badger Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 11 minutes ago, Tiger said: Ben I have caught up reading about your progress on this build. The base diorama is looking really good and the Leopard 1 is progressing nicely.. Many thanks for the kind comments - much appreciated. All the best Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 Tiny bit more work tonight. I've trimmed up the resin on the edges of the water to bring everything nice and level. The whole water surface got a sanding down, as whilst it had dried crystal clear it was also still tacky. This, it appears, is a common problem with UV resin and can be sorted out with a polishing with progressively finer sand paper. This gave me a chance to use some tamiya sets I bought when modelzone closed down, so i worked through the different grits until it was mirror smooth. To restore the clarity I applied a coat of Modge Podge (the gloss one), which is still drying hence the white areas. This is amongst other things a sealer so should keep my surface tacky free. Might have to apply another coat or two as seem to have some fairly noticeable brush marks in it so far, although I might just go for a gloss varnish instead. The overspill on the base edges has also been removed, ready to repaint this black and gloss varnish the woodwork. All the best Ben 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 Wasn't happy with the brush marks on the surface so cleaned the Modge Podge off with a damp cloth and have thinned it with some water before reapplying. This now looks much smoother and I'm a lot happier with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenoz Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 On 1/5/2020 at 6:26 PM, badger said: Cheers Stix It's one I've been planning for a while (at least 3/4 years!). Have done a fair bit more on it - photos later All the best Ben Then you are a lucky guy... I'm mostly from the kind that when assembling most parts for a subject then comes to the conclusion that most upgrades aren't available anymore or production just seized... Very nice project and I hope to build that basic kit with the add-on armor some day... That groundwork is nice, but squarish... I mean all lines are parallel to the borders of the groundwork... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted January 16, 2020 Author Share Posted January 16, 2020 1 hour ago, Silenoz said: Then you are a lucky guy... I'm mostly from the kind that when assembling most parts for a subject then comes to the conclusion that most upgrades aren't available anymore or production just seized... Very nice project and I hope to build that basic kit with the add-on armor some day... That groundwork is nice, but squarish... I mean all lines are parallel to the borders of the groundwork... Many thanks - had that problem with out of production upgrades, so tend to purchase them as they come out these days. Sometimes I even pick them up and get the kit at a later date. Doesn't always work as I have a conversion for a Canadian Leopard I bought at the same time as this, only for Revell to discontinue the kit! I understand what you mean about the parallel lines - I usually try and avoid them, but can only just fit the tank on the base as it is. I maybe should have put the river at an angle, as this would have helped. Something to think about for next time. I'll see if I can offset the tank a little so it's not completely 90 degrees to the base edges. All the best Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 So it's been a little while since there was an update. I've not been totally idel as I've been building a Stuka in the GB section. Managed to grab an hour on this tonight and started making the tow cables. For a long time I have preferred to make my own as kit ones are invariably missing, too thick and / or have horrible seams that can never be cleaned up properly. My method is simple - 4 strands of 0.2mm copper fuse wire. Twist one end slightly to join all 4 bits together, then I mount it in my pin vise and secure the other end in a bench vise. I then twist the wire with the pin vise until it braids all the way along. Job done and a fraction of the price of an aftermarket set (£1.70 for 10m of copper wire!). I then cut off the kit cable ends and attach these with superglue. I've also dug out a Leopard 1A4 kitbash which is at a similar stage as I plan to paint them together and have made up the tow cables for this at the same time. This is the old Esci kit, rereleased by Italeri a few years ago. The main fault is the stupid double width road wheels, so a Revell Leopard 1A5 was sacrificed for it's running gear (the tracks are also much nicer). The donor kit also supplied a few other parts to replace the Italeri ones with more detailed items. I've just discovered the Italeri kit includes Canadian markings which is excellent as I have another Leopard kit in the stash (told you I had a few!) earmarked to become a C2 version at some point in the future. I'd been struggling to find suitable decals but now have what I need so this may make an appearance soon. All the best Ben 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted February 2, 2020 Share Posted February 2, 2020 9 hours ago, badger said: The main fault is the stupid double width road wheels If by that you mean that they have moulded the double road wheels as one, I had a similar problem with one of their M48's years ago. The way that I got around that was to mount the double wheels in a drill chuck, and then while it was rotating, I held a razor saw against the tyre in the middle and cut a deep enough groove to make it appear as two wheels. It worked. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Bullbasket said: If by that you mean that they have moulded the double road wheels as one, I had a similar problem with one of their M48's years ago. The way that I got around that was to mount the double wheels in a drill chuck, and then while it was rotating, I held a razor saw against the tyre in the middle and cut a deep enough groove to make it appear as two wheels. It worked. John. Yep - that's the issue. Very annoying as ruins what is otherwise quite a nice kit. I've seen the method you describe used and it does work quite well. Luckily there are a number of aftermarket sets for both wheels and tracks that cover many of the Esci kits. OKB Grigorov produce some stunning resin parts - I'm using their tracks on the early Leopard However, for this, I was lucky enough to pick up a part started donor Revell Leopard for £3 which is a lot less than resin wheels and tracks and with a small amount of work they fitted nicely. For my various Esci/Italeri/Revell M48s I have OKB's plastic wheel and track sets which they produce for a very reasonable price. Thanks for looking in All the best Ben Edited February 2, 2020 by badger 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 2, 2020 Author Share Posted February 2, 2020 (edited) Lots of progress tonight. Sadly on the wrong kit though! I've managed to get the A4 entirely built. To be honest this was a test bed for some ideas I want to try on the original build but, being plastic, it would have been easier to repair had things gone horribly. Luckily they didn't and I've spent the evening adding a profusion of wiring, grab handles and general fiddly bits. The various cables are from differing grades of Plus Models lead wire and the grab handles are 0.3mm brass beading wire formed in Trumpeter presses. I also stippled a bit of Mr Surfacer 1000 on the anti slip patches on the front mud guards to add some texture. Pretty pleased how this has turned out and will be using the grab handle technique on the original build when I get back to it. All the best Ben Edited February 2, 2020 by badger 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 A4 is now in primer. Busy researching suitable paint - Bundeswehr gelboliv RAL6014 is proving a bit of a minefield. General internet consensus is that Revell 46 is a close match and pretty sure I have that in. if not Ammo offer it so will order one of those. Potential airbrushing tonight if: 1) I have the paint 2) I have the time I have a shiny new compressor to try out so this might be a good practice. All the best Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelD Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 If you search and download hobby color convertor you will have a useful tool for giving direct and indirect equivalences between loads of manufacturers and paint types. Very useful. Nigel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted February 4, 2020 Author Share Posted February 4, 2020 Thanks NIgel As it happened I didn't have the correct Revell colour but a quick check on IPMS Swedens conversion tables showed that Humbrol 155 is a match which I do have. This was dug out of the deep paint stash and given a good shake with an agitator ball added. I then painted a test swatch which was a decent enough match against my reference. Sadly I then got no further as I didn't get chance to get the airbrush out. Will see how the week goes but it might be the weekend before I get chance. All the best Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 Well - 2 and a half years later and I finally got paint on this over the weekend!!! Had some issues with the airbrush to start with as I think it had a partial blockage, but once that was cleared things went well. Went with the Revell paint in the end, which sprayed nice enough once thinned considerably and some flow improver added. Its a lot browner in real life than the photo. I've updated the groundwork a little recently with some more foilage as it didn't look quite right to me. Much happier with it now. Now for small detail painting!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 Gahh - rediscovered how much I dislike painting roadwheels!!! No matter how hard I try I can never get them as neat as I would like. Luckily this ones going to be pretty dusty . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sardaukar Posted June 29, 2022 Share Posted June 29, 2022 Nice work on a lesser seen subject. On painting road wheels I usually paint them using a circle stencil with the surrounding holes masked off from the size I need, although still need to be careful with the airbrush. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 On 28/06/2022 at 22:05, badger said: Gahh - rediscovered how much I dislike painting roadwheels!!! That's quite normal Ben. Now if you had said that you liked painting road wheels,then I'd have said that you're weird!! Anyway, glad to see that you've got this one under way again. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echen Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 On 6/28/2022 at 9:05 PM, badger said: Gahh - rediscovered how much I dislike painting roadwheels!!! I'd recommend you try and avoid building a Tiger I Ausf H then! 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 21 hours ago, sardaukar said: Nice work on a lesser seen subject. On painting road wheels I usually paint them using a circle stencil with the surrounding holes masked off from the size I need, although still need to be careful with the airbrush. Thanks for that - must try that next time 2 hours ago, Bullbasket said: That's quite normal Ben. Now if you had said that you liked painting road wheels,then I'd have said that you're weird!! Anyway, glad to see that you've got this one under way again. John. Thanks John - its been a while since I've been on here. Nice to move it along a little. 2 hours ago, echen said: I'd recommend you try and avoid building a Tiger I Ausf H then! 🙂 Have a few in the stash - prefer the steel wheel version myself for some reason 🤔 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echen Posted June 30, 2022 Share Posted June 30, 2022 Just now, badger said: Have a few in the stash - prefer the steel wheel version myself for some reason No tyres? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted June 30, 2022 Author Share Posted June 30, 2022 Absolutely! So much easier to paint 🤭 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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