Patriot PAC3 launcher (and HEMTT tractor) in 1:72

[Lada]

Patriot PAC3 launcher and HEMTT tractor, in 1:72 scale, by Model collect / Aoshima

 

This has been my most ambitious project to date. The complexity of the kit, amount of PE and number of new techniques I had to try definitely pushed my limits (and taught me some lessons).

 

Things I messed up, In no particular order:

• I attached the supports the wrong way around. I only realized this while adding the PE parts, some of which didn't quite match the instructions. Too late, I decided. This caused more problems downstream, with the fender not fitting and such

• Broke off the control boxes 2x (!), while using them to hold the model. Of course after doing all the wiring, so messed that up too..

• Way overdid final weathering with pigments, leading to something that looked like it's been abandoned in a dust storm.. Felt like chucking the whole thing out the window at that point, especially with all the work invested up to that point. In the end washed it partially off with enamel thinner, but not quite enough. Lesson in being slow and methodial with pigments

• Painted the initial NATO camo way too dark, using the designated Tamyia colors. This ended up being quite difficult to weather and I'd definitely make it lighter next time to begin with

• Decided to add all the wiring at the very end, after having painted everything else. Which ended up with a lot of drilling/cutting and super glue everywhere, damaging previous work. Would try and add these earlier in the build stage next time, despite the difficulty with painting this would create

 

On the other hand, I'm quite happy with how the scratchbuilt railing & wiring came out in the end, so will definitely try more of that sort of thing in the future.

 

 

Couple questions for those more experienced than myself:

• At what stage would you add wiring to a model like this?
• What's the best way to achieve believable polished steel on the hydraulics? I tried standard metalics with some clear varnish, but it's just not 100%
• Is printing your own decals feasible in 1/72 scale like this? Ended up doing some freehands, but it looks quite bad

 

Patriot launcher

 

 

 

And some group photos (I really need a bigger backdrop if I end up doing more big vehicles.. )

 

PS: If you want to see more pictures of the HEMTT tractor, I've posted it a couple days back:

[Courageous]

A fantastic job, you've there, wish I was as that brave. One observation, the weathering of the tire treads is inconsistent, particularly between the truck and trailer tyres... you did ask.

7 hours ago, Lada said:

believable polished steel on the hydraulics?

I use a Molotow chrome pen and my aircraft undercarriage. You can also use foil.

7 hours ago, Lada said:

printing your own decals feasible in 1/72 scale

Definitely, I've printed my own 1/72 aircraft decals but it is a little bit of an art and something to practice.

 

Stuart 

[Lada]

3 hours ago, Courageous said:

One observation, the weathering of the tire treads is inconsistent, particularly between the truck and trailer tyres... you did ask.

Good catch, thanks! I painted them separately and this is the result 😕 The plan is to make a small vignete eventually, so for that, I'll have to make sure to harmonize the weathering.

[Orion]

Hello Lada,

Thanks for sharing this Aoshima/ModelCollect built with us.

Well done job. Your choice was the HEMMT and not the standard JGSDF  (I think (Isuzu) truck. Indeed, the HEMMT looks like a power beast.

As a tip for construction. Preparation start with the original pictures. Everything you want to add on has to be prepared before airbrushing the project.

Preparing means dry fitting, drilling and all other preps.

I like to work in modules. Railing, antennas,wheels mirrors are there to be ready to be placed completely at the very end.

As for super glue. When possible, try to use wood or carton glue. Nicer to work with and always removable with a drop of water.

For instance the wheels. You can correct even days later (drop of water on it) if you are not happy with the way the tires hit the ground.

Despite some (building) experience from my site, your models look very professional.

Regards,

Orion. / The Netherlands.

Edited October 1, 2020 by Orion

[Lada]

On 01/10/2020 at 10:25, Orion said:

Hello Lada,

Thanks for sharing this Aoshima/ModelCollect built with us.

Well done job. Your choice was the HEMMT and not the standard JGSDF  (I think (Isuzu) truck. Indeed, the HEMMT looks like a power beast.

As a tip for construction. Preparation start with the original pictures. Everything you want to add on has to be prepared before airbrushing the project.

Preparing means dry fitting, drilling and all other preps.

I like to work in modules. Railing, antennas,wheels mirrors are there to be ready to be placed completely at the very end.

As for super glue. When possible, try to use wood or carton glue. Nicer to work with and always removable with a drop of water.

For instance the wheels. You can correct even days later (drop of water on it) if you are not happy with the way the tires hit the ground.

Despite some (building) experience from my site, your models look very professional.

Regards,

Orion. / The Netherlands.

Thanks, those are good tips! Especially the bit about making sure you have everything dry-fitted and ready beforehand. Coming from more of a miniature painting background, I kinda struggle with this whole "be patient, get everything ready, before painting" mentality, I often decide to change things after I see how it looks, but with scale models, that's often too late 😕 Something to work on for sure

[Niall]

I've done WW2 British 1/72nd scale decals. I had to use a vector drawing program(the now unavailable DrawPlus).

 

A photo of my 1/72nd scale Wasp(PSC universal Carrier kit with my 3D printed conversion parts), the battalion and division markings are my decals -

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Niall
Corrected text