), and others. There are some problem areas, but I'm done. Time for a new project (and I have lots to look forward to).
Here's the result:
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