More New Stuff!
It's been a while since I've updated anything here but I've been busy! Several cool new kits added to the stable and even managed to complete some projects.
Polaris ATV
Now all it needs is a driver.......
and a few weeks later, a driver is ordered! Just need to finish painting and he will be ready to ride.
International MAXXPRO Dash MRAP
Got this one this week when I found it for a really good price and decided to jump on it. Haven't done too much with it yet. It's a PANDA kit, one of several I've picked up recently. Really looking forward to this one.
Husky MKIII Mine Detection Vehicle
I've been wanting this one for a while too. I'm glad I waited for the PANDA release of this kit, as it is much cheaper than the other offerings out there.
COUGAR MRAP 6x6
Ford F350 pickup
Roadside Checkpoint
I found this one on ScaleHobbyist not too long ago and I thought it would make a great diorama addition for some of the vehicle kits I'm working on. It's a great looking kit and comes with a lot of useful accessories and some additional figures.
I went ahead and assembled the major components, and once I figure out placement for them I will assemble a base for the scene.
M1078 Armored Transport
This has been on my 'want' list for quite some time. My brother drove one of these a lot during his Iraq deployment and once a kit came out with this version I just had to have it. I also ordered a set of logistics and supply figures to go with it.
One thing about this figure set that I am particularly excited about is that it is the first time I've seen modern female soldiers offered in a kit, and this set has two. I'm hoping manufacturers start including more female sculpts in the figure sets like this.
I've gotten assembly on the kit finished, and it is currently awaiting paint.
After painting and weathering. Very happy with the results on this one.
One other thing I found on ScaleHobbyist was just so cool I couldn't pass it up.
This figure is equipped with the most modern gear for US Infantry, including -
ACH/MICH helmet with NVG PVS 14, MS2000 Strobe Beacon Infrared/ Visible Strobe Signal Light and MTEK Predator Face Armour, ESS Crossbow goggles, M9 pistol in Eagle Molle Universal Holster UH-92F-MS, USSOCOM SCAR weapon system FN SCAR-H / Mk.17 Std and CQC with mounted Mk 13 Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module(EGLM) with ELCAN SpecterDR 1-4x SU-230/PVS and FN Fire Control Unit (FCU), Massif flame-resistant Army combat shirt, Army Flame Resistant Pants IOTV Gen 2 body armor with Deltoid Auxillary Protective shoulder pads and low back protector, Oakley Factory Pilot SI Assault Gloves, Oakley Sabot High Assault Boots., Military Surplus Tactical Knee & Elbow Pads, CONDOR MA24 7.62 NATO 308 MOLLE Rifle Magazine Pouches, Tactical Tailor MOLLE Medic CMT Pouch, Military Army Issue MOLLE canteenPouch, 40 mm grenade 12rd bandolier/belt, Tactical Tailor Grenade Pouches
It's a lot, and it all fits on the figure very well without making him look too loaded down with gear. I will definitely be ordering more of these as well as their accessories.
I also recently picked up another neat couple of kits to add to the OIF stable....a pair of EOD bomb techs to go with the Buffalo, an Army sniper team and a UAV with Air Force crew.
Coming Soon (hopefully)...
I have a bad habit that I share with many modelers...I frequently purchase new kits that I think will go absolutely wonderfully with projects I'm currently working on. The problem is, once I have those new kits it grinds the whole project to a halt while I work on the new kit to integrate it. This is especially problematic with the OIF projects, as the kits coming out are just the type that separate me from my money...unique, interesting vehicles and equipment that have not been available until now. Below are several kits I hope to be acquiring in the near future, putting completion of my projects into the far future.
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| D9R Armored Bulldozer |
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| Land Rover Defender |
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| M1070 Tractor and M1000 HET Trailer |
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| M1078 Armored Transport (purchased) |
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| M1117 Guardian Armored Car |
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| Oshkosh M-ATV MRAP |
Toyota Hilux civilian vehicle
I received an unexpected small windfall this weekend, so I decided to treat myself with a trip to the hobby shop. I purchased a few jars of paint and some more RTV silicone for casting, and also picked up a kit I've been wanting for a while now.
This kit from MENG models is one of the first 1/35 scale modern civilian vehicle kits that doesn't cost a small fortune. While it doesn't say Toyota, it is definitely modeled after a late model Hilux pickup.
The kit comes with one figure and an antiaircraft gun for the bed. It can also be build as a straight civilian version or modified for US military use. I decided to make mine an insurgent 'technical' per the box art.
The kit is molded in 4 colors (white, gray, black and clear) with rubber tires and two small photoetch frets. It's actually a pretty small model, making one realize how big most military vehicles are in comparison. The model has a nicely detailed undercarriage and the hood is molded as a separate piece even though the model doesn't have an engine. It wouldn't be tough to add one but I'm not going to worry about it since it won't be visible.
I started by assembling the frame and suspension. The steering on this model is positionable so I posed the front wheels turned slightly to add a little visual interest. I'm not too worried about detail painting as most of the components here remain black, and since this will be mounted to a diorama most of the undercarriage won't be visible.
After the frame was dry, I assembled the bed and interior pan and glued them to the frame. The running boards also went onto the floorpan at the same time.
This is pretty much where the painting will start. I will add the rest of the seats and side panels after the interior tub is painted.
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| Spongebob Wiki |
Unfortunately I got carried away with detailing the interior and didn't even think of taking any pictures. I did manage to remember to document the rest of the build though.
For the body parts, I decided I wanted a relatively undamaged but definitely well used appearance. I lucked into a really nice day a month or two ago and got a LOT of painting done on several projects. Sorry for some of the grainy photos, my camera died and I had to use the iPod for a bit.
I started on the body by airbrushing a couple of coats of rust brown on all of the major creases and folds of the body. This will darken them a bit under the finish coat to give the model a little extra 'weight'. Since the body is molded in white, this is an important step to make sure light doesn't bleed through the plastic. I could have primed the body black first, but since I was going with a white finish anyway it seemed like a waste of time.
I also worked on airbrushing the seats, dash and floor of the interior. I let the airbrush spatter a bit on the seats to add a little texture to them. The interior colors are brown and tan with black accents.
Once I was happy with the undercoat, I shot several very thin coats of tan and white on the body, slowly darkening the mix as I moved down from the roof. This process gave me a nice dirty look for the truck without going overboard. I preassembled the model several times during these stages to make sure my dirty finish matched up on the bed and cab. Once I was satisfied, I hand painted the window trim and glued the clear parts in place.
I added a few detail accessories to the interior - an AK47 in the passenger footwell, some water bottles in the seat, a pair of binoculars and some ammo cans on the backseat.
I spent a little time roughing up the bed floor, but I will probably do a little more work on it, perhaps with a couple of washes to darken it some more.
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| You can see one of the water bottles on the seat. |
All in all, I'm very happy with this kit - it is going to look great in the diorama.I may also buy another one to convert into a British special forces vehicle.
I bought this kit as a present for myself with part of my tax refund. It's one of the two new Abrams variants I've really been looking forward to. The other is the Abrams ABV, which is only available as a pricey conversion at the moment. Once it is available as a regular kit I will definitely get one.
This kit is not dramatically different in assembly from any other Abrams, so I didn't cover the basic assembly in depth. I will go over some of the different accessories and how they will be painted and constructed.
This kit comes with armor to produce both the TUSK I and II packages, as well as additional hull components and gunner positions. This kit also included the correct CITV turret, which I wanted to
duplicate for my other Abrams kits. I will cover how I used an RTV silicone molding and casting kit to replicate those parts in resin. It also included two very nice modern tank crew figures, which I have been working on painting.
Both of the gunner stations on this tank are manned; there is also a version using a remote gun station that is readily available as an add-on. I am saving that for a Stryker build.
On my 'paint day' I also found some time for this kit. It's been ready for paint for a while now.
MPCV 'BUFFALO' Mine Protected Clearance Vehicle
I received this kit for Christmas, and I am super excited about it. I've been wanting this kit ever since it came out, and it exceeded all my expectations. This is another kit from Bronco Models, the same manufacturer as the excellent M1114 kit I'm also covering here.
Like the M114, this kit has a TON of parts, molded in tan and clear with a brass photoetch fret and several sizes of vinyl tubing for hydraulic lines. There is also a small decal sheet for the instrument panel and other markings. All the hatches and doors can be posed open or closed, and the excavator arm can be built to be functional.
The instruction booklet is well detailed, printed in full color with excellent drawings. There are three paint schemes in the plans - US Army, US Marines and French Army. Canada also uses these vehicles, but their paint scheme is the same as the United States.
The model has a full interior, which is very visible due to the large windows, open hatches and rear door. The vehicle seats six, and the interior includes all of the equipment racks, radios and controls for the excavator. No figures are included, but the kit does provide a couple of M4 rifles and a dozen or so clear water bottles for figures some of which I will be adding to the other OIF models.
After looking at the plans, I decided that like the M1114, it will be easier to build the whole model and complete the interior first, then close it up to paint the exterior. The first portion of the assembly deals with the suspension and drivetrain.
The v-shaped lower hull is a single piece, which makes for a very solid foundation to mount everything. The first step was to glue the suspension attachment brackets to the hull at the front and rear.
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| Front |
Once the brackets were secure, the leaf springs and axle mounts could be installed.
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| Rear |
The axles and brake cylinders were next to be assembled. However, they needed to be built as separate units before I could mount them to the hull. This step also introduced the first photoetched parts into the mix, with the protective boxes on the brake cylinders.
After the entire rear axle assembly was dry, I mounted it to the hull.
The front axle assembly was similar, but with the addition of some very small (and functional) steering components. However, I felt the steering mechanism was a little too fragile for my taste so I glued it in place.
The two axles were joined together by the driveshafts, which are glued inside the center transfer case shield.
The completed drivetrain is quite sturdy, and despite the number of complex assemblies there is plenty of room to maneuver an airbrush around it for painting. I also assembled the wheels and tires, but I will paint them separately and glue them on after the hull is painted.
The next step is to start the interior assembly. This begins with gluing in the interior floor and lower walls.
After the walls were dry, the seat mounts, fuel tank, and a major interior components went in.
I also glued in the front grille at this time.
The upper hull got its interior walls, rear bulkhead and ceiling glued in.
Now the fun part - all the exterior details. Basically I'm working with two assemblies, the upper and lower hulls. The two sections fit together easily, so I can put them together when I need to so I can check the fit or position of some parts.
I started with adding the sides of the engine cowl and hood. This included the phototeched grill for the hood, which was a bit difficult to bend up without damaging the vanes. I kept the upper hull in place to check the gap at the back of the hood.
Next I built and mounted the side baskets for the rear hull. The floor of each basket is a photoetch mesh set into a plastic frame. Once that was done, I added the brackets and rails. Once the baskets were dry, I glued them in place.
I also added the fender supports at the same time.
At this point, I'm basically just going through the plans and adding the hull details as I go. The exhaust stack required some additional work. I had to pre-mount it to determine the position of the pipes, and then remove it to install the photoetch details.
I ended up replacing the photoetch straps with styrene, as it was too difficult to get them to bend around the muffler and glue in place. The styrene straps were much easier, and look just as good.
Once the assembly was dry, I remounted it.
The upper hull has some of the smallest detail parts of this kit. The hatch hinges are VERY small and had to be installed with tweezers.
After the glue dried on the hinges, I installed the hatch covers and pneumatic rods. I glued two hatches open, and the rest closed.
While the hatches were drying, I assembled and installed the rear door. I positioned this open as well, as it is the biggest opening for viewing the interior. I also added the boarding ladder at this time.
I didn't do too much the next night except work on the excavator arm. I was very careful in assembling it as I wanted it to be as functional as possible. It took some patience and a few extra hours, but the result is worth it.
I left the arm extended until the glue was dry to prevent the hydraulic rams from getting glued in place. I had to replace one pushrod with .020 styrene for a smoother action but other than that the assembly went smoothly, and everything works as it should.
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| Replaced hydraulic rod at full extension. |
M577
I bought this M577 kit many years ago. It's actually a Vietnam era model but with a few easy modifications it will pass for a modern M577A3. The only significant changes are removing the side skirts, adding the side baskets and top railings and some minor modifications to the rear hull. I also piled gobs of equipment on it to replicate some reference photos I found.
This photo is from the nearly complete model but I have many of the modifications documented as well. I will post them in the next couple of days. The reason for half the model being painted? I had some paint left in the airbrush from the M1114 and didn't want to waste it. Plus I just wanted to see how it would look. :)
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| I know the straps look a little funny.....I will be redoing them. |
M1114
I promised myself a while ago when this kit came out that I would get one. Bronco Models released this absolutely incredible M1114 Humvee kit, up armored and with all the bells and whistles.
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| ALL of this is for one kit that will be less than 8 inches long. It's a LOT of parts. Over the last week or two, I've had a little time to work on the M1114. I've got most of the undercarriage built and the basic painting is done. It will still need some detail painting and weathering to really finish it out, but it's coming along well. Sorry for the blurry photo, I had to use the iPod camera as my regular camera is at the office.  Over the last couple of weeks, I've had a little time to work on this kit some more. I did get most of the chassis painted and detailed, but there are still some small parts to add during the next round. Mostly photoetch detail pieces, lifting eyes and hooks. There is also a bit of detail painting left to be done too.  Despite all the detail in this kit, it really doesn't have much in the way of engine detail but that's ok by me. I'm not planning on it being visible. At this point I finished assembling the doors and started adding the detail parts and photoetch to the hull.     The interior of this thing will be incredible once it's done. I spent a couple hours alone on the radio and computer system. This is all from the kit except for the cord, which I made from some very thin copper wire painted black. The brackets and shelving are a very intricate arrangement of small plastic and photoetched brass parts.  I started painting the interior at this point too, as I will likely have to completely finish it out before I can close the model up and paint the exterior. I'm thinking of making the roof removable to show all the detail that will be in here.  I occasionally put the subassemblies together to check for fit and also to encourage myself to keep at it. :)   I've gotten a lot more painting on this done in the last few weeks, and the interior is nearly finished. I had to do a lot of surgery on the crew to get them to fit in the seats, but they will finally fit well enough to close the roof up without interference. I also completed the shadow airbrushing on the hull, and the chassis is fully painted.    Next I will be painting the overall color coat and finishing up the interior details. After that the crew will have to be painted and finished out before I can close the model up. |
1/35 OIF infantry and figures
One of the most challenging aspects of this project has been the figures I've been building for a while now. Not many of them are finished yet, but I have been documenting the techniques and progress for close to a year, so now is as good a time as any to start talking about it. I'll be going over all the steps I'm taking to make these figures as accurate as possible, and I'll include links to the more recent kits I've purchased.
Some of these pictures aren't the greatest but I'll put better ones in as I dig them up.
Some of these figures are kits, some are kitbashed from older models, and some are pieced together from spare parts and scratchbuilt accessories. There are resin, plastic and vinyl parts and sometimes all three in one figure. Each figure takes about 15-20 hours of work, so I work on a half dozen or so at a time, and nearly all of them are at different build stages. I'll be discussing aspects of each type of build as I go. This will be a long article, but I'm hoping the first couple of posts will cover quite a bit of ground off the bat.
MANY MONTHS LATER....
I have continued working on the figures, but my plans have changed somewhat, partially due to the fact that the decal sheet ACU pattern I have been using was discontinued. Rather than spend time searching for more of it, I decided to try painting the figures instead. This turned out to be a good decision, as they were not as difficult to paint as I thought they would be, and it takes far less time to complete a figure this way than with the decals.
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| This one still needs to be detailed with washes and clear flat but I'm very pleased with the results. |
I also picked up a squad of Marines, so I had a chance to try to paint MARPAT patterns as well. It's more work, as MARPAT has more colors than ACU but they came out well too. I think I can get a little tighter on the patterns with more practice, but from standard viewing distance I think they'll do the job. I painted the first figure in the woodland color scheme. I may repaint it in desert colors later but I'm not 100% sure where I will be using this figure so I will leave it as is for now.
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| The photo doesn't quite do it justice with the flash....I'll take a better one later. |
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| detailing and washes complete on this one, just need to do the face and hands and add his rifle. |
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| This guy is waiting for the third color on the ACU, then he will be ready for detailing and washes. |
The Origin Story.....
A couple of years ago, I had an idea to build a big diorama of 1/35 scale modern armor and infantry. Unfortunately the figures available until a couple of years ago were not accurate for modern US infantry. I had to put that part of the project on hold, but I did start the armor kits. I have two M1 Abrams models I'd been holding on to for years, they just needed a few upgrades.
I did quite a bit of research, looking at photos of Abrams tanks in theater to see how our troops set them up in the field. I also had an opportunity to photograph an Abrams at a local airshow which proved invaluable later on.
The next coat of paint was a little more work. I couldn't find a standard paint color that I liked to replicate the color I was seeing in my reference photos. I ended up mixing a custom color using a blend of three or four tans and yellows. Once I find my notes I'll add the colors I used.
Realistic weathering is not hard to do as long as you have good reference material to go by. I used these photos as my primary references.
Most of the weathering on this project was done with pastels, but there is also a little bit of acrylic wash as well. I prefer pastels for most weathering, as it's easy to remove without damage if you make a mistake.
The intake grilles for the engine covers were washed with a mixture of black and raw umber acrylic paint thinned with water to a very thin consistency, which allowed it to flow into the grille holes and frame to enhance detail. Some modelers will use oil washes, but you have to use solvents to thin them and I didn't want to risk damage to the underlying paint.
If you look closely at the front "fender" of the tank, you can see it is deformed slightly at the edge. This part is a rubber mudflap which I deformed with a lit match to emphasize the difference in material. These are commonly missing on the real thing, so I removed the flap on the other side.
I also started weathering the upper hull with light dustings of pale yellow and tan pastel dust, with some darker shades to accent edges and show built-up dirt.
You may also have noticed the skirt over the rear wheel is gone. This is a common sight among Abrams tanks in the field. The original design covered the whole wheel, and the skirt had to be removed to replace or repair the rear sprocket. Later versions had a cutout in the skirt, but now most crews just take the whole panel off and leave it that way.
Here you can see some more scratches and damage on the side skirts, as well as some light fading.
Another common sight on a well-used tank in the field is mismatched road wheels. Replacements are seldom color matched and can range from freshly painted to old, beat up and green. The only detailing done on the wheels was a dark wash to bring out detail and then a dusting of light pastel powder to dirty them up a bit.
Turret tops are often very dirty and beat up, as you can see in this photo of the real deal below. I will be adding a lot more grime to the model to approximate this look.
The second Abrams is also coming along. It required a little more scratchbuilding to update it, but with another model for reference it wasn't too difficult. I will post the scratchbuilding photos once I dig them up.
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| Ready for paint |
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| Basecoat, ready for tan overcoat. |
Now that I have the necessary parts and supplies for casting, I made additional CITV turrets for the other two Abrams tanks. It took a couple of tries but I came up with two nice castings that only needed a little bit of additional work.
