1/16 Panzer III L

If it seems like I start projects and don't finish.. well, maybe that's the case, but not really, I just put it off for a while.  Still working on the MAK vignette.. still working on the Verthandi figure.  There are some Gundam mobile suits I have been working on, but lately what's been taking my time is this 1/16 RC Panzer III L.

I've had it for a couple years now.  I played with it for a while until the gears stripped.  Then I ordered some metal upgrade gears and put it aside.  Like I said, that was a couple years ago.  Well, last month, I got the urge to get back to it, mostly because I found a cool spot for tank play in Griffith Park and my other two tanks weren't working right.  So here we go.  This one I will finish soon.  I'm not superdetailing it, because it's just an RC runner, but I am doing some detail work to it because I just have to make it look cool..

First off, I bought a metal upgrade kit for it, which consists of metal drive sprocket, rear idlers, suspension, and tracks.  I also bought some rear idler adjusters, metal barrel to replace the airsoft barrel with a more scale gun, and some PE parts for the rear grill and tool clamps.

I decided to paint it in the DAK (Afrika Korps) desert yellow color.   In the end it should have some nice chipping effects and weathering.  So far i've gotten the lower hull done (minus the weathering) and am moving on to the upper hull.

The metal shocks are much more realistic looking than the old ones.  These are also the metal tracks.  I've tested it around my living room and they seem to work great.

 

Next up, I replaced the front single molded spare tracks with some of the leftover plastic tracks.  I had to modify the front rack to hold them, but I think it's going to work ok.

 

I added texture to the muffler and painted it.  You can kinda see it on the lower part.  That smooth top part isn't going to be visible.  You can also see the idler adjuster here.  It actually works, not just for looks.

 

Metal gears soldered in. 

 

I removed the big 'rc' antenna on the rear deck and replaced it with this internal antenna.  So far it seems to work ok, but I have yet to test it outside at a further distance.

 

Metal barrel.

I fixed the crooked commander's cupola and moved the hatches so that they still open on the sides.

Metal grills required cutting the intake boxes on the sides.  I have to smooth it out some more, but they're on their way.

I cut the front lights in order to make room for a more accurate front 'slit' headlight.. dunno what else to call it..

And last for now, the little holes on top of the turret are actually screws on the real tank, so I added screw lines with a scriber.  I need to clean a couple up a little, but it looks better.

 

So that's it for now.. next up, intake clean-up work, then more work on the upper hull!

Verthandi - Burning Ice - Legs/Bra?

Progress is slow, but it is progress.  I worked on her flesh tones a little more, trying to fine-tune it.  I may go in with some pastels later for even more.  I got the bra (or whatever you want to call it) done, then back of the loin-cloth, worked on the leg leathers and the boots.. that's about it for now.

Verthandi - Burning Ice - Flesh

The flesh tones are done for the most part.  I might touch it up a little, but that's about it.

I started hand brushing it last night, but it wasn't turning out like I wanted, so I ended up airbrushing since I can get a smoother finish with it.  I like the way it turned out.  Tonight I bought a couple new brushes after work and they were put to good use adding a few highlights and shadows, as well as touching up the eyes. I'm excited about this piece!  The pics really don't do it justice. :(

Verthandi - Burning Ice

I bought this awhile back.  It's a 54mm fantasy figure from Andrea miniatures.  I'm working on this now because I just want to paint a figure and not deal with building/detailing.  Plus after the SCAHMS show, i'm in a figure kinda mood..

Here's the box.

So, first off, she's made of soft metal.  First steps were to clean up the mold lines, which I did.  The metal is soft, so it's basically the same as a plastic kit.  After that is a test fit followed by parts pinning.  Basically drill holes and stick the parts together with a piece of wire.   During the test fit, I noticed there's a huge gap in the back of her cape.  I wish i'd taken 'before/after' pics, but you only get an after.  As you can see in the pic, there's no more gap.  What I did was use a little 'green stuff' putty to fill the gap and resculpt a little detail on it.

Here's the figure primed, and below that is the first layer of paint.  She's gonna be a white chick, but i'm starting with a dark base layer for the skin.  This is actually different than my usual figure painting, where I would paint a medium tone and add highlights and darks, but this technique is something artists use for painting on canvas, so I thought i'd give it a try.

That's it for today.

1/48 Tiger S33 - Complete!

So, here are the final pics of my Tiger.  It was a fun build, but I had some issues.  The WWII productions resin tracks for example.  They snapped together easily, but when it came time for paint, they kept falling apart and driving me insane!   The Eduard photoetch makes the kit look awesome, but again, it drives me insane!  I lost quite a few pieces and had to scratch build a lot of things.. it sucks.. but once you go photo-etch, it's hard to 'not' use them after.

Anyways, enjoy, and note in the last pic, my new silver medal that I got at the SCAHMS show today!

(click the pics for a bigger view)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh.. and my Tank Commander got a bronze!  Woot!

1/48 Tiger - Progress

I know.. it's been a while since I posted anything.  Let me apologize about the AFS kit.  I started it and intend to finish, but it's been put on hold for a bit.  Mostly because I was having trouble finding a suitable base, and when that happens, it kills my motivation, but that's been taken care of and it'll resume in the near future.  Another reason I haven't been working on it is because I wanted to finish the Tiger I that I started almost exactly a year ago.

Here are a couple in progress shots.

Primer

 

Base color followed by camo and decals.

 

 

 

Now let's talk about road wheels.  The Tiger has a lot.  Painting them can seem like a bitch, but here's an easy way.

Here they are.. ugh.. looks intimidating.

 

But not really.. first step is to pain them all black, which is the outer rubber color.

Then take a circle template, used for drafting/arts and find a hole that matches the inside "metal" part of the wheels.  Stick the wheel in the hole and paint the metal color.

And voila.. painted wheels.

 

Next up is the finished pics.. i'm making a new post for it because i've already posted a lot of pics in this one.

Ma.K AFS II 01.12.11

Been a while since i've worked on this.  I haven't quit on it, just was busy with the holidays amongst other things.. but here I am again.

I might've mentioned before that the suit had no pilot head.  Or maybe I didn't.. *shrug... anyways, It had no pilot head.  At first I was gonna just make it an empty suit, but when I stood the girl mechanic next to it, with her big smiling grin on her face, it just seemed weird.  I mean, what's she grinning at?  Inside joke?  Maybe she's just a little crazy (she is a woman after all.. j/k ladies.. wait.. ladies reading a model blog?  ..nevermind)  Anyways, where was I.. oh yeah, it seemed weird that she was laughing at nothing, so I decided to just sculpt my own head.  So here's a few shots of where it is at the moment.

 

 

I also tried working on the hand.  Spreading the fingers apart, but the original part broke when I tried sawing it.  I mean it shattered into pieces.. lame.. luckily I had an extra hand from another kit.  Of course, one of the fingers broke off, which is why the forefinger is white here.  I had to make it from scratch.  It turned out ok though.

 

So that's it for now... later.