cambridge

the one with the "non-modelling related chat" disclaimer? Chat Follow14 Non-Modelling Related Chat

i see there's a generic chat section for non modeling questions, and there are sections for various modelling generes. But let's say i want to ask a generic modelling question, like "what is your favourite modelling brand" "what is the best kit you've built so far" and so on, what is the appropriate section of the forum for that?

absolutely gorgeous, in some picture i swear it could be the real thing

yes that 1/3 is missing to make space for the legs of the driver since the space is small in that thing, it's not the result of the damage.

well a little introduction to explain the weird title: this is a bit of an experiment on different levels. First i've seen these kits made by RPM, very peculiar subjects, coming very cheap ( this one was around 6€ ), scale 1/35 also provided with interiors, was curious to see what you get at such a cheap price. 2nd, wanted to do a little bit of modding, 3th wanted to simulate an explosion damage, 4th wanted to paint a burnt tank. Well i've done all of the above on this kit wich was the perfect choice coming so cheap to tear it down without the pain of thinking about the wallet crying, if it comes out good, good, if i butcher it nothing much is lost. Originally this was a Polish tankette ( the kit doesn't provide any decals or paint scheme by the way ) but in this particular version the weapons are removed and the hull is converted to a generic tractor purpose. I had read about the polish TKS tankette that historically germans after invading poland captured and converted many of these little fellas and used them all trough the war for various purposes in almost all the theathers. So, since i'm also building a 1/35 normandy tiger, i decided to paint this model in Wermacht color scheme in order to use it as a decoration for the Tiger diorama display i'm planning to make. That is also the reason why this little fella is weathered but not "dusted", as it's something i'll do when i'll blend it in the diorama, possibly some urban scenario with some dust and rubbles all around it. I've decided to leave its right side in pristine conditions, in order to see how the kit would look like if built properly, and its left side representing the damage caused by an explosion ( possibly during a bombing ). Modifications i've made on the original kit are: - opened the back doors and removed the front door ( they are originally one piece with the top frame mould ). Changed the driving seat with a burnt frame seat. cut the skirt on the damaged side and put a metal one in its place in order to be able to bend it properly. Made the parts you can see in the trunk since you would not be supposed to see anything there. Added a front light from a tiger kit as i've seen pictures of german converted tankettes with added front lights. the rest is right as it comes with the kit. two words on the kit: kit has its ups and downs, i would say there are more ups than down considered the price. Don't expect extreme quality but don't expect total crap too like the price would suggest. Details are good, lots of rivets, no sprue flash at all, amazing quantity of extra parts, two sets of tracks ( plastics coming with good details, and rubbery, with rubbish details ) even some textures on parts like the seats or the skirts, soft plastic easy to work with. On the downside the way its parts are designed it feels like an old kit, doesn't come togheter extremely well, need some reworks here and there and instructions are crappy, so it requires a little bit of experience and extra work to put it togheter. But it's extremely cheap, it's a particular subject, it's cute, if it tickles your curiosity or you want to use it, like i did, to make some experiments, i say give it a try. Having said that, here are the pictures ( i apologize for having made them with my phone but i've no better camera at the moment ): and a picture just to make clear its size:

that really makes you feel the cold in your bones, wich to me it means it's a job well done. what product have you used for the snow?

if i go for something like this i already know it would fall me on the floor the moment i'm going to put the very last rigging cable

can i join in? i'm building a Wittmann 007 just in these days and i have a captured 131 that still wait to be finished

i've just realized this could be the perfect occasion to do my first experiment with custom photoetched parts. i just need to figure out the right process and put my hands on the proper materials and i think i could exponentially enhance the result for the tail and the alerons. i've already have an UV lamp and i know how to use CAD. I'll need to pick some PCB tablets and the chemicals and see if i can work it out. since i'm there i'll probably do a custom cockpit cage too since the original one is too thick here's the drawing i've done for the tail, definitely photoetched parts would improve the final outcome. now i have to find a way to print it without losing the required detail

minor update: i had some spare figures from a tamiya zero model i've done, so i decided to customize them in order to represent three people examining the relic. these are the figurines before and after the customization ( i have applied just a first layer of color ). I've cut them apart and used green stuff to change their pose. this is how they'll look in the scene

thank you very useful link. on the subject of the particular 007 tank is there any direction i should follow or the only thing known is this picture that doesn't show anything about the camouflage?

i need a second advice. i didn't feel it was the case to open another discussion so i'll bring up this instead. I've moved on and painted the camouflage, i wanted some feedback about it, before i move on with filters, decals and weathers and i can't go back. The idea is to represent a Normandy Tiger, possibly the famous Wittmann 007 ( the kit include such decals ). The color scheme on the instructions paper was too messy to follow, i've looked online but apparently there's no reliable source or picture and everyone does it in a different way, so i went my way. Since it's my first attempt also at painting a 3 colors german camouflage i would like to know if you think this looks good, makes sense and historically is plausible, if there are errors or there's room for improvement. So, here's the pictures ( by the way i've added zimmerit to the glacis in the end ). Soldiers and tools are just dry-fitted and with just a basic paint.

a couple of more pictures. at the moment the airbrush is still down so i have to work on minor details so this is more or less the idea of the final composition ( of course still without sand ). the rocks are still a placeholder, i'm looking to find some better rock, possibly real rocks, that resemble the ones in the picture looking at some details, the new metal tail with both surfaces done. not bad but probably i should have used a more rigid ( more thick ) metal, not excluding a version 3 may come in the future: added the rusted panels near the exausts, this is still the acrilic base, i'm planning to make it darker and rustier with oils and pigments. added also a little panel on the wing root, the rearview mirror and cleaned the guns from the paint. The front windscreen has already a first layer of sand/dirt, the cage and the rear windows still lack it. a couple of parts, this is the radio a wing panel and a part of the engine these were the references

don't know if this may come handy to someone, another tip: as a source for metal sheets i'm using Mayonnaise tube. I like Mayonnaise so i get the double good that one one side i eat a lot of it and on the other side when i empty a tube i can cut it, clean it and have another supply of metal. by the way a tube on my compressor just popped open, so i think i'm gonna make all the surface controls using metal while i find a way to get a spare part and fix it.

so here you are, vertical stabilizer made with plasticard vs vertical stabilizer made with metal sheet vs the original stabilizer. Wich one do you prefer? plasticard metal original

you're making me love a plane i hate

plot twist: he now tells us this is going to be an in flight model with landing gears retracted

took the job back in my hand. I started to give a first hand of paint. i'm also experimenting and trying to use metal instead of plasticard for the control surfaces, i think with a bit of patience i can come up with something better than what i've already done. I think a wash will look particularly good on this one, lot of rivets and panel details to highlight.

wow, that is a very neat zimmerit coating. where does that turret zimmerit pattern come from and how did you do it?

this one: https://www.super-hobby.it/products/Wamod-putty-for-plastic-models.html

i think you're right and i will attempt some of the fix you suggest ( the vision ports, damn, how did i forgot them? ) using the tamiya putty this time wich i think would work better on small details. The putty i've used would be a mess on small details, it was almost like a glue, wich would work actually better than expected on large flat surfaces but it would be a mess to polish fine details. among the other things i've realized after the priming that i must have used a saw blade with a clogged tooth space cause at one point there's a pattern of a tooth missing that repeats itself. good thing is it will almost completely disappear under the mudguard

actually i don't know if it was the right choice or not but on the rear i made it messy "on purpose" compared to other surfaces. on the left and right edge is lacking cause it's where the two mud fenders will go and on the instruction sheet that edge was shown as un-zimmered. and around the exhausts i figured out that considering the extreme heat it was plausible that chuncks of the covering would simply come off, so in my intention it was an attempt to realism, don't know if it works or not. for the glacis i had opened this discussion right on that subject: i figured out that the best option was to not apply it and eventually apply it later, instead of applying it and decide later to remove it. using pure logic i would put it there too ( that's where the transmission is after all ) but i still have to find a picture where you can see it clearly on a tiger. i agree that it can be light, overexposition and bad quality of the pictures but there's a strange consistency in that. it was actually much simpler and quick to make than i anticipated. You just use a blade from a hobby saw ( i've used one for cutting metal, wich i think gave better result ). you spread the putty on the surface, doesn't even have to be even. than you pass the blade over the putty, you move it to the side, than a bit up, than to the side, than a bit down, than to the side, and the blade marks its teeth in the putty and spreads it even at the same time. It works wonder and it's very fast, and at least to me it recreate that feeling of the zimmerit you can see in pictures, that was never, tidy and perfect but a bit messy and different from one tank to another.

so, this is not going to be a walktrough as usual, i just wanted to get some feedback on a particular aspect of my project, wich is zimmerit. i've never done a zimmerit coated tank before and i was very courious about it. I didn't want to use photoetched parts or buy an already coated tank, i feel it looks more autentic if you apply it as a paste, watching the original pictures it's the way it was done and between the way it was applied and the battle wearing the zimmerit coating never looks as good and as regular as the one you can obtain with photoetched parts. So i've bought this AFV kit and i've worked on it ( wich is a pity cause the kit is beautifully detailed and many details like the weildings and the cast texture are lost under the zimmerit. i've used a plastic putty to cover it and using a saw blade i've added the zimmerit texture on it. Some places ( like the sides of the turret ) are left un-zimmered in order to make it easier to apply parts over them ( that's where spare tracks are ) and won't be visible when everything is put in its place now i'm at the point i've coated it and primed, before i move on with painting i just wanted a feedback on the result i've achieved so far, if it's an ok result, if there's something to fix, if the scale is right, if it's totally wrong, well you know.

question is simple: was the horizontal plate of the glacis covered in zimmerit? usually the kit manuals show it covered, if you buy zimmerit photoetched surfaces it is covered, i've seen tigers in museums with it covered in zimmerit but the fact is all the original black and white pictures i've seen it never looks like it is, i don't know it may be a light effect but it seems consisent

was this kit nice to build? i put my eyes on this one and the La-5 from Zvezda and they both seemed well made and good for the price, if i had more space for 1/48 planes i would probably buy one of them.